Quick work

Want to know when happens when you get a tip that Evan Longoria, the Tampa Bay Rays' star rookie third baseman, is visiting a nearby establishment? That's easy.

You enlist one of Longoria's biggest 7-year-old fans, quickly put together a few items (the Tampa Bay Devil Rays bat, shown above, and Rays mini helmet, at left), make sure you have the proper signing instruments and, after getting out of our pajamas, head over to the establishment.

As you can see, we got there in plenty of time. In fact, the entire trip took about 30 minutes.

The full run

Though I shared my top five hounding trips for the 2008-09 NHL season down here in Humidity Bay, here's a complete listing of the planned campaign:

Preseason

TBD: Lightning training camp
Monday, Sept. 22: Pittsburgh Penguins (Will Sidney sign?) %
Tuesday, Sept. 23: New York Rangers %

Regular season

Saturday, Oct. 11: Carolina Hurricanes (Lightning's home opener) *
Thursday, Oct. 16: New York Islanders
Saturday, Oct. 18: Minnesota Wild (Redemption, please) *#
Tuesday, Oct. 21: Atlanta Thrashers
Saturday, Oct. 25: San Jose Sharks (Welcome back, Dan Boyle) *

Saturday, Nov. 1: Ottawa Senators (Working a team helmet)
Thursday, Nov. 13: Detroit Red Wings *#
Tuesday, Nov. 18: Florida Panthers (Working a team helmet)
Friday, Nov. 21: Nashville Predators *
Wednesday, Nov. 26: New York Rangers

Thursday, Dec. 4: Boston Bruins (Welcome back, Patrice) *#
Saturday, Dec. 6: Buffalo Sabres %
Thursday, Dec. 18: Colorado Avalanche (Another five from Joey?) *
Tuesday, Dec. 30: Montreal Canadiens (Considering a team helmet)

Thursday, Jan. 15: Philadelphia Flyers
Monday, Jan. 19: Dallas Stars (Welcome back, Brad Richards) *#
Wednesday, Jan. 21: Buffalo Sabres
Tuesday, Jan. 27: Montreal Canadiens

Thursday, Feb. 12: Toronto Maple Leafs %
Tuesday, Feb. 17: Chicago Blackhawks (Hello, Mssrs. Kane and Toews) *#
Thursday, Feb. 19: New Jersey Devils
Sunday, Feb. 22: Boston Bruins *

Tuesday, March 3: Pittsburgh Penguins
Friday, March 6: St. Louis Blues *
Thursday, March 19: Washington Capitals %
Tuesday, March 24: Columbus Blue Jackets *

Tuesday, April 7: Pittsburgh Penguins %
Thursday, April 9: Washington Capitals (Lightning's home closer)

* = One of the 12-plus games we'll attend this season
# = Part of Top Five trips
% = Optional trip

Hot dates

A quick run through the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2008-09 home schedule shows that I'll be making at least 25 trips over to Tampa to hound visiting teams in the months ahead.

All told, nine teams visiting from the Western Conference should help diversify the collection. Three teams -- the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets and Blues -- offer first-time hounding opportunities.

Here are my top five trips:

Saturday, Oct. 18 - Minnesota Wild: Despite having a ton of pucks, health reasons forced me to skip the Wild's visit last season. The early season appearance allows an opportunity for redemption.

Thursday, Nov. 13 - Detroit Red Wings: Though I'm expecting this team to draw a large crowd, the prospect of snagging some of the Wings' big names makes this too tempting to pass up. At the least, I need Marian Hossa to complete last season's Thrashers team helmet.

Thursday, Dec. 4 - Boston Bruins: This could be Patrice Bergeron's first visit to Humidity Bay in more than a year. His little buddy can't wait to see him.

Monday, Jan. 19, 2009 - Dallas Stars: Our Brad Richards collection wouldn't be complete without an autographed Stars puck. I'm sure, too, that I'll find something for Mike Modano.

Tuesday, Feb. 17 - Chicago Blackhawks: Hopefully, one Buffalo kid (me) will meet another Buffalo kid (Patrick Kane). If not, there's always Jonathan Toews, whose autograph would look good on a University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux puck.

