Hearing a favorite NFL player is slated to be on the cover of latest installment of Madden is enough to leave a fan in a cold sweat.

In video gaming and football circles it is known as the "Madden Curse ," and it usually results in injuries or disasterous seasons for that season's cover boy.

The curse is hit or miss when it comes EA's NHL series. Some cover athletes have suffered devastating injuries or disppointing seasons. Others have experienced career years. The most notable has to be Chris Pronger, who won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1999-2000, the year he was on NHL's cover. Strangely, as Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane recently discovered, the "curse" of NHL cover boys extend to run-ins with the law.

EA published generic action shots on its NHL series covers until 1997 when Florida Panthers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck became the first to have the cover to himself.

Below is a breakdown of EA's NHL cover athletes and their highs and lows from that season:


NHL '97 - John Vanbiesbrouck
Season: 1996-97
A year after guiding his team to the Stanley Cup Finals,  Vanbiesbrouck backstopped the Florida Panthers to their best start in franchise history. The Cats opened the season 8-0-4 and boasted a 15-3-6 record through the first two months of the season. Down the stretch, Florida collapsed. The Panthers won just one of 10 games in late February and were defeated by the New York Rangers, 4-1, in the first round of the playoffs. Florida has not won a playoff game since.

NHL '98 - Peter Forsberg
Season: 1997-98
Forsberg had an outstanding season, earning first-team all-star honors and finishing second only to Jaromir Jagr in the scoring race. His 91 points were the fourth highest total of his career. The following season, Forsberg suffered a shoulder injury which limited him to just 49 games.

NHL '99 - Eric Lindros
Season: 1998-99
Like Forsberg, Lindros had an exceptional season the year he graced the NHL cover. The Flyers captain registered his fourth 40-goal season and finished with at least 90 points for the third time in his career. Things turned in March, however, when Lindros suffered the first of many concussions which would ultimately end his career. He missed the Flyers' last 18 games and his relationship with then-GM Bobby Clarke began to deteriorate. The following season he suffered a potentially fatal rib injury and openly criticized team doctors. The Flyers stripped Lindros of his 'C.'

NHL '00 - Chris Pronger, Markus Naslund
Season: 1999-2000
For the first time, EA released North American and European versions of the game. The cover athlete for the North American edition, Pronger had a career year with 14 goals, 62 points and a plus-52 rating. He won the Hart and Norris Trophies. Naslund's production dipped from the previous seasons. Both players saw their luck go in opposite directions the following season. Pronger missed 31 games due to injury, while Naslund experienced a breakout year with his first 40-goal season.

NHL '01 - Owen Nolan, Jere Lehtinen
Season: 2000-01
Regarded as one of the league's more durable power fowards, Nolan missed 25 games the year EA selected him for the cover of NHL's North American edition. Nolan dealt with nagging abdominal injuries at the start of the season. In February, he received an 11-game suspension for elbowing Dallas' Grant Marshall in the neck. Lehtinen, meanwhile, rebounded from a disappointing 1999-2000 campaign in which an ankle injury limited him to just 17 games. He recorded his third 20-goal effort in five seasons.

NHL '02 - Mario Lemieux
Season: 2001-02
Lemieux, who came out of retirement the previous season, appeared in just 24 games with the Penguins because of a nagging hip injury. He underwent surgery in November and returned in time for the 2002 Winter Games. Lemieux won a gold medal with Team Canada in Salt Lake City, but received criticism for putting his Olympic ambitions ahead of the Penguins, who finished last in the Atlantic Division that season.

NHL '03 - Jarome Iginla
Season: 2002-03
One season after posting a league- and career-high 52 goals, Iginla's numbers took a dive. The Flames winger suffered a finger injury during a fight early in the season and it hampered his play. Iginla finished with a respectable 35 goals and 67 points, but many considered the effort a disappointment given his breakout season the year before.

NHL '04 - Dany Heatley, Joe Sakic
Season: 2003-04
EA originally chose Joe Thornton for the cover, but decided to forego the decision after the center was accused of assaulting two police officers. EA opted for Heatley as his replacement. Shortly after the game shipped, Heatley was involved in a car crash which resulted in the death of teammate Dan Snyder. Midway through the season, EA changed its cover athlete yet again, this time selecting Joe Sakic. The Avalanche captain finished third in league scoring with 87 points and earned a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2004 World Championship.



NHL '05 - Markus Naslund, Olli Jokinen
Season: 2004-05
Despite a lockout, EA continued with the NHL series, again with North American and European versions of the game. Both players experienced strong seasons in Europe. Naslund, who appeared with MoDo (Sweden) that year, posted 17 points in 13 games. Jokinen split time among EHC Kloten (Switzerland), Sodertalje (Sweden) and HIFK (Finland) and finished with 46 points in 45 games.

NHL '06 - Vincent Lecavalier, Tuomo Ruutu
Season: 2005-06
Lecavalier experienced his best season to date, posting 35 goals. His numbers were on par with previous seasons, but Tampa Bay, the defending Stanley Cup champion, failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs. On the international front, Lecavalier made his Olympic debut at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino. He returned without a medal. Ruutu, who graced the cover of the European edition, saw his season decimated by back and ankle injuries. He appeared in just 15 games.

NHL '07 - Alex Ovechkin, Teemu Selanne, Henrik Lundqvist
Season: 2006-07
All three players had outstanding seasons. Ovechkin, the North American cover athlete, and Teemu Selanne, the player on NHL's Finnish edition, each recorded at least 40 goals and 90 points. Lundqvist, the cover athlete for the Swedish edition, appeared in 70 games and won 37. Selanne won a Stanley Cup as a member of the Anaheim Ducks this season. It is worth noting this is, so far, the only season in which Ovechkin has failed to score at least 50 goals.

