Wednesday's news: Sundin retires, Forsberg hobbled, Lang goes to the desert

While we await the outcome of Cal O'Reilly's situation this morning (crossing our collective fingers that he clears waivers and goes to Milwaukee), there's plenty of hockey news to review here on the eve of the regular season.

First, because I'm such a nice guy, I thought I'd pass this along from the NHL:

There's less than a week left to enter the ticket lottery for the Bridgestone/NHL Winter Classic, which will undoubtedly be the hottest ticket in town on New Year's Day. As I'm sure you know, the game will feature the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers facing off in an outdoor game at Fenway Park.

Fans can register for the online ticket lottery at www.nhl.com/winterclassic until 11:59 a.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 5. There is no fee to register. Registrants selected in the drawing will be notified by Oct. 20 of their opportunity to purchase one pair of tickets (seated together); prices range from $50 to $350.

So there you go, if you want to spend New Year's Day in Boston cheering on the Bruins or Flyers, there's your chance!

After the jump, we have some handicapping of the MVP and Calder Trophy races for the upcoming season, along with one aging Swedish star retiring from the game, and another one who probably should...

Predators News

September Previews - Nashville : Paul McCann
Paul wraps up his series of NHL team previews with the Preds. Just a reminder, Paul's HockeyBuzz Radio show returns this evening at 6 p,m. on WNSR 560-AM.

Coming Down the Pipe!: Top 5 Tuesday: Calder Candidates
Dean Millard includes Colin Wilson as one of his top Calder Trophy favorites. All eyes will be on the transaction wire over the next few days, to see if he starts the season in Nashville or Milwaukee.

Preds Look to Rebound Back into Playoffs -- NHL FanHouse
Susan Slusser interviews Barry Trotz about where the Preds are headed this season.

Around the NHL

HURRICANES SIGN CAM WARD TO SIX-YEAR EXTENSION - TSN
Carolina's goalie uses mediocre regular season play along with two sensational playoff runs to land a lucrative six-year contract (averaging $6.3 million per year according to Darren Dreger).

Mats Sundin retires, allows us to get on with our lives - Puck Daddy
Well, at least one aging Swedish center is hanging up the skates...

Oft-injured Forsberg already injured again; who wants him? - Puck Daddy
Shocking news, Peter Forsberg is already injured, after only two games in the Swedish Elite League!

More about the Versus-DirecTV dispute | All Things Avs
Adrian Dater wades deep into the Versus-DirecTV squabble, in which there will surely be no winners; just two corporations fighting over how much money they can squeeze out of their viewers.

DTV & Versus…For What It’s Worth - Mike Chen's Hockey Blog at Kukla's Korner
Mike Chen digs into DirecTV's customer service to see what he, in turn, can squeeze out of them, as a hockey fan willing to ditch the service over the Versus issue.

Blackhawks look for answers after stunning Victoria Cup loss - NHL.com
Chicago loses to a team from Zurich, Switzerland in the final of the Victoria Cup. Fill in your own Christobal Huet = Swiss cheese joke...

The NHL’s Latest Social Media Push: A Twitter Contest - Mashable
The NHL kicks the season off with a novel contest, having fans make picks for all 15 games coming up Saturday, October 3rd, and rewarding the winners with Fabulous Prizes!

Robert Lang Officially A Member Of The Phoenix Coyotes - KuklasKorner
The Coyotes land a veteran center. To be honest, I would have loved to see him center Nashville's 3rd line.

Handicapping the Hart Trophy favorites - The Hockey News
Personally, I'm not a big fan of picking MVP's before the season even starts, but here's a Top 10 list from Sam McCaig.