Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all.

Who's In: Erik Cole, F (Trade-CAR); Lubomir Visnovsky, D (Trade-LA); Ryan Potulny, F (Trade-PHI), Gilbert Brule, F (Trade-CBJ)

Who's Out: Jarret Stoll, F (Trade-LA); Marty Reasoner, F (FA-ATL); Joni Pitkanen, D (Trade-CAR); Matt Greene, D (Trade-LA); Curtis Glencross, F (FA-CGY); Raffi Torres, F (Trade-CBJ)

What's Changed: Edmonton finished last year on a 18-10-1 run, so the idea in the offseason was to improve this team. The Oilers made their run on the backs of an assortment of young players, and hopes are high in the Land of Oil for this team. Edmonton brought in Cole from Carolina, giving their top line the punch and experience it needed. Cole will likely work with "veteran" Shawn Horcoff (just turned 30) and the greatly-talented Ales Hemsky on the top line.

The other significant move the Oilers made involved replacing offensive-minded defenseman Pitkanen, who was dealt for Cole. Edmonton packaged Stoll and Greene in a deal for Visnovsky, who was minus-18 last year but on a painfully bad Los Angeles team. He'll make sure that the defensive corps doesn't miss Pitkanen too much.

Outside of those two moves, not much has changed in Edmonton, except that the kids are a year older. Andrew Cogliano (45 points in 2007), Hemsky (71), Sam Gagner (49), Robert Nilsson (41), Kyle Brodziak (31), Tom Gilbert (33), and Dustin Penner (47) all were a big part of the team's late-season resurgence, and Penner - at age 26 - is the oldest of this group. Saying that their best days are ahead of them is an understatement.

Life is tough for Toronto Maple Leafs fans. Heck, it's been 41 years since they won a Stanley Cup, and while the Leafs have fans all over Canada, they also have plenty of vocal enemies. It's gotten so bad that Alena Sharp, a Canadian player on the LPGA Tour, will be leaving her Maple Leafs club cover at home when she plays at the CN Canadian Women's Open outside Ottawa this weekend.

Here's what Sharp told the Ottawa Sun's Chris Stevenson:

Hamilton's Alena Sharp, Canada's top player on the LPGA Tour this year, has a Toronto Maple Leafs head cover on her driver, but she said today she's willing to chuck it for this week.

"I was waiting for that one to come up. Last year in Edmonton, I got flack about it...so if someone is willing to bring an Ottawa Senators head cover, I'll put it on my bag for the week. I guess you can put that out in the media."

Abandon the Leafs for the Sens? Somebody alert Battle of Ontario, we've got a deserter to deal with!

Then again, there's always the Shania Twain solution.

Sharp, by the way, proudly displays a Maple Leafs logo on her official Web site, right alongside one from the Boston Red Sox. If you happen to be looking for a Maple Leafs club cover all your own, click here.

Thanks to J.P. for the pointer.

For those who follow the goings on in the financial markets closely, the recent rally in the US Dollar in terms of the trade-weighted index was quite an event, considering the extreme weakness of world's reserve currency over the past 7 years. The blast upwards to 76 on the index has some people proclaiming (and I'm not one of them, mind you) that the Bear Market in the dollar is over:

"This is the watershed week for the US dollar," said Marc Chandler, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. "The magnitude of the dollar's moves and the breaking of key technical levels suggest that a major shift in the outlook towards the dollar is occurring as massive positions are adjusted." Other analysts described the widespread buying of dollars as "capitulation"

One might be wondering what this has to do with the NHL, and, as the title of this post suggests, the salary cap? Allow me to build my case slowly if you would. Considering that according to this article in the Toronto Star I found at this post by my old blogging buddy the EclectEcon over at the Sportseconomist.com, the driving force behind the >10% rise in the salary cap for each of the past two seasons was the strengthening Canadian Dollar:

The increase in the value of the Canadian dollar may be responsible for as much as half of the league's revenue gains since the NHL went through the lockout of 2004-05, say several sources familiar with NHL finances.

"If you take out the Canadian teams, which have done so well since the lockout largely because of the Canadian dollar, the league's revenues are actually only growing at a 2 per cent clip per year," says an executive with a U.S.-based NHL team, who requested anonymity.

