It's official folks. After months of debate, and speculation the Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke announced last night that defenceman Scott Niedermayer will be returning to their lineup and the NHL.

Niedermayer spent the summer and the beginning of the season flirting with retirement, but over the past month began training and obviously the fire to compete still rages within. The Ducks may have to make some roster moves to accomodate Niedermayer and the roughly $4 million remaining of his salary this year. Rumors will begin flying again as Matthieu Schneider who was acquired by the Ducks over the summer via free agency (a move Burke made anticipating the possible retirement of Niedermayer) may be the odd man out and the subject of trades.

The Ducks can really use the boost that Niedermayer will bring to their lineup as they are currently a shadow of their Championship club a year ago, and sit 11th in the Western Conference. Help is on the way boys!

Quick Shave:
The Ottawa Senators finally snapped their losing skid last night, dropping the Florida Panthers 5-4. Panthers captain Olli Jokinen made things interesting scoring with 13 seconds left in the game (his second of the evening), but the Sens managed to hold on to the rare win. The New Jersey Devils, on the other hand are probably the hottest team in the NHL right now, and are actually finding it impossible to lose these days (however, now that I've mentioned, I've probably doomed them to a lenghtly slide). The Devils grinded out a 4-3 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins on a goal by former captain Patrik Elias, his second of the evening. Ironically the Devils announced their new captain Jamie Langenbrunner, just prior to the match, with very little fanfare. Devils forward Zach Parise scored twice in the match, his 11th and 12th of the year.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh