(No, the first decade of the 21st century doesn't technically end until 2011. Save your bellyaching. But we've had nine NHL seasons and one stolen from us since 1999-2000, and Yahoo! Sports has decided it's time to rank the best and worst of the last "decade." Enjoy, and snark freely in the comments.)

How you choose to define, or quantify, the "best" player in the NHL over the last decade will determine your level of agreement with this ranking, which is sure to be one of our most controversial End of Decade lists.

Do you judge greatness based on flashy stats? Championship rings and playoff performance? Individual awards? Do you factor in intangibles like leadership or reputation?

We took everything into account for our Player of the Decade countdown, which focuses on NHL achievement rather than bringing international hockey into the equation. Every spot on the list is up for debate, but we feel as though these 10 players defined the 2000s for professional hockey. Keep in mind that the 2000s meant one set of rules, a work-stoppage, and then another set of rules.

Here are the 10 best players of the last decade ...

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No. 1 star: Dwayne Roloson, New York Islanders

Usually, goalies who give up three goals aren't going to be the No. 1 star. But those goalies usually don't face 61 shots. In fact, Roloson's 58 saves in the Islanders' 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs are the most since Ron Tugnutt's 70-save game in March 1991, according to the AP. (Phil Kessel had 12 on his own.) Not bad for a 40-year-old. Josh Bailey had the game-winner in overtime, after the Leafs rallied from a 3-0 hole. 

No. 2 Star: Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers

After the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets took a 2-0 lead, the Rangers used a John Tortorella timeout "just relax" chat and exploded for seven straight goals in a 7-4 victory. Gaborik had two goals (18 on the season) and two assists, including a beautiful helper on Sean Avery's second of the night. Also beautiful: Michael Del Zotto's Leetch-like solo effort for goal No. 3.

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The TSN story on Georges Laraque's(notes) five-game suspension, for his knee-on-knee hit (video) that put Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall(notes) on the shelf for at least a month, was posted just before 7 p.m. on the East Coast.

Unless Colin Campbell and Co. needed nearly a full business day after Laraque's morning hearing to deliver a verdict, it's your classic end-of-day dump for news that's bound to be vetted, debated and decried by a great numbers of fans and pundits.

EJ Hradek of ESPN wrote that "if the league wants to clean up these types of plays, they can send a message by tagging Laraque with a double-digit suspension." Adam Proteau of The Hockey News wanted an example made of Laraque:

Time has taught us to expect the NHL will abdicate its responsibilities in providing a reasonably safe workplace through the application of supplementary discipline. But if the league ever did decide to grow a pair and use Laraque as the cautionary tale that makes players think twice before reacting knee-first, fist-first, head-first, skate-first or butt-end-of-the-stick-first, I'd break out a line in all seriousness that I don't normally use unless there's extreme sarcasm involved: Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

The outrage from Red Wings fans on this is justified, because they saw some fourth-line goon take out a guy who's fourth in average ice time (21:18)  for Detroit and an essential part of their blue line. I'm not one who believes in the eye-for-an-eye Wheel of Discipline, so the duration of Kronwall's injury is immaterial to me. The intent of Laraque to injure him isn't; neither are Laraque's previous offenses. Based solely on that, Laraque deserved more than five games.

But not because the NHL needed to make "an example" of Laraque.

Intentional knee-on-knee hits aren't the epidemic hits to the head are. They're illegal and injurious. They'll always be illegal and injurious. And they'll always be suspendable. Whatever Laraque was given here, it wasn't going to deter someone from doing it again.

Hits to the head, open-ice blindside hits ... if you want them out of the NHL, then legislation and/or supplemental discipline can actually make a difference at this point in history. But a suspension for a knee-on-knee hit isn't a deterrent against the actions of other players; it's keeping a cheap-shot artist off the ice, if only for a few nights.

Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

Preview: Boston Bruins at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m. EST. OK, so a three-game winning streak isn't exactly shattering NHL records. But for two underperforming teams like the B's and Blues, it's a pretty big deal, and one of them will have a three-gamer for the first time this season after tonight. Marc Savard? In! Tim Thomas? Backup! T.J Oshie's dad? Still blogging!