Internal accounting

Because of a dissolution of a friendship, the following items -- gifts that the unnamed sender believed were unreciprocated -- have been removed from Hound Central 3.0's collection and, with other items, will be returned to the source this week:

~ two Bobby Orr autographed pucks;

~ an autographed Wayne Gretzky Team Canada jersey;

~ an autographed Bruins helmet from Boston's Patrice Bergeron (a birthday gift to a 7 year old); and

~ a Boston Red Sox batting helmet autographed by David Ortiz (another birthday gift to a 7 year old).

Blog postings related to these items have also been deleted.

Granted, these are pretty significant items. Still, the relief that comes with this move far outweighs the burdens associated with retaining them.

I still believe, though, that we possess a respectable autographed sports memorabilia collection. Please know, too, that the autographed puck collection now stands at 1,538.

Addendum (July 28): The items have been sent. The image shows the postal service receipts. The smudges on the receipts are there to protect identities.

Hounding 2007-08: Season in review

Going into the 2007-08 season, I said I wanted to slow down a bit and become more selective in my puck-hounding efforts. So much for slowing down, though quality wasn't sacrificed for quantity.

After snagging 258 pucks in my first full season down here in Humidity Bay, I added another 263 during the 2007-08 campaign. Going into the season, my goal was to add only 225 pucks, rounding out at a cool 1,500. Instead, The Vault now holds 1,538 pucks.

In the interest of full disclosure, the total includes seven pucks signed outside the NHL's regular season and playoffs. To me, a hounding season begins at training camp. Anything within the next 365 days is within the season.

The Vault would have been more stuffed, too, had I not been sidelined for Minnesota and Vancouver. Thankfully, the Wild comes back in 2008-09.

All in all, though, it was another solid season.

It wasn't just about the pucks, either. My biggest accomplishment was helping Colin build his collection. We've become very fond of our team sheets; they're easy to make and get signed. Now, we've got to work on his patience. The apple, I'm afraid, didn't fall too far.

Three new projects -- an American-born goalie stick, a Slovakian team jersey and a 1999 NHL All Star Game helmet -- can claim respectable, if not somewhat remarkable, beginnings. You'll also notice a handful of summertime forays into the American pastime.

Here are the highlights, culled from my 446 posts since Aug. 14, 2007, of the 2007-08 hounding season:

~ Putting in a long day to create a Tampa Bay Rays team ball.

~ Having former Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk provide some good advice on skating to Colin.

~ Adding baseball Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry to the collection.

~ Goin' racing at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix.

~ Finishing the regular season with a strong performance by the playoffs-challenged Tampa Bay Lightning.

~ Adding value to a pair of gloves from Tampa Bay defenseman Paul Ranger's rookie NHL season.

~ Having Atlanta's Kari Lehtonen sign the Thrashers team helmet.

~ Meeting a season milestone when Atlanta's Todd White signed the 250th puck of the 2007-08 campaign.

~ Choosing hounding over sleeping so I could get the 2008 NHL All Star Game's MVP to sign a puck.

~ Correcting a mistake on a 2004 Stanley Cup Game 7 puck.

~ Snagging pucks from Tampa Bay's short-lived Big Three 2.0.

~ Getting little thrill out of Boston's Phil Kessel signing a Team USA jersey and a wallpaper image.

~ Watching Colin fill up a Boston Bruins wallpaper image.

~ Having Boston's Tim Thomas sign a 2008 NHL All Star Game puck for the 1,500th of the collection.

~ Ending the debate between blue and black Sharpies.

~ Knowing that Florida's Jay Bouwmeester is a top-shelf player.

~ Getting back three players in a week from my TTM project.

~ Being pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get an autograph from Edmonton's Ales Hemsky.

~ Catching a Rocky Mountain High from the Colorado Avalanche.

~ Showing my appreciation after Colorado's Joey Sakic, one of my favorite players, signed five items.

~ Being more than happy to add Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin to the puck collection.

~ Having very low expectations for Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.

~ Watching Colin experience the luck of the Irish.

~ Scoring 50 autographs from the Montreal Canadiens in a single hounding session, including four from rookie goalie Carey Price

~ Being in absolute shock when Carolina goalie coach Tom Barrasso, one of hockey's toughest autographs, stop to sign.

