Throughout our lifetime, we all encounter a series of defining moments which will effectively sculpt who we are personally, professionally, and spiritually. Hell, maybe even technologically. We do live in the 21st century after all. During these moments, we will be asked to weigh various options before making a final decision that will impact our lives permanently. Do you choose Door A or Door B? The red pill or the blue pill? The washer and dryer set or "What's in this Box"? Regardless of your choice, you will notice a personal shift bearing a strong lineage to previous decisions you've made. The end result may be climactic or anti-climactic. Sudden or gradual. Resistance to this as an inalienable truth is futile. It's human evolution.

In the world of sports, defining moments are the Holy Grail of explaining why certain things happen. TSN has "The Turning Point", which is an event that takes place in every game and is said to determine its outcome. Analysts will scour through sixty minutes of hockey to find one event they can hold above all the others and say "this is why team X lost and team Y won", completely oblivious to the fact that professional sports cannot be autopsied for one specific cause of death. It just doesn't explain itself that easily.

The Winnipeg Jets and New York Islanders will oppose each other for the final time this season later tonight in a contest that serves only to determine who will get a higher draft pick. But don't be fooled by the aesthetics of this match-up, there is more than meets the eye. In fact, a parallel can be drawn between these two teams, serving as a constant reminder that what's here one day may not be the next.

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Let's get a show of hands here...Who do you love in the West?

I'd be happy if things finished up the way they are now: LA in 3rd, San Jose in 7th and Phoenix 8th...

Faced with what must have been no ideas an hour before a deadline, Dave Feschuk watches one game then goes to the Mad Libs Book of Cliches to do a hatchet job on Dion Phaneuf in the Toronto Star today. Some highlights from the logical fallacies:

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Speculation has started about Saskatoon getting an NHL franchise. Don Cherry kicked it off on CBC with his comments and endorsement. Bob Mackenzie followed up on TSN and Mark Chipman recently did an interview with the Star Phoneix in Saskatoon to follow up.

At first blush the same snorts, guffaws and knee-jerk dismals that surrounded Winnipeg getting NHL hockey back are in full bloom around Saskatoon. City population is too small. Fan base is not large enough to support a team. An NHL Arena is not there. Corporate support is questionable.

It is amazing how the lessons from Winnipeg have been completely ignored. The disconnect from the upper-echelons of the NHL elite in New York and their very own market.

Gary Bettman's southern expansion went over about as successfully as General Lee's northern invasion in the American civil war. You can imagine a group of Harvard MBA's sitting around a table nodding like "yes men" in agreement and going over demographic charts and market share and all signing off with beaming smiles. Everything is there, large cities of millions of people. Just need a good owner with commitment and the product will sell eventually, just needs time. The calculators humming along, how can it fail?

Well, Mexico City has a population of around 10 million people and you know what? They won't even sell out a 20,000 seat hockey game either.

History speaks for itself.

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We had an NHL labor stoppage in 2005 and both NBA and NFL labor stoppages in 2011. The new CBAs locked in the players' share of total league revenues:

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He stands six feet, one inch tall. Two-hundred and ten pounds. Ruggedly handsome. A well kempt mullet, gloriously flowing with every stride of his skate blades. These are the defining features of Winnipeg Jets grinder Tanner Glass - at least, to the naked eye.

Originally drafted 265th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Glass is now in his third season as an every day NHL player. After spending the past two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, the pride of Regina, SK signed a one year deal with the Jets as the team finalized their move from Atlanta, GA.

Not long after his acclimatization to Winnipeg, Glass was united with line-mates Jim Slater and Chris Thorburn to form the amicably termed "GST" line; a tumultuous on-ice presence often tasked with keeping the opposition's top line in check. Furthermore, the line has bestowed energy to the rabid MTS Centre crowd with each and every shift during forty-one home dates this NHL season.

Better known as one of hockey's pugilistic sons earlier in his career, Glass has used this season to refine his game. Since his arrival in Winnipeg, he has enjoyed his best statistical season to date, marking 14 points (5G, 9A) in 69 games for the Jets. Not only are his point totals up, but Glass has only dropped the gloves seven times this year, down from seventeen in 2009-10 and thirteen in 2010-11 as a fourth line depth player for the Canucks.

Though Glass remains endearing to his fans large in part due to the fact he plays hockey "the good ol' Canadian way" - in two the hockey hotbeds of Vancouver and Winnipeg no less - his style of play isn't necessarily indicative of who he is away from the rink. He is a savvy, sophisticated and well-educated man who uses his abilities to give back to the community.

This is why I love Tanner Glass and so should you:

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The MIT sports analytics conference is always on my birthday, and it just seemed like a sad way to spend it when they invited me to appear on the hockey analytics panel. That, and I'm way too cheap to drop $2k on a weekend trip to Boston. But everybody I know seems to be emailing me articles about Brian Burke's appearance this year, so I almost wish I'd gone. Almost.

David Staples has a transcript of what Burke had to say, and I actually find it pretty funny:

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The NHL Trade Deadline hits tomorrow afternoon, which is usually accompanied by a high number of sick days as people can't wait to sit on the couch and watch the day unfold. What makes it even more exciting for Jets fans is that we haven't seen anything like this in 16 years, but even then the Trade Deadline phenomenon has only recently taken hold as a full day event in the past five or six. It is usually one of the most fun days of the year.

As recently as two weeks ago, it looked like the Winnipeg Jet would be sellers tomorrow. With eight UFA contracts expiring in the summer and another three RFA contracts to deal with, selling would have been the easy option. However, a 4-0-2 clip in their last six games has vaulted the Jets right back into playoff contention, and as of today they are tied with the Florida Panthers for first in the Southeast Division and hold the 8th spot based on the tiebreak. The Winnipeg Jets are in the hunt in their first year to what the Atlanta Thrashers were only able to do once in their existence - make the playoffs.

What is a GM to do in a situation like this? What does it tell a locker room when you are right there fighting for first in the division and you trade away bodies for picks? Can a GM just let eight potential UFA's walk in the summer? Are the Jets actually in a position to be a buyer? With all of these questions floating around, the crew here at Arctic Ice Hockey presents to you our roundtable discussion trying to answer the following question:

What Will Chevy Do?

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