NHL free agency started on July 1st and it was much more active than I first thought. With the initial rush mostly over and most teams looking forward to training camp, I figured now would be a good time to review some of the moves that were made.

I’ll refrain from using the terms “winners” or “losers” right now because nobody will really know that until the season is played out. If someone were to write a winners and losers column a year ago, I’m sure the Red Wings would’ve been the winners for signing Marian Hossa and Pittsburgh the losers for letting him go…how did that work out again? So with that thinking in mind, I’m just going to give my two cents on some of the deals (and only some of the teams) that took place during draft day and during the signing period. We’ll just have to revisit this column after next season to see how accurate I was (or wasn’t).

Anaheim

- I like what Anaheim has done so far. Signing Saku Koivu to a modest one year deal to play with friend Teemu Selanne should work out well. Trading Chris Pronger away as he headed into the last year of his deal was a good move. They got a very good return from Philadelphia out of an expiring contract so instead of losing him for nothing or getting next to nothing for him at the trade deadline, they maximized their return during the off-season. Very nice. If I were the GM, my next move would be trying to move J.S. Giguere and his $6 million dollar cap hit, then sign Jonas Hiller to a long term extension.

Atlanta

- Unless the words “contraction” or “relocation” are involved, I highly doubt I’ll be excited about Atlanta hockey. They have a chance to lock up Ilya Kovalchuk as he heads into the final year of his deal, but realistically they should be looking at trading him and getting something for nothing. I’d be very surprised if he re-signs with the Thrashers. Granted he would be getting a big pay day, but one would think he would actually like to win at some point in his career (and play in front of more than 128 fans per night).

Buffalo

- I would’ve liked the Sabres to have been slightly more active, but I didn’t expect it. I hear a ton of bashing by hockey fans about how the Sabres are so cheap and they just let everyone go. I’d like to mention that the players they have let go (Briere, Drury, Campbell, McKee) all have busted with their new team, or they are very close to busting in Campbell’s case. It’s almost as if the Sabres knew these guys weren’t worth that much money and decided to bite the bullet. Sure they took their hits at the time, but they are looking pretty smart right now. I could sit here all afternoon and rattle off some of the dumb contracts that were handed out this summer. I’ll take a cheap team any day to a team throwing $4 million dollars down the drain per season to drag Nik Antropov on the ice and have him act like he gives a damn.

Now that I’m done ranting, I can talk about what the Sabres actually did do so far. One area they had to address was blue line toughness and they did just that by signing Steve Montador. I was highly in favor of this move before free agency started so I was quite pleased when they announced the deal. If they were to acquire another defenseman and move Henrik Tallinder and/or Toni Lydman I’d chalk this up as a successful off-season. That will be a tough sell though and I don’t see it happening. Re-signing Matt Ellis doesn’t exactly excite me either. There has to be another move made before the season starts.

Losing Jaroslav Spacek hurts on the offensive side, but I really could care less. I said prior to free agency that I would only want him staying in Buffalo if he took a pay cut and it was evident from the start he wouldn’t do that. After seeing what Montreal paid for him, I’m very happy the Sabres didn’t offer a similar deal. Sure they will have to replace his 45 points, but that is where players like Chris Butler and Andrej Sekera will come into play.

Regardless, they were only two points out of the playoffs and most likely missed out on those points when Ryan Miller was out. Miller will be back and he’ll have some more attitude protecting him this time around (or so I hope). If he stays healthy next season, I see post-season hockey in Buffalo’s future. Then again, Scott Gomez is now in their division so all bets are off.

Calgary

With NHL free agency getting started on July 1^st, we’re going to take a quick look around the league to see who is available and who the best option is.

In my final installment of free agent rankings, today we’re looking at the forwards that will be available on July 1^st. When I first glanced at the list I was somewhat surprised at the amount of talent that will be available, but of course, the salary cap will be a huge factor in signing these players.

You may notice after reading this that I didn’t include players like Joe Sakic and Mats Sundin. I’m guessing that if Sakic even plays, it will definitely be in Colorado, so why bother ranking him in the top tier. I didn’t even want to rank Sundin because of the mess he caused last season by waiting and waiting and waiting, so I just left him off completely. He isn’t a big deal anyways.

Please note: by the time this is posted some of these players may have their rights traded to their future new teams. This was written with the most current information that was available at the time so I apologize if some of these players won’t actually be available on July 1^st.

1. Marian Hossa (Detroit) – I was pretty hesitant to put Hossa at number one for a few reasons but decided to do it anyways. For one, his disappearing act in the Finals would concern me greatly if I were a GM. Two, there was a rumored deal during the playoffs that he was already going to sign a long term extension with Detroit before he even hits the market, so writing all this and putting him at number one could be a complete waste of time. However, the deal hasn’t been announced yet (officially) so I decided to write about him anyways.

Since coming into the league, Hossa has been a dynamic player. Since the 2002-03 season in Ottawa, Hossa has tallied regular season point totals of 80, 82, 92, 100, 66 and 71. The fact that his two highest point totals were with Atlanta astounds me even more.

For the most part I don’t think Detroit regrets signing him. He scored an even 40 goals and added 31 assists during the regular season and despite the above mentioned disappearing act in the Finals, he still tallied 15 points in 23 playoff games. Honestly, if my team signed him I would be dancing in the streets, so with that in mind I had to rank him number one.

I’ll be interested to see what he does if Detroit doesn’t come through with the extension though. If he takes the big money from Edmonton it would be a complete flip flop from last off-season where he took the shorter deal to win a Cup and he would resign himself to a career of 8^th place finishes in the Western Conference. Chances are his rights will be traded if he doesn’t sign with Detroit.

2. Martin Havlat (Chicago) - Since the 2002-03 season with Ottawa, Havlat has been nearly a point a game player. In that particular season he had 59 points in 67 games. In 2003-04 he had exactly 68 points in 68 games. In 2005-06 he only played in 18 games for Ottawa but still managed 16 points.

He was then dealt to Chicago where he tallied 57 points in 56 games, 27 points in 35 games and 77 points in 81 games this past season. He also racked up 15 points in 16 playoff games this past season for the Hawks.

If I were a GM, the number of games played would be a glaring concern for me. However, you have to take risks as a GM and I think the 28 year old Havlat would be worth the risk. I’m not an expert on hockey in Chicago but I would be surprised if they let Havlat go. Just taking in the fact that they have Nikolai Khabibulin’s monster deal coming off the books would indicate to me that they would have enough to re-sign Havlat.

3. Henrik/Daniel Sedin (Vancouver) – Since both of these guys want matching contracts and won’t split up, I don’t see any use in using up two spots in the rankings for them. Since the lockout Daniel Sedin has put up regular season point totals of 71, 84, 74 and 82. In the same time span, Henrik has scored an impressive 75, 81, 76 and 82 points. As you can see, whichever team decides to sign these guys are getting proven scorers and a deadly scoring line.

