Right now Stan Bowman probably feels like a snow plow just pushed snow onto his drive way right after he finished shoveling it. After clearing out what seemed to be enough cap space by trading away Versteeg, Byfuglien, Ladd and Sopel, the San Jose Sharks signed the Blackhawks' restricted free agent defenseman, Niklas Hjalmarsson to an offer sheet. So what does this all have to do with the Leafs?

It's pretty obvious that Gary Bettman wanted to be in and out of Philadelphia pretty quick. Considering that Philly fans once booed Santa Claus, I don't think Bettman wanted to stick around and see what was in store for him. But the NHL did go to Philly last night, where they awarded the coveted Stanley Cup, and you know you're in Philly when...

Ask many fans these days who think they know more than NHL executives themselves and most of them will tell you that the blueprint to build a winning team is through the draft. Well looking at these remaining eight teams, I'd say that there is no blueprint, as the evidence is inconclusive.

While the amount of teams renting has gone down over the last couple of years, some teams are still shelling out a ton of assets for a few months of service. As GM's assess damage suffered by other teams in recent history due to the excessive cost of rent, the amount of gambling at the NHL trade deadline has visibly diminished. But this season, Lou Lamoriello ventured back to a place where all those before him have failed. But he couldn't resist the temptation to add one of the game's most accurate snipers to his lineup, so he took the bait and gave up a large chunk of his savings to rent the player he so desired. And just like all those before him, he comes out of this battered and bruised.