~ Catching up to Toronto's Alexander Steen to complete a pretty neat wallpaper image.

~ Loading up on the Calgary Flames, a day after hearing most of the team was in a grumpy mood.

~ Playing a hunch with Calgary's Jarome Iginla.

~ Getting a hat trick of pucks from Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff.

~ Marking the Tampa Bay Lightning's 15th year in the NHL by having Vinny Lecavalier sign a puck commemorating the milestone.

~ Snagging pucks from Ottawa's Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Andrej Meszaros.

~ Appreciating the eagerness of Ottawa rookie Nick Foligno in signing autographs.

~ Having Boston's Tuukka Rask reinforce my belief in homemade cheap-skate cards.

~ Improving upon a jersey swatch card of Carolina's Eric Staal.

~ Knocking out a team helmet from the Atlanta Thrashers in an afternoon.

~ Getting a pair of pucks signed by Hall of Famer Denis Potvin.

~ Showing that I learned a lesson after watching Hall of Famer Phil Esposito walk by.

~ Sending get-well wishes to Boston's Patrice Bergeron.

~ Not complaining when only two of 42 autographs from the Buffalo Sabres were on pucks.

~ Getting pumped up after Marian Hossa signed a pair of pucks.

~ Realizing New Jersey's Martin Brodeur is a much better playing goalie than he is at spelling Colin's name.

~ Experiencing a peak and a valley with Tampa Bay's Marty St. Louis.

~ Wondering who had the biggest grin at this meeting during the Lightning's training camp.

~ Hearing Tampa Bay's Vinny Lecavalier's sentiments toward dealers.

~ Snagging autographs from Tampa Bay's Big Three in one day.

~ Reacquainting myself with the Lightning during my first trip to the 2007-08 training camp.

There you have it. All of the 2007-08 hockey hounding season, with a little baseball tucked in for good measure, in a single post.

Want more? Here you go: Hounding 2006-07: Season in review

As always, folks, thanks for stopping by.

Monster effort

Sure, it may have taken three trips to Tropicana Field in a single day and nearly nine hours to get it done, but to snag 26 autographs from Tampa Bay Rays players, coaches and the general manager is, to me, pretty darn remarkable.

After hearing that the Rays would hold an off-day workout during the All Star Game break, Colin and I decided to try our luck with the team last Thursday. Our hunches and hard work paid off, too.

Our first trip of the day, in which we arrived at the Trop around 11 a.m., provided better information than autographs. Though we did put the first three signatures on it, the best part was learning the time of the workout.

Unfortunately, a bit of a misunderstanding led to a lengthy wait at the beginning of the second trip of the day. At first, I thought the player said the workout would start at 2:40 p.m. As a result, we arrived back at the Trop around 1 p.m. with high hopes. About 30 minutes after arriving, a team clubhouse worker told us the workout wouldn't start until 5 p.m.

Rather than head home and come back, we stuck it out, taking a walk around the Trop, laughing at lizards and watching a baby frog try to climb over a sidewalk curb. After a while, our patience was rewarded, as player after player, including Scott Kazmir, Evan Longoria and James Shields, all heeded Colin's call and added to his team ball.

Our last trip of the day, timed with the close of the workout, put the finishing touches on the ball, as Carlos Pena, Dioner Navarro, B.J. Upton and Jonny Gomes all signed.

Who signed where?

Top photo (signatures listed from top to bottom): J. P. Howell, Akinori Iwamura, Grant Balfour, Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton
Second photo: Tom Foley (coach), Jason Hammel, Dan Wheeler, Steve Henderson (coach), Evan Longoria, Dave Martinez and Dioner Navarro (along the right side)
Third photo: Detail of Evan Longoria's autograph
Fourth photo: Andrew Friedman (GM), Andy Sonnanstine, Jonny Gomes, Scott Kazmir, Tim Bogar (coach), Joe Maddon (manager) and Cliff Floyd
Fifth photo: Carlos Pena, Willie Aybar, Shawn Riggans, Edwin Jackson, Jason Bartlett, James Shields and Gary Glover.

