It's only a mere 73 days until the season opener between the Predators and Ducks, but who's counting, right?

Until then, we've got plenty of hockey news for you this morning. Mike Fisher talks about his future in Nashville, anticipation builds around the Patric Hornqvist situation as comparable players sign new contracts, and a division rival salvages their blueline with a last-minute deal to avoid arbitration...

Predators News

Fisher loving life with Carrie - Ottawa Sun
Mike Fisher talks about settling down in Nashville with new bride Carrie Underwood after his playing days are over, just don't expect a trade to the Predators.

Anders Lindback could be the second half of a tall goaltending tandem - Nashville Predators Examiner
How awesome would it be to have a 6-5 goalie backed up by a 6-6 one?

Offseason Losses & Gains (1 of 4) - Predlines
Nathan reviews some of the dearly departed Preds from this summer...

Pekka Rinne, King Of The Shootout " PredsBlog
Sam points out another angle which highlights Pekka's shootout success.

Predators, Hornqvist now have frame of reference for contract talks - Nashville City Paper
David Boclairs sums up what Preds fans have been talking about here and on Twitter this week.

Patric Hornqvist's contract is next for Nashville Predators - The Tennessean
Bryan Mullen also sums up the current state of things.

The Hornqvist signing: Have the first dominos fallen? | Section 303
Jeremy looks at the wingers who have signed in recent days to get a guideline for what Patric Hornqvist's new contract might look like.

Preds On The Glass: RLD Radio with Kevin Allen and Launy "The" Schwartz and Wednesday Wrap-Up
Buddy's morning links includes a recap of his appearance on RLD Radio.

Around the NHL

Ice Edge making progress, spokesman insists - The Globe and Mail
Things are supposedly still moving forward in Phoenix, albeit slower than many would like.

The Dark Blue Jacket: Anton Stralman matters...to a point
Tom starts rationalizing about the bright future for the Columbus defense if they let Anton Stralman walk after arbitration. Rushing the prospects, however, seems like the worst possible idea.

Arbitration Avoided (Puck-Rakers Blog)
Well... that's anticlimactic. Columbus signs Stralman to a new deal (one year, $1.95 million) just before their arbitration hearing was due to start.

Caps Sign Tomas Fleischmann - Japers' Rink
Yet another team avoids going to arbitration with a last-minute deal, reportedly for one year, $2.6 million.

Los Angeles Kings finally move, sign Alexei Ponikarovsky - Hockey Independent
2nd prize in the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes turns out to be $3 million for one year of Alexei Ponikarovsky, which seems pretty reasonable.

Rangers Analysis: Looking Into The Frolov Deal - Blueshirt Banter
Joe examines how the former Kings sniper will fit into the Rangers' lineup.

Gettin' naked: 'Wachovia Center' letters removed from Wells Fargo Center - Broad Street Hockey
People rag on Nashville for changing arena names often, but Philadelphia's working on its fourth arena name in 14 years, a pretty comparable situation.

Max Talbot On Alex Ovechkin: 'This Guy Is A Real Douche' - SBNation.com
Nice... a little war of words is getting started in the lead-up to the 2011 Winter Classic.

Canadiens continue to revamp front office - The Globe and Mail
Among several new hires is one guy whose job it is to "work in the team's hockey department — not media relations — gathering information for the club." Hey Preds, need a guy like that???

The Origins of Hockey, Part Two: Like Cats and Dogs | The Hockey Writers
Jas provides a peek into the world of Bando...

Jen Plays Instigator - Anaheim Calling
Is the Ducks vs. Kings rivalry real, or just a marketing gimmick?

Congratulations to Down Goes Brown " Maple Leafs Hot Stove
The mighty DGB goes legit? What madness is this?

European Hockey for Dummies - Puck Worlds
A good primer to help keep tabs on European prospects.

I did not expect all this - NHL.com
Paul Kukla shares some of the odd information requests he's gotten over the years thanks to his NHL.com column.

Ebay's strangest NHL stuff - From The Rink
This is pretty darn cool...

And lastly, here's your video of Sidney Crosby & Mario Lemieux hitting the ice for the first time at Pittsburgh's new Consol Energy Center, which should be one heckuva hockey venue when it opens this fall: