Monday's musings

1. There is speculation that Marc Habscheid could be the next head coach of the Portland Winter Hawks. Sorry, Portland, but the chances of that happening are slim and none. Habscheid, after all, is under contract to the Boston Bruins, which means he still is being paid. Which means -- if he doesn’t end up coaching the AHL’s Providence Bruins -- he will wait until next season is rolling and then he may get to pick and choose once coaches start falling by the wayside. The last time Habscheid was unemployed was in 1999. His contract as head coach of the Kamloops Blazers wasn’t renewed (all he had done was take them to the WHL final) and he didn’t sign with the Kelowna Rockets until Nov. 29.

2. The price of gas in Hope, which is two hours west of Kamloops, was 99.9 cents a litre on Sunday. The price in Kamloops was $1.12.9, which means the gouging continues. And just wait until the Canadian oil companies start declaring their profits. . . . In the U.S., Chevron announced Friday that it earned US$5.38 billion during the three months ending June 30. That was the best quarter in company history and was a 24-per-cent increase over the same quarter last year. The five big oil companies in the U.S. -- Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Conoco-Phillips, BP and Royal Dutch Shell -- combined to earn $32 billion in the second quarter.

3. Nice photo at tmz.com of NHLer Mike Comrie and Hilary Duff strolling hand-in-hand in Santa Monica, Calif. Yes, they are an item and how sweet is that? While she has a hockey name, she isn’t related to Hall of Famer Dick Duff, nor is she related to longtime hockey writer Bob Duff of the Windsor Star. She presently is on tour and is to stop in Edmonton on Wednesday. The betting here is that there will be boos. On second thought, forget that -- because no one in the crowd is likely to be old enough to remember Comrie’s messy departure from his hometown.

4. There is nothing better in the U.S. than Sunday morning -- coffee, breakfast and a nice, juicy Sunday newspaper. I’m talking about a Sunday sports section that has some meat in it -- a columnist or two who are able to put together meaningful sentences and know something about grammar and have the ability to provide some food for thought; stories that provide something in the way of analysis; good notes packages; perhaps an editorial cartoon. And you have to love the mix of columnists throughout the rest of Sunday papers, too.

5. Found it interesting that Tony Bennett, the Washington State men’s basketball coach, signed a seven-year deal at a guaranteed $800,000 per. According to the Seattle Times, he made 350 grand as a rookie head coach last season. At the same time, WSU football head coach Bill Doba, in his fifth year, earns $440,000.

6. The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that the new arena in Kent, Wash., isn’t likely to be ready before January 2009, meaning the Seattle Thunderbirds will have to remain in the KeyArena a while longer than planned. The Thunderbirds, who have agreed to a 30-year lease in Kent, had hoped to open the 2008-09 season in the new facility. Construction was to begin today (July 30). A problem getting steel delivered to the site is being blamed for the delay. There also would appear to be a problem with naming rights as Amiga Inc., the software maker that is based in Kent and New York City, has yet to come across with some cash. Amiga was to cough up $2.5 million by today to keep its 20-year, $10-million deal for naming rights. But the city hasn’t yet seen any money.

7. Jeff Bromley of the Kootenay News Advertiser has confirmed that former Ice assistant coach Brad Lauer has joined the coaching staff of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. Lauer left the Ice to become GM/head coach of the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. “It’s been quite a summer,” Lauer told Bromley. “With all the interviews in the WHL and then the Port Alberni job being offered to me . . . which I accepted. The job offer was under new ownership which was accepted (by the BCHL’s board of governors) Friday. But under the (Alberni Valley) deal I was allowed to pursue other jobs if something came up and out of the blue I got a call from Nashville and was told I was on a short list of five or six candidates on (Lane Lambert’s) list of possible assistants.” The Admirals are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Nashville Predators. Lambert and Lauer, both of whom are from Melfort, Sask., have been friends since playing together with the Cleveland Lumberjacks in the defunct IHL. Lauer, who spent five seasons with the Ice, admitted he was disappointed at not being considered as the next head coach, a position that opened up when Cory Clouston left for the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. Lauer told Bromley that Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth “wants the next guy to have head-coaching experience and that’s the thing I don’t have. I’m not 100 per cent sold on that but that’s not my call. It’s his decision and I’m fine with that.” All of which means that ex-Portland head coach Mike Williamson has to be the leading candidate to replace Clouston.

8. The San Antonio Rampage’s website shows the positions of general manager, head coach and assistant coach as being vacant. The Rampage, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, were coached by Pat Conacher last season. It’s expected that Brad Treliving, the Coyotes’ newly signed assistant GM, will be the Rampage’s GM. The Coyotes are believed to have offered the head coaching job to Willie Desjardins, the head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who has yet to make a decision. I was told today that the Rampage has one year left on its affiliation agreement with the Coyotes, something that could be a problem in terms of Desjardins making a decision.

9. Chris Dilks at westerncollegehockey.blogspot.com reports that D Keith Seabrook is leaving the U of Denver and has signed with the Calgary Hitmen. The younger brother of Chicago Blackhawks D Brent Seabrook, Keith was a second-round selection by the Washington Capitals in the NHL's 2006 draft. Keith had 13 points in 37 games with Denver last season. He was the 109th pick in the 2003 WHL bantam draft.