After an impressive 16-year NHL hockey career, in which he played for the Jets, Panthers, Penguins, Sabres, and finally Dallas Stars, Stu Barnes will be trading in his ice skates and hockey jersey for wingtips and a suit. The man who brought intensity, intelligence, and pure talent to the ice will now bring those same qualities to the Dallas Stars bench as their new assistant coach.

Though Barnes has never seen himself as the player-coach type before, the Stars’ coaching staff has full faith in him. Co-general manager Les Jackson states, “Stu was a consummate professional on and off the ice throughout his career, and was the type of player who always exhibited the qualities you would associate with a future coach. Stu will be an excellent addition to our staff…” Sentiments that everyone of his former teammates always shared.

Barnes has been looking forward this move for quite some time, realizing that his playing days were fast approaching their end. He knew, however, that he was not ready to leave the game altogether. He believes his experience, if nothing else will assist the younger players on the team. After a total 1,136 NHL, most critics believe it will too.

 Now returning for its second year, hockey fans can rejoice as the NHL Winter Classic will once again ring in the New Year on January 1st. This year, two of the original six NHL teams will face off as the Chicago Blackhawks will host the Detroit Redwings in the open arena of Wrigley field.

The original NHL Winter Classic, which featured the Buffalo Sabres hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium, was an incredible success. Not even the inclement, snowy weather deterred the thousands of hockey fans from remaining in the stadium, until The Penguins finally won in penalties 2-1. It was the highest-rated NHL game since 1996.

This year, compounded with the success of last year’s event, The Winter Classic features one of the oldest rivalries in hockey history. The Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings rivalry is to hockey what The New York Yankees and The Boston Red Sox rivalry is to Major League Baseball.

The match will be non-stop action, but also a very relaxing experience to the hungover at home.

The veteran hockey player and defenseman Teppo Numminen has signed a $1 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres that will keep him running with the Sabres team for one year. The Sabres are not worried about the recent heart surgery that the veteran has had and are expecting him to be the driving force for their team this upcoming season. The doctors and the medical staff have given a clean chit to this veteran player and he is expected to play in most of the games for the Sabres this new NHL season. The tickets to the forthcoming NHL season are being sold at a brisk pace.

The Nashville Predators have extended the contract of their forward Jerred Smithson by two years and he will be playing for the Predators through the 2010-11 season. Smithson is very much delighted with the offer that the Predators made and will be richer by $1.475 million for this two year contract extension. Jerred Smithson was in great form in the 2008-09 season scoring 7 goals in the 81 games played. He made his NHL debut with Los Angeles team and has so far played in 241 games in his NHL career. Smithson’s fans are hoping for similar hockey skills this upcoming season too. Tickets to most of the NHL games are being sold at a hectic pace.

The Tampa Bay Lighting has signed a three year contract amounting to $2.625 million to rope in the No 1 pick in the NHL draft, Steven Stamkos, into their team. Stamkos is determined to make the most of this opportunity and wants to make it big this forthcoming NHL season. He said that he will be working with his new teammates at the practice camp and will be able to work on developing an excellent rapport with the players of the Lightning team. He feels that he is ready for the big challenge of NHL and will be able to prove his detractors wrong. There is no doubt that there will be huge rush for tickets by the Lightning fans to the upcoming season.