But here is the problem. Quite a few teams don’t have an ample amount of money to spend on July 1^st, let alone throwing down the money for two of the top scorers at one time (which will be necessary to sign these guys). The Sedin twins have gone on record stating that whoever signs them will have to fork over matching 12 year/63 million dollar contracts. Granted that is a modest 5.25 million per season per player, but it might be hard to find a team with 10.5 million available to invest in two players that will play on the same line. Throw in the fact that they are both 28 and the contracts will last until they are 40, and things get a little bit shakier.

Regardless, whoever gets these guys will be improving their offense a great deal. If Vancouver lets them walk, they will surely notice the drop-off in offense next season. Like Hossa, if they don’t return to Vancouver I am looking for their rights to be traded. I would also like to thank an extremely unreliable hockey site for mentioning the Sabres with the Sedins and now getting my hopes up. Does anybody actually think that would happen? I don’t. I’d love it though.

4. Mike Cammalleri (Calgary) – Cammalleri racked up an impressive 82 points in 81 games last season for the Flames. It was his best season since the 2006-07 campaign with Los Angeles where he had 80 points in 81 games. With a salary of $3.6 million per season, Cammalleri will most likely be looking for a nice little pay raise once he officially hits the market.

I’d be careful in giving him a huge contract though. He only has four full seasons of NHL experience (the others were split between the NHL and AHL). In those four seasons, only the two I mentioned above were worthy of a big fat contract. Nevertheless, he will be worth the risk for some GM and will definitely get a nice new deal out of it.

5. Alexei Kovalev (Montreal) – When Kovalev seemed to give a crap last season; he was premier player and someone I worried about when he had the puck. He had a few issues which resulted in him being left at home during a brief road trip mid-way during the season. I’m not sure I can fully blame Kovalev for that though, since it seems like playing in Montreal isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do.

In the past two seasons for the Habs, Kovalev finished with 84 and 65 points. The 84 point season also helped Montreal lock up the top spot in the Eastern Conference (before falling in the second round). Kovalev is 36 years old and with the potentially shaky play last season, I’d be worried about throwing huge bucks at him. Of course, if my team did sign him I’d be able to talk myself into the deal in about .000034 seconds.

6. Marian Gaborik (Minnesota) – Since the lockout, Gaborik has been better than a point per game player. (66 in 65, 57 in 48, 83 in 77 and 23 in 17). In looking at those numbers however, one might notice that he hasn’t played a full NHL season since…well…ever. To his credit, he did play in 81 games in 2002-03, but I would still be worried about his durability.

This is one player I would be worried about if my team signed him. I would immediately be happy and think about all the goals that would be scored, but then I’d have to think about how risky the signing would be. Trust me; I root for the team that recently signed Tim Connolly to a 2 year / 9 million dollar deal. I talked myself into that deal by saying “if he can stay healthy, it will be a bargain.” Gaborik falls into the same category. Although he is more dynamic, he runs the same risk for whatever team signs him this summer. In my opinion, having one of those players on my team already is more than enough. I’ll pass.

7. Saku Koivu (Montreal) – Koivu is an interesting player hitting the market. He can definitely score, but he has battled quite a few health problems over the years that may drive his price down. This past season he scored 50 points in 65 games, which is a good number, but not worthy of $4.75 million per season (in my opinion). With him being such a mainstay in Montreal, it would be hard for me to picture him elsewhere. Then again, Montreal really has their hands full this summer. Speaking of that…

8. Alex Tanguay (Montreal) – Tanguay has bounced around a bit during his career, but has proven he can score wherever he goes. Before this past season, Tanguay hadn’t played in less than 69 games in his entire career. His last contract was slightly over $5 million per season, which in my mind is still too much for him. One would think Montreal is going to have to keep at least one of these three guys listed in the top 10, so it will be interesting to see who they choose. For the record, Tanguay is the youngest at 29 years of age.

9. Bill Guerin (Pittsburgh) – I hate putting Guerin this high on the list, but I feel like I have to. First, he is 38 years old and second, before being traded to Pittsburgh he was just collecting a paycheck from the Islanders. If he took a pay cut from his monster $4.5 million per season deal, he would be a decent signing. It would make the most sense for Pittsburgh to hang on to him since he seemed to mesh well with the Crosby gang, but I’ve already read rumors that he might head back to New York. I know…it makes no sense to me either.

(Ed note: Shortly after writing this the news broke that Bill Guerin did in fact take a pay cut to stay with Pittsburgh, a good deal for both sides. Score one for common sense!)

10. Nik Antropov (NY Rangers) – Antropov’s short stint in New York was partially successful, minus the fact that the Rangers went out in the first round. Before his trade to New York, Antropov was busy disappointing the Leafs organization and pissing off their fans. He has never played in a full 82 games and never finished with more than 56 points. One might wonder what exactly he is doing on the list. Well, for only making $2.15 million per season, most teams could get over his inconsistent play if he could still manage at least 50 points per season. Now whether he can actually do that or not, that’s another story.

11. Brian Gionta (New Jersey) – Gionta has been a fairly average player with the Devils but has been consistent during his time as well. Since the lockout he has finished the regular season with 89, 45, 53 and 60 points. There are always rumors of him coming to Buffalo but I suspect that’s mainly because he is from Rochester, NY. Maybe this is the year the Sabres go out and get him, but I’m not holding my breath. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind having him, but it would definitely have to be at the right price. Just because he calls his home very close to Buffalo doesn’t mean he should be the highest priority.

12. Keith Tkachuk (St Louis) – Tkachuk has been a very consistent and productive player during his long NHL career. At the age of 37, I’m not sure how many years he has left in the tank. Minus the year he was rented to Atlanta (that worked out well), he has spent the better part of this decade with St. Louis. Unless I’m missing something, I don’t see him signing anywhere else this summer.

13. Erik Cole (Carolina) – Cole had a homecoming this season as he was shipped back to Carolina at the trade deadline. He wasn’t a huge factor during their miracle playoff run finishing with only five assists and zero goals in 18 playoff games. He did have 15 points in the last 17 games for Carolina so he can still be a productive scorer. He only had 27 points in 63 games for Edmonton so I would think that he plays best in Carolina’s system and would end up staying there again for another run at the Cup.

14. Mike Comrie (Ottawa) – Mike Comrie is an interesting player as he hits the market. I was doing a little research on his stats and they don’t look like anything Earth shattering, but I still wouldn’t mind seeing my team sign him on July 1^st. Maybe it’s the fact that he seems to burn Buffalo every time they face him. Yeah, that must be it. At the age of 28 he is still fairly young and should be a productive player for whoever signs him.

