Center duties await Wheeler

Oh goody, the ever soft Blake Wheeler at center for the Boston Bruins, that is almost as silly as putting Blake Wheeler on the top line like they did during the playoffs against the Flyers. Yeah, that didn't work so well either.

MONTREAL -- Blake Wheeler has spent most of his first two NHL seasons on the left wing. Tonight, Wheeler will get some shifts at center, a position he played in college at the University of Minnesota.

"He's a guy who's played center his whole career until he came to us, and we put him on the wing," coach Claude Julien said. "Right now, with [Marc Savard] not with us right away, I wouldn't mind seeing the different options. We want Tyler [Seguin] to have that opportunity. But here's another guy in Wheels who's played center before. We're going to look at different options. Joe Colborne is another guy who's having a good camp. So we're going to really look at those options. Hopefully they'll help us make some decisions."

Julien noted Wheeler's size and hands as two characteristics in his favor as a center.

Petr Sykora and Robbie Earl put on waivers.

I have to admit that this really chaps my ass. I was hoping they would put the waste of a uniform James Sheppard on waviers. Robbie Earl had played in 13 games and scored more goals than James Sheppard.

The Minnesota Wild have placed Petr Sykora on waivers, meaning any club can claim the veteran forward prior to Noon et on Wednesday.

The 33-year old has had an injury-riddled season since signing with the Wild as an unrestricted free agent last summer. In 14 games, he has compiled two goals and one assist but has missed a total of 29 games with groin and concussion issues.

Sykora began his NHL career with New Jersey in 1995-96 and has also played for Anaheim, the New York Rangers, Edmonton, and Pittsburgh. He won Stanley Cups with the Devils in 1999-2000 and last season with the Penguins.

If Sykora is not claimed, Minnesota can send him to the minors or place him on re-entry waivers where he could be claimed at half the price of his contract.

The Wild also placed forward Robbie Earl on waivers on Tuesday. The 24-year old has divided his time this season between Minnesota and Houston (AHL), and posted three goals in 13 games with the Wild.
[TSN]

UPDATE: Per Russo's Rants, Veteran Petr Sykora and winger Robbie Earl cleared waivers this morning [Link]