Those of us who have artificial ice coursing through our veins are looking forward to making a mint on the NHL futures market. But you don’t have to be a puckhead to make a sharp hockey bet once the football season is over. Consider these five possibilities for 2008:

Detroit to win the Stanley Cup: The Red Wings are outstanding at every position, two deep in net, and have steamrolled the competition thus far.

Ottawa to win the Eastern Conference: The Senators had a little dry spell there, but are back on track and clearly the beasts of the East.

Nicklas Lidstrom to win the Norris Trophy: Nearly as automatic as when Bobby Orr was in his prime.

Alexander Ovechkin to win the Maurice Richard Trophy: Heating up, and so are his linemates.

Denis Savard to win the Jack Adams: Having Patrick Kane on your team makes you look pretty smart.

If you were to ask the Calgary Flames they’d probably tell you that road trips are a blast — especially if you’re winning! Wrapping up their most recent road trip the Flames have tied an NHL record by 6-0 on the road…and along the way they’ve picked up some much-needed points in a very tight Northwest Division battle for the playoffs. But most teams don’t like long road trips — particularly around this time of year (the holidays) and/or when a nasty flu bug rips through the entire roster like a hurricane. Just ask the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks’ eight-games-in-eight-cities travelling road show ended in Edmonton with a shootout loss to the Oilers on Dec. 15th.

“That was one of the toughest stretches I’ve ever been associated with,” said coach Alain Vigneault. “The tank is empty.”

Now that the team is back at home and their starting goalie is back in net (that would be Roberto Luongo), the Canucks are riding a two-game win streak. Let’s hope that doesn’t snap tonight when they make one last flight over to Phoenix to play the Coyotes before the Christmas break.

The Canucks are 20/1 odds to win the Stanley Cup.

Can these guys win a game in regulation time? Sheesh.

Last week the Edmonton Oilers set an N.H.L. record by participating in four straight shootouts. On the year, Edmonton is 10-2 in shootouts, going 5-1 at home and on the road as well. Without the shootout, the team’s record through Friday would be 6 victories, 18 losses and 12 ties.

Alex Hemsky and Sam Gagner have both made appearances in 11 of the 12 shootouts, with Hemsky being the better of the two going 5-for-11. But the Oilers would not be enjoying any overtime success without the help of Shawn Horcoff, who is 4-for5 in the shootout with two deciding goals.

The odds on the Oilers winning the Stanley Cup are 100/1 in most online sportsbooks.

The hockey world is upside-down. Boston and Chicago don’t suck. Only six teams are below .500. And Sidney Crosby is on pace to score 110 points this year, down from 120 last year.

The flattening of the NHL standings throws the field of potential award winners wide open. Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier leads the league with 51 points and is carrying the injured Bolts on his back; the Hart Trophy should be his if voting were held today.

Chris Osgood’s Lazarus impersonation will earn him the Vezina if he keeps things rolling in Detroit. Teammate Nicklas Lidstrom is so good on defense (27 points, plus-17 in 32 games) that they should rename the Norris after him. The Calder will be a tough pick between Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, who may split the Blackhawk vote and allow Atlanta defenseman Tobias Enstrom to take home the hardware. But Kane plus Toews does equal Jack Adams for Denis Savard.

With the NHL 2008 entry draft 6 months away in Ottawa people are already trying to figure out who the top prospects will be. Here’s a short list of my top 15 picks.

No. 1: Drew Doughty; D, Guelph Storm
As a defenseman Doughty possesses all of the tools you would want in a franchise blueliner. He’s a great skater with tremendous offensive skills and has the ability to shut down the other team’s top players. He also has tremendous leadership qualities that will make him a huge hit in whatever city gets him in June.

No. 2: Steven Stamkos; C, Sarnia Sting
As the guy who’s receiving the most buzz he deserves it. He is an offensive machine that could produce goals at an NHL level almost immediately. His vision, ability to distribute the puck and finish opportunities is unparalleled in this draft and is on par with last year’s top pick, Patrick Kane.

No. 3: Alex Pietrangelo; D, Niagara IceDogs
Pietrangelo has a lot of the skills Doughty has, but adds a frame that will top out at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. His game isn’t refined quite yet but I wouldn’t be surprised by the end of the season to be the first overall selection because he continues to get better every night at both ends of the ice.

No. 4: Nikita Filatov; RW, CSKA Moscow
Filatov shows a vast array of skills. Although he isn’t the biggest kid in the world he combines lightning quickness with tremendous vision and a creativity that has been lacking in the Russians for a while. He certainly has the skills and tools to become a star in the NHL.

No. 5: Zac Bogosian; D, Peterborough
Bogosian’s development has been astounding. His physical play and ability to punish opponents is remarkable and he still contributes on the offensive end. I’m sure his long and decorated NHL career will make him and his team very happy.

My next 10 picks:
No. 6: Colten Teubert; D, Regina Pats
No. 7: Kyle Beach; LW, Everett Silvertips
No. 8: Kiril Petrov; LW; Ak Bars Kazan
No. 9: Colin Wilson; C, Boston University
No. 10: Michael Del Zotto; D, Oshawa Generals
No. 11: Tyler Cuma; D, Ottawa 67’s
No. 12: Cody Hodgson; C, Brampton Battalion
No. 13: Luke Schenn; D, Kelowna Rockets
No. 14: Michael Bodker; RW, Kitchener Rangers
No. 15: Yann Sauve; D, Saint John Seadogs

Forget it. Vincent Lecavalier may just be leaving Crosby in the dust as you read this.

The Tampa Bay Lightning centre has 45 points in 29 games and is showing no signs of easing off.
“Once you start scoring, it seems like you can really see the net,” Lecavalier said on an NHL conference call. “But, you know, if you go three, four, five games (without scoring), you get to squeezing your stick a little bit, obviously you see the goalie a lot bigger. It kind of goes both ways.”

So far Lecavalier has been able to hold off defending Art Ross Trophy winner and Pittsburgh phenom, Sydney Crosby, as well as Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings.

The kid can scrap too. Earlier this year Lecavalier made hockey headlines when he dropped the gloves in back-to-back games- something Gretzky could only of fantasized about.

When an athlete becomes the best player his sport has ever seen, everyone wants to anoint a successor. The NBA hopes LeBron James will be the “new” Michael Jordan; NHL fans herald Sidney Crosby as their latest Next One to assume the throne once held by The Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.

Talk about high expectations. Gretzky won nine Hart Trophies and four Stanley Cups while obliterating nearly every scoring record in the book. And he did it with iconic flair, taking both Hollywood and Broadway by storm.

Crosby is well on his way. In a league where scoring is at a premium compared to 20 years ago, “Sid the Kid” topped the 100-point mark in each of his first two seasons and won the Hart as a sophomore. Now all he has to do to match Gretzky is stay at the top of his game for another decade and lead a Pittsburgh Penguins dynasty. Piece of cake.

It had to have been an intimidating night for Sidney Crosby (aka “Sid the Kid”) as he made his first appearance at Rexall Place in Edmonton last night, home to many of the game’s best players — including one Wayne Gretzky. The media was out in full force and the fans were expecting to see some Gretz-like magic, but did any of the hoopla faze the young Pittsburgh captain? Uhhh…no. Well, at least it didn’t appear that way by the third period.

Playing his 187th regular-season game, the 20-year-old Nova Scotia native had three assists in the third period to help Pittsburgh rally for a 4-2 victory over the Oilers on Wednesday night.

“It’s great to come on the road and get a welcome like that. You never expect it, so it’s nice,” said Crosby, who is set to continue his Western Conference road trip in Calgary on Thursday night against the Flames before making his Vancouver debut Saturday night against the Canucks.

With regards to the kind of effect he’ll have on the Penguins’ winning the Stanley Cup? Oddsmakers have them at 12/1 odds to win.

The Ottawa Senators have gone on a six-game slide, dropping over 10 units on the moneyline. They still have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 16-7-2. But we can’t in good conscience include them in our Top 5 NHL Power Rankings.

1. Detroit Red Wings: Three wins in a row, and Chris Osgood (.924 save percentage) has taken his job back from Dominik Hasek after all these years.

2. New York Rangers: Gaining ground on the Sens at 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Aggressive offseason (Scott Gomez, Chris Drury) is paying off.

3. Dallas Stars: Something strange is happening: Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro are working well together.

4. Vancouver Canucks: Three straight shutouts by Roberto Luongo as the Canucks round back into form.

5. St. Louis Blues: Seriously. Manny Legace and Hannu Toivonen have both excelled in goal, and Paul Kariya is still the man. The Blues are 8-1-1 in their past 10 games.