It’s that time of year again, folks, when the rumor mill goes into overdrive churning out all sorts of speculation as the NHL trade deadline nears.

And as always, a lot of what’s being spewed out is downright wacky.

Montreal trading Michael Ryder to Calgary for Alex Tanguay or to Atlanta for Marian Hossa?

Sure, if one overlooks the fact Tanguay has no desire to waive his “no-trade” clause to play in Montreal and that Thrashers GM Don Waddell isn’t an ####.

The Los Angeles Kings trading Rob Blake to the Anaheim Ducks?

As if Ducks GM Brian Burke’s blueline isn’t deep enough! Besides, Burke’s interest is in bolstering his offence, not adding another big-name defenseman to an already loaded defense corps.

Tampa Bay trading Brad Richards to Chicago for Nikolai Khabibulin?

Look, I know the Bolts desperately need a quality starting goaltender, but Khabibulin isn’t one anymore, and his salary ($6.75 million) is almost as pricey as Richards’ ($7.8 million), and oh yeah, Richards has a “no-trade” clause and no intention of waiving it.

Dallas trading Marty Turco to Tampa Bay for Martin St. Louis?

Which part of “no-trade clause” did you not understand?

The Carolina Hurricanes trading Eric Staal to the Edmonton Oilers?

I didn’t realize Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford wanted to get out of his contract to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs that badly.

Maybe these trades happen if you’re in a fantasy league or playing NHL 2K8. They don’t happen in today’s NHL.

Expect more wild and wacky rumors between now and the trade deadline on February 26th, which is now mercifully close meaning we won’t have to hear these nonsensical speculations for much longer!

The NHL recently released the list of finalists for their individual awards for this season. What follows is the listing and my prediction as to which players will win.

CALDER MEMORIAL TROPHY (outstanding rookie): Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh
Penguins; Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh Penguins; Paul Stastny, Colorado
Avalanche.

Staal is the best all-around player of the three, and Stastny, son of Hall of Famer Peter Stastny, proved the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with a strong rookie campaign, but Malkin will likely get the nod.

FRANK J. SELKE TROPHY (outstanding defensive forward): Rod Brind'Amour,
Carolina Hurricanes; Samuel Pahlsson, Anaheim Ducks; Jay Pandolfo, New
Jersey Devils.

Pandolfo and Pahlsson have both be very good defensive forwards and as valuable to their team's success as their more talented, better-known star teammates, but Brind'amour not only has always played a strong two-way game, he's also the only one of the three with a plus-minus rating on the happy side of plus, and in the end that tips it in his favour.

HART MEMORIAL TROPHY (most valuable player to his team): Martin Brodeur,
New Jersey Devils; Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins; Roberto Luongo,
Vancouver Canucks.

Brodeur and Luongo are THE stars of their respective teams and invaluable to their club's respective successes, but let’s face it, they played for teams that going into this season had the talent to make the playoffs. No one other than die-hard Penguins fans expected Pittsburgh to clinch a berth, let alone finish the season with over 100 points. The player directly responsible for that is 19-year-old Sidney Crosby, who also won the Art Ross as the league’s leading point-getter.

JACK ADAMS AWARD (outstanding coach): Lindy Ruff, Buffalo Sabres; Michel
Therrien, Pittsburgh Penguins; Alain Vigneault, Vancouver Canucks.

Therrien and Vigneault both did very good jobs with their respective clubs, but their teams still suffered from deficiencies (defensive for the Penguins, offensive for the Canucks). Ruff turned the Sabres into the best team in the NHL, with no real weaknesses. He gets the nod.

JAMES NORRIS MEMORIAL TROPHY (outstanding defenseman): Nicklas Lidstrom,
Detroit Red Wings; Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks; Chris Pronger, Anaheim
Ducks.

Niedermayer led all defensemen in assists and points and Pronger logs more ice time, but Lidstrom finished the season with a plus-minus of +40, better than Niedermayer and Pronger, had fewer penalty minutes and finished the season with 62 points. I think that makes him the better all-around blueliner.

LADY BYNG MEMORIAL TROPHY (sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct): Pavel
Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche; Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning.

Datsyuk and St. Louis both play well without putting their teams in penalty trouble, but no one has the respect of NHL players or plays with more class than Burnaby Joe. Sakic will likely win this one.

LESTER B. PEARSON AWARD (most outstanding player as voted by fellow members
of the NHLPA): Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins; Vincent Lecavalier,
Tampa Bay Lightning; Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks.

I think Crosby should win this, but I get the sense that because of his age that his peers may not believe he’s fully matured enough to deserve this award. It’s a tough call between Luongo and Lecavalier, but I think Lecavalier will win this.

VEZINA TROPHY (outstanding goaltender): Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils;
Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames; Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers;
Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks.

No offense to Lundqvist and Kiprusoff, but this one comes down to Brodeur and Luongo, and if one compares their stats for this season, it’s no contest. Brodeur led Luongo in wins, shutouts, goals-against average, save percentage, saves made and shots-against. Luongo will one day win this award, but not today.

I make no secret of the fact I'm a Montreal Canadiens fan, have been since 1971.

As a Canadiens fan, I have a pet peeve, that being trade rumors from so-called "NHL insiders" or internet rumormongers suggesting the Habs are seeking more Quebec-born players, or that a Quebec-born player would be a "good fit" in Montreal because he's a Francophone, or that every Quebec-born player in the league pines to play "back home" in Montreal when recent history clearly proves otherwise.

Comments like these display the sheer ignorance of their writers. I'll spare the writer of the following rumor embarrassment by not naming them or the website where I read it,  but my analysis will highlight the ignorance and lack of research that went into their post.

Here's the rumor, word for word: " Bob Gainey has seemed to be bringing in a more French presence since becomming the GM, and Montreal would seem like a perfect fit for Martin St Louis."

How then does the writer explain the fact that the number of Francophones on the Habs has DECLINED since Gainey took over as GM? In 2003, 11 members of the Canadiens were Francophones (source: HockeyDB.com). In 2006-07, only four members of the current Canadiens roster are Francophones, of which three are Quebec-born (Cristobal Huet was born in France).

Of the players drafted by Gainey over the last three years, only six are Francophones (Source: Hockeydb.com).

Currently nine members of the Canadiens farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs, are Francophones, but few of those are considered the Habs top prospects. Of the Canadiens top twenty prospects, only six are Francophones, and of those, Guillaume Latendresse is already playing for the Canadiens.

Of their top ten prospects, only two -Latendresse and goalie Yann Danis - are Francophone (source: Hockeysfuture.com).

In other words, linguistic ability is not factored into the Habs selection of draft choices, nor a motivating factor for trades.

Would Gainey want St. Louis to bolster the Habs offense? Possibly, but the decline in St. Louis' offensive production since his Hart and Art Ross winning campaign of 2003-04, coupled with his huge contract ($5.25 million per season for the next five seasons) make him almost impossible to trade.

If the writer of this rumor had merely suggested the Canadiens supposed "interest" in St. Louis was for his offensive potential, that wouldn't have made it a stupid rumour. A highly unlikely one, given Montreal's obvious need for an affordable offensive center and St. Louis' aforementioned struggles and big salary, but not a stupid one.

Suggesting St. Louis would be a good fit in Montreal because management "seems to be bringing in a more French presence" when the facts prove otherwise is not only stupid, it's just plain ignorant.