"The NHL pre-season begins Tuesday on two fronts for the Vancouver Canucks — at Rogers Arena (7 p.m., Sportsnet, Team 1040) and in Calgary — and that means some creative accounting when selecting the split-squad lineups.

According to NHL rules, teams must dress at least eight players who meet the following criteria: (a.) appeared in 30 games during the 2010-11 campaign, including playoffs; (b.) appeared in 100 or more career games; (c.) drafted in the first round in 2011; and (d.) a goalie who dressed for 50 games, or played in 30, in 2010-11.

So that's why 32-year-old hockey vagabond Niko Dimitrakos, who last appeared in the NHL in 2006-07, qualifies to be among the eight "vets" playing Tuesday in Calgary. He has 158 NHL games on his resume."