Sunday Off

With the Stanley Cup having been awarded and the HBIC Playoff Pool entrants being contacted for prizes, I will be examining the trophies handed out by the NHL at the upcoming NHL Awards Night. There is some great history on each of the trophies, and there have been some standout players who have won the trophies accordingly. As I prepare for the off-season, I'll also review some more charitable efforts from players and teams, examine the NHL Draft, prepare for July 1st's free agency market, and bring to light some other great stories. There will be a look at the Washington Capitals' minor-league affiliations as both the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays and AHL's Hershey Bears captured their league's respective championship trophies. This will take place before July 1 as well. Lastly, I'll have another entry in Teebz's Book Club that should, with a little planning, arrive before July 1.

However, being that this site is a reader-driven site, I have a major question for all of you who drop by here. And please - I'm begging you here - I want comments and emails about this so I know how to proceed.

What stories would you like to see HBIC cover this off-season? Last season, my summer project was the Charitable Organizations articles where I covered off a large number of charities started and supported by members of the NHLPA. These seemed to get a good readership and, hopefully, it brought to light the amazing efforts put forth by NHL players in your local communities. Again, I believe that NHL players do more in communities than what people believe, and these articles opened that door. If you want to read about some of them, please look under the "NHL Charities" section on the right.

So I pose to you, readers, what would you like to see HBIC cover after July 1st as my major summer project? It can be anything you like: history of old arenas, profiles of teams that no longer exist, affiliations of NHL teams with minor-league teams, or anything else.

Think about the question as you have some time before the July 1 deadline approaches. Nothing will be discarded or rejected as long as it has to do with hockey. Again, comments and emails are strongly encouraged on this, and I'll be taking suggestions from everyone.

Tomorrow, how the Stanley Cup became the hardest trophy to win in professional sports.

Until then, keep your sticks on the ice!