FanHouse JannePesonen

As if Wednesday's loss to the Capitals wasn't bad enough for the Pittsburgh Penguins, it also came with a heavy price, as they lost Sidney Crosby to an apparent leg injury. Initially, Crosby had been described as day-to-day, and on Friday afternoon, the Penguins captain ruled himself out for their game against Anaheim after taking part in the morning skate. Had Crosby played, it would have been the first time he took the ice against Ducks forward Bobby Ryan, the No. 2 pick in the 2005 draft who was taken one spot later than Crosby.

As a result of Crosby's absence, the Penguins' already thin group of forwards becomes even more depleted, as the team is already skating without Ruslan Fedotenko, Pascal Dupuis and Max Talbot. The injuries led to a bit of humor -- because if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? -- from the team's official website.

Every week there are minor moves and stories around the National Hockey League that tend to fall through the cracks. Consider this our weekly roundup of those moves from the previous week, all wrapped up in one neat little package.

I'm getting the idea that Ottawa prospect Alexander Nikulin was just a tad bit unhappy being a member of the Senators organization. On Sunday, the 23-year old forward issued what was, basically, an ultimatum to the team's front office when he threatened to return to his native Russia if he wasn't dealt to another team as soon as humanly possible. TSN had the story:

The 23-year old Nikulin has stated that he will return to Russia if the Senators do not have a deal in place by Monday. He was a scratch Saturday night as the Binghamton Senators faced Bridgeport. Nikulin stated on his Russian blog that he is disapointed in how slow the process is going. "So, I've asked for a trade, and the General Manager of the Senators Bryan Murray has agreed. But for some strange reason it's been really dragging. Because I was supposed to have been traded last week by Friday. Then they moved the deal to Monday. But then on Monday nothing was clear again, so I wait."

By Tuesday afternoon, Nikulin found himself as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes when he was dealt for defenseman Drew Fata.

Thus far, Nikulin has registered 52 points in 73 games in the American Hockey League, while Fata, a former third-round pick of the Penguins, is on his fourth different franchise in four years. Seems like a good deal for Phoenix, even if Nikulin never amounts to anything. Very low risk, potential high reward for the Coyotes.

Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all.

Who's In: Miroslav Satan, F (FA-NYI), Ruslan Fedotenko, F (FA-NYI), Matt Cooke, F (FA-WAS), Eric Godard, F(FA-CGY), Janne Pesonen, F (FA-Kärpät, Finland)

Who's Out: Marian Hossa, F (FA-DET), Ryan Malone, F (FA-TBA), Jarkko Ruutu, F (FA-OTT), Gary Roberts, F (FA-TBA), Georges Laraque, F (FA-MTL), Ty Conklin, G (FA-DET), Adam Hall, F (FA-TBA)

What's Changed: Everything is different but nothing has changed in Pittsburgh. Hossa, Malone, Roberts, and Ruutu are gone, but this was Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin's team when they were all in Pittsburgh and the team still belongs to them with those four gone. A lot has been made about the guys that have departed, especially Malone and Hossa, but Malone's breakout was greatly aided by Malkin and the Penguins earned the second seed in the playoffs last year almost entirely without Hossa's help. At this point, there's no use in talking about the guys that are gone because they're gone.