Brian Burke – The worst kept secret in hockey, might officially come to an end soon. Brian Burke has left his post as general manager of the Anaheim Ducks, for personal reasons, which will clear his path to Toronto. Burke led the Ducks to a cup in a couple years back and has long been rumored for the vacant Maple Leaf job. The reason Burke wanted out of Anaheim is simple he has family on the east coast and the travel has just become to much for him and his family. Brian didn’t just quit on the Ducks, he informed them he wouldn’t sign an extension past this season and they decided to go in another direction. The rebuilding Maple Leafs have been linked to Burke ever since they fired John Ferguson Jr as there GM last season. It will take a week or two for all the papers to be signed and for Burke to be able to negotiate with another team. That team will be Toronto and I don’t see any way he doesn’t become the next GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This is going to be fun, the outspoken Burke and the media in Toronto should be entertaining to say the least. Whether you think Burke is the right man for the Maple Leaf job or not, you have to hope that if he takes the job, they will give him the power to build the team as he chooses. Toronto needs some stability and direction and Burke will give them that. Hire him Toronto, give him what he wants and the time to get this franchise heading in the right direction.

Senators forward Jarkko Ruutu has been suspended for two games for an elbow the other night against the Canadiens.

Brendan Shanahan - Well, a future Hall of Famer looks to be returning to the NHL soon. His destination is yet to be determined and the rumors are swirling. Brendan would like to stay close to New York where his family is, but it won’t be with the Rangers. That would make it seem like he will either sign in New Jersey or Philadelphia. I don’t know if these are the best places for Shanny to play, Philadelphia is already very deep up front and New Jersey plays a defense first system. Brendan has done a lot of things in this league and I think he still has the ability to put the puck in the net. He can help a power play and give some veteran leadership in a locker room. I would like to see Shanahan go to a younger team and help them get to the next level, Chicago would be perfect. If Brendan wants to win a cup this year, how about adding some depth to the forward lines in Pittsburgh or provide some leadership in Buffalo. Where ever he goes I am glad he is going to come back, he is one of my favorite players and the league is better with him. For my money I think he will sign somewhere close to New York, but if he keeps his options open, most teams in the league would love to have a guy like Shanny on there team.

Columbus Blue Jackets activated Pascal Leclaire off the injured reserve and is expected between the pipes soon. Pascal got off to a bad start this year, but he is one of the best young goalies in the league, who has shown the ability to get shutouts and lead the Jackets to wins.

Alexander Semin still leads the league in three major categories, goals (13), points (27) and plus /  minus ( +17). Everyone already new Semin has the ability to be a top notch player in this league, he is now just starting to perform on a nightly basis. He keeps this pace up he will be the MVP at seasons end.

Tampa Bay Lightning – There are some major problems with this team, and not the ones everyone expected they would have pre season. I for one never thought this team would have no trouble scoring goals with guys like Lecavalier, St Louis, Malone, Prospal and Stamkos. This team has managed just 31 goals in 15 games so far, just over two a game, by far the worst production in the league. There is way to much talent here to be this bad, the big question is why? Well, I don’t really know, but they have done a lot of line juggling and made a lot of changes before the year. Basically this is an entirely new dressing room and it is possible the team just hasn’t gelled. I for one thought the Lightning would play a lot of high scoring games this season, and defense would be there problem ultimately. Fixing this problem will not be easy, the last thing you want to do is disrupt that room again and move more players in and out. The coach is also new this season, and the owners and the general manager. The best thing I could suggest here is be patient, and wait and see if this group of guys can work it out, but I doubt they will be.

The NHL is in full swing, and there are great games every night. It is that time of year when gossip gets around and people search for things to talk about. If you like to keep up with the rumors that’s fine, just take it with a “grain of salt” and wait and see what happens. Gossip and rumors are all for entertainment purposes, enjoy the product on the ice.

9 – Marc Savard – In my opinion the most under rated player in the NHL, Savard is off to a typical start. With 6 goals and 10 assists early on this year, Savard has more then a point a game. When you draft Savard you expect him to tally a lot of assists, but at this current pace he will have more then 30 goals this season. Marc plays on a solid team with solid wingers and I would expect his numbers to remain around this level all year long. The biggest reason Savard is so high on my list is because of his penalty minutes, don’t look for those numbers to remain high.

8 – Ryan Clowe – The first major surprise on this list, Clowe is off to a career best start. Early on this year Ryan has 9 goals and 14 points, to go along with 21 penalty minutes. Out of all the players on this list, Clowe would be the one I am most skeptical about, and might think of trading while his value is high. Ryan is on pace to smash all his career marks, maybe by the half way point on the season. Clowe also has 8 power play points and a game winning goal this season.

7 – Jerome Iginla - Jerome is one of the best fantasy players you can have, he is off to a bit of a slow start, but is still number 7 on my list. With 9 goals and 19 points, Iginla is on pace to get the numbers he always gets. Currently the biggest problem having Jerome is that he is a minus 4 and he seems to be very streaky early on. You can over look the plus / minus for his 11 power play points and 50 plus shots so far. In my opinion Iginla has no where to go, but up on this list.

6 – Marian Hossa - Hossa has enjoyed his time with the Red Wings and Pavel Datsyuk so far this season. With 8 goals including 2 game winners, Hossa has been a top fantasy performer thus far. Marian has 17 points and over 50 shots, but his best stat is his plus 9 ranking, which is among the league leaders. Hossa is off to a fine start, but as he starts to get more familiar with is teammates is Detroit his numbers will improve.