15. Mike Knuble (Philadelphia) – Knuble has been a consistent threat during the last four seasons in Philadelphia. He has finished with 65, 54, 55 and 47 points in the last four regular season campaigns. At the age of 36, he may only get a short term deal, but I wouldn’t be opposed to having him on my team. In four of the last five seasons he has played in all 82 regular season games. That kind of durability can be hard to come by these days. I foresee him moving on only because Philly’s cap situation is pretty muddled already and that was before they acquired Chris Pronger from Anaheim.

957. Maxim Afinogenov (Buffalo) – When Buffalo lets Afinogenov walk this summer, it will be the definition of “addition by subtraction”. This guy can’t leave Buffalo fast enough as far as I’m concerned. I just have to wonder what part of his game the Sabres will miss the most. The blazing speed? The turnovers? The spin-o-rama into a subsequent turnover? The missing of the net? The non-scoring? It’s so hard to decide.

1047. Miroslav Satan (Pittsburgh) – One of the most frustrating factors in watching the Pens hoist the Stanley Cup was knowing that Miroslav Satan is going to have his name forever etched into the Cup. Seriously, has there ever been a more non-deserving player win a championship? Well, Rob Johnson does own his very own Super Bowl ring so I guess Satan has that going for him.

--Written By: Devin Dombrowski--

With the news yesterday that Manny Ramirez is the latest star to get suspended for a banned substance; I finally realized that I just don’t care about baseball anymore. I was nearing a sports crossroads and this latest news just shoved me over the line.

To get the full picture, I feel the need to explain a little about myself in terms of the teams I root for. The most obvious is my Buffalo connection. I love the Bills and Sabres more than any other team and I follow those respected sports more than all the others. If Buffalo had a MLB or NBA team, I’d be fully into them as well. Explaining my history with the Buffalo teams would basically just waste everyone’s time, so I’ll skip right past them.

When it comes to NCAA football, I follow the Miami Hurricanes, which is actually an easier explanation than one might think. I’m only 24 years old so in my youth Jim Kelly was huge in Buffalo and was easily my favorite player. One of the first real books I read was his biography “Armed & Dangerous”. So being young and impressionable, I chose to follow Miami because that is where Kelly attended college. This was without knowledge of their past championships and I’ve followed them since then, witnessing the Ken Dorsey led Hurricanes win another Championship. I’ve also been privy to their epic downfall under Larry Coker and their subsequent revival with Randy Shannon. Can someone say ACC Champs for this season? Yes, I’m pumped.

In MLB baseball, I’ve always followed the Atlanta Braves. It was during their second consecutive World Series loss that I was watching Toronto celebrate and distinctly heard the announcer say “The Braves are the Buffalo Bills of baseball”. I was in either first or second grade at the time so I had no idea that it was most likely meant as an insult rather than a compliment, but it didn’t matter to me. Since that day I decided the Braves were my team. One could argue that I hopped on their wagon because they had just won the NL twice, but I swear on my future child’s grave that this isn’t the case. It was really as simple as that. They are the Buffalo Bills of baseball? Cool, I think I’m going to root for them.

Baseball was never that big for me in comparison to the other sports. I could always watch the games on TBS and often did, but I was never fully invested in them. When they were in the playoffs I always watched all the games and usually shut the television off in disgust as they choked away yet another division title. Even through the steroids scandal, I didn’t let it really bother me. I read Jose Canseco’s book “Juiced” and none of it shocked me. Then the news broke about Ramirez yesterday and I took some time to really think about it (along with deciding what to do on my fantasy team). I have finally had enough.

I finally realized I just don’t care that much about baseball. I love the statistical portion of it and I’m currently running four different fantasy teams, including two keeper leagues. I did quite a bit of research on it and for the most part I know what I’m talking about. That isn’t going to change anytime soon. I caught the two Braves games that ESPN has shown, but other than that I just get the scores text messaged to me and that is that. It’s nothing like the other sports. Not only do I watch every single Bills and Sabres game, I go absolutely crazy if I don’t know what is going on with them at all times. The comparison between those teams and the Braves is night and day.

I thought about the Braves winning the World Series this season… I’d watch, I’d root and I’d be happy if then won. But it wouldn’t alter my life. Then I thought about either Buffalo team finally capturing a championship. I literally got goosebumps on top of goosebumps at the mere thought of them winning. Like I said, the difference is night and day.

(Quick Rant: Hey, I like the Braves, but could the fans in Atlanta be more annoying? Nobody shows up to games anymore and when they do they just sit around lifeless until the scoreboard tells them to do that horribly annoying tomahawk chop. Good lord, knock it off people. One reason I rooted against the Rays last year was the annoying bandwagon fans and you guys aren’t doing much better. Ok, I’m done ranting for now.)

When listing my teams/sports I follow in order it always went like this:

1(a). Bills

1(b). Sabres

2. Miami Hurricanes

3. Atlanta Braves

4. --Insert NBA Team--

What, no NBA team? Let me explain. When I was much younger I wanted to get into the NBA. I refused to root for the Bulls because I was literally surrounded by kids wearing Michael Jordan jerseys and I wasn’t about to hop on that wagon. I decided to root for the expansion Charlotte Hornets because I took an interest in Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson, Dell Curry and Mugsey Bouges. Plus they were an expansion team so nobody could really accuse me of just picking a winning franchise (Like LA, Chicago or Boston).

Then the Hornets took off for New Orleans and I was left without a favorite team. I refused to root for New Orleans and was left without a team. I decided at that time I would just follow the sport half heartedly for a little while. Then the Bobcats came to Charlotte as an expansion franchise. Perfect. I was a fan of Charlotte basketball and they now have another team. I tried my hardest to get into them but I just couldn’t do it for the long haul. It was at this point that I read this little passage from Bill Simmons:

19. Once you choose a team, you're stuck with that team for the rest of your life ... unless one of the following conditions applies:

The owner of your favorite team treated his fans so egregiously over the years that you couldn't take it anymore -- you would rather not follow them at all then support a franchise with this owner in charge. Just for the record, I reached this point with the Boston Bruins about six years ago. When it happens, you have two options: You can either renounce that team and pick someone else, or you can pretend they're dead, like you're a grieving widow. That's what I do. I'm an NHL widow. I don't even want to date another team.

(Link: Rules For Being A True Fan)

So this is what I did. I divorced from the Charlotte Bobcats before this season and I’ve been an NBA widow since. Not only do I think the ownership in Charlotte is doing NOTHING to build a winning franchise, I fully expect that team to be gone in the next 3-5 years. The only way I’d root for them now is if they moved to Buffalo (not in a million years will this happen).

