Leaf Nation is nothing short of a roller coaster. Every season starts out with such great hope. This year was no different. It was going to be the year of Optimus Reim and a return to the postseason. All of the pieces were finally coming together for Burke and Wilson in the centre of the universe.

It wasn't long ago that the hockey world was discussing the rather strange situation surrounding the New York Islanders and Evgeni Nabokov. Last season Nabokov was claimed off waivers by the Islanders but the veteran goaltender refused to report to the team, publicly displaying the fact he didn't want to play for the organization. The rather awkward situation resolved itself this season when Nabokov agreed to report to training camp and has since had a rather solid year for the struggling Isles. 

Evidently, Nabokov's view on the Islanders has since warmed quite a bit as the goaltender has signed a one-year, $2.75 million to remain with the Islanders. 

The New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils don't like each other. Actually, you could even say they hate each other. Need proof? Watch the video above.

As soon as the puck officially dropped to start their matchup, three fights broke out simultaneously. Ryan Carter vs Stu Bickel. Cam Janssen vs Brandon Prust. Eric Boulton vs Michael Rupp. In the modern NHL, it's rare you ever see more than one fight occurring at the same time let alone three beginning simultaneously off the opening draw. The end result was plenty of blood on the ice, overflowing penalty boxes and at least one angry coach.

The Dallas Stars have seen their fair share of ups and downs this season. They have been on both sides of the spectrum both with their play on the ice and with their attendance. 

An article from The Dallas Morning News reports that the Stars recently had their largest attendance for a single game in franchise history on March 16th. Ironically, the Stars also set a franchise record for lowest attendance at a single game earlier this season.

I'm not picking on the New York Islanders here, not in the least. I think that they're young still, and need a bit of polishing, but they have some outstanding players on that team. Are they the Eastern Conference's next version of the Blues? Probably not, but their rebuild seems to be plodding along fairly all-right. After all, it takes a hell of a lot of effort to undo the damage that a certain GM turned talking head did. Patience'll eventually be rewarded.

The New York Post's Larry Brooks would disagree with me on this one. In his article from this weekend, he just comes right out and says it in the title: "Islanders no longer matter." Well, ow. That's not the kind of thing that you want to read written about your favorite hockey team, especially when it's one of the rare times that the Isles have made it into the New York press. To be fair, the other teams in the area have a little more glamor (except for maybe the Mets) and some more "notable" players, but the Islanders have people to pay attention to as well. The trick is that the cycle of being bad to mediocre on ice needs to be broken for guys like John Tavares to be a bit more big named and for the newspapers to pay attention to the team again.

Every March the spectacle that is March Madness takes over and seeps into nearly every imaginable facet of life. Hockey is no exception. Over the past few days we have seen numerous NHL players unveil their brackets. In typical form, Alex Ovechkin's is the most memorable as well as the most fun to analyze. 

The D.C. Sports Blog unveiled Ovechkin's selections which culminate with a title game between Alabama and Kentucky. His Elite Eight selections? Kentucky, Duke, St. Louis, Norfolk State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Alabama and Georgetown. Bold picks, to say the least. 

The Collective Bargaining Agreement reached to start the league back up again after the 2004-2005 lockout is kaput after this season, and understandably people are worried. The NHLPA successfully bucked the GMs on the issue of realignment earlier this season, and many viewed that instance as the opening salvo in a potentially long and drawn out ordeal. You have one work stoppage, and look at what happens. 

The NHL's been starting the season in European locations since 2007 to both spread the brand and give local fans a chance to see some of their home grown superstars play in person. Unfortunately, with the uncertainty around the new CBA negotiations, it seems like scheduling the games and booking the venues could be an unnecessary cost. If the season's kaput, then the league and the NHLPA will have to figure out who foots the bill, or how much of a bill they foot.

Aside from the Premiere Games issue, the NHL and NHLPA haven't sat down to discuss the CBA that expires on September 15th. In quotes given to the Globe and Mail, Gary Bettman sounds optimistic that something will be worked out. Unfortunately, there're going to be lots of disappointed fans in Helsinki or Stockholm, or Munich, or where ever the league was going to start next season.

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Many years ago, when mastodons roamed the earth and the permafrost extended south to Tampa Bay, fifty goal scorers were as common as hot goalies in the playoffs. You could safely count on a few every year.

But since the dreaded neutral-zone trap prompted a thawing of the ice caps and a cessation of unchecked glacial expansion in North America, fifty goal scorers have joined polar bears as species endangered by the abrupt climate shift.

But last night, we saw hope that once more goals will come in abundance, that teams will value speed and shooting touch again, that our long National (Hockey League) nightmare is over and scoring sanity is coming back. Stevie Stamkos hit the nifty fifty again.

Below the fold, we’ll place Stamkos’ achievement in context

It may come as a bit of a surprise to learn that the Dallas Stars are arguably the hottest team in the NHL right now. Playing their best hockey of the season, Dallas has been on a roll, dismantling nearly every team they have faced recently all the while eluding most media coverage.

If you haven't been paying attention to Dallas the past few weeks, here's a quick refresher course to catch you up. Heading into their game tonight against Winnipeg, Dallas has won their past six games in a row. Looking a bit further back, the Stars have won 10 of their last 11 contests, propelling them from the fringe of playoff consideration to being the top dog in the Pacific. 

It's time for the NHL to take note - Dallas is becoming a contender. Is it time to buy into the belief that the Stars could truly contend for the Cup? 

Are you tired of the NHL and their superstars? Do you hate the cleanliness of NHL uniforms and wish to see more advertisements on each player? Want to take a vacation to Eastern Europe without leaving the United States?

Don't worry, your dreams will come to life soon enough!

According to the Commissioner of the Kontinental Hockey League, Alexander Medvedev, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn will serve as a host to multiple KHL regular season games and exhibitions after the construction of the arena is complete. In addition to the regular games, they are also in discussion in hosting a KHL Legends game. Mikhail Prokhorov, who currently owns the New Jersey Nets and has strong ties back to his home country of Russia, easily paved the bridge to the United States for the KHL. The league has recently been meeting with the NHLPA as well as NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to make sure that the NHL wouldn't try to disrupt the planning stages.

This would be the first time that the KHL has brought over their game to North America. If things go smoothly, the KHL would probably continue to hold games in New York for years to come. Since the NHL has opened their season in Europe the past few years, why not have the KHL open their seasons in the United States? And while many would probably be interested in seeing a KHL game live, I think it would be more beneficial for the league to play exhibition games against each other. If the NHL would be willing to have teams close to New York play, we could easily matchups such as: