Locker Room Chatter, November 26th

There hasn't been one of these for a week or so, but rumours continue to fly around the EIHL, especially in the vicinity of Nottingham...

Askey, and ye shall receive: You'd think, having cut a high-scoring forward, that a team's priority would be to replace them. But not if you're Mike Ellis. Huge rumours coming out of the East Midlands name Tom Askey as the incoming replacement for...Rastislav Rovnianek. Yes, that's the goalie Rastislav Rovnianek. Fuelling this rumour is the fact that "Rasto" didn't play last night against Edinburgh (back-up Geoff Woolhouse played instead in the Panthers' six-four win). It's a bit left-field but maybe Ellis has realised that Panthers aren't losing all those games just because they can't score goals...

Stancok delivered: And it doesn't stop there for the Panthers-Robert Stancok is rumoured to be on his way out with his countryman in order to bring another d-man in as Ellis realises that signing a slow, knackered-kneed Slovak who wields his stick like a lumberjack's axe and has the turning circle of the Jahre Viking to anchor his defence may not have been the best idea...

Van der Gulik unlikely: Finally in this Panthers fest, Matt informs me that Dave van der Gulik, who was mentioned last week as a possible forward signing to replace Dwayne Hay, still has an NHL contract with the Calgary Flames. Sorry, Nottingham, but I somehow think that'll take precedence over the delights of Sherwood Forest in winter...

That's your lot...keep keeping your eye on the puck...