[Bits] NHL's cap ceiling teams claim they're just fine, thanks

"Steal a gem from a cap-stressed team!" goes the cry in various corners of the Islanders fan universe.

I've made the points that it's not quite necessary -- the defense could use a major added piece, but adding a middle pair piece would likely be lateral moves at best -- and in any case, it's easier said than done. These teams have a history of waiting until the last possible minute before maneuvering out of their cap issues. (So yes, "easier" implies not that "GM work is hard" but rather "wresting something you don't need from someone who doesn't want to part with it is pricey."

The cap-shattering GMs could be posturing, but for now at least we're hearing the same out of this year's cap overage teams:

• The Bruins are in "no hurry," could wait until camp before an injury or a desperate team takes someone off their hands. [Boston Globe]
• The Hawks too say it's cool, sometimes camp has a way of working things out. [NHL] (By the way, Johnny Oduya has a broken foot and a no-trade clause. So there's that, if you were fancying him as the answer to your ills.)
  
• Again, not to belabor the point, but history has shown the high-spending cap teams have been good at navigating their way out of cap messes without giving up key pieces. Chicago after their first Cup (and after Dale Tallon's paperwork snafu left them in trouble) might have been the best-case scenario, when they parted with Brian Campbell, Dustin Byfuglien and others in the same offseason.

Meanwhile...

• Around here over the weekend, Chris discussed Anders Lee's prospects for making the team, I riffed on why I don't riff much on Wang Must Go, and talked about Grabovski, Kulemin, and the balance between player-coddling "chemistry" and moving pieces around without regard to player feelings.
• Want another angle or entry to understanding some analytics and how it pertains to the Islanders? Garik16 will host you tonight. Check details in this FanPost.
  
• Casey Cizikas, newly inked to a two-year contract, was on Sirius radio the other day. [mp3 audio]
• Kevin Poulin's arbitration hearing (if it gets that far) is later this month, and it's always helpful to keep in mind what's actually involved there. It's a lot of CBA-ese. [The Score]
• Evgeni Nabokov was a Lumberjack, and that's okay... [3rd String Goalie]
  
• On The Forecheck is having a Playa Haterz Ball of sorts, so here's how they say to hate the Metro teams. [OTF]
• I was speaking of the nature of sports ownership the other day, and ... oh look, the Panthers' saga takes another turn. [The Score]
• Similarly but different, the Illitch arena and development saga in Detroit. [Malik Report]
  
• The Two Bobs (well, Illegal Curve and Puck Daddy) would like to ask Kevin Cheveldayoff "what would you say ... you do here?"
• Did you want another kind of Corsi, because we got a delta right here. [NHL Numbers]