But lately I’ve been watching quite a bit of NBA. It somewhat stemmed from me capturing the championship in my fantasy NBA league and partly because of the Celtics/Bulls first round series. It was in that series that I watched more basketball than I have all season. I started getting that itch like I enjoy watching basketball and could keep doing this. It continued into the second round as I’ve caught several different games so far. I started getting that itch that I should have a team to root for. Am I allowed to pick another team? How do I pick that particular team without hopping on the wagon?

I will in no way root for Lebron and the Cavs. In fact, I hope they lose the Finals to Kobe and the Lakers. For one, I like Kobe better, and two, I don’t want Cleveland winning a championship because that will leave Buffalo as probably the most depressing sports city in America.

I then stumbled upon the fact that Bill Simmons is petitioning to become the GM of the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the most irrelevant franchises in the NBA right now. I think this is a great idea. Consider the following:

- What better way to put yourself back on the map then make a splash in the hiring of a GM. That would no doubt be the leading story on Around the Horn, PTI and Sportscenter. From obscurity to national spotlight in seconds.

- Simmons has said he will work the first year for free as long as he can write a book about his experience. So Minnesota is hurting in this economy and now they can save themselves anywhere from 5-10 million next season just by doing this.

- Simmons just got finished writing a 600+ book about basketball so simply put, the guy knows what the hell he is talking about.

- This would finally make writers responsible for what they write. How many times has someone within a front office said that the media really doesn’t know what is going on and the media has acted like they know it all? Well, this is putting their money where their mouth is. Hire a sportswriter and see how much he really knows.

I sent the Sports Guy this e-mail but in case it never sees the light of day, I want to put this in writing on a more open forum.

I have no NBA team right now. I want an NBA team. I want to become more involved in the sport. If the Minnesota Timberwolves hire Bill Simmons for the GM, I will fully throw myself into Minnesota Basketball. I’m talking about buying merchandise, attending games when they are in the area and possibly even purchasing the NBA package to watch their games.

I’m sure I’m not the only person with these thoughts. This could quite possibly be the smartest thing Minnesota could do as an NBA franchise to salvage what is left of a dying product.

If this happens, my sports list will now look like this:

1(a). Sabres

1(b). Bills

2. Miami Hurricanes

3. Minnesota Timberwolves

4. Atlanta Braves

I think this would finalize my list for a good portion in my life. The only way it would possibly change is if Buffalo either gained another professional franchise (not likely) or they lost one (very likely). If that happens, a definite re-order will be needed.

What was the point of the article? Well quite simply I wanted to vent a little bit about how MLB baseball has been sucking my will to live lately and I don’t see it improving anytime soon. I also wanted to discuss how the NBA is definitely coming back strong and has the potential to attract a ton of new fans. I’m one of them. Of course, the odds of Minnesota hiring Simmons are a bigger longshot than Trent Edwards leading Buffalo to a Super Bowl this season, but anything can happen. If they hire someone else, I’m back to the drawing board. I might be stuck without a team for the upcoming season, which will suck, but it’s the way it goes.

Hey, maybe someone will move to Buffalo. (Yeah right)

Some relative links in regards to this article:

- The Book of Basketball (Facebook Group)

- Simmons for GM (Facebook Group)

As a transplanted fan, it's become a necessity for me to journey to opposing team's buildings in order to see my favorite team play. It's an odd feeling the first time, but after 3 years I've become rather used to it and I've begun to notice some interesting traits in opposing fans. In the past week I've had the fortune of attending NHL games in both the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. as well as the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina to see my beloved Buffalo Sabres take the ice. The differences between the two arenas and fan bases are rather interesting from my perspective.

Now, it's only fair to mention that I live right outside of Raleigh and have been to multiple games since moving here, so I've seen a whole lot more of the Hurricanes "faithful" as compared to those in D.C. The Verizon Center was an interesting place, located right downtown, so you're essentially forced to take the Metro in to the game, and there is a stop conveniently located right below the arena. The arena itself was fairly nice, but I'm one of those people that believe sports venues should be for sports and not try to be anything more than that. This building obviously was not geared for people like me. With full bars, restaurants, and some attempt at art on the walls, it was definitely more focused on aesthetics than what I'm used to. I suppose some of those modern amenities might be required to attract people to games in a city with so much to do.

As for the game itself, as usual, a great number of Buffalo fans made themselves present and were vocal as is always the case. Capitals fans represented themselves nicely as well however, getting loud and staying loud at key times throughout a back and forth game. The game was an exciting one, eventually heading to overtime tied at 4 each. The Sabres would end up pulling out the win in the extra period as Jason Pominville scored the game winner. It made for a Happy Birthday for myself and was a good start to a fun weekend in the nation's capital. Despite the thousands of Sabres fans in attendance and the fact that the Capitals had lost, there was almost no negative interaction between the fans that I noticed. If only this could be the case everywhere. After all, it is just a game, and regardless of your fanhood, there is no need to get ugly with others based on the result of a sporting event.

Now Carolina Hurricanes games on the other hand, that's a very different story. Again, my opinion is surely a bit slanted since I've witnessed this for 6 games over the course of 3 years, but so called "Caniacs" have proven themselves to me as aggravating to say the least. Now of course, this doesn't apply to the entire fan base, there are plenty of very good, cordial fans, and some that could be even called die hards. This seems to be the exception more than the rule to me however. The story of this so called rivalry goes back to a time shortly before I moved to the area. The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs saw the Sabres face the Canes in the Eastern Conference Finals, a season which most Sabres fans finally thought was their year to win the Cup. Due to that fact, an extra large contingency of Buffalo fans made the trip down to Raleigh for one of the games in that series. Hurricanes fans will tell you that the Sabres fans were some of the most obnoxious, trouble causing folks on the face of the planet, while Buffalo fans of course say they were just being their usual passionate selves, something Carolina fans were not accustomed to. Again, I wasn't there, so I can't fairly assess what happened, but I'm sure it's a bit of both.

At any rate, Sabres fans had gained a reputation as the "worst" in the league in the area and have been hated ever since. I think beyond the alleged incidents during the playoffs in '06, it's more about the fact that every single time the Sabres play in Raleigh, there are several thousand Sabres fans in attendance, and we are in fact, a very vocal group. Folks in Buffalo have little to do beyond follow their sports teams with a feverish passion, which is clear when you look at the general lack of success both the Sabres and Bills have had, but their continued ability to sell out games on a regular basis. This area happens to be home to a great many Western New York transplants such as myself, and collectively, we rarely pass up an opportunity to see our favorite teams in person. Simply put, Hurricanes fans don't know what to do when 5 or 6 thousand Buffalo fans show up on their home turf and tend to make more noise than they do. This results in an obvious vitriol towards the Sabres faithful at every turn.

