Brian Burke, President and GM of the Maple Leafs, announced Monday that forward Luca Caputi has been assigned to the Marlies of the AHL. Caputi has appeared in seven games with the Maple Leafs this season, collecting four penalty minutes and eight shots on goal. He has also registered a goal and two assists with nine penalty minutes in seven games with the Marlies.

Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is backing general manager Bryan Murray and coach Cory Clouston. Melnyk dismissed questions about the future of Murray and Clouston. Both are in the final year of their contracts, but Melnyk is "very, very optimistic" the Senators will be fine. "Everybody says, 'How safe? Depending on what record?' " said Melnyk. "If we win the next three you're all not going to talk about that. The bottom line is: Cory is a hard-working guy. He's extremely focused and he knows what he needs to do. The same with Bryan. (He's) a very focused guy. I've never met somebody that is so intense when it comes to watching every single play." Ottawa is 11-12-1, having lost six of their last ten, and trails Montreal by eight points in the Northeast Division.

Phoenix's Petr Prucha has cleared waivers and been reassigned to San Antonio of the American Hockey League. Prucha will get more playing time with the Rampage, which was the reason for the move. "The way we're set up, structured, he's probably not going to play for a while," Coyotes general Manager Don Maloney said. "We don't like players sitting out not playing. We think Petr, to go down to San Antonio and play, we're gaining a little of his offensive touch. "There's no question of his drive, work ethic - it's the same every practice - and every game and . . . we have some players in San Antonio that are playing very well."

The Blackhawks don't have a goalie controversy on their hands yet, but if Corey Crawford keeps playing and winning, they might soon. Crawford will start in goal against the Kings on Saturday night after beating the Ducks. "I'll take as many starts as I can get," Crawford said. "I felt pretty good last game and I was lucky enough to get another start so I'll take it as a positive and get ready."

The Canucks have granted forward Rick Rypien an indefinite leave of absence, according to an ESPN.com report. It's the second time in three years the 26-year-old has left the team to deal with undisclosed personal matters.

Rangers coach John Tortorella attacked his own players late Wednesday night with much more force than they showed in their lackluster loss on the road to the Lightning. "We couldn't even make a pass," Tortorella said, according to the New York Post. "We couldn't even chip a puck in. We just looked brain-dead through the first part of that game. Why? I don't know ... I wish I had the answer.

Brian Burke, President and GM of the Maple Leafs, announced Wednesday that forward Luca Caputi has been assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Caputi was recalled by the Maple Leafs on October 27 and appeared in six games collecting four penalty minutes and eight shots on goal. He started the season with the Marlies and registered a goal and an assist with two penalty minutes in six games.

Antti Niemi, who was the Stanley Cup-winning goaltender with the Blackhawks last season, will face his former team Wednesday night as Niemi will start for the Sharks, according to an ESPN.com report.

Bruins forward Marc Savard is doing his best to defuse a recent situation with NHL vice president Colin Campbell. Campbell, the vice president of hockey operations and father of current Bruins forward Gregory Campbell, was recently criticized over e-mails he sent to other NHL officials three years ago, calling Savard "a little fake artist." Savard said Saturday that the incident didn't bother him, especially because the e-mails were written well before Campbell ruled last season on Matt Cooke's hit that left Savard with a Grade 2 concussion. "I have nothing against Colie," Savard said. "I think that stuff was private stuff, and I think that stuff that he was saying got interpreted in a bad way. It had nothing to do with the Cooke incident."

Gaye Stewart, a member of the Maple Leafs? 1942 and 1947 Stanley Cup winning teams, has passed away at the age of 87. ?Our organization is saddened by the passing of Gaye Stewart. On behalf of everyone with the Maple Leafs, I extend our condolences and prayers to Gaye?s family and friends,? said Toronto Maple Leafs President and GM Brian Burke.