Partners NHL

On every team in the NHL, at least one player is performing above the level he did in the 2009-10 season. Whether he has more goals or has gotten more defensively responsible, this player's improvement has paid off for his team.

As the 2010-11 regular season draws to a close, I decided to look around the league and showcase the most improved player from every team in this slideshow.

As a kid, one of the coolest things about hockey for me was the designs on the helmets of the goalies.

From the time goalies started to wear masks, designing them in unique ways was a way for them to separate themselves from other netminders.

Its a debate that has raged for years and will continue to rage long after this column.

Who are the greatest hockey players in the history of the great sport of hockey?

With this list, I tried to be a fair as possible in considering every aspect I possibly could. 

Taking into account everything I could think of and not necessarily in this order: era they played, stamina, how injuries effected total numbers, of course statistics and the competition level they faced.

NHL teams play hard throughout the regular season in hope of securing home ice advantage for the playoffs. Home ice advantage can be a deciding factor in a tight playoff series.

Home ice gives a team many advantages including last line change, last one to put their stick down for the faceoff and of course, momentum from the hometown crowd.

In Stanley Cup Final history, the home team boasts a 12-3 record in the decisive Game 7's.

As we approach the playoffs this year, let's take a look at each teams' success on home ice.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. How true that is.

When I see two players agree to throw hands, it’s becomes like theater to me. The fighters are the actors in this Shakespearean remake of Othello with attitude.

While others scoff at the idea of fighting, I embrace its animal-like roots and see each player as a representative of his colors and community and defending both with honor.

These men stand in there and take serious punishment just to inflict the same punishment back to their opponents, all in the name of team.

The dust has finally settled. The trade winds have come and gone. As the regular season in the NHL nears its eventual close, it is becoming clear which teams will be in the dance.

Unlike the other professional sports, it is more uncertain which teams will make a run in the postseason as parody is dwindled down—and any team can catch fire with the hot goalie in net.

Although many NHL fans and experts agree that this year's trade deadline was one of the least exciting in recent memory, that doesn't mean we are short on things to discuss.

Whether it was the fire sales of the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators or the out-of-nowhere epic trade between the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues, several players found themselves changing teams this year.

Some teams were trying to add players for the playoff push, while others were starting to rebuild for the future.

Erik Johnson, the first overall pick in 2006, got revenge on his former team when he scored the go-ahead goal to beat the Blues at the Scottrade Center as a member of the Avalanche.

Johnson is not the only core member of a team to get dealt at the deadline.

Many teams were involved in blockbuster trades that will either make or break their seasons.

The following will dissect each transaction since February 9 and determine if each team made the right move going forward.

Every team in the NHL deals with the injury bug at some point over a long 82-game season. 

But for some players, the bug hits harder than they could have ever imagined. 

Seasons full of promise come to an end. The possibility of retirement is brought up in conversation. Some players can't catch a break and come back from one injury only to deal with another shortly after they return.

Here are the NHL's most devastating injuries so far in the 2010-11 season.

Tampa Bay is entering a new era.

There's plans for a $35 million renovation to the Ice Palace, and the team will wear new uniforms next year.

The Canucks are the best team in hockey. They're top-five in all four major categories.

Last week featured a goalie fight between Brent Johnson (Penguins) and Rick DiPietro (Islanders).

Unfortunately, it had nothing on Roy-Osgood.

If the playoffs started today, all five teams from the Pacific Division would be in the postseason.

The bottom four seeds are all teams from the West Coast.