Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day and first day of NHL free agency!

It has been an exciting month in the NHL. We have seen the Pittsburgh Penguins winning the Stanley Cup, super stud John Tavares goes #1 in the draft to the Islanders, super stud Victor Hedman go #2 in the draft to the Lightning and a some big name defensemen are being traded around the league like Pokemon cards. The league hasn't been this exciting since we had a Calgary Flames home playoff game, boy those guys know how to rock the house.

The big surprise so far this off season has to be the trading of big name, top line defensemen. Chris Pronger found himself traded from the Ducks to the Flyers, which will help the Flyers compete and contain the likes of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Jay "Bo-Bo" Bouwmeester was shipped from the Panthers to the Flames, which creates a scary pairing for opposing offenses with hard hitting Dion Phaneuf also back there. American wunderkind that was Scott Gomez has also been shipped from the Rangers to the Canadians in hopes of making it out of the first round of the playoffs with more offense.

But all this action has only led up to today. Canada Day.

A couple of free agents for you to keep your eyes on in the coming weeks:

Marian Hossa - Hossa is one of the top wings in the NHL and he will likely only go to a title contender. Keep you eye on where Hossa lands, because once he does, go to Vegas and put down a fat bet that his team will lose in the Stanley Cup final. Sorry Marian, but it just seems to happen that way.

The Sedin brothers - Henrik and Daniel are two great young talents in the league. They have been paired together in Vancouver for the past couple of years, but it might be tough to keep all this talent and stay under the salary cap. My guess is that you will see Daniel looking for a job elsewhere. Henrik is a top line center that you need to have in this league.

Nikolai Khabibulin - The "bulin wall" is a goal keeping prize in this class. The tough Russian net minder has been around for a while and always strong in the net. The veteran presence in the net will demand a lot of attention from teams looking for consistency between the posts. However, being 36 many teams don't want to drop a long term contract on a person that might not be around, or able to play long term.

Martin Havlat - Now this is a situation to keep an eye on. The Blackhawks had an impressive season last year and made the playoff. They want to continue their improvement and become a Stanley Cup contender. Part of being a contender is being able to cultivate and keep your young talent. The 'Hawks have done this with young starlet (and American) Partick Kane, who undoubtedly is the future of the franchise. Another aspect of building a championship team is acquiring skilled veterans who provide leadership and consistency throughout the season and come playoff time, enter Martin Havlat. Here's the catch, Havlat and Kane play the same position. With Kane rising up the ranks of NHL young stars it will be hard for Havlat to get back on the ice with the first line. So this may lead him to move elsewhere around the league. Chicago needs to find a way to keep Havlat for their development as a team continues.

That is your quick off season NHL update. Enjoy the week and Happy Canada Day everybody.

~Dirk - Everything International Correspondent