Hockey News: Oilers Can’t Sign Tkachev; Crosby Returns

Good news, Sidney Crosby will make his preseason debut tonight. [Sports Illustrated]

Pittsburgh may already have their replacement for Marc-Andre Fleury. [Pensblog]

Will Mike Babcock stay or go? [Detroit Free Press]

Nicklas Backstrom would like to forget about what happened in Sochi, as would the rest of Team Sweden. [ESPN]

Washington Capitals NICKLAS BACKSTROM - Photo by Andy Martin Jr
Washington Capitals NICKLAS BACKSTROM – Photo by Andy Martin Jr

The Oilers made quite the error with their signing of Vladimir Tkachev. [CBS Sports]

GM Craig MacTavish weighs in on what exactly happened. [Oilers.com]

Brenden Dillon turned down Dallas’ latest contract offer. [Stars Blog]

Pierre McGuire isn’t a big fan of anyalitics. [Puck Daddy]

Scott Gomez seemed to have a good chance of making the Devils roster but he’s hurt now. [NJ.com]

(Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
(Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)

Flames prospect Johnny Gaudreau is looking pretty good. [Calgary Sun]

Connor McDavid tops the latest ISS rankings. [TSN]

The sale of the New York Islanders has been approved. [Fansided]

Is Mikhail Grigorenko finally ready for regular NHL duty? [Die by the Blade]

And finally, feast your eyes on some of the best CBC NHL montages. [Habs Eyes on the Prize]