In the quiet of the close season, a contract squabble has erupted between the NHL in North America and the KHL in Russia. The latest player in this tug-o'-war is Jiri Hudler, who defected from Detroit to follow bigger roubles in the KHL. The NHL says he is contracted to play in the NHL next season and has lodged a protest to the IIHF. Of course, this isn't the first dispute between the leagues and as wages increase on this side of the Atlantic, it probably won't be the last. If it's not sorted out pretty soon, one side or the other, or perhaps both, will place sanctions on the other part.

The NHL has issued a press release saying they will be making a "major announcement" at baseball's Fenway Park in Boston this Wednesday. Undoubtedly it will be to promote this season's Winter Classic featuring the Boston Bruins against either the Philadelphia Flyers or the Washington Capitals on New Year's Day in front of a giant gate on the Boston Red Sox' frozen pitch. The maximum spectator capacity (for baseball anyway) is just over 35,000 so the match won't threaten the world spectator record that will be set in Germany next year during the World Championships.

Until now, the Great