5 – Ryan Getzlaf - Anaheim has been on fire as of late and Getzlaf’s numbers have been excellent. Ryan has 19 points in just 16 games and is playing on the top line in Anaheim. Getzlaf will provide you with goals and points, but he will also give you penalty minutes with 25 so far this year. Look for Getzlaf to improve his numbers on the power play and continue to put up good numbers all year long. Getzlaf is a great player and his value is high right now, if you need to he could anchor a trade for your fantasy team.

4 – Thomas Vanek – Finally showing his super star ability, Vanek is off to the best start of his career. With 12 goals in just 14 games, Thomas is on pace to put up insane numbers this year. He has stuffed the fantasy stats so far this year with 60 plus shots, 2 game winning goals and short handed points. Vanek and Buffalo are off to great starts, but it is hard to believe he can keep this goal pace up. He is a point a game player in this league, but his value will probably never be higher then it is right now.

3 – Corey Perry - Hopefully you didn’t panic when Perry got off to a slow start, because he is now one of the best in the league. Perry has 18 points, 29 penalty minutes and 60 plus shots so far this season. This is the fastest turn around I have ever seen in fantasy hockey, through 6 games this year Perry had 1 point and was a minus 5 and in just 11 games increased his numbers to where they are now. Perry’s biggest value is his ability to get good numbers across the board goals, points, power play and penalty minutes.

2 – Evgeni Malkin - He is a true super star in this league and hasn’t disappointed early on this season.  He leads the league in assists with 18, points with 22 and power points with 11. He is also a plus 4 with a shorthanded point thus far. Malkin has been getting some ice time with Crosby and the 2 of them have been very productive. Look for Malkin to compete for the points title all year, he will start to score more goals eventually.

1 – Alexander Semin – Semin is off to the best start of his career and has filled up the fantasy stats thus far this season. 11 goals, 10 assists, an amazing plus 11, 2 shorthanded points and 2 game winning goals. Semin has always been highly talented and when he is motivated he will put up big numbers. Alexander’s value may never be higher then it I right now and if he was on my fantasy team I might consider trading him for a player you know will keep it up all year long. There is no denying he has been the best fantasy player so far in this NHL season.

Three Stars of the Month – The National Hockey League has released its three stars of the month and they may not be the guys you would have picked prior to the season. The first star is Washington Capitols star forward Alexander Semin, who is off to the best start of his career. Semin has 8 goals and 17 points for Washington and led the team when Ovechkin was in Russia. Semin has become a true star in the league and has all the talent to keep these numbers up all season long. The second star is Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers all world goalie. Henrik is now the favorite for the Vezina with Brodeur being hurt and hasn’t disappointed the New York fans. Early on this year Lundqvist has posted 8 wins and a save percentage of .926. The third star might be a surprise to you and its Nashville d man Shea Weber. Shea is off to a great start averaging a point a game and is a plus 3 for the Predators.  All three of these players had great starts and will look to continue there success through November and the rest of the season.

Rookie Duo - If you are Columbus Blue Jacket fan, you should be incredibly excited about the future of your franchise on the ice. Derick Brassard leads all rookies in scoring recording 12 points in just 12 games, while Jakub Voracek is second with 10 points. Brassard is 21 years of age and Voracek is just 19 and have surprised some with there early season production. Hopefully these two forwards along with Nikita Filatov, can represent a great future for the fans of Columbus. The Columbus franchise has never made the playoffs, but if they keep finding great young players like these guys that streak will end sooner rather then later. Its unknown whether or not these guys can keep up there numbers, but with plenty of ice time I think they will become great NHL players. With a great young base of players hopefully Columbus finds a way to win some games, before they lose all there fans. The Blue Jacket fans deserve a winner, no matter how good a market might be if you never make the playoffs it will be hard to sell tickets. With players like Brassard, Voracek, Filatov and Nash it shouldn’t be to long until Columbus finds themselves in the playoffs.

Hockey Hall of Fame - Its that time of year when it is time to induct new members into the hockey hall of fame. This year the class includes Glen Anderson, Igor Larionov and Ray Scampinello. “Scammpy” might be the most popular referee in the history of sports, and served as NHL linesman for a lot of years. Anderson will be remembered as a member of the great Oiler teams of the 80’s playing along side Gretzky and Messier. Anderson was at his best in the playoffs and always seemed to score the big goals at the big moments. Larionov might be the best Russian born player of all time. He was solid at both ends of the rink and could skate and stick handle as good as anyone in the league. Larionov will fondly be remembered as part of the Russian 5 in Detroit with Fedorov, Konstantinov, Fetisov and Kozlov. Being enshrined in the hockey hall fame is great honor and all these men should be extremely proud of all there accomplishments. Being inducted is the final chapter the Stanley Cups are behind you, there will be no more game winning goals, but you will forever be remember as a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Surprise Teams - When you look at early season successes two teams will jump out at you the Buffalo Sabres and the Minnesota Wild. Neither was projected by most to be as good as they seem to be, both teams are leading there respective divisions. The Wild play a strict defensive system and for years have frustrated opponents and that trend continues. The Sabres have a set of highly talented and fast forwards that can change a game in a hurry. These teams haven’t won the same way, The Sabres with exciting fast hockey and Minnesota with boring defense. This shows that you can win hockey with a lot of different styles. Its to early to tell, but the Sabres in particular look like they will stick around the top of the Eastern Conference all year long