Preview: New York Islanders at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. A bittersweet moment, as the savior of the Maple Leafs franchise steps onto Air Canada Centre ice wearing some other team's jersey.

Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at Colorado Avalanche, 9 p.m. It's the triumphant return of fan favorite Ian Laperriere to Denver. The Avs are on a 3-6-1 plummet while the Flyers have lost their last two on the road. Mile High Hockey sets the bar for the home team" If the Avalanche lose in regulation tonight, they could get passed by as many as 3 teams in the standings (Columbus, Calgary and Phoenix)." Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page.

Evening Reading

• If you'd like to know who the Player of the Decade was for the 2000s, you may want to check back here in the morning.

• Five games for Georges Laraque. More in a bit on this. [TSN]

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The news over the weekend that the Anaheim Ducks and winger Bobby Ryan(notes) have put their contract talks on hold was naturally going to lead to speculation that he'll be on next summer's Brian Burke free-agent buffet, and the Toronto Star didn't disappoint.

Ryan's an RFA next summer, looking for a raise after his entry level contract expires. He's followed his Calder-quality rookie campaign with 15 points in 21 games this season; a decent total on a disappointing hockey team, but no where near the pace of linemates Ryan Getzlaf(notes) (22 points) and Corey Perry(notes) (27 points, and a criminally underreported 14-game scoring streak that has him tied for fifth in the League in points.)

But as an RFA on the team that drafted him, Ryan's leaving Anaheim doesn't seem all that likely, as least to someone following the Ducks from the other coast. That was until OC Register columnist Randy Youngman dropped this nugget at the end of a column on Sunday night:

If the Ducks continue to struggle, most likely trade bait will be forward Bobby Ryan, who has been inconsistent this season (15 points in 21 games) after contending for NHL Rookie of the Year honors last season.

Trade bait? When Anaheim Calling did its "who are the scouts looking at on the Ducks?" post last week, Ryan's name didn't come up. The notion that the Ducks would move him, even as their season slips deeper into mediocrity, hasn't exactly been voiced all that often -- well, until now.

Still, the suggestion gets you wondering ... would the Ducks be better off trading Ryan, with his value still relatively high and before having to commit significant salary (and years) to a player that's gone from failing to meet expectations to becoming a future NHL start to failing to meet expectations again?

If the Ducks need to seriously retool, is trading Bobby Ryan one way to dramatically achieve that goal?

It's hard to see Ryan leaving the Ducks for financial reasons. But we're sure the same was said about Chris Pronger(notes) as some point in the recent past, too ... and now he's on the verge of an "historic" Norris Trophy bid.

Earlier today, we blogged about the shootout and how players who are serving a penalty when the 4-on-4 overtime ends should have some form of sanction for the shootout. In the post, reader Cory S. thought it "would be interesting to see just how many penalized players with time remaining to serve have then gone out to score in the shoot out."

Puck Buddy Will, a.k.a. "hockeymaster4789" (sounds like a cyborg Lou Lamoriello unleashes to make players with fat contracts disappear) decided to waste the better part of a morning to meet that challenge, a least for the last two seasons.

What he found are a couple of examples in which a player in the penalty box at the end of the 4-on-4 helped win the game for his team in the shootout; and yes, one of those examples is a certain goaltender for the Dallas Stars pictured here.

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Here are your Puck Headlines: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• Fancy pants! George Richards gives us a teaser of what the new Florida Panthers third jerseys will look like by showing us their spiffy new bottoms. The new duds are set to debut this evening. [On Frozen Pond]

• Georges Laraque had his hearing with the NHL this morning for his knee-on-knee hit with Niklas Kronwall that'll sideline the Detroit Red Wings defenseman for at least a month. According to TSN: "Because the meeting was still considered an in-person hearing by the NHL, the league can suspend Laraque five or more games if it so chooses." [TSN]

