Pierre McGuire's In the Crease

The NFL invited NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly to Dallas this week to brief team executives on how the NHL prepared for last year's lockout. (The NFL is currently in negotiations with its players on a new collective bargaining agreement.)... What a steal for the Flames: They got winger Kristian Huselius, 27, from the Panthers last week for hardworking defenseman Steve Montador. Huselius adds instant offense and also takes scoring pressure off star forward Jarome Iginla.... Thrashers center Marc Savard is quietly having a great year, ranking among the top 10 in scoring (37 points) through Sunday and making the players around him better. The Rangers and Flames, two of his former clubs, didn't think he would ever train hard enough to be an every-day point producer.... NHL player personnel directors are eyeing the U.S.-Canada matchup at the World Junior Championships on Dec. 31 in Vancouver. The game will feature a head-to-head battle between the top two players in NHL Central Scouting's ranking of collegians: Minnesota freshman Phil Kessel (above) of Madison, Wis., and North Dakota freshman Jonathan Toews of Winnipeg.

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TOM DAHLIN/WIREIMAGE.COM (KESSEL)