The NHL's "real" trade deadline is Wednesday at 3 P.M. Eastern. Before the deadline, take a look at where each team in the Western Conference stands. Approximations of cap room are taken from nhlnumbers.com.
In the West, there are a number of teams that think they're still alive in the playoff chase, and the teams who look to be selling probably don't have a whole lot to sell.
Those barely outside the top eight could find it hard to find trade partners, depending on how other teams perceive themselves.
Evgeni Nabokov couldn't wait to get back on the ice and practice with the Sharks the past two days. He wants to get Russia's bummer of an Olympics behind him, along with those six goals that Canada scored against him last week.
"I had two days off and rested, then practice has been good," San Jose's goaltender told FanHouse by phone after his team's workout Monday. "I was anxious to get back and practice with the guys."
Yep, just that fast it's back to normal all over the NHL, and the Sharks jump into action with Tuesday night's game against New Jersey and the Devils' band of Olympians, including their goaltender, Canada's Martin Brodeur. But does Nabokov worry there might be any hangover effect, as there occasionally is for goalies who get peppered in all-star games?
"I hope not," Nabokov said. "I always try to put a bad game behind me. I never look past. I look forward."
Sharks center Scott Nichol doesn't go home in the offseason and brag about his prowess in the faceoff circle ... but he could. He's leading the league in faceoff percentage for the second time in three seasons, with a slick 61 percent won.
"You don't get on ESPN, that's for sure," Nichol told FanHouse with a laugh.
"It's not something people talk about around the water cooler," San Jose center and faceoff-standout Manny Malhotra said. "But it is an aspect of the game that, if you're good at it, can help you win games."
Taking faceoffs isn't glamorous, true enough. It isn't highlight-reel material. Great faceoff men don't get big endorsement deals or win Hart Trophies unless they're also top scorers. Goal scorers are rock stars, faceoff men are roadies.
They sent four teams to Europe, including Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins, in 2008, and they followed that up with four more teams playing there to open this season. Among them was Detroit, a team full of Swedish imports, who got to play in their home country against St. Louis.
Next season's foray into Europe will expand once again, with six teams set to play in three different cities, giving 18 players the chance to play on home soil.
No one comes close to Vancouver for nights away from home during this pre-Olympic stretch, but the San Jose Sharks -- after sticking at or very close to home for the past six weeks -- are heading out on the road until after the Games, the toughest stretch of the season for the Western Conference's top team.
Tuesday night's loss to Detroit was the final home game San Jose will play for a month, and the tricky part for head coach Todd McLellan is that most of his best players will go straight from a six-game road trip (which ends in Buffalo) back across the continent to the Olympics. McLellan has to try some ways to get some rest for his eight Olympians while continuing to try to keep pace with the Washington Capitals, who took over the NHL's top spot with their 11th consecutive win Tuesday.
For weeks, McLellan has been asked non-stop about the Olympics and the potential impact on his team. No team is sending more players to the Games, and McLellan was an assistant coach with the Red Wings team that won the President's Trophy in the last Winter Olympics year, but fell in the first round of the playoffs. That 2006 Detroit club had numerous Olympians, including many of the gold-medal winning Swedish team.
The 
Evgeni Nabokov couldn't wait to get back on the ice and practice with the Sharks the past two days. He wants to get Russia's bummer of an Olympics behind him, along with those six goals that Canada scored against him last week.
The 
No one comes close to Vancouver for nights away from home during this pre-Olympic stretch, but the 
