A signing and a big rumor top some of the NHL discussion this week. First, the Ice Vols had another big weekend with two more wins.

Ice vols sweep in Nashville

The sixth-ranked Ice Vols proved the performances from two weeks ago against Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee State were no flukes.

Tennessee traveled to the Nashville area to play both teams again this past weekend and came back to Knoxville victorious.

On Friday night the Ice Vols handed the Commodores another shutout, winning easily 9 - 0.

It was Tennessee's third straight shutout against Vandy, going back to last season.

The Ice Vols took the momentum from night one and used it to carry themselves to an 8 - 2 win over MTSU on Saturday night.

Kevin Jones scored a hat trick to lead the Ice Vols in their effort against the Blue Raiders. Chris Neilson also added two power-play goals and three assists.

The two wins improve Tennessee to 12-2-0-1 in Division III play and 12-5-0-1 overall. The Ice Vols 24 points currently have them in sixth position in the ACHA South.

Up next

The Ice Vols will have three more games at home this season, including two this coming weekend.

Tennessee will host Georgia Tech on both Friday and Saturday night at the Knoxville Coliseum. Georgia Tech is currently 6-12-0-3.

Friday night's game will start at approximately 7:30 p.m. The game will also include a skills competition showcasing some of the best talent in the surrounding area during intermission.

The Ice Vols will then play Georgia Tech again on Saturday night, following the Ice Bears game at 10:30 p.m.

Knoxville Ice Bears

The Knoxville Ice Bears lost to Richmond last week 3 - 0.

However, the Ice Bears beat Huntsville 5 - 3 to keep a four point lead over Richmond in the standings.

The Ice Bears will play a home-and-home series with the Fayetteville FireAntz this weekend.

Friday, the Ice Bears will play at Fayetteville. Saturday night, the FireAntz come to Knoxville.

The game will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Knoxville Coliseum.

Rankings

The NHL All-Star break has come and gone and some teams are showing they have the ability to be top playoff contenders while others need a major turn around.

One thing is for sure. The race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference is heating up.

Top Five

1. Detroit Red Wings (37 - 10 - 4) - Detroit got hot before the all-star break and play their first game since the break tonight. The Red Wings look almost unbeatable and are the most feared team night after night.

2. Philadelphia Flyers (28 - 16 - 5) - The Flyers have won six-of-seven and are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference. They have an easier schedule the next few weeks which could likely propel them into the East lead past the fumbling Ottawa Senators.

3. Montreal Canadiens (27 - 15 - 8) - Montreal finished strong going into the break with wins against current playoff teams Boston and New Jersey. Last night, the Habs crushed the resurgent Washington Capitals 4 - 0. They too have a chance to pull close or pass the Senators in the next few weeks.

4. San Jose Sharks (28 - 15 - 7) - San Jose has won three straight and is currently tied with the Dallas Stars for the second best record in the Western Conference. The Sharks just need to ignore the Red Wings and continue to push hard as they are in the toughest division in hockey right now.

5. Washington Capitals (23 - 23 - 5) - Before last night's loss to Montreal, the Capitals had the best record in the Eastern Conference since Glen Hanlon's firing in November. The Capitals are my dark horse as they could wreak a lot of havoc for teams fight for the final playoff spots.

Bottom Five

26. Chicago Blackhawks (23 - 23 - 4) - After finding some wins, the Blackhawks are back to losing more games. They ended the stretch before the break with two losses to San Jose and Columbus.

27 - 30. Southeast Division - Under the old playoff rules the Carolina Hurricanes would not even be in the playoffs if the season ended today. However, because the division winner is guaranteed a top three slot in the playoff seeding, they are currently in the playoffs.

Other then the Capitals, who are climbing out of what seemed like an endless hole from earlier this year, the Southeast is the division everybody wants to play.

• The Atlanta Thrashers have lost five straight and are 3-4-3 in their last 10.
• Carolina is 4-6-0 in their last 10 games.
• The Florida Panthers are 3-5-2 and I really wouldn't put to much weight in their win over Atlanta.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning have a winning record in their last 10 games. 5-4-1 isn't too bad, especially looking at how they have been performing, but they need a lot of work to pull themselves out of their hole.

Sundin, a trade item?

There are a lot of rumors about Toronto Maple Leafs star Mats Sundin being dealt to a new team by the trade deadline if Sundin will waive his no trade clause.

This is coming about because he will be a free agent this off-season and it will be very hard for Toronto to keep its superstar because of the amount of money that Sundin could be looking for.

This is where I think the salary cap has made the NHL like many other sports including football. Just hearing the possibility that Sundin could play for someone else bothers me.

I understand the salary cap was designed to give small hockey market teams a better chance.

Detroit, Ottawa, Dallas, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are still dominating, though.

Columbus, Nashville, Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, Florida and Atlanta are all still struggling.

For a long time, the NHL's stars were almost guaranteed to stay with their team, giving a sense of stability to the fans, team and front office.

There are always going to be blockbuster players moving around. However, I think its going to become more and more common in hockey.

Temmu is back, for at least one more year

One of the leading goal scorers for much of his career is deciding to come back and finish out the remainder of the season.

Temmu Selanne, who was tied for fifth in goals from the start of the 2005 season until the end of last season, signed a one-year deal with the Ducks.

Although he has missed much of the year, this could be a strong move for the Ducks as they find themselves in the tightest division battle with three teams separated by only three points.

Having their prolific goal scorer back will give Anaheim a big boost in offensive production and a very important set of fresh legs that could really give them an advantage against some of their opponents.