Morning Hits: Carcillo, Weise, Alberts, Gallant and Panthers
  • John Shannon: NHL source said a Daniel Carcillo decision will be made today. Pat Leonard: Carillo has only missed three games, so he could miss the entire final if suspension is not reduced.
  • Arpon Basu: Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin confirmed that Dale Weise had a concussion. Jimmy Murphy: There is nothing wrong with teams saying it’s an “upper”, “lower” and even “body” injury, but Michel Therrien said he had no concussion.
  • Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun: Five months after his latest concussion, Canucks Andrew Alberts is still suffering headaches and the pending UFA knows his career could be over.

    “It hasn’t been easy on family life because you can’t really be yourself,” Alberts says. “It’s almost like there’s a cloud over your head. You want to be happy and just want to have a normal day. (But) in the back of your mind, you wonder: Am I ever going to have a day when I don’t have to worry about headaches?

    “If I can’t play hockey again, I can’t play hockey again. But I’d rather have my health and be able to be with my family and feel like myself. I tend to think about hockey quite a bit because you worry about what you’ll do afterwards. But getting healthy is the No. 1 thing for me. Hockey is just one chapter in your life. It has given me a lot of things, but it’s not the be-all, end-all for me.”

  • Renaud Lavoie: The Canadiens have given the Panthers permission to speak with Gerard Gallant about their heading coaching vacancy. Jimmy Murphy: A team source and a NHL source said that Gallant could be the Panthers top candidate.
  • George Richards: Was told the Panthers laid off a bunch of people yesterday to save money.