Preview/Prediction

The NHL released the 2010-2011 schedule shortly after the completion of the Stanley Cup Finals, making it a short wait for hockey fans.

The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup this past season and are poised to make another run at the Cup providing that they can overcome their schedule next season.

The crowd roared in excitement after Kris Versteeg scored the opening goal of the 2009 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.  Now, visualize the fans of Chicago if another Winter Classic was held in the town where the Stanley Cup was finally brought home after 49 years.

It has been a pretty busy week so far (compared to last week anyway). Here is what you should look out for.

A lot of teams such as the Sharks, Ducks, and Kings like Kevin Bieksa. Basically, the Pacific division loves him.

Rumor has it the Oilers are in talks with John Madden about becoming the teams third line center.

If Antti Niemi's arbitration award is too high, the Blackhawks will let him walk and pursue Jose Theodore or Marty Turco.

With fantasy hockey opening up soon, I figured I would help you out in your draft rankings. Over the next week or so I am going to have a six-part series ranking the best fantasy goaltenders 1-30, so stay tuned.

1. Martin Brodeur (NJD)

Last year's stats: Wins: 45 / GAA: 2.24 / SV%: .916

The Devils may have lost Paul Martin, but they added two very solid defensemen in Anton Volchenkov and Henrik Tallinder. They also added more scoring punch up front in Jason Arnott, which should provide Brodeur with more goals to work with.

Although Blake Wheeler's arbitration hearing today will set the standard for arbitration in the NHL, most NHL GMs probably have July 29 circled on their calenders. This is because that is the day of Antti Niemi's arbitration hearing.

During the regular season Niemi played 39 games with a save percentage of .912 and a GAA of 2.25 with seven shutouts. He had a record of 26-7-4. Pretty good, but not brilliant as he played in less than half of Chicago's regular season games, though the record was phenomenal.

Blake Wheeler is scheduled to have his arbitration hearing at 9:00 AM EST. That is how long the Boston Bruins have to work out a contract with their arbitration eligible power forward.

This kid could be the subject of trade talks, especially if the salary is too high.

The Bruins are a very fiscally prudent team, and as such do not put it above them to either jettison Wheeler, or maybe even let him go for nothing. Last year a similar saga was played out with Kessel, except he was not given money from arbitration—other teams were offering him more.

Alexander Frolov has become one of the more notable players on the Los Angeles Kings, but with an expired contract, will Frolov find his way back to Los Angeles?

It's now twenty six days into NHL free agency and the Kings have made no attempts to reconnect with the Russian winger. Frolov just completed the final year of his four year contract that earned him $14.5 million.

Since the start of the free agent period, Marc Savard has been stuck at the center of the rumor mill. He has been linked to teams such as Toronto, Columbus, and Calgary; all of them are rumored to be interested in his services.

However, his current team—the Boston Bruins—who just signed him this past season to a seven-year deal, including a no-trade clause, may be in need of his services more than anyone in the NHL.

So how come they don’t realize it?

Despite signing a new contract just last season, Marc Savard remains trade bait.

The longest tenured Maple Leaf, Tomas Kaberle has one year left on his $4.25 million contract. At 32 he is nearing the end of his career, but he comes at a reasonable price and could instantly upgrade a team's defensive corps.

Many teams are in pursuit of this blueliner. The Leafs will need the right offer to deal Kaberle, as they have made many additions to their team and are looking to be competitve this year.

Explanation of statistics provided:

Defensemen on roster provided to show investment in blueliners and who Kaberle would be playing with.