Forget about College Basketball March madness and try on the NHL’s version of March Madness which is the ever looming trade deadline…March 5th, 2014 for size. Pure insanity is about to break out as teams make the drive to find their missing piece and fans speculate like crazy what MAY or may NOT be…

I don’t know about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with the trade deadline. The part that I hate the most and drives me the most crazy is how quickly the rumor mill spins spreading before you can ever possibly catch up with the actual facts. The social media web better known as the sensation of twitter is best at speeding up how quickly rumor can become “fact”. Some of those “facts” will be proven to come true and others will be proven to be fiction as always happens this time of year.

This year has been no different. Rumors have been rampant all season long just like they are every year. Every team will have to make the decision to make or not to make what appears to be an insane deal in acquiring what they deem the missing piece OR to simply stand pat.

I will not participate in speculating any trade rumors of any kind until any of the said rumors become fact and the deadline passes at 12:00 PM (PT) on Wednesday. The media and twitter speculate enough without my help. Speculating what could happen will not change what DOES happen on Wednesday. I will say the following:

Trades are a part of the game. Sometimes you LOVE what a trade brings to your team and sometimes you HATE what it takes away. The truth is there will never be a way to please everyone. No matter what happens once the trade deadline passes, some will be very happy and some will be very upset with whatever their teams decide to do or not do. Some decisions will be predictable and some will shock you with their unpredictability.

Welcome to Trade Deadline Insanity…when the NHL turns into fruit basket upset as players move back and forth. Will you be watching or staying far away until the madness subsides? More than likely most deals will happen in the last moments before the deadline expires and twitter will explode. I will hold off making any comments in regards to trades until trades have happened or not happened and the deadline passes. It’s sure to be an interesting few days to say the least for hockey fans across the league no matter what the outcome.

The question is to stand pat or to be bold? We will see what’s in store for the 30 NHL teams and their fans as the trade deadline ebbs ever closer and moves are made or not made.

As always, until next time, nuck said.

Sarah E.L.