gregc29

2:24 pm, Deadline Day (legend = BOLD means done deal)
Biggest chip Marian Hossa maybe to Pittsburgh according to rumor on sportsnet.ca.

1:44 pm, Deadline Day (legend = BOLD means done deal)
Red Wings discussing trade for Los Angeles defenseman Brad Stuart as reported by TheFourthPeriod.com

12:55 pm, Deadline Day (legend = BOLD means done deal)
The NHL Network is reporting a deal is being worked on between Columbus and Colorado for Adam Foote. UPDATE: deal done - Columbus gets conditional draft picks.

12:52 pm, Deadline Day (legend = BOLD means done deal)
Sources out of Chicago claim that Robert Lang has been traded - no details as of yet - according to TheFourthPeriod.com

12:00 pm, Deadline Day (legend = BOLD means done deal)
Tuomo Ruuto to the Carolina Hurricanes as being reported by Sportsnet.ca UPDATE: Andrew Ladd is rumored to be returining for Ruutu

11:52 am, Deadline Day (legend = BOLD means done deal)
With the Brad Richards event over with, teams that lost out (notably teams not named Dallas) are starting to direct their efforts elsewhere and one of those teams, Vancouver, is looking at Olli Jokinen - as reported by TheFourthPeriod.com

11:40 am, Deadline Day (legend = BOLD means done deal)
TSN is reporting that the Lightning and the Dallas Stars have agreed on a trade for Brad Richards and are awaiting approval from Richards of the deal (based on no-trade clause). UPDATE: Richards has agreed to waive his no-trade clause and is shipped with Johan Holmqvist to Dallas for G Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern.

11:26 am, Deadline Day (legend = BOLD means done deal)
Brian Campbell (BUF) to the San Jose Sharks - as reported by TSN. UPDATE: Steve Bernier and a 1st Round pick go to Buffalo.

11:26 am, Deadline Day (legend = BOLD means done deal)
Our contacts at Sportsology.com have told us that the Flyers cancelled practice today. Could be sign of more to come out of Philly - stay posted.

11:05 am, Deadline Day (legend = BOLD means done deal)
TheFourthPeriod.com is reporting that the Los Angeles Kings have put Brad Stuart, Ladislav Nagy & Scott Thornton on the block and will hear offers for all of them with the potential that they could all be moved by day's end.

10:30 am, Deadline Day (legend = BOLD means done deal)
Marian Hossa could be making the convenient locker room switch as it looks like Montreal might be the front-runner for the services of the now Thrasher forward. Atlanta is in Montreal today for their game tonight.

Palm Beach Post and Sun-Sentinel suggest Florida Panther captain Olli Jokinen will not be traded unless a deal for the center is exceptional. Otherwise, he's pretty much off the market because owner Alan Cohen refuses to trade him.

10:17 am, Deadline Day
(UPDATE - TSN is reporting that a deal is not as close as was once reported for Richards - stay tuned)

10:00 am, Tuesday, 2/26 - DEADLINE DAY!
Deadline day is here and so are the rampant rumors and I am going to try and do my best to keep up with all the Wild and crazy going on. So no more preamble - let's get to it. (legend = BOLD means done deal)

TheFourthPeriod.com is reporting that Mike Comrie and the New York Islanders have agreed to extend his stay in New York for 1 year. So you can take him off the block if that turns out to be true. (update - 1 year 4 million extension)

TFP.com is also reporting that Martin Lapointe has been traded from Chicago (no destination) and a Brad Richards deal from Tampa Bay is imminent. Stay tuned for more on these items (UPDATE - TSN is reporting that a deal is not as close as was once reported for Richards - stay tuned)

On a side note - it seems an awful lot of players are now being re-signed at deadline than moved than in years past. Interesting to see if that continues to play out as the day moves on.

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5:10 pm, Monday, 2/25
Well the floodgates should be just about ready to open with the Avs signing Peter "my feet hurt too much to return to the NHL" Forsberg for the remainder of the season.