The larger problem is that the "Caniacs" in general are still rather clueless when it comes to hockey. Again, I'll reiterate that I'm not talking about every single fan, but certainly the majority of them. Granted, a certain amount of "homerism" is quite expected at any sporting event, but I've never seen anything close to the level of what goes on at the RBC Center on a regular basis. Despite their team being in this state for 11 seasons now, Hurricanes fans still don't seem to have a grasp for the rulebook. Any call against their team is obviously incorrect and somehow every hit made by the opposition deserves a penalty. Sure, I disagree with the officials from time to time, but I also have they ability to understand the game and realize when my team did something illegal, or when the other team made a nice clean hit on somebody. At the game I attended last night, I heard such gems as "stop using your hands, this isn't volleyball" when anybody that has watched the sport in the least would realize that short of closing your hand over a loose puck or purposefully passing the puck to a teammate via your hand is rather legal.

Just over midway through the game, the penalties were Buffalo - 0, Carolina - 1, and at the time the Sabres were up 4-0. The Hurricanes basically stopped skating and started taking bad penalties, yet in the fan's eyes, this was obviously a conspiracy. Even calls that don't require any real judgement (too many men on the ice, delay of game for firing the puck over the glass in their own end) drew chants of "Ref you suck!". This is annoying enough on it's own, but it doesn't even come close to ending there. I've never seen a fan base spend so much time concerning itself with the opposing fans rather than cheering on their own team. I always hear far more "Go Home Buffalo" chants in response to the Sabres' fans yelling "Let's Go Buffalo" and plenty of people yelling negative remarks about the Sabres rather than simply focusing on their own team and trying to encourage them. Now it's been a long time since I've been to a home game in Buffalo, but I don't recall the fans there acting this way, and that was only reinforced while in D.C. Caps fans cheered on their team, they didn't bother focusing on the opponents. Another shining example of the brilliance of the Hurricanes' fans came when down 1-0, they started heckling the Buffalo goaltender with "Miller... Miller... Miller... YOU SUCK!) chants. Generally these are reserved for times when a goalie has given up several goals and your team is easily in the lead. Did I mention that the Sabres were up 5-0 and chased Carolina's staring goaltender Cam Ward from the net in the middle of the 2nd period?

Furthermore, "Caniacs" in general are extremely fair weather, bandwagon fans... and at times they can't even get that right. Going into last night, Carolina had one 12 straight home games, and 9 straight overall. It was also fan appreciation night and their final home game of the regular season. The puck dropped at 7pm and there were still tickets available as of 5pm. Attendance was listed at 18,513, 98.8% of capacity, but I can assure you there were far more empty seats than that. This was the hottest team in the league over the past month, storming into the playoffs, and they can't even fill their arena for their last home game. This boggles my mind completely. Don't forget that a good 4 or 5 thousand of those people last night were Sabres fans too. Still it beats two years ago when craigslist was flooded with tickets at the end of the season for dirt cheap because the team was going to miss out on the playoffs, just a year after winning the Stanley Cup. And before you dismiss my opinion as biased, check out this page, which documents the changes in attendance from the first half of this season to the 2nd. Clearly the Hurricanes attendance boosted significantly late in the season when they went on a run. Now of course, winning breeds fans, that's obvious. However, look at traditionally hockey cities and there is little to no change, because they are close or at capacity all year long.

I realize this article has turned into a Canes bashing fest, but I feel the point needs to be made. I eternally hear how bad Sabres fans are (I swear they thing we eat babies) and how much trouble we cause. Even friends of my wife will say to me upon meeting me that they're surprised at what a nice, normal person I am considering I'm a Sabres fan, and how they refuse to attend games against Buffalo because they fear for their safety. Yet, I've been verbally assaulted (a certain amount of trash talk is expected of course), had things thrown at me, etc. when I've attended games at the RBC Center, and generally speaking have seen a lot more Hurricanes fans starting trouble than Sabres fans.

Now, getting back to the main point of this article, attending a game at an opposing team's venue can be a very interesting experience and lets you gain a unique perspective. This completely depends on the situation, location, etc. however. I journeyed to Jacksonville last year to see the Buffalo Bills play the Jaguars and had a good time, tailgating amongst fellow Bills fans and getting to see Buffalo win. Jaguars fans are a very sad sight however, as I easily obtained tickets below face value and several sections of the stadium were completely tarped off, so as to avoid blackout rules. Keep in mind this was a team expected to be bound for the playoffs at the start of the season and this was Week 2. At any rate, those of you from a rabid fan base, don't take for granted what you have, many teams can't muster half as good of a following regardless of their success. If you get the chance to hit the road and see your team on enemy turf, go for it, but make sure you observe everything around you. It will likely make you that much more happy to be part of a serious group of fans that are truly devoted to their team.

Can you feel the excitement? We’re a mere two weeks away from the end of the NHL regular season. Things are starting to heat up and for some teams; the playoffs have pretty much started already.

The Sharks took another step towards the President’s Trophy taking a four point lead over Detroit in the West with an equal amount of games remaining, and a five point lead over Boston with the B’s having one game in hand.

Florida and Buffalo are turning the heat up in the Eastern conference as well. Florida has won two games in a row and Buffalo was won three games in a row, benefiting from the return of Ryan Miller. The Rangers shut out New Jersey last night to regain a four point lead over Florida and seven point lead over Buffalo. Right now it looks like it will be Montreal, Florida and Buffalo fighting it out for the final playoff spot.

Out West, the Blues have taken over the 8th spot winning their last five games and seven of their last ten. Vancouver is holding down the fifth spot in the West and after that, all bets are off. I have a personal interest in seeing the Blues make the playoffs since two of their players won a championship for the Erie Otters of the OHL in 2002.

Just a little note since we're only two weeks away, both myself and Scott will be making playoff predictions round by round. We've done this before in the past and it has been a huge success each time (except for the fact that Scott always wins). I'm mentioning this now because we'd love to invite any and all readers to participate as well and we'll post the results on the site. The details will be ironed out as time goes on, but if anybody is interested, a simple e-mail letting us know is all we need right now.

1. San Jose Sharks (2) – Like I previously stated; the Sharks are hot right now and in the driver’s seat for the best record in the league. They picked up three of a possible six points last week and have some crucial games this week. San Jose has two games against Edmonton coming up this week that will help shape out the West. They defeated Calgary last night and are clearly in control of the West.

2. Boston Bruins (4) – I’ve been down on Boston lately and for good reason. However, they came to play last week and have temporarily shut me up. They had a light week but made use of it picking up all four points to stay on top in the East. They have a relatively easy week coming up with games against Tampa Bay and Ottawa, before facing the Rangers on Saturday.

3. Detroit Red Wings (1) – The Red Wings struggled a bit last week going 1-2-0 to drop two spots in the rankings. Normally I wouldn’t put much stock into the race for the President’s Trophy, but home ice might be pivotal if San Jose and Detroit face off for a trip to the Finals.

