How does that Hives song go? "Hate to say I told you so / I do believe I told you so"?

I don't normally flaunt predictions that come true, but after I nailed our unofficial, intra-office survey for a Colts-Saints Super Bowl, I couldn't help but look back one projection I made last year.

There's been a lot of hubbub as of late about the Calgary Flames' slide, and that has led some pundits to call out the lackluster play of Jay Bouwmeester.

Chances are you heard plenty about the defenseman last season when he was one of the most targeted free agents. Bouwmeester finished out the year with Florida, matched a career high in goals and fell just shy of doing the same in points. The Panthers, realizing he wouldn't re-sign by July 1, traded his rights to Calgary. The Flames inked him to a five-year, $33 million deal.

What has $6.68 million bought Calgary this season? Two goals and 18 points. He leads the Flames in average time on ice (a little more than 26 minutes per game). He ranks second on the Flames in giveaways (41), second in missed shots (48) and fifth in hits (46). For that kind of ice time, you'd expect more production, no?

Which brings me back to that Hives song. Before last year's trade dealine, I pointed out Bouwmeester isn't all he's cracked up to be , and his departure from Florida wouldn't bury the franchise the same way the Roberto Luongo fiasco did.

[F]or the money [Bouwmeester is] 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.

The Panthers' record is one win and three points off of last year's effort at this same point. The balanced attack from Florida's blueline has continued to some degree, with the Panthers' top four registering at least 16 points. Bouwmeester's departure also opened the door for rookie Dmitri Kulikov, a smooth-skating, puck moving defenseman who has not only been able to hang at the NHL level, but play a significant role. About the only thing Florida is missing from Bouwmeester is the 15 goals he contributed last season. For a team missing its top two goal scorers -- David Booth and Nathan Horton -- that is without question.

On the flip side, the Flames aren't any better either. They are four wins and five points off last year's pace. Bouwmeester's presence alone isn't at fault for Calgary's struggles, yet he is not doing the things expected of him -- and his lofty salary -- that would help the Flames pull themselves out of a rut.

And, while it is absolute speculation , one can't help but wonder what kind of impact Bouwmeester has had on Calgary's defensive corps, Phaneuf specifically. Once lauded as a franchise defenseman, future Norris Trophy contender and absolute Pac-Man when it comes to ice time, Phaneuf has been knocked from the spotlight. Rumors of his unhappines refuse to die down despite endless assurance from Flames GM Darryl Sutter. Calgary may host the Stampede, but in this case, there may not be enough room for two workhorses.

Could the Panthers be better off with Bouwmeester? Possibly. Are they surviving without him? Absolutely.

I do believe I told you so.

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.

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Roberto Luongo's return to South Florida has been two years in the making. Quite a long time for fans, players and the organization to receive closure.

Whether it be Stephen Weiss' blind shot which tied it at three apiece, Tomas Vokoun's save on Markus Naslund's penalty shot in overtime, or Nathan Horton's lone shootout goal, the current Panthers did their part to put momentarily let fans forget about one of the darkest days in franchise history.

Despite playing with a sense of urgency that has been absent for most of the year, Florida struggled to swing the momentum totally in their favor. Yet they kept rattling off shots, 73 in all if you account for the ones that flew wide or were blocked. No Canuck went untouched, as 12 players recorded at least one hit.

Weiss suggested after the game Luongo's return didn't factor into the team's passionate play. That may be the case, but it was hard to ignore who was at the other end of the ice when fans in the BankAtlantic Center jeered every play in which Luongo touched the puck.

And Vokoun, who was subjected to playing in the shadow of Luongo upon his arrival in Florida, thrust himself into the spotlight with a penalty shot save on Markus Naslund with 46 seconds to play in overtime. He followed that effort with three consecutive saves to seal the shutout victory, celebrating in his crease with a little fist pump before his teammates mobbed him.

"People can do lots of stuff with emotion, and that's what we need here," Vokoun said. "We need more involvement and more emotion. We've got to enjoy winning. When you enjoy it, you do everything you can to repeat that feeling."

Perhaps it was fitting that Florida's celebration music for the evening included Eminem's "Lose Yourself" -- "If you had one shot, or one opportunity/to seize everything you ever wanted -- one moment/would you capture it or just let it slip?"

It may not have been the most well-executed or prettiest win for Florida. But the desire to skate away with this W more than any other was apparent. Now it is just a question as to whether they can bottle the passion from tonight for the stretch.