Players we didn't get (yet): Matt Garza, Gabe Gross, Erik Hinske, Trever Miller Troy Percival, Al Reyes and Ben Zobrist

Grumpy old men (We asked, but they wouldn't sign): George Hendricks and Don Zimmer

A work in progress

While Colin was filling up his team ball last week, I occupied myself getting the first few signatures on a cherry-picking Tampa Bay Rays mini helmet.

All told, seven Rays players signed it, providing a respectable start to what will hopefully become a cool addition to our fledgling baseball collection.

Top photo: James Shields, from left, Carl Crawford, Jonny Gomes and manager Joe Maddon

Middle photo: Cliff Floyd, left, and Akinori Iwamura

Bottom photo: J.P. Howell, left, and another view of Shields' autograph

The remaining names on the want list: Grant Balfour, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir, Evan Longoria, Dioner Navarro, Carlos Pena, Troy Percival and B.J. Upton

Wish me luck, won't you.

He knows the game

Just because Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria is a rookie, it certainly doesn't mean he isn't a veteran at the hounding game. The Rays' rising star of a third baseman said Thursday he'd sign my jersey, but only if he could personalize it.

Seeing that I'm a collector, and wasn't trying to make money off of his signature, I had no problem with his request. Besides, it was a real hoot meeting him before the Rays' late afternoon workout at Tropicana Field.

My bad

If you look hard enough, and long enough, maybe even subjecting your eyes to a tear-inducing squint, you might make out a faint autograph from Tampa Bay's B.J. Upton along the bottom of the number on Colin's replica Rays jersey.

Rather than use a silver paint pen, I thought a bright blue paint pen would offer an even nicer contrast on this Rays jersey. It wasn't until Upton started signing it yesterday did I realize that the fabric would soak up the ink.

As much as I hate to do things twice (ask anyone who knows me), I'll have to make amends and get Upton to re-sign this jersey for Colin.

On the mound

Less than 48 hours after winning the 2008 MLB All Star Game, Tampa Bay pitcher Scott Kazmir was one of the many Rays' big-name players to stop and sign items for us yesterday. This is the base to a McFarlane figurine for Kazmir.

Granted, it has nothing to do with hockey. During the summer, though, an autograph is an autograph. And, down here in Humidity Bay, the Rays are a pretty hot item.

Review: 2007-08 Be A Player

It's a little weird, I suppose, that an autograph hound like myself actually looks forward to a release of a signature-laden product like Upper Deck's 2007-08 Be A Player Hockey. Still, though, there's something about the thrill of the chase in busting a box.

I was more than a little psyched, too, to get this double signature card of Philadelphia's Mike Richards and Mike Knuble.

Richards is a darned-good, hard-nosed captain-in-waiting, something that plays well in Philly. As for Knuble, I've been a big fan since his Bruins days riding shotgun with Joey Thornton. In my book, you won't meet a nicer NHL player than Knuble.

It's hard to get critical of one of favorite products. As a reviewer, though, I must. Like most everyone else, I wish the caliber of the players signing was a little better.

Though it's nice pulling signatures from such players as (top photo, from left) Florida's Keith Ballard (shown with Phoenix), the Rangers' Markus Naslund (shown with Vancouver) and New Jersey's Zach Parise, it's a tad deflating when you get one from a player like Jamal Mayers, Jarkko Ruutu or Jason Williams.

The 200-card base set is decent, but predictable. From a purely hounding standpoint, I'd rather have a few more recognizable tough guys or fifth defensemen rather than yet another card of, say, Rob Blake, Rod Brind'Amour or Brendan Shanahan.

Kudos, too, for showing trade-deadline-day movers in new team colors. Notable names include Dallas' Brad Richards and rentals Marian Hossa, as a Penguin, and Brian Campbell, as a Shark. Lightning fans can find goalie Mike Smith in his Tampa Bay duds.