4. Vancouver Canucks (5) – We’ve seen it in the NFL playoffs and we might see it this season in the NHL. It’s not necessarily the team that has played well all season, but the team that catches fire right before the playoffs that ends up winning it all. The Canucks went 3-1-0 last week and continue their hot play heading down the stretch. They have four more games before the next set of rankings come out so there is a good chance they will be even higher if they keep things up.

5. New Jersey Devils (3) – The Devils have only gotten one point in their last five games and have dropped to the 3rd spot in the Eastern Conference. I’m not ready to completely drop them yet because I have plenty of confidence that they will turn it around before the season ends. If they don’t, they are looking at an early April exit from the playoffs.

6. Carolina Hurricanes (12) – The Hurricanes have been a team possessed recently. They have won six games in a row and have surged up the conference standings. If this keeps up, they could still catch Washington for the division, although that seems unlikely. Regardless of that, Carolina was a team on the edge of the playoffs to a team that will most definitely be in them now.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins (6) – The Penguins picked up all four possible points last week, including a win against the Rangers, to continue their hot play. I know what you’re all saying, they are playing well and they still drop in the rankings? Well, yes, but only because of how well Carolina has been playing lately. The Penguins play them this Saturday so that will help settle this little debate. They then play Florida the following night which should be a very interesting game.

8. Philadelphia Flyers (7) – The Flyers went 1-2-0 last week with their only win coming against the lowly Islanders. With two games against Toronto and one against Ottawa this week, this is their chance to get back on track before they lost home ice in the first round to Carolina.

9. Washington Capitals (8) – I feel somewhat bad putting the number two team in the East this low in the rankings, but I honestly feel this is where they should be. If they were to lace up the skates against any of the teams listed above them, I’d say those teams beat them 8 out of 10 times. They have three winnable games this week so this is their chance to go on a little winning streak before the season winds down.

10. Calgary Flames (9) – Getting shutout twice last week really isn’t a good way to play during the stretch run. They have a tough week coming up with games against Dallas and Minnesota, after dropping one to San Jose last night.

11. Columbus Blue Jackets (11) – If the Blue Jackets want to make the playoffs, the two games this week against Nashville are going to be huge games. Columbus makes that very small list of expansion teams that I don’t want to see removed from the league, so more power to them if they end up in the playoffs this year.

12. New York Rangers (10) – I think it’s safe to say with only two weeks remaining, along with the Sabres making a run to qualify for the playoffs, the next best thing would be the Rangers missing out on the playoffs. The Rangers are on the cusp of missing out right now but got a big win against New Jersey last night. Still, with games against Carolina and Boston this week, they definitely not a sure thing just yet.

13. Chicago Blackhawks (14) – The ‘Hawks got two big wins against the Sharks and Devils last week, before running into the brick wall known as the Vancouver Canucks. They have four more games this week with three of them going against St Louis, Nashville and Columbus. Those games will be pivotal towards the race in the West.

14. Nashville Predators (13) – Remember that list I spoke of when mentioning Columbus? Yeah, the Predators are on that list. Regardless, they have been pretty good this year and if they keep on winning, they can punch their ticket to another first round playoff exit. They did pick up seven of a possible eight points last week so they are doing their part in at least getting that far.

15. St Louis Blues (NR) – I already mentioned what I thought of the Blues before the rankings, so there isn’t a whole lot to say right now. At the risk of sounding like a typical Erie journalist, I’ll refrain from talking about former Erie Otters from this point going forward. The Blues have games against Chicago, Detroit and Dallas this week. They will be pushing their winning streak almost to double digits if they continue their winning ways.

Another week is in the books in the NHL season and I’ve officially hit “Buffalo Bills mode” on the season. To explain better for the people who don’t understand, that is the point in the season where I start trying to figure out some crazy mathematical scenario where my team can still make the playoffs because they are all but eliminated from the post-season.

I thought the Sabres season would be in grave danger when Scott Gomez “accidentally” injured Ryan Miller a month ago, but I still held out hope that Patrick Lalime could get the job done. After this past weekend, I have no doubt that if Miller isn’t back on the ice for Wednesday night’s game, or worst case scenario, Friday night against Toronto, the Sabres will be mathematically eliminated. Simply put, Lalime just isn’t good enough to play in goal for the long haul. If he plays the second half of a back to back stretch and that works out to about 15 games a season, that is fine, but not for an extended period of time.

I’ve been a pretty big defender of Lindy Ruff over the years, but even I have to question his judgment this past weekend. I have no doubt in my mind that the Sabres would’ve beaten Philadelphia this past Friday if Lalime even slightly resembled an NHL goalie. Considering the way Mikael Tellqvist played against Ottawa the previous game, I thought for sure he would start Saturday night against New York. But no, Lalime was back at it and the Sabres lost out on two more points.

The Sabres do have something working to their advantage though. Normally when a team would struggle as bad as Buffalo, they would already be cooked; however that isn’t quite the case. Montreal and Florida have been doing their part in losing almost every night which is keeping open that glimmer of hope. Montreal, Florida and Buffalo all have 10 games remaining in the season. Buffalo trails Florida by four points and Montreal by five for the eighth and final playoff spot. Montreal has Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Buffalo this week. Florida has Carolina, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Dallas. If, and this is a big one, Montreal and Florida continue their slide and lost those games while Buffalo wins, there you go. Considering the fact that Buffalo plays them both this week with a game against Toronto in the middle, their season is on the line this week. They must win all three or they are finished.

Anyways, that is my rant for the week and now we can get back to the NHL in general. The Bruins got a big win against New Jersey to clinch the Northeast Division; however it’s not enough to jump any spots in my rankings. The middle of the pack stayed somewhat the same while one team dropped off and one team makes their return after a brief hiatus. And with that, here are my rankings for the final full week in March.

1. Detroit Red Wings (2) – Detroit has won their last four games in a row but their grip on the number one seed has loosened a bit thanks to San Jose. This should be a pretty tight race down the stretch which will be pretty important if these two teams face each other in the Western Conference Finals.

2. San Jose Sharks (3) – The Sharks have come back around recently and control their own destiny. Both they and Detroit have an equal number of games remaining, so they are in the driver’s seat. They also have a game in hand on Boston so they look to be on course for the President’s Trophy as well.

3. New Jersey Devils (1) – The Devils split their games last week going 2-2, although one game was against Carolina and featured Kevin Weekes in net. Martin Brodeur finally passed Patrick Roy for the all time wins mark so now we can officially have the debate about whether or not he is the greatest goaltender in NHL history. Do I smell another debate with Scott?

4. Boston Bruins (4) – Boston got a big win against New Jersey yesterday, but that is their first regulation win since March 14th against the lowly Islanders. I had to fight myself in putting Boston at the four spot with two teams playing so well below them, so this is most likely their last week in this spot unless something dramatic happens this week.