NHL '08 - Eric Staal, Jaromir Jagr, Henrik Zetterberg, Teemu Selanne, Mark Streit
Season: 2007-08
Staal rebounded from a disppointing 2006-07 campaign, but found himself in the headlines prior to the season when he and 12 others were arrested during a rowdy bachelor party. Jaromir Jagr saw his relationship with the New York Rangers deteriorate over contract issues. Despite a respectable 71-point season, the Rangers declined to pick up his option for the following season. On the flip side, Selanne (Finland), Zetterberg (Sweden) and Streit (Switzerland) each had good years. Selanne re-signed with the Ducks in mid-season and finished with 23 goals in 26 games. Zetterberg won his first Stanley Cup with the Red Wings. Streit experienced a breakout season in Montreal and too advantage of his success by signing a five-year, $20.5 million contract with the New York Islanders as a free agent.

NHL '09 - Dion Phaneuf
Season: 2008-09
One year after posting a career-high 60 points and finishing as the runner-up for the Norris Trophy, Phaneuf posted a career-low 47 points. Phaneuf, who never posted a minus rating in his first three seasons, finished minus-11.

NHL '10 - Patrick Kane, Mikko Koivu, Mikkel Boedker, Mark Streit, Nicklas Backstrom
Season: 2009-10
Kane, EA's North American cover athlete, is the first of this group to make headlines. He was arrested in Buffalo on August 9 for allegedly punching a cab driver over 20 cents change. The Blackhawks winger faces felony robbery charges and two misdemeanor counts. EA has slated Koivu to be on the Finnish version of the game, Boedker on the Danish version, Streit on the Swiss version and Backstrom on the Swedish version.

The trade deadline is a little less than 24 hours away and I can't help but feel I'm at ground zero, geographically, of what could be the biggest news in the NHL on Wednesday.

For all the rumors that have been thrown out about Jay Bouwmeester's future, those invloved with the situation have remained quiet. GM Jacques Martin isn't talking. Neither is Bouwmeester or his agent, Byron Baltimore. And we all know what happens when there is silence from the inner circle; it just makes those on the outside squawk louder.

The silence has struck me, but for a different reason: it is the antithesis of what Panthers fans experienced a couple summers ago when Florida worked on contract negotiations with Roberto Luongo.

Anyone who followed the team then (there weren't many of us) remember the fiasco played out in the papers. It didn't matter what the Panthers offered Luongo. He didn't want it. Florida owner Alan Cohen publicly stated he would give the goaltender anything he wanted contract-wise. Luongo could have demanded a 10-year, $100 million contract and he would have received it.

But the all-star responded with demands, some which constituted tampering, that could never be honored by Florida. Luongo insisted then-GM Mike Keenan publicly announce Luongo would never be traded; he asked backup Jamie McLennan be re-signed; and finally, he told the Panthers he wanted them to hire Anaheim's goaltending coach Francois Allaire, who was still under contract with the Ducks at the time.

Much credit goes to Martin for keeping the Bouwmeester situation under wraps. It's a classy move to not drag the situation into the open, and for all we know, it could be what gives the Panthers a chance at trying to convince the defenseman to stay.

But if the chatter is true, that Bouwmeester doesn't want to stay in Florida, why pretend?  If he didn't have at least some inner conflict about remaining in Florida, why didn't he seek an offer sheet last summer? Why didn't he demand a trade?

The Panthers are far from the no-win situation many pundits are putting them in. If Florida doesn't trade him before Wednesday, they've still got an all-star defenseman on their blueline. And assuming they make the playoffs or have a surprising run, who is to say it doesn't convince Bouwmeester to stay? Time is one thing that does not hurt Florida.

If they lose him for nothing? The Panthers still save a massive chunk of change for free agents. And for the money he's seeking, Florida may be better off parting ways. Not because they're cheap, rather he's not the end-all-be-all in Florida. Bouwmeester is having an outstanding season (offensively), but as a friend put it, "does everyone else not see him enough to know his flaws?"

Bouwmeester is not a Dion Phaneuf- or Chris Pronger-like player who can put up offense and be physical in his own end. Actually, there are a lot of times where the defenseman doesn't use his size. He can be a liability in his own end at times, which is part of the reason why he's paired with Karlis Skrastins, who is about as defensive-minded as you can get.

In Florida's 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals a couple weeks back, Bouwmeester displayed his lack of physicality clearly. He was matched up against Alexander Ovechkin. There's no question Bouwmeester could keep up with the star (so few can), but on two occasions, he failed to play the body. On one of those, Ovechkin tallied the game-winner. A check or bump by Bouwmeester would have disrupted the play.

If they trade him? Someone is bound to over pay for his services. Florida could fill its need for offense and possibly pick up some talented youngsters for the future. Martin may not have done well behind the Panthers bench, but he's done a solid job in the front office.

Remember, he traded oft-injured underachiever Mike Van Ryan for Bryan McCabe and a draft pick. He swapped a Olli Jokinen for two defenseman -- Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton -- who have put up as many points as the former 40-goal scorer this season. He's put together a goaltending tandem that has combined for eight shutouts and ranks among the top 10 in the league. He hired a coach, Pete DeBoer, who is frequently mentioned as a Jack Adams Award candidate.

Given the way the Panthers have adopted a scoring-by-committee strategy -- 12 players have at least 20 points -- I'm convinced players can step up and fill the void.  The Panthers, who were supposed to flounder without Jokinen, have already shown they're capable of the shared responsibility.

I can't say what will unfold over the next day, but one thing is certain: I don't envy Martin's situation.