It's been a realitivly busy week in the NHL. There are many stories I can talk about including a  ridicoulusly long contract and a big trade.

In light of baseball's Mitchell Report, I even decided to speak into the steroid issue, or lack their of, in the NHL.

My top five didn't change much this week, but my bottom five had a complete face lift, minus one team.

Rankings

Top Five

1. Detroit Red Wings (23 - 6 - 3) - Detroit had a solid week as usual. The Red Wings earned points in all four games with their one loss coming in a shootout. Henrik Zetterberg continues to be the top performer for the team as he added two more goals and three assists in the four games of the week.

2. Ottawa Senators (21 - 7 - 3) - Ottawa had a dominating week, after the November slump with seven straight losses. In three games this week, the Senators outscored their opponents 17 - 4. Pittsburgh was their closest game, which they won 4 - 1. They also shutout the Southeast leading Carolina Hurricanes 6 - 0.

3. Dallas Stars (18 - 11 - 4) - Dallas got back to their winning ways as well. With three wins, including a win over division leading San Jose, the Stars worked back into a tie for the Pacific lead.

4. San Jose Sharks (18 - 10 - 4) - The Sharks had a busy last week with five games. Unfortunatly, they lost to the poor Buffalo Sabres 7 - 1 and then loss to Dallas.

5. Boston Bruins (16 - 10 - 2) - Boston has been a fairly under the radar team this year. Lately, the Bruins have gotten on a roll, as they won four of five in the last week and have worked their way toward the top of the Eastern Conference.

Somewhere in the middle.

If you didn't catch previous installments, I will catch you up to speed. The Washington Capitals have been on the bottom from the beginning. This week, they are not even in my bottom five.

Being from Maryland, the Capitals are my team. And its been brought to my attention, that perhaps, I have judged them a little harshly this year.

I haven't felt that I have been too harsh, but the last two weeks has seen a big change. In the last week, the Caps are 4 - 1. They beat New Jersey and the New York Rangers. Both teams are near the top of the NHL.

More importantly, since they hired Bruce Boudreau, the Caps are 7-4-2, totaling 16 points. Not bad for a team that was 6-14-1 and with just 13 points before hand.

The Caps have had six losses under Boudreau, but two came in a shootout, and two were by one goal. The other two games were two-goal losses.

With wins against Philadelphia, Carolina, and Florida as well, I think the Caps are finally performing like they were expected too.

Bottom Five

26. Chicago Blackhawks (15 - 15 - 2) - The Blackhawks have been fading fast. In the last week, Chicago is 1 - 3. Their only win came against the Kings. That's not saying much, especially for a team that went through a 13 game stretch against some of the top teams in the league with nine wins and one loss in overtime and one loss in a shootout.

27. Nashville Predators (14 - 14 - 2) - Since the NHL approved the sale of the Predators in late November, Nashville is 2 - 5 with three straight losses to close out the last week. It could be a fluke, but it seems like spirits are down and that could lead to many more losses.

28. Tampa Bay Lightning (13 - 12 - 2) - Tampa Bay had a poor week to propel them back into the bottom. The team can't seem to get out of streaks. After three straight wins, they Lightning have lost four of five with their one win being a steal in a shootout. It's hard to pick a proper place for a team that can beat the best one week and lose to the worst the next.

29. Los Angeles Kings (12 - 19 - 2) - The Kings are the only team that did not boost out of my bottom five this week. In fact, they continue their role as bride's maid of the bad. The Kings had another poor week, losing four of five. The Kings have played musical chairs with their goalies this year, starting four different players. None of them seem to be the answer. Better yet, the goalie might not be the issue.

30. Atlanta Thrashers (14 - 17 - 1) - Atlanta is the newest Southeast team to reach the bottom of my list. Last week, the Thrashers suddenly dropped like a rock as they were beaten by the Capitals 6 - 3. They followed that performance up with three more losses this week to go winless at 0 - 4.

Too long of a contract?

Is there any such thing as too long of a contract?

That question is up in the air with the recent contract extension that was agreed upon between the Philadelphia Flyers and Mike Richards.

The Flyers just gave Richards a $69 million contract extension over the next 12 years.

12 years?

Are they crazy?

$69 million isn't that much when you think of all the big deals that go on. It equals out to $5.75 million per year.

My first issue with this contract is that 12 years is way too much for any sport, especially hockey. What happens if Richards doesn't pan out to be as good as the Flyers anticipate would like. They're stuck in a contract that will pay him way too much.

Good luck finding somebody to take over a long and expensive contract for a mediocre player. If the Flyers were to cut him early in his contract, there would be an expensive penalty to the Flyers salary cap that would really hurt the team's roster depth.

My second issue is this. Why would you give such a contract to a realitively unproven player? In Richards two previous years, he has had 66 points, 21 goals and 45 assists, in 138 games. Not great stats for a forward.

This year, Richards has 15 goals and 23 assists in 31 games. However, a majority of the stats have come early in the season. It borderline seems like an early season fluke. I think it's a little too early in the season for the Flyers to be dishing out 17 percent of the teams salary cap for the next 12 years.

Another big trade

The Anaheim Ducks traded away Andy McDonald to the St. Louis Blues for Doug Weight, Michal Birner, and a seventh round draft pick. Confusion is upon me once again.

McDonald was a key player that has proven himself in the NHL. He was a strong component to the Ducks championship last year.

In return, the Ducks get an old star past his prime, an unknown and unproven player and a draft pick that will more than likely get a player that will never reach hockey's premier league.

It's a super deal for the Blues if you ask me. I understand that the Ducks are not having the year they would like after winning last year's Stanley Cup, but giving away key players to the team just doesn't add up to me.

Steroids in hockey?

The big news about steroid use in baseball gave me the idea to look up steroid use in hockey since it hasn't been mentioned.

Since the NHL instituted its new policy, there has been only one failed test. Sean Hill, who is currently with the Minnesota Wild, failed a test in the second half of last season.

One failed drug test isn't bad in my opinion. I think a large part of the success is their policy. Hill was slapped with a 20-game suspension. That is a quarter of the season and pay checks.

The other strength to the NHL's policy in my opinion is the way they test. The NHL tests each player randomly during the season three times. In less then seven months of the regular season, three random tests are hard to find a gap in to take a steroid.

Perhaps they test to much, but between that and their harsh first time suspensions, the NHL has reached a solid deterent from steroid use. Perhaps baseball should consider following the NHL's guidelines.

Local Flavor

The Ice Vols were again ranked No. 7 in the ACHA South Rankings produced on December 9. They totaled 47 points. Tennessee has been ranked No. 7 all year.

Central Florida is No. 1 with 3 first place votes and 16 points. Georgia is No. 2 with 3 first place votes as well and 20 points. Christopher Newport is No. 3 with 2 first place votes and 23 points. Richmond is No. 4 with 1 first place vote and 23 points.

Florida Gulf Coast is tied with Richmond with 23 points and Old Dominion is No. 6 with 44 points.