Product snapshot: Be A Player Hockey
Something nice: A double-signature card of Philadelphia's Mike Richards and Mike Knuble and an opportunity to offer Upper Deck my copy editing talents on a freelance basis
Something not so nice: At nearly $12-$15 a pack, I want better quality among the autographs. Another UD product with a less-than-inspiring checklist. An additional one or two rookie cards would've been nice, too.
Puckhound's grade: 2.5 out of 5 pucks

My kind of six pack

Now that former NHL goalie Mike Vernon has become the special assistant to Brian Lawton, Tampa Bay's vice president of hockey operations, I'll have to add another stack to my Lightning-only puck-hounding want list. And, no, I'm not complaining.

Not only did Vernon win Stanley Cups with Calgary (1998-99 season) and Detroit (1996-97 season, winning the Conn Smythe), but he also won a Memorial Cup with the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League.

Though he's not in the Hall of Fame, a player of Vernon's stature is certainly worthy of pursuing an NHL career collection. Maybe I'll make it a side project this season, meaning I'll also need pucks of the Lightning, Panthers and Sharks.

The Puck

Someone, 7, misses hockey.

He's not alone.

Freelance gig, maybe?

Rather than rag on Upper Deck for some shoddy copy editing, shown above on the back of a 2007-08 Be A Player Player's Club card (49/99) of Ottawa's Jason Spezza, maybe it's a sign that the card company needs some professional copy-editing help.

And though I subscribe to the theory that folks in glass houses should never throw stones, I openly admit that my postings are often in need of solid copy editing. I'm much better catching other's mistakes.

In case you can't find the error, it's "quarterback," not "quateback."

On a side note, Upper Deck's low-end Victory cards, the first product of the 2008-09 season, carry an Aug. 5 release date.

Moment of recognition

How can a hockey hound tell when he's become a recognizable face? When Tampa Bay's Vinny Lecavalier, the signer of thousands of autographs, remembers you as he inks a 2008 NHL All Star Game puck.

Normally, this recognition could easily become the death knell for any collector, as the thinking goes that once this happens, the player has decided that he's done signing for you.

But when our brief meeting, held yesterday during a meet-and-greet with Lightning season-ticket holders, ended with a firm handshake and his telling me that he'll see me at training camp, I got the sense that I'll have little to worry about.

If I'm wrong, I'll take solace in knowing it was the 10th puck that Lecavalier has signed for us. And, to be perfectly honest with you, I'm running out of pucks for him to sign.

Then again, maybe he was in a good mood after officially signing a contract (11 years, $85 million) that will make him a Lightning for life. Right now, though, I'll take Vinny at his word.

Multidimensional, that's me

Just to prove that I'm much more than just pucks, I added to Colin's autograph collection yesterday, asking Lightning Girls Karen and Eva to sign this team sheet while waiting to get Vinny Lecavalier's autograph.

It's a tough job being a Daddy, but I'm more than happy to be one.

Patience, please

In checking this blog's visitor stats recently, I could only chuckle when I discovered that someone found Hound Central 3.0 by searching for "Hound Central 4.0 best young defensemen" on Google. A few days later, another person went so far as to see whether Ottawa blueline prospect Brian Lee was on the defensemen list.

Now, faithful readers of the Hound Central hockey-hounding franchise know that these features, based solely on my perceptions of the NHL's young talent at forward, defense and goalie, have become an annual installment. The only problem, though, is that they aren't produced until early September.

Mainly, I wait until The Hockey News produces its annual preseason magazine, most often devoted to hockey pool junkies. It's there that I begin my research, culling the top players at these basic positions before settling on the best five at each position.

Until then, folks, we'll all have to be patient. As much as I'd like to have the season starting, it's still a number of weeks away. Let's enjoy the summer, shall we?

On Patrice, Vinny and online shopping

Three hockey-related thoughts before I head off this afternoon to inform and enlighten readers of the St. Petersburg Times up north in Hernando County:

~ It's great reading that Boston's Patrice Bergeron, a favorite of Hound Central 3.0, joined the Bruins' youngsters last week at the team's development camp north of Boston.

Bergeron, who sustained a nasty concussion early last season after a questionable hit from Philly's Randy Jones, said he's looking forward to playing again.

"I want to make sure I'm ready," he told NHL.com correspondent John Bishop. “That’s why I came down here this week, to skate and work out and make sure I’m in the best shape I can be.”