• Brian Burke appears willing to take veteran defenseman Brent Sopel's contract from the Chicago Blackhawks, provided the 'Hawks kick in a draft pick in the salary dump. Spector has more on Fadoo. [Globe & Mail and Toronto Sun]

• San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price and Ottawa Senators center Mike Fisher have been named the NHL 'Three Stars' for the week ending Nov. 22. [NHL]

• Speaking of Fisher, he had an interesting chat with the Sun about his celebrity relationship with Carrie Underwood, ranging from marriage plans to Regis Philbin calling him a "good-looking brute." Which has to be somewhat life-fulfilling. [Sun Media]

• Making excuses for the Ottawa Senators' attendance issues this season. [Cornwall Standard]

• NHL Fan Association co-founder Jim Boone has asked Gary Bettman to resign in an open letter to The Hockey News, and for some reason it's getting some play today. It's sarcastic "go out on top" tone clashes with its occasional indictments of his tenure as commissioner, making it ineffective as a call to action. The logic behind the NHL becoming as chaotic at the top as the NHLPA for the sake of labor peace is lost on us. But hey, give it read; maybe you think it's the rhetorical right hook to the jaw that could be delivered three dozen ways based on Gary's fumbles. [THN]

• Preparing for the glories of "Uwe Krupp Night" at the Pepsi Center for the Colorado Avalanche. He played three seasons with that Avs; or nearly two more than that No. 77 hanging from the rafters. [All Things Avs]

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Once more, with feeling: You're never going to convince us that a skills competition, which doesn't feature a pass attempt or a defenseman on the ice, is an equitable manner by which to determine the victor of a professional hockey game; or, indirectly, the teams that eventually make or miss the postseason.

But our therapist keeps asking us to learn to live with the shootout, so we've offered some suggestions here and there to improve it.

Sometimes it's about increasing the fun factor, like the "superstar provision" discussed recently. Other times, it's bringing some level of competitive fairness to the proceedings, like our contention that the NHL should increase it to five shooters for each side.

But there's a complete, total, absolute, change the League should have already made to its overtime format but hasn't; something that was on display in the Columbus Blue Jackets' game against the Nashville Predators over the weekend.

Why are players serving penalties at the end of the 4-on-4 OT allowed to participate in the shootout?

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The last time Jonathan Toews saw Vancouver Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell on the ice ... well, it's safe to assume he didn't see all that much of him when Mitchell steamrolled him on Oct. 21. The Chicago Blackhawks captain was concussed, missed six games and the Chicago offense struggled without him.

He returned on Nov. 9; the Blackhawks haven't lost a game since then.

So they roll into Vancouver tonight to face a Canucks team that's won two in a row and gets Daniel Sedin back from injury to play on a line with brother Henrik and Alex Burrows.

It's a heck of a matchup between two increasingly bitter conference rivals -- and hey, you can watch the game live via Hockey Night on Y! -- but that's taken a back seat to Toews vs. Mitchell in the pregame hype.

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(Ed. Note: Our series "5 Reasons I Love Hockey" features puckheads from all walks of life revealing five things that either made them a fan or that keep them watching hockey. It will run every weekend. Have a suggestion for a "5 Reasons" guest blogger? Hit us on email. Enjoy!)

If you read the Puck Headlines every weekday, you've no doubt seen Ryan Kennedy's name before. He's a writer and editor at The Hockey News, and one of those columnists that will generally provide a take on the League's big issues and players that hasn't already been regurgitated throughout the rest of the media. Which is a good thing.

He's also a gear-obsessed, hockey culture guy; his latest venture at THN is a special lifestyle magazine called Fully Loaded, which features the best in hockey streetwear, NHL gear and hockey equipment.

Good writer, good dude. Here are five reasons why Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News loves hockey:

1. Fighting

We have a very tight-knit crew in the offices of THN, but nothing sets off the screaming like the fighting debate. As one of the resident hawks (it's not hard to figure out who the doves are), I maintain that fighting is part of the fabric of the game. Sure, maybe the sport can survive without it, but we all grew up watching fights and that's how we fell in love with the sport. It would be like taking the cheating and dullness out of soccer.

Plus, I just like it.

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