The 37-year-old netminder with the oft-repaired knee may be headed back to the Calgary Flames' crease, according to Monday's Calgary Herald.

After a disappointing and injury-plagued season last year — Fuhr posted a 5-13-2 record and 3.83 GAA — Fuhr decided to give his aching body a long-awaited break. However, he signed a $200,000 deal with the Flames, reportedly just to give Calgary a goalie to expose in the expansion draft, reported the Herald.

With his age and medical history — not to mention his saying that a return to the NHL would be a "minor medical miracle" — the Wild and Blue Jackets, as expected, passed.

Case closed — or so it seemed.

Fuhr told the Herald Sunday that he's going to the Flames training camp.

"I have a contract, so right now I plan on being at camp," Fuhr, who's cruising in the Caribbean, told the Flames. ""I guess we'll see how it goes, and I'll know more when I get back from this vacation after I talk to the Flames, but right now that's the plan."

FACE VALUE: While Brad Richards may be a fresh face in the Tampa Bay franchise, he's not an entirely unfamiliar face. In his first appearance for the Lightning since signing a three-year deal in May, Richards signed autographs for a steady stream of fans Saturday.

"It's really neat they knew who I was," Richards told the St. Petersburg Times.

The Memorial Cup MVP has generated a lot of hype as of late. After a disappointing training camp with the Lightning last season, Richards enters this year's camp as a QMJHL standout with Rimouski. Richards tallied 71 goals and 115 assists in 63 regular-season games before earning his MVP in the postseason tournament.

Richards told the Times that knowing that size of his contract with Tampa Bay would rely greatly on his play this past season helped him step up his game.

"In the long run, that probably helped me," Richards said. "I could have floated through the year. It made me think how important it was to get an NHL contract and that I really wanted it."

The strength of Richards' efforts was apparent in his contract, worth $2.925 million over three years.

While Tampa Bay would like to see Richards continue to work at that level, Lightning center Stan Drulia stressed the importance of not trying too hard.

"You hope to see hard work in a player that is so young and is paid so much. But you can work too hard," Drulia told the Times. "When you try to impress, that's when things don't go as well as you'd like."

However, even if he struggles again at camp, Richards said he's prepared to continue to prove his capabilities to the club.

"Everything in my mind is to try and make this team," Richards told the Times. "If I don't start, that's my fault or I'm not ready. If I have to accept that, I can't be too devastated. It has to be like last year. Go back and play mad again and try to prove myself."

FISH IN NEW WATERS: Defenseman Greg Andrusak will be swimming with the big fish this season. The Sharks announced Monday that they signed the free-agent; terms were not disclosed.

Andrusak spent the majority of last season with the Chicago Wolves of the IHL, scoring two goals and dishing out 23 assists while logging 50 penalty minutes.

He also played nine regular season and three post season games with the parent club, the Toronto Maple Leafs, notching one assist.

Andrusak was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fifth round of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft.

BABY ON BOARD: San Jose Sharks center Mike Ricci is a father for the first time, as wife Beth gave birth to daughter Jade Lily on Saturday. Jade weighed in at seven pounds and six ounces.