Down here in Humidity Bay, we can't wait to see Bergie play again. Like most Bruins fans, we missed him last season.

~ Great, but expected, move by the Lightning's new ownership to lock up Vinny Lecavalier, signing the team's superstar to an 11-year, $85 million contract. Since he was drafted first overall by the Lightning in 1998, Vinny's been the face of the organization.

This deal, expected to be a hot topic Tuesday at a meet-and-greet autograph session (a future posting, perhaps?) for season-ticket holders, is expected to keep Lecavalier a member of the Lightning for life. I certainly hope so.

~ Why is it whenever I believe I've found a good online deal on a piece of hockey equipment for Colin, be it gloves, shin guards or pants, the supplier never has it in his correct size?

Sure, I understand the concept behind closeouts (supplies are limited and no exchanges are allowed), but offering only a handful of products in useless sizes rivals conduct that would earn a chippy player an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Low prices may lure people to Web sites, but if they can't find products at those advertised prices, a move that may steer some (but not me) to pay for more expensive gear, then they run the risk of alienating customers.

I, for one, took our business ($125, this order: helmet with faceshield, pants, gloves and shin guards) elsewhere.

And it wasn't any Florida-based pro shop; their prices ($44 for an off-brand pair of youth gloves, for instance, while I paid $25 for Mission Fuel 60s) are even higher.

Lots for the Lightning

Given all of the movements made by the Tampa Bay Lightning's new ownership, with the team drafting Steven Stamkos first overall and signing such free agents as Olaf Kolzig, Ryan Malone, Mark Recchi, Gary Roberts and Radim Vrbata, I could very well add another 75 pucks from the Lightning alone this season:

Len Barrie (co-owner): Lightning and Kamloops Blazers

Brandon Bochenski: Lightning *

Matt Carle: Lightning and San Jose Sharks

Adam Hall: Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators

Andrew Hutchinson: Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes *

Olaf Kolzig: Lightning, Washington Capitals new logo, Washington Capitals eagle, Washington Capitals original logo, 2000 NHL All Star Game, Washington Capitals 25th anniversary (above, right), 1998 NHL All Star Game (above, left), Rochester Americans, Portland Pirates and Tri-City Americans

Oren Koules (co-owner): Lightning and Saw DVD cover

Tom Kurvers (co-assistant GM): Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils

Brian Lawton (director of hockey operations): Lightning and Minnesota North Stars

Vincent Lecavalier: Lightning three-stripe (above) and 2008 NHL All Star Game

Claude Loiselle (co-assistant GM): Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Quebec Nordiques

Ryan Malone: Lightning

Barry Melrose: Lightning, NHL 2Nite, Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets

Andrej Meszaros: Lightning

Vinny Prospal: Philadelphia Flyers

Kari Ramo: Tampa Bay Lightning-Norfolk Admirals (at left), Norfolk Admirals and Springfield Falcons *

Mark Recchi: Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens and Kamloops Blazers

Gary Roberts: Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins

Matt Smaby: Lightning, Tampa Bay Lightning-Norfolk Admirals first year affiliation, Norfolk Admirals and Springfield Falcons

Mike Smith: Lightning, Dallas Stars and Utah Grizzlies

Steven Stamkos: Lightning, Lightning three-stripe and Team Canada

Rick Tocchet (assistant coach): Lightning, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes and Phoenix Coyotes geodesic design

Mike Vernon (special assistant to Brian Lawton): Lightning, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks and Portland Winter Hawks #

Radim Vrbata: Lightning, Phoenix Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes

Wes Walz (assistant coach): Lightning, Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild inaugural season (at left)

Ty Wishart: Lightning, San Jose Sharks and Prince George Cougars *

I'll have no pucks for Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern, Mike Lundin, Shane O'Brien, Paul Ranger and Martin St. Louis.

* Provided, of course, he makes the team;

# provided he visits Tampa

What do you think?

I was thinking of adding this program from the 2008 NHL Entry Draft to my want list for Tampa Bay's top pick Steven Stamkos.

I suppose, too, I should try to get fellow first-rounders Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings, second overall), Alex Pietrangelo (St. Louis Blues, fourth overall), Tyler Myers (Buffalo Sabres, 12th overall), Zach Bogosian (Atlanta Thrashers, third overall) and Luke Schenn (Toronto Maple Leafs, fifth overall).