5. Vancouver Canucks (5) – Vancouver got blown out at Phoenix (how does that happen?) but won their other two games last week for a 2-1 record since the last rankings. Looking at the big picture they are still 7-2-1 in their last 10 which is mighty impressive.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins (6) – Similar to Vancouver, Pittsburgh lost this weekend but finished the week with a 2-1 record to continue their impressive play. Just thinking if Pittsburgh made the Cup Finals against this year, wouldn’t it be funny to see Hossa win it for Detroit just to rub a little more salt in the wound?

7. Philadelphia Flyers (9) – Philadelphia also went 2-1 last week with their only loss coming to the mighty Red Wings. After the game last Friday, I’m fully convinced that they will need much better play from Martin Biron if they want to make another playoff run. Sometimes he is on his game, but most of the time he is just average. Hopefully in the case of my fantasy team, he plays even better this week.

8. Washington Capitals (7) – Instead of just discussing how Washington did in the previous week, I’d like to give my two cents on the A.O. goal celebration that came against Tampa Bay. Honestly, what is the big deal? We’re okay with players scoring the goal, jumping against the glass, and doing all kinds of other things to show up the other team, but we have a problem with what Ovechkin did? Really? It was all in fun. If more players consistently put up 50 goal seasons like him, maybe they would want to join in on the fun. And the nerve of Rick Tochett, who said “I think he’s a terrific player. He went down a notch in my books after that.” Oh I’m sorry Mr. Tochett, maybe if Ovechkin was involved in conspiracy and a nationwide gambling ring he would’ve gone up in your books. What…a…joke.

9. Calgary Flames (8) – The Flames split their games last week going 1-1 and have struggled somewhat recently. As a whole they are 4-6-0 in their last 10 and haven’t looked very impressive. I’m pretty confident they will turn it around sooner rather than later, but I have been wrong about these things more than once.

10. New York Rangers (12) – The Rangers went 2-1 last week and look to be in fairly good shape for the playoffs. I wouldn’t say they are a sure thing, even though their fans seem to think so. Sean Avery has fully come back into his own form with plenty of after the whistle cheap shots which made him famous in New York. It’s funny that he gets away with all those things on the ice and gets the hefty suspension for talking to the media. You got to love the consistency of the NHL sometimes.

11. Columbus Blue Jackets (13) – Columbus went 2-0 last week to continue their impressive play. As of right now, they are sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference and are only five points out of the fourth spot.

12. Carolina Hurricanes (NR) – Carolina has taken off recently going from a team on the cusp of missing the playoffs, to a team that is pushing Montreal right out. They went 3-0 last week and pushed themselves right up the conference standings. It still probably isn’t enough to catch Washington for the division, but stranger things have happened.

13. Nashville Predators (14) – Nashville lost both games last week but still gained a point in each game. They play Anaheim tomorrow night and that will be extremely important to their playoff chances. They also have San Jose, Los Angeles and Detroit this week so this could be a make or break week for the Preds.

14. Chicago Blackhawks (11) – The ‘Hawks are slipping as each week passes. They did get four out of a possible six points last week, but it still might not be enough. Columbus is nipping at their heels and they will have to play their best hockey this week to hold on. They have San Jose, New Jersey and Vancouver this week. That wouldn’t exactly fill me with confidence if I were a Chicago fan.

15. Edmonton Oilers (NR) – Edmonton is coming on strong at just the right time. They went 3-1 last week including an 8-1 shellacking of Colorado. They also have four more games this week so we’ll have a much better idea at their playoff chances come next Monday.

Today is the day, it's the NHL Trade Deadline. We're roughly 5 hours away from the deadline so news should be rolling in all day.

- Ottawa has acquired Pascal Leclaire and a 2nd round pick from Columbus for Antoine Vermette.

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10:14 EST

- Reports are that the Sabres have offered Tim Connolly a 2 year deal worth better than $4 million per season. Reports shortly after that have said that Connolly has left the HSBC arena this morning. Stay tuned.

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10:17 EST

- TheFourthPeriod.com is reporting that the Sabres have reached an extension with Tim Connolly.

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10:50 EST

- Calgary acquires D Jordan Leopold from Colorado for Lawrence Nycholat, a prospect and a draft pick.

- Pittsburgh acquires Andy Wozniewski from St. Louis for Danny Richmond.

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12:07 EST

- Buffalo acquires G Mikael Tellqvist from Phoenix for a 4th round pick.

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12:17 EST

- Dallas has picked Brendan Morrison up off waivers. He was put on waiver by Anaheim yesterday.

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12:40 EST

- Anaheim acquires Petteri Nokelainen from Boston for Steve Montador.

- Calgary acquires Olli Jokinen from Phoenix for Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust and a 1st round pick.

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1:26 EST

- Boston acquires Mark Recchi and a 2nd round pick from Tampa Bay for Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums.

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2:07 EST

- Pittsburgh acquries Bill Guerin from the Islanders for a conditional draft pick.

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3:14 EST

- Philadelphia acquires Daniel Carcillo from Phoenix for Scottie Upshall and a 2nd round pick.

- NY Rangers acquire Nik Antropov from Toronto for a 2nd round pick and a conditional pick.

- NY Rangers acquire Derek Morris from Phoenix for Dmitri Kalinin, Nigel Dawes and Petr Prucha.

- Buffalo acquires Dominic Moore from Toronto for a 2nd round pick.

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5:46 EST

I stepped away a little after 3PM so there were a few trades that came in just in time. Here is a round up of those deals.

- Anaheim acquires Erik Christensen from Atlanta for Eric O'Dell.

- Tampa Bay acquires Noah Welch and a 3rd round pick from Florida for Steve Eminger.

- Columbus acquires Kevin Lalande from Calgary for a 4th round pick.

- Philadelphia acquires Kyle McLaren from San Jose for a 6th round pick.

- Chicago acquires Samuel Pahlsson from Anaheim for James Wisniewski.

- San Jose acquires Travis Moen and Kent Huskins from Anaheim for Nick Bonino, Timo Pielmeier and a conditional draft pick.

- Carolina acquires Patrick O'Sullivan and a 2nd round pick from Los Angeles for Justin Williams.

- Edmonton acquires Patrick O'Sullivan and a 2nd round pick from Edmonton for Erik Cole.

- Edmonton acquires Ales Kotalik from Buffalo for a 2nd round pick.

- Toronto acquires Olaf Kolzig, Jamie Heward, Andy Rogers and 4th round pick from Tampa Bay for Richard Petiot.

I believe that is the final round up, although there could be a few deals that haven't been cleared through the NHL office just yet. It's been a very long day and I'm looking forward to watching some games tonight. So with that, I bid the blog goodbye.

