If you’re a diehard puck fan, then today’s your day. The NHL trade deadline has become a holiday of sorts for hockey fans. Though there might not be as many of us as say baseball or football, believe me, we are verrrrry passionate about our teams on the ice and the sport itself.

I really wish I could be around for all the madness which will most likely ensue this afternoon before the 3 PM deadline. Even if Mats Sundin and the re-signed Dan Boyle are off the block, you know there will be other key players who find new teams which could make an impact down the stretch.

Names to look for who could be on the move include former Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards, superstar forward Marian Hossa, Cup winner Rob Blake, Brian Campbell and possibly Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle.

I also wouldn’t be surprised to see veterans such as Sergei Fedorov, Michael Peca and Robert Lang all on the move. Other names who could find new destinations include Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko, possibly Brian Gionta (for the right center though I have my doubts), Yanic Perreault and Ladislav Nagy.

There are only so many places you can go to keep track of all the chaos which is about to happen several hours from now.

I highly recommend my good friend Patricia Greuter’s 2Man Advantage site. She and her writers are excellent and will be around tracking all the deadline deals. If you like creativity as well, she’s just totalllly awesome!

You can also check out sites such as TSN and TFP for any trade rumors. Don’t bother with Sportsnet as they aren’t the most reliable IMHO.

I’m sure my good buddy Greg Wyshynski will be keeping close track of everything that goes down.

Before I go get some sleep (only got 9,000 different things to do today), I just wanted to pass along some info from yahoo blogger Ross McKeon.

It looks like the Stars are aligned for Brad Richards and the Canadiens are about to land Hossa. If he gets these two right, then he’s certainly a leg up on the competition!  

In case you missed it, the Flyers acquired forward Vaclav Prospal from the Lightning for defenseman Alexandre Picard and a conditional 2009 pick. If Philly makes the Eastern Conference Final (how likely is that considering how depleted their roster is), then the Bolts would get a second round pick as well.

Prospal can help Philly for sure. He’s having a nice bounceback season and should do alright as a replacement for the Flyers’ best player Mike Richards who’s sidelined with a torn hamstring.

The Boyle deal was six years worth a reported $40 million. Geez. Overpayment much? Oh. He’s good. No doubt. But he’ll be 32 by next Fall. To commit that many years to a defenseman at that age is insanity. And the price. Wow. Campbell’s asking price just went through the roof! Bye bye I guess to Buffalo.

Meanwhile, the Blues re-signed defenseman Barret Jackman to a four-year deal. He wasn’t all that great to begin with. I’m not certain why they felt obligated to do this.

Oh well.

So, will the locals be involved today? A quick look at what each team needs: 

Devils- they’ve had a tremendous run to the top of the conference but Lou Lamoriello should prioritize a top four defenseman and possibly one more gritty forward who can contribute. They’re winning because of Brodeur and the resurgence of John Madden. That might not work in the playoffs if they run into a deeper team. Replacing Vitaly Vishnevski (Vish-crapsky) is a must. A Perreault or Lang wouldn’t be a bad pickup. As for the D, who knows what Lou’s thinking? He’s always making deals nobody sees coming.

Rangers- there’s no doubt they’ve underperformed but lately aside from that awful five-goal collapse in Montreal, they’ve looked like the Cup contender most thought. Still, they desperately need a physical defenseman. Especially with Paul Mara sidelined a couple of weeks due to facial surgery. Marek Malik’s picked it up. So he’s probably staying put. Also, they need another gritty forward for the fourth line. Might Martin Lapointe interest them?

Islanders- it’s amazing to think that Ted Nolan has this team in playoff contention when his blueline is so beat up. The loss of Mike Sillinger up front hurts big time. But somehow, with Rick DiPietro standing on his head and just enough scoring, they’re in the race. Do you unload Comrie, Fedotenko and possibly future UFA Miroslav Satan? Or do you add more pieces and take a shot? If you’re Garth Snow, after how you got burned last year with Ryan Smyth, he’ll be more careful. Plus the farm’s kind of thin. Don’t expect too much.