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Ah yes, it feels great to be back in sunny, South Florida. Definitely in regards to the weather, but not so much for the hockey.

After finally awaking from my coma (induced from the lack of sleep over the weekend), I've finally gotten a chance to reflect on All-Star Weekend. In short, it was an excellent experience. I did the math, and it amounted to 36 hours of work on 12 hours of (total) sleep over three days, with 43 players/coaches interviewed in that span. (I know you're thinking, "WHERE ARE ALL OF THE INTERVIEWS?" There just wasn't enough time to get everything off the tape and onto the web.)

One thing I didn't get a chance to talk about was the informal, media all-star game, which took place on Sunday at 6 a.m. Russ Cohen of Sportology had a great recap of the scrimmage. I think Russ nails it when he points out we skated on a perfect sheet of ice just 12 hours before the actual All-Star Game was to take place. It really didn't dawn on me at the time, probably because I was in awe of how perfect the ice was. I don't think Mother Nature could have put together an ice surface as perfect as NHL ice guru Dan Craig did.

The All-Star Game itself was a real treat, mainly because in Florida, we just don't get to see that kind of action on a night-to-night basis. I enjoyed watching the East's line of Daniel Alfredsson, Vincent Lecavalier and Evgeni Malkin gel very quickly. You figure each player skates alongside other Stars, but to see them together was just... impressive. They could have been blindfolded and played just as well.

Unfortunately, I don't expect to see anything like that this evening at the Canucks-Panthers game. Yes, it marks the return of Roberto Luongo to South Florida, but the Panthers haven't played anything close to well the past two games. Before the All-Star break, they collapsed in the final two minutes, giving up two goals to the Oilers before losing in a shootout. And then there was Tuesday, a 1-0 loss to Buffalo, cited by a friend as the "worst game" he's ever seen the Panthers play in their history, period. (As you can imagine there were a number of other choice words in that statement.)

For a team that often seems like they're playing without fire, maybe this game will finally spark them. You've got a former player who spurned you returning, someone they'd like to put 10 pucks past. (And not just because the fans would like to see Luongo suffer; the team is apparently giving out five flat-screen televisions for every goal scored tonight.) I'd love to see if the Panthers keep with the tradition of posting a bounty for the opposing player/coach/team, but that won't come until after the game... then again, considering all the changes since Luongo's departure, I'm not sure who'd be putting up the cash.

We'll see. It's either going to be a real fun night (from a fan's standpoint) or make me wish I was back in Atlanta, freezing my butt off, but watching good hockey.

ATLANTA -- After spending two hours running from coach to coach, player to player, I've got tons of stuff to churn out...

But since it seems to be the most pressing question among fans is whether a number of Stars missing from this year's contest will impact future ones, I'll tackle that first.

In short, this year's coaches do not feel the absence of some stars this season will lead to the annual contest suffering a similar fate to that of the NFL Pro Bowl.

During a coaches roundtable discussion, Thrashers GM/Coach Don Waddell said it was disappointing that Sidney Crosby wouldn't be able to attend, but noted "this weekend won't miss a beat. We'll put on a good show in Atlanta."

Senators coach John Paddock, who will serve as head coach for the Eastern Conference team, said that he views the absences the same way he sees players getting injured during the season. He noted that even Roberto Luongo, who declined to play this weekend because he wanted to be in South Florida with his wife, who is pregnant, had a perfectly valid reason for not being in Atlanta. "As I understand the situation, that's where he should be," Paddock said.

One thing that was touched upon during the roundtable was the issue of whether the season needs to be shortened (more on that later), and San Jose coach Ron Wilson tied that idea into the situation involving players needing some time to rest around the All-Star Break.

"I think we should block off a week, right off the bat, do your All-Star Game, get in here, do what you need to do and give everybody four days off, where the all-stars do get a break," Wilson said. "It is a lot to ask of these guys. I don't have a problem with that. "

But in comparing the NHL's situation to the NFL's, Wilson showed sympathy for the guys on the gridiron, too.

"I don't know how they go to a Pro Bowl. They get beat up for 20 weeks or so and then you've got to play another football game? I don't know how they do that."

I managed to catch the tail end of an interview with broadcaster Bill Clement, who said players not attending the All-Star Game shouldn't be a concern, mainly because there's so much talent to fill in.

That's just the position of some higher-ups. I'll attempt to see what some of the players think about the situation tomorrow.