Teppo Numminen

Have the salt shaker ready while reading this from Eklund, the anonymous (that pic is the only known photo of him) blogger at HockeyBuzz.com:

Some quotes from various sources who have emailed me this evening.
An Assistant GM:
"They (the Canadiens) finally feel they are going to get him (Mats). They are dying to make an announcement soon."
A Scout:
"People have stopped buying that the Leafs are going hard after Mats. Everyone is startin gto assume it will be the Habs."
A Swedish Player:
"Mats is preparing tonight for something that is coming soon. Many of us wold be shocked if it made it past Monday....and even more shocked if it wasn't Montreal."
A senior NHL person:
"It is all falling into the Habs lap. The Rangers are out of it and Mats does owe it to himself to play another season. To try and bring Stanley back to Montreal for the Centennial."

So is it in the bag? Do we have to wait till Aug. 1? Should a (mostly) respectable, (frequently) intelligent, (occasionally) authoritative Canadiens web site be propagating rumours?

Don't touch that dial.

• Boone weighs in.