With the Loonie averaging near parity with the $USD over the past year and having broken down out of the box formation that held it in check between $1.02 and $0.97US for the past 9 months to its closing price as of this writing to $0.938, there is a real possibility of a contraction in league revenues due to this breakdown of the exchange rate.

While most of the rest of the sports world is preoccupied with the trade of Brett Favre from Green Bay to New York and the possibilities that deal presents going forward, the hockey world has been spending most of this week looking backward at a trade that 20 years ago shook the foundations of the game -- the deal that sent the greatest player in the history of the game, Wayne Gretzky, from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings.

I'm having a tough time gathering up many thoughts that haven't been said and written here and elsewhere before. As it turns out, FanHouse had our own little spasm of Gretzky-mania in and around the 19th anniversary of the deal. I looked at the trade from the 50,000 foot-level; our old buddy Greg Wyshynski recounted the reaction of the media from August 9, 1988; and J.P. and Dr. Mirtle put Gretzky's greatness into perspective on the stat sheet. Earlier this week, Kevin Schultz shared the perspective of a hockey fan who got to watch the trade from his highchair.

Over at the NHL Network this week, it's been all Gretzky, all the time, beginning with Wednesday night when it premiered A Day That Changed The Game: August 9, 1988, an hour-long documentary about the deal. The rest of the week has been peppered with plenty of other Gretzky-centric programming, including replays of some of the most significant games from his time in a Kings uniform.

Even when I turned off the television, I couldn't get away from Gretzky. It was on Tuesday evening that I arrived home to find an express mail package on my doorstep from an old college buddy who lives outside New Orleans. Inside were a pair of Todd McFarlane figurines, both Gretzkys, one in an Oilers uniform and the other in his LA duds. Apparently, they still don't know who he is in rural Louisiana, so you can snag them for a buck a piece at the local dollar discount store.

As you've probably been reminded about 1,000 times already, this Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the hockey world's Trade to End All Trades (Also known as Mark Messier Meltdown Day and the Day Canada Died Albeit Temporarily). More commonly, it is known as the day when Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings from the Edmonton Oilers for some guys who were pretty good but never really equated to the value of Wayne FREAKING Gretzky.

August 9, 1988. A day that will live in hockey infamy forever. At least in Canada. Or maybe just Edmonton.

But however you remember it, wherever you were that day when you first heard the news (heck, it might have taken a week to hear about it back in those days with the pony express and all), it's something that hockey fans will remember forever. At least those of us who were old enough to remember it.

Ah yes, there's nothing nicer than the smell of a brand new athletic crossover promotion. Last summer, Marty Broduer joined the NASCAR Busch Series for a little racing-hockey crossover in Montreal. Not to be outdone this summer when the IndyCar Series comes to Edmonton, the Oilers and their main sponsor and ownership group, Rexall, are getting in on the act.

Yesterday a few of the Oilers (Fernando Pisani, Steve Staios and Kyle Brodziak to be specific) unveiled the No. 06 Rexall Honda, which will be driven by Graham Rahal this weekend at the inaugural Rexall Edmonton Indy. That's a mouthful. But the car looks great and comes complete with Oilers logos plastered on the side. Knowing nothing about Indy Racing, I still think it's safe to say that Rahal may be the crowd favorite this weekend.

The big race in Edmonton takes place on Saturday, July 26th at 5pm ET (on TSN and ESPN) and the Oilers expect upwards of 150,000 people to attend over the entire race weekend.

The video of the unveiling can be seen on the Oilers' website, complimented with only audio of adrenaline pumping drum rhythms. Nothing says "unveiling a car" quite like the music you hear in the movies when the main character is getting chased through the woods by an axe wielding psycho murderer!

Sith Lord Gary Bettman, the killjoy that he is, has apparently had enough of the public bickering between Brian Burke and Kevin Lowe and told both men/boys to STFU.

Playing the role of School Marm, Bettman had a teleconference with the aforementioned GMs, and let them know that their insults are 'tarnishing' the league.

Despite my assertion that Burke/Lowe are acting like little children, I agree with The Hockey News' Adam Proteau in that the league shouldn't be trying to put a halt to this petty feud. It makes for great press!

It doesn't matter whether you believe Burke's notion that Lowe single-handedly drove up player costs with his lucrative offers to other teams' restricted free agents, or Lowe's assertion that Burke is "an absolute media junkie" who deserves little credit for building the Ducks into a Stanley Cup champion.

