This Week in the NHL

It's been a pretty busy week in the league. Here's some of the highlights:

• Jeremy Roenick scored his 500th goal. Boy was I wrong. Roenick managed to pot five without drawing any attention to himself. In fact he's on pace for 27 goals and 54 points. I'm not ready to give San Jose the Cup just yet, however.
  
• Eric Lindros announced his retirement. He's come along way since he joined the NHL. A series of concussions eventually prevented him from playing the power forward-style he defined. He also stepped out from under the shadow of his meddlesome agent/father, Carl Lindros. Ten years ago, who would have thought he would be involved as he has with the NHLPA? The question now is whether he deserves a place in the Hall of Fame. There's definitely precedent (think Cam Neely), but whether by injury or otherwise, Lindros ultimately never fulfilled his potential.
  
• Speak of the HHOF, Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Scott Stevens, and Al McInnis are the player class of 2007 to be inducted Monday. There is no cloud over any of these choices. Cream of the crop.
  
• South of the border, Brian Leetch, Cammi Granato and Stan Fischler are among the recipients of the Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to U.S. hockey. This group deserves a place in Toronto's shrine as well.
  
• Scott Niedermayer started skating again. He still hasn't decided if he'll return... Yeah, right. Please stop insulting the fans' intelligence and call it what it is: a deserved, GM-approved sabbatical. See ya in December, Scotty.
  
• Another week, another head shot. Montreal's Francis Bouillon caught Boston's Aaron Ward with a blindside elbow after leaving the penalty box. The video is fairly inconclusive as to intent but Ward is crying foul.
  
• Former NHLer Jere Karalahti was arrested in Finland for suspicion of drug trafficking. He had been playing for reigning Finnish league champ Karpat.
  
• The Sharks signed defenseman Sandish Ozolinsh. As I said before, I'm happy to see Ozo get a second chance.