Despite the normal negative opinions of the NHL that seem to permeate throughout the press and population of the United States, the NHL is on pace to have a season that I believe will go down as the true turning-point for the league's future.

Scott Hamilton and friends show us why figure skating and hockey should remain mutually exclusive.

Why did the Canadiens trade Cristobal Huet?

In the end, I suppose it comes down to money and the fact that he is a pending free agent. While trading a great goaltender on the verge of free agency happens every year, it doesn't tend to be a daily form of business for teams currently contending for first overall in the Eastern Conference.

The Lightning and Flyers kicked off the trade frenzy tonight with the bolts sending Vaclav Prospal to Philadelphia in exchange for Alexandre Picard and a conditional pick in the 2009 draft.

The Brad Richards saga is one that Lightning fans (yes, we have fans here) have been dealing with since Fredrik Modin was shipped off to Columbus for a $3M minor league goaltender in Marc Denis.

I'm not too sure whether or not Alex Tanguay would like to be tradedfrom the Flames, but his performance on Wednesday night certainly made his suitors more certain of their hopes.

I'll be the first one to admit that many of the NHL's rule changes have been for the better. The shootout has been one of the only great success stories for the NHL in the past twenty years. The delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass increases 5-on-4 opportunities throughout the league. The list goes on of rule changes that have helped the game. However, the list also goes on for those which have hindered its growth and/or entertainment value.

The Peter Forsberg sweepstakes appears to finally be over. Who won? Those of us that are tired of watching elite hockey players willing to sit out an entire season, only to return in hopes of guiding their suitor to a less than respected Stanley Cup crown.

The time has come for the NHL to pull the plug on shootouts. Taking a page from the international game, shootouts were one of the post-lockout ideas for bringing in new fans and increasing viewership by trying to add excitement to the end of regular season games.

I just caught this article from Wednesday's Chicago Sun-Times and thought I'd share it with you all. It appears that Chicago is inching closer to a week-long celebration of hockey, culminating with an outdoor game featuring the high flying Blackhawks at Soldier Field.

The Wicked Wrister has never claimed hockey to be a gentleman's club. We like to give equal playing time to the ladies, and no group of women does that apply to more than the women of NCAA Division I College Hockey. Tougher and far more beautiful than their basketball counterparts, I'd go take it to the net and go five-hole on any of these hotties.

Here is Part 2 of the analysis of current second-year players; this time addressing the sophomore defensemen.

TSN.ca held an informal poll of over 15,000 Canadians, asking for their choice to light the Olympic flame in the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. Among those voters, Wayne Gretzky won with 24% of the votes.

Upon reaching the locker room, doctors attempted to stop the bleeding by applying pressure to Zednik's neck. So much pressure that Zednik complained they were hurting his neck. Dr. Leslie Bisson, team doctor of the Buffalo Sabres was seated in the fifth row and quickly left his seat to help after realizing what had occurred.

For the first time since 2004, the Boston College Eagles have won the Beanpot! The Eagles beat Harvard in the championship game 6-5, on a goal by defenseman Nick Petrecki (Only his second in his college career, the first came earlier in the game!) 7:07 into OT, which sent him into one of the coolest hockey celebrations you could ever see before being mobbed by his teammates.