Hockey Night Extra

Doing the right thing shouldn't necessarily earn someone a pat on the back (if it’s right, just do it, no big deal, right?), but in the case of Jordan Staal and the Pittsburgh Penguins, general manager Ray Shero deserves a little acknowledgment for deciding to keep the young centre in the NHL.

The easy and somewhat safe thing for Shero to have done, of course, would have been to return the 18-year-old to the Peterborough Petes for the season, thus protecting himself to a degree from a business stand point. Had Staal been returned to junior, his three-year entry level contract would not have kicked in this year. And if he survives 40 games, the countdown to unrestricted free agency after seven years would not have begun, either.

From a business standpoint, both are significant considerations.

When it comes to guaranteeing wins, Janne Niinimaa is no Mark Messier.

Of course, a few NHL coaches already knew that.

Anyway, Niinimaa, in case you missed it, good-naturedly promised the other day that the Montreal Canadiens would be the first team to beat the Buffalo Sabres this season. He may still be right, of course, but it just didn't happen when Niinimaa predicted it would.

Instead, the Sabres on Monday night comfortably rolled to a 4-1 victory over the Habs and extended their season-opening winning streak to nine games, just one shy of the record set by the Toronto Maple Leafs back in the fall of 1993.

The writing is no longer on the wall in Philadelphia.

It's on the pink slip.

And the letter of resignation.

Not surprisingly, though a little sooner than expected and deserved, the Flyers early Sunday made a major management change, firing coach Ken Hitchcock, while general manager Bob Clarke resigned, claiming he had lost his zest for the job.

Note to Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Robert Esche: It's just my opinion, but from this vantage point it has always appeared, and there is no reason to believe differently, that your coach, Ken Hitchcock, presented more between the ears than you ever have between the pipes.

Esche, in case you missed it, had been frustrated with his lack of playing time this season, but was given the start the other day against the Buffalo Sabres. Asked the morning of the game about getting inside his coach's head, Esche eventually replied: "It's an empty place."

If that was a joke, then Esche should leave the comedy to the professionals. If it was a shot, it was uncalled for. What was definitely not an empty place that night, however, was the Flyers’ goal. Indeed, the Flyers were edged 9-1 by the Sabres, and Esche was allowed to absorb all 60 minutes and all nine goals. Might the coach have been sending a message?

At long last, the latest phenom to arrive in the NHL will make his debut Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.

And the arrival of centre Evgeni Malkin comes not a minute too soon for the Penguins, who, despite the presence of the other phenom, Sidney Crosby, have had issues scoring goals this season.

Next to new owner Jim Balsillie, this is the best thing to happen to the Penguins this young season.

What a difference a week makes.

Think about it: A week ago, when the NHL was starting its new season, the idea of Ottawa and Calgary meeting in October surely inspired visions of a similar showdown in late June, with champagne on ice and the Stanley Cup nearby.

That may still happen, of course (we did, after all, predict the Flames would win it all and that Ottawa would be in the hunt), but let's just say it has definitely been looking like the faith has been wavering in certain parts of the country this past week because neither the Senators nor the Flames had gotten off to particularly impressive starts.

Now that billionaire Jim Balsillie, the co-chief executive officer of the company that brought you the BlackBerry, has signed an agreement to purchase the troubled Pittsburgh Penguins, the speculation and the dreaming has begun in earnest in Southern Ontario.

Will he move them to Hamilton?

Or even Kitchener-Waterloo, home of Balsillie's Reasearch in Motion's home office?

So many questions, so many hopes.

The first thing the bettors in the audience should know is that eve-of-the-season predictions, no matter how sensible, well-intended and reasoned they might seem, are still very much a fool's game.

You know, produced by fools who should know better.

But enough with the disclaimers. Without any further ado, might as well wade right into it in the inaugural cbc.ca blog and offer up an early prediction as to which team might, dare we say will, win the Stanley Cup next June. Needless to say, there is no shortage of legitimate contenders.