The NHL may or may not want to highlight these 10 games in the first half of the NHL schedule.
Before the start of every season, the NHL releases a list of important dates and games to the media.
For example, on October 1st, the Avalanche will retire Joe Sakic's jersey. And on November 7th, the Leafs and Red Wings will battle in the annual Hall of Fame Game in Toronto.
But sometimes, the league and the TV networks don't pick the right games to hype. So, with that in mind, I've scoured the first-half of the schedule and found the games with the best potential story lines.
Here are the 10 NHL games that you should circle on your calendar before Christmas - with a few predictions on what you can expect:
October 1, 2009 - Montreal at Toronto. Leaf' fans get their first up-close look at Hal Gill's Stanley Cup ring. No truth to the rumour that Gill will wear it on his middle finger for his visit to Toronto.
October 10th, 2009 - Columbus at Phoenix. "Judge Redfield T. Baum Appreciation Night" at Jobing.Com Arena. All 4,000 fans in attendance will receive a replica bobblehead of the judge, that just shakes his head from side-to-side in a permanent state of indecision.
October 10, 2009 - New Jersey at Florida. It's the official home opener for the Panthers in Sunrise, but 70 percent of the crowd finds out that the team actually started the season overseas in Finland one week earlier. The other 30 percent thought the Panthers had permanently moved to Helsinki.
October 12, 2009 - Los Angeles at NY Islanders. Ryan Smyth makes an emotional return to Long Island, where he poured his heart and soul into the Islanders for six weeks in the spring of 2007.
October 30th - NY Rangers at Minnesota. Marian Gaborik makes his return to Minnesota. For you compulsive gamblers out there, the over-under on the number groin-related signs at the Xcel Energy Center is 225.
November 12th, 2009 - Ottawa at Philadelphia. For the first time, Ray Emery faces his old Senators teammates. At the pre-game skate, the Ottawa media asks Emery if his work habits have improved in the last two years. Standing at the same podium at the Wachovia Center as Allen Iverson once did, Emery responds by saying "C'mon man....we're talking about practice."
November 23, 209 - NY Islanders at Toronto. John Tavares plays his first NHL game at the Air Canada Centre. He is forced to answer multiple questions from the Toronto media, who claim the Leafs are targeting him as a free agent in the summer of 2016.
November 27, 2009 - San Jose at Edmonton. Dany Heatley makes his first visit to Edmonton, after rejecting a trade to the Oilers in the summer. During the pre-game skate, Mike Comrie tells Heatley that in his experience, these things tend to blow over and Edmonton fans are very forgiving.
December 5, 2009 - NY Islanders at Tampa. Marks the first-ever meeting between first-overall-pick Tavares and second-pick Victor Hedman. But more importantly, in the second intermission, Charles Wang and Oren Koules arm-wrestle to see who can be the first to move their team to Kansas City.
December 11, 2009 - Blackhawks at Sabres. "Cab Driver Appreciation Night". All Buffalo-area cab drivers get a 20 percent discount on tickets, if they show up with broken glasses, a ripped shirt and an expired driver's license. HSBC crowd will be encouraged to chant "Tip Your Cabbie" every time Patrick Kane touches the puck.