Busy, busy, busy

Every summer, NHL teams try to retool their lineups for the season ahead. In some cases, it's the addition of a key free agent or the promotion of a vaunted rookie. In others, there will be a modest amount of change, perhaps two to three new faces.

Down here in Humidity Bay, though, Lightning fans have witnessed a near-wholesale change in the lineup, given the team's uberactive wheelings and dealings. How busy have the Lightning been? On opening night, there could be as many as eight or nine new faces in the lineup and one mulleted mug behind the bench.

From a hounding standpoint, what I thought would be an easy season of hounding the Lightning, focusing on Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, now presents a challenge worthy of my time and expertise:

Olaf Kolzig: Nearing the end of his NHL career, he tops my list of new Lightning faces. Though the Lightning represent only his second NHL team, there should be ample opportunities to have him sign some specialty (AHL, All Star Game and anniversary) pucks.

Steve Stamkos: Being the No. 1 overall draft pick puts a bull's eye on his autograph. Given the team's pre-draft publicity surrounding him, it should be relatively easy to snag quite a few more autographs from him. My wish lists includes Lightning pucks, magazines, a Team Canada jersey and that picture of he and Colin at the team's meet-and-greet.

Gary Roberts: Brought onto to the team to provide some grizzled leadership to Stamkos, I've had the pleasure of getting his autograph numerous times. Still, though, it won't keep me from having him sign a Lightning puck.

Mark Recchi: Here's another player brought aboard to provide leadership. Like most veteran players nearing the end of their runs, he's become much more willing to sign. That's good, because I'll have four to five pucks for him to sign throughout the season.

Ryan Malone: Another addition designed to add some grit to the Lightning's soft lineup. I'll focus on cards more than multiple pucks. Having hounded him in the minors, all I really need from Malone is a signed Lightning puck.

Radim Vrbata: My most recent puck order contains three pucks for him: Lightning, Blackhawks and Avalanche. I might as well get him while I can, right?

Matt Carle: Of all the new faces, I predict that he'll make one of the biggest differences in the lineup. Coming off of a sophomore slump, the former Hobey Baker Award winner should show why he's certainly worthy of pucks.

Adam Hall: Playing for his fifth team (Nashville, Rangers, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay) in four seasons, he represents the proverbial handful for puckhounds such as myself. Given his ever-decreasing point total, though, I'll likely limit him to two pucks -- Nashville and Tampa Bay.

Brandon Bochenski: Yeah, he's bounced around a bit lately, becoming the NHL's poster boy for adventure-seeking job-hoppers. That doesn't mean I'll load up on pucks, though. Maybe a Lightning puck, but that's about it.

Andrew Hutchinson: Not exactly a household name, but he did win a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes. That alone, I believe, is worthy of at least a couple pucks to go with the Nashville Predators and Milwaukee Admirals pucks in the collection.

Barry Melrose: Though I'll resist the temptation to have him sign a mullet wig, I'd like to find an ESPN NHL 2nite promotional puck for him to sign. Until then, I'll use the L.A. Kings, Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets pucks I've ordered.

The rich? Well, they get richer

It's bad enough that the Red Wings won this past season's Stanley Cup. Now, they go out an ink Marian Hossa, selected by Hound Central 3.0 readers as this summer's top unrestricted free agent, to a one-year, $7.4 million deal.

Though far from unanimous, Hossa, who will play for his third team in less than a season, easily outdistanced the competition, snagging nerly 80 percent of the relative few votes cast.

Given Detroit's talent-laden lineup (featuring Mssrs. Lidstrom, Datysuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, among others), a gnawing rumble in the pit of my stomach tells me that the Red Wings may very well do the same in 2008-09.

Oh, the humanity.

Question: Who's the top UFA?

Marian Hossa: 11 out of 14 votes cast (78.6 percent)
Wade Redden (NYR): 2 out of 14 votes (14.3 percent)
Jaromir Jagr: 1 out of 14 votes (7.1 percent)
Cristobal Huet (CBH): 0 out of 14