The Lightning have officially named Vinny captain today...and that may be the least surprising thing you have ever read, but I still think it is noteworthy, therefore I have made note of it.

What is interesting to me about Lecavalier is his slow and steady rise to greatness. He is NOT the overnight sensation that many of us pegged him to be when he entered the league. Don't get me wrong, he has always been a "Star" but "Superstar" status has always slightly eluded him. He is a great person and truly one of the better spoken stars in the game. He has a huge "it" factor to him, and yet even with the Cup win...Richards won the Conn Smythe, St. Louis won the Hart, and Vinny...

The last few years saw the slow rise of stats and a confidence on the ice which has truly made him a player about to challenge the likes of Crosby and Ovechkin for star power. He may be the only player capable of being mentioned with those two.

Many people asked me about the "deadline" with the Rangers and I continue to feel that it never was a hard deadline, nor was it a true one...However what it did do was kind of slow the pace of Sundin talks down. Well this morning that could all change again...

I am hearing once again that there is a definite push by the Rangers to make a deal, and the team I am hearing today tied to this is the St. Louis Blues, not the Canucks as was the case with the last round.

Still sketchy as to who the Blues may be asking for and who the Rangers would like back, but I will try my best today to dig up more.

As for Sundin, the quietness could be telling...

Another rumour just texted me in the last hour had Sundin and the Leafs once again engaged in a possible deal. I can't fully see it happening, although I am not opposed to it happening. I really think the Leafs are looking in a different direction, but I also believe that if Mats is only set on playing in Toronto it could happen and maybe it should.

When Robert Lang was traded it was widely stated that the move was tied to the fact that Tallon couldn't move Khabibulin.

Surprisingly enough there are murmurs today that Khabibulin could indeed be moved and in fact two teams may be working out a plan to do just that. I was told pretty clearly that at some point this year Khabibulin would be moved, but most of us are assuming the cap hit is stopping any possible move until later in the season...

No teams yet being mentioned, but just be aware that he is in play again and it is possible that he could start the year elsewhere.

In my opinion the Ottawa Senators NEED to do this. I believe that the Sens with Khabibulin would immediately jump to the best of the East. Immediately. I know the cap hit is terribly high, but for your starting goalie on a team that is a Cup contender is it really? I know the Sens are up against the Cap, so it's time to get creative. It won't be easy, but to win a Cup you need to give it a shot.

In case you missed it...


As the HBSL enters it's fourth season we've decided to make some exciting changes to improve what was already the best fantasy hockey game out there.

Everyone can Sign Up!


You no longer have to be a HockeyBuzz Season Ticket Holder to participate in the HBSL, but there's a catch. Because we appreciate the support that Season Ticket Holders have provided since HockeyBuzz first launched, only STH's will be eligible for the grand prize of an HDTV.

At the end of the regular season, Season Ticket Holders will be put into a bracket to compete for the grand prize while everyone else will be placed into a bracket for a chance to win a customized NHL jersey from IceJerseys.com. Plus you'll get to brag to all your friends that you outplayed hundreds of hockey fans in the best fantasy hockey game in the world. The ladies will really be impressed by that.

League Play

In the past we've generated random match-ups at the start of each week. This season we're going to split everyone up into 18-24 team leagues at the start of the season. You'll know your schedule and your league opponents from the start of the season. To make things more interesting, we're going to group everyone based on their favorite NHL team. Each league will place one team in both the STH Playoff Bracket and the Free Playoff Bracket, with the remaining playoff spots being filled with wild-cards.

Goalie Shutouts

While it's not the most significant change to the game, we've gotten a lot of requests in the past to include shutouts in the scoring. Shutouts will be worth 10 points, so make sure you invest some money into your goaltenders.

Salary Cap Hits

Since we first launched the HBSL in 2005 the goal was to make the game as much like building an NHL team as possible. With the addition of Cap Central to HockeyBuzz we now have the data to use salary cap hits rather than player salaries.

Good Luck!

With Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin past their entry level contracts and the change to salary cap hits, there's not a lot of cheap talent out there. The rosters should be a lot more diverse this year which should make for a challenging season.

Sign Up Now!



Want to call me? You can. I have already spoken directly to many of you and had some great hockey talks

My phone number is 213-985 BUZZ (2899)

You can leave me messages for anything Hockeybuzz related. Ask me to come on your radio show, ask a question for Julie and me to answer during the buzzcast, ask a question regarding a rumour...or just say "Hi."

I will tell you that I won't always be answering the phone from numbers that are unfamiliar, although there will be certain times that I will answer. (I may also announce those times)

I can't guarantee to call back everyone, but I will try to call back as many people as possible...I am also working on a way to play some questions and answer them in the blog.

If this becomes popular I may make this number toll free.

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