Mike Brophy

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy writes Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday on Sportsnet.ca and appears regularly on Hockeycentral.

Brian Burke says he will not ask defenceman Tomas Kaberle to waive his no-trade clause.

Time for a little audience participation in the form of a pop quiz. I start the thought and you fill in the blanks. You can add your comments at the bottom of this column.

1. Brian Burke, the man in charge of rebuilding the Toronto Maple Leafs, says he will not ask defenceman Tomas Kaberle to waive his no-trade clause, even if another GM comes to him with a deal that will help his hockey club. Burke is trying to sell the notion that being loyal to his players will make Toronto a desirable location for players to want to flock to. What will really make Toronto a desirable location is (BLANK).

2. With the 2010 Winter Olympic hockey tournament now just a month away, all eyes are on the players Steve Yzerman and his crew selected to represent Canada. Already one of those players, Boston Bruin Patrice Bergeron, has gone down with an injury, although it is not expected to keep him out of the Games. Should a member of Team Canada suffer an injury that will keep him out of the tournament, you would choose (BLANK) to replace him. (Name one forward, one defenceman and one goalie.)

3. The NHL decided not to punish referee Stephane Auger after he spoke with Vancouver's Alex Burrows during pre-game warm-up and then called a few weak penalties against the Canucks' pest. Burrows swore Auger vowed to get even with him for embarrassing him in a game earlier this year, but the NHL said there was no evidence the ref said any such thing. When Auger whispered into Burrows ear during warm-up, he actually said BLANK.

4. With 64 points in 47 games, Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks is the surprise scoring leader with the second half of the season well underway. Based on his play thus far, Sedin will become the first member of the Canucks to win the Art Ross Trophy, but if he slips, the winner will be BLANK.

5. The Atlanta Thrashers are in contract negotiations with scoring ace Ilya Kovalchuk, but thus far there has been no agreement on a contract extension. Should talks break off for good, the Thrashers will trade him to (BLANK) and will get (BLANK) in return.

6. After finishing 117th in NHL scoring last season with a meager 48 points in 56 games, Brad Richards of the Dallas Stars is currently sixth in league scoring with 53 points in 45 games. A strong case could be made that Richards is having the best rebound season of any player in the league. Another player having a remarkable turnaround year is BLANK.

7. My early season favourite to win the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player was Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. While I still believe Kipper is a solid contender, my vote now would go to Buffalo Sabres stopper Ryan Miller. The actual winner of the Hart Trophy will be BLANK.

8. Sticking with the Buffalo Sabres, their 19-year-old defenceman, Tyler Myers, is my leading candidate to win the Rookie of the Year award this season. The six-foot-eight and 222-pound rearguard is currently fifth in rookie scoring and fourth in Sabres scoring with six goals and 26 points in 45 games. He averages 23:13 ice time per game and is plus-9. The hotly-contested Calder Trophy will go to BLANK.

9. For my money, Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators is the best coach in the NHL to have never been named coach of the year. Once again Trotz has his club playing sensational hockey, given the fact it is a team without a superstar, and is currently fourth best in the Western Conference. I believe he is a solid candidate at this point to win the Jack Adams Trophy, but he'll receive stiff competition from BLANK.

10. The continuing success of the Colorado Avalanche and Phoenix Coyotes could mean two teams expected to make the playoffs from the Western Conference might not make it to the dance. If the Avalanche and Coyotes qualify, the two teams that will not make the playoffs are BLANK and BLANK.

11. OK, admit it. Nobody in the world could have predicted Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks would be the NHL's leading goal-scorer at this stage of the season with 31. My pick for the Rocket Richard Trophy this season is Dany Heatley and I still think he'll win the award. If Heatley doesn't win, the trophy will go to BLANK.

I look forward to seeing your responses.