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With a potentially unpredictable shortened NHL season, we asked Lightning bloggers and Raw Charge staff where they think the Lightning will finish the season in the Eastern Conference.

Will the NHL's new Cap Hit Recapture system bite the Red Wings hard?

Continuing a trend of NHL owners addressing fans on Monday, the Tampa Bay Lightning released a statement from team owner Jeff Vinik.

Under the new CBA each team is allowed to buyout two players. When fans of the Oilers think buyout they think Shawn Horcoff but does it make sense to buy him their captain out? Are there any other players they should be looking at?

It's a bit of a contradiction that the NHL brand is tarnished, there is a growing sense of apathy toward the league, an

However loyal you are to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the NHL's legal filings could lead to the cancelling of every contract of every player in the league.

They may all seem like bad guys, and it may seem like we're ignoring certain bad guys in the 2012 lockout too. Our question this week is who is the biggest villain of the 2012 NHL lockout?

They are close, they are far apart. The only thing left for NHL clubs to do is be ready - for a resolution or for a continued contemptuous affair.

The grand collapse of negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA dominate news.