What matters here is people are talking about hockey in July – and, most importantly, the next time the Ducks and Oilers play, there will be a huge buildup of hype and anticipation regarding what the next chapter of the dueling GMs will read like.

Yes, Monsieur Bettman, what hockey needs is LESS press coverage, not more.

Sure, the feuding looks unprofessional, but the NHL is in the business of providing entertainment. When there are no games on TV, why not let fans get their hockey fix through other means?

Ever since Kevin Lowe signed Dustin Penner to an obscenely large offer sheet last summer, Ducks GM Brian Burke has rarely seized an opportunity to rip into one of the league's worst managers.

Via bad trades, draft picks, and plain stupid signings, Kevin Lowe turned a surprising cup contender into a playoff no-show in the manner of a couple of months. Thus, he makes an easy target.

Well, after letting most of Burke's attacks slide, Lowe finally snapped and decided to respond to Burke's jabs with a few right hooks of his own.

"The guy is an absolute media junkie and I guess he's achieving what he wants because he gets his name in the headlines. But the reality is, I hate the fact that my name is linked to this."

"He won a Stanley Cup? Great. I've won six Stanley Cups, you want to count rings? Who cares? It's just a little pathetic that he carries on."

"He's a moron, first of all. Secondly, he really believes that any news for the NHL is good news. Thirdly, he loves the limelight and I don't think anyone in hockey will dispute that."

It's hard to argue with Lowe on this one. Brian Burke has rarely met a microphone or TV camera he didn't love, and has, in a rather immature manner, continued to attack Lowe long after the silly Penner signing went down.

What part of "let it go" does Brian Burke not understand? Hey, I love his tirades, but there comes a point where it just becomes childish.

Of course, we now eagerly await Burke's fiery response ;) ...

The NHL Free Agent signing period kicked off a little more than an hour ago, and for the most part, what we've seen so far is teams making deals in order to clear some cap room. Here's a quick rundown of what's been confirmed so far:

The Edmonton Oilers dealt Raffi Torres to Columbus for Gilbert Brule, and also acquired Erik Cole from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Joni Pitkanen. Click here for details. Meanwhile, Carolina also signed ex-RSL defenseman Anton Babchuk.

Tampa Bay snagged winger Radim Vrbata away from Phoeinix.

The Anaheim Ducks signed winger Corey Perry to a contract extension.

The Calgary Flames obtained Rene Bourque from the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Red Wings have re-signed defenseman Brad Stuart.

Pat Lackey already wrote about Evgeni Malkin, but the Penguins also re-signed Pascal Dupuis.

The Devils re-signed Jay Pandolfo and Bryce Salvador, but said goodbye to Sergei Brylin.

First thoughts: The Brule deal with not be welcome in Edmonton, but the Cole deal is solid. I'm guessing with Vrbta signed the Lightning are done dealing with Brian Rolston, but you never know. And Chicago may be clearing the decks for a big signing.

Stick with us throughout the afternoon. I'm sure plenty of agents are pondering some big numbers right about now.

Over at Inside the Kings, Rich Hammond pulled the following Lubomir Visnovsky quote out of his archives, one that the defenseman uttered about a year ago when he signed a 5-year, $28 million contract extension with the team:

``I'm very happy that I'll be staying with this organization for a long time,'' said Visnovsky from his offseason home in Slovakia. ``I love Los Angeles and I want to play in the playoffs with the Kings.''

As it would turn out, Lubo's stay was only for one more year, as Kings GM Dean Lombardi shipped the puck-moving defenseman to Edmonton in return for center Jarret Stoll and defenseman Matt Greene. One fact that Hammond uncovered last night: Visnovsky has a no movement clause in his contract that kicks in on July 1 and runs to 2012, after which it turns into a limited no-trade clause. Looks like Visnovsky is going to be in Edmonton for a long time.

To take a look at how the trade shakes out for the Oilers, stop over at Lowetide, where the reaction seems uniformly positive, while Covered in Oil seems more than a bit hesitant. In any case, with Visnovsky in the fold, it looks like Joni Pitkanen's days in an Oilers uniform may be coming to an end.

Then again, I'm sure there's at least one party who is probably happy with the deal: That would be Los Angeles-based supermodel Rachel Hunter, who will probably be happy to have her boyfriend, Stoll, back in town a little more often.