News is flying but none much is official yet. We’re about 24.5 hours away from the NHL trading deadline and a few moves have been made today. Some of them are being made in anticipation for moves tomorrow so things should get interesting.

- Sean Avery is officially back with the Rangers. I’m sure my hatred for the guy will boil over in about two weeks.

- The Minnesota Wild signed goalie Niklas Backstrom to a four deal with yanks him off the trade market. He is getting a significant pay raise to stay in Minnesota, which is a good deal for both sides.

- Last evening the New Jersey Devils beefed up their defense when they acquired defenseman Niclas Havelid from the Atlanta Thrashers.

- Brendan Morrison, Miroslav Satan and Gary Roberts were all placed on waivers today. Nothing surprises me about Satan. He is about as worthless as they come and I at least got a hearty laugh out of Pittsburgh signing him last off-season. Gary Roberts is a player, depending on his health, that I wouldn’t mind having in Buffalo for the remainder of the season.

- The Sabres are still trying to work out a deal with Tim Connolly but if they don’t, I see a very good chance of him being moved before the deadline tomorrow. He is an impact player, but at what cost? The Sabres have eaten quite a bit of the money from his last contract and they will be cautious in spending a ton on the guy. I’d like to have him back in Buffalo but only at the right cost. If he wants too much and the alternative is losing him in July for nothing, I’m not opposed to moving him if it means getting something worthwhile in return.

Be sure to check in as more stories develop over the next 24 hours.

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6:05EST Update

- Toronto forwards Nik Antropov and Dominic Moore are being held out tonight which almost guarantees that a trade is in the works. There is no information at this time as to what team(s) are involved.

- There is still no word on Bill Guerin and where he is going. He was held out last night for the second straight game so I'd be shocked if a deal didn't go down by tomorrow, although I expected it would've happened by now.

- There are some rumblings that Buffalo is looking to bring back goalie Martin Biron from Philly. I'm not sure if this would be for a rental or if they would eventually want Biron to be the back-up to Ryan Miller again and move Patrick Lalime (which I wouldn't understand).

Here we go. We're a mere two days and a few hours away from the NHL trading deadline. This will tell how bad the winners want to win, who is selling, and who is trying their best to make a playoff run. It's always a fun time and I'm looking forward to it.

This isn't for sure, but I'm planning on blogging throughout the day during the deadline with updates on rumors, completed trades, etc. Be sure to check in with us throughout the day for the latest news and headlines.

1. New Jersey Devils (5) – I had these thoughts before Martin Brodeur came back and now they have been proven true. New Jersey is the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. They held on and did well without the best goalie in the league, and now they are even better. He is healthy, rested and ready to go. Look out everybody.

2. Detroit Red Wings (3) – Despite getting blown out 8-0 at Nashville on Saturday, Detroit won two out of three games this past week including a game against San Jose, whom they are competing with for the top spot in the West. They need to solve their goaltending situation at the trade deadline, and if they do that I think they will be the team to beat in the West.

3. Boston Bruins (2) – Boston is holding on to the top spot in the East but they need to step up their game if they want to hold off New Jersey. Things that won’t help them hold on to the top spot: letting in a game winning goal from 80 feet out. I still am fully against Tim Thomas being the starter for Team USA in the Olympics next year, but that isn’t for sure.

4. San Jose Sharks (1) – San Jose split the week winning two out of four games, but losing to Detroit hurts. I don’t foresee them doing anything major at the trade deadline, but you never know. They have been known to add a piece or two for the playoff push, although it has never really worked out.

5. Washington Capitals (4) – Washington is currently tied in the East with New Jersey so if things continue with the way they are going, I see Washington finishing third in the East again. There have been a few rumors of them acquiring Bill Guerin before the deadline from the Islanders, but it’s been two days since Guerin didn’t dress on Saturday and no news, so again, who knows.

6. Calgary Flames (7) – Calgary and Chicago have been neck and neck this season in the rankings but Calgary makes the jump this week since they went 2-1 last week. Rumors are rampant that Calgary is going after Olli Jokinen but I’m hoping he lands on the other team he is rumored to be going to. Then again, these rumors I read are rarely true.

7. Chicago Blackhawks (6) – Chicago should be a buyer this week as the push for the playoffs heats up. They have a nice core but they should be looking to add at least another piece to the puzzle to ensure they survive the first round.

8. Philadelphia Flyers (8) – The Flyers have continued their steady play in the past week as they hold on to a playoff spot in the East. They had to make a few moves last week to make room for the return of Danny Briere. Assuming he can stay healthy and bring some more scoring and leadership to the Flyers, they should be fine in terms of making the playoffs.

9. Montreal Canadiens (14) – What a difference a week makes. The team went from free falling to winning all three games last week and looking like the team everyone thought they would be. I suppose this is what happens when you get solid goaltending and good play all around.

10. Florida Panthers (9) – Florida split their schedule last week but had an embarrassing loss on Saturday to New Jersey. They rebounded nicely yesterday to pick up a win which showed me that they are a real team. It’s usually a good sign when a team can come back the next day after a severe beating and get two points. I think at this point they would be crazy to trade Jay Bouwmeester unless they get some kind of amazing deal.

11. Vancouver Canucks (10) – Vancouver’s winning streak ended last week but they still won two out of three to continue their solid play. They are another team that should be buying at the deadline in hopes of making a deep playoff run. Although I don’t think the Canucks are a “great” team, you can never fully rule out a team with such a good goalie. If he gets hot in the playoffs, look out.
12. Nashville Predators (NR) – I had to do a double take this weekend when I flipped stations and saw Nashville winning 5-0 with several minutes remaining in the first period against Detroit. How does that happen? One thing is for sure, I’m very happy I picked Pekka Rinne up on my fantasy team, even though the playoffs are a long shot right now. (for me, not Nashville)

13. Pittsburgh Penguins (NR) – The Penguins finally made the leap from 10th to 8th with a victory over Dallas yesterday. It’s still a tight race so they are by no means a lock. I’m sure the execs in the NHL office are praying for a first round match-up between Pittsburgh and Washington.

14. NY Rangers (15) – The Rangers move up a spot, but mostly because Buffalo slipped so far this week. They fired their coach in a move that I disagree with, but they appear to be playing different hockey with John Tortorella now. Then again, are they? They blew a 1-0 lead in the third period against Florida that resulted in a 2-1 regulation loss. Those kinds of games are killers this time of year.

15. Buffalo Sabres (11) – The Sabres are picking the worst time to not show up in games. There is absolutely no excuse to lose a game to the Islanders, let alone get shutout. It will be very interesting to see what they do at the deadline. They are expecting Thomas Vanek back this Wednesday so that will be an addition in itself, and Ryan Miller should be back sooner rather than later.