Colorado Avalanche: News From Around the NHL December 10th, 2014

The Dallas Stars are apparently not fans of Winnipeg. [SBNation.com]

This is just one in a series of Dallas scoreboard zings directed at Canadian teams and their fans.

We're here to stand up for Winnipeg, a fine city of 600,000 inhabitants. Wikipedia tells me The Forks attracts 4 million visitors a year, and that Festival du Voyageur is western Canada's largest winter festival! Back off, Dallas. Just because you have a Building Shaped Like A Ball doesn't give you the right to make fun of your nice northern enemies.

The Ottawa Senators have a new head coach: Dave Cameron. [NationalPost.com]

Dave Cameron used to deal with troubled youth. Now he will be dealing with a troubled NHL team.

Cameron, named Ottawa Senators head coach Monday after the firing of Paul MacLean, faces the challenging task of getting the struggling team back in playoff contention.

At 11-11-5 the Senators sit four points out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Prior to coaching, Cameron worked in Prince Edward Island with troubled youth and as a high school guidance councillor, but the draw to hockey was too much for the former player who logged 168 games in the NHL.

The Montreal Canadiens celebrated Jean Beliveau before their first home game since he passed away. [GlobeandMail.com]

As the ceremonies began prior to Tuesday night's game, Élise Couture-Béliveau and her family were at their familiar station three rows behind the Habs' bench. But one seat - the one to her right with Béliveau's familiar No. 4 affixed to the seatback - was conspicuously empty.

When an errant puck flew over the glass early in the first period of Tuesday's game, the first home date since Béliveau's passing, the memento was quickly passed along the rows until it found the white-haired lady in row EE of Section 102.

It wasn't the most poignant moment of the evening involving the Béliveau family.

Paul MacLean quotes Taylor Swift when he discussed his firing as Ottawa's head coach. [CBC.ca]

Former Ottawa Senators head coach Paul MacLean, fired on Monday, says he has no regrets about his three-plus years with the team in an entertaining post-firing news conference.

MacLean spoke to the media at the Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday afternoon. He said the team did not win enough games, but he also said he had an open-door policy - downplaying any communication issues.

The news conference was entertaining as MacLean quoted Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off," which his daughter had relayed to him after his firing.

Connor McDavid thinks he might be back for December 21st. [TorontoSun.com]

Circle Dec. 21 on your calendar, and if you're in Ottawa, buy a ticket for the hockey game at the Canadian Tire Centre that night.

The cast on Connor McDavid's right hand was removed on Tuesday, and Hockey Canada is looking at Canada's exhibition game against Sweden in the nation's capital as McDavid's debut.

"He is on track and he is probably a little bit ahead of where everyone thought he would be," Hockey Canada vice-president of hockey operations Scott Salmond said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Chris Stewart was benched. [TheFourthPeriod.com]

If it wasn't clear enough that Chris Stewart had been underperforming for the Buffalo Sabres, the message is now being made extra clear.

Sabres head coach Ted Nolan announced today that Stewart would be a healthy scratch against the Los Angeles kings on Tuesday night.

Right now, Stewart is being dangled as trade bait by the Sabres and reportedly interested teams include the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators. However, making him a healthy scratch cannot be good for his trade value.

Wild goalie Josh Harding was hospitalized for dehydration. [TwinCities.com]

Goalie Josh Harding was hospitalized Saturday night after playing two periods for the minor-league Iowa Wild. He exited the game with dehydration following his second start of the season for the Iowa Wild, a symptom likely stemming from his multiple sclerosis.

Harding has since been released and is doing better, team sources said.

But the incident was a clear setback for Harding, who is trying to return to the NHL, where he hasn't played in a game since Dec. 31, 2013.