Colorado already has some All-Star players coming back from injuries so adding Forsberg into the mix makes them that much better and should also send a swift warning to the rest of the Western Conference that the Avs are ready, serious and loaded for the stretch run.

I don't think it will fall on deaf ears so prepare yourself for the action to come. Hold on to your seats boys and girls, it is about to be a bumpy ride!

As an avid College Hockey fan - we do exist and are very passionate about our sport much like our professional NHL brethren - I have become a bit disturbed about the play of late of the eastern schools.

I am a large enough fan of the sport that I count Minnesota (for Herb Brooks reasons alone) and Michigan et al as my favorites as well as the BC/UNH's (for Joe Fl) of the world.

So, looking at the latest poll information, you can see that there are 8 teams in the top 20 from the East: New Hampshire (5), Northeastern (9), UMass (10), Boston College (11), Clarkson (12), Quinnipiac (14), UMass-Lowell (15) and Princeton (19). Not a bad showing.

Outside of the obvious 8 < 12 argument, I think the edge for the West is that more and more teams are becoming elite while the East manages to find ways to wear each other down. Miami (OH) has always been a good team, but lately (most notably this year) they have really become a force in the West. Denver - a run of back to back titles that came not from nowhere a few years ago, but certainly from somewhere around the back end of top 20 lists. They were a No. 1 seed in the West in 2002 but that was their first appearance in the tourney in 3 years when they lost in the first round to Michigan in 1999.

Normal Western stalwarts like Minnesota and Wisconsin (winners of 3 of the last 6 titles) are currently ranked towards the bottom of the top 20 but I would be hard-pressed to say that come tournament time that I would want to face them. Take Princeton tho - and their similar placement in the rankings and - with all due respect to Princeton - I dont think teams would be as timid. That being said, it would be a big mistake to underestimate the Tigers.

Perception here is the real enemy for the East as they dont have that same swagger that the West can boast. Sure perennial runners-up BC is out there hovering just outside the top 10 along with "this is their year" New Hampshire at number 5. While the teams in the East continue to beat each other up over the season and recruiting, the teams out West seem to be building program after program.

While I am all for parity in the College Hockey ranks - I miss the East vs. West days. While there are TONS of great rivalries in college hockey - most within region, when it comes to post season play - nothing plays stronger than our brand of hockey in this part of the country is better than yours! If you have seen Miracle or follow the sport closely enough, you will know exactly what I am talking about. There is GREAT hatred over the different regions of the country in college hockey. Lately, the West has been able to make that "we are better" claim 10 of the last 12 years. Now that doesnt mean that there havent been good even great teams from the East - quite the contrary. That is why I am here - I clamor for those days again but lately it just seems like every great East team is just a few shades under tops in the West.

So I plead to you schools from the East - rise up and be great once again - stand up for your coast and style of hockey (and yes - I realize the the West does not actually have a "coast"). I dont care who wins in the end - I just want to see some great hockey and that regional antagonistic play like O'C vs. McClanahan would provide from back in the day.

Here we are with kick off 2008 blogosphere on CBSSports.com.  And for those of you wondering, YES, I used plethora because of and only because of The Three Amigos movie.  I believe most people of my generation only know that word because of that movie.  I stand behind that statement and I am willing to call my trainer up and record the call while simultaneously not proving a thing on said phone call.

Ok - I know I know  - a shot (no pun intended) at The Rocket, but one thing you will come to learn by following this blog is that I actually don't care about the steroids issue. Sure I think it is out there - correction - I KNOW it is out there, but it is SO much out there that I would wager that there are less that arent doing it.  But that is a topic for another day. 

Today's topic - welcoming all to the world of plethora.  You will not only get to read my opinions on things (lucky you) but also stay tuned here because I will have upcoming CBSSports.com features and content updates that you may be interested in.

Signing off for now but sure to be back later (when I can actually form coherent sentences - tho even then it is questionable).  Oh and by the way - are you an All Star level in the CBSSports.com community or above?  Yeah, that's right - you get a Blog too!  So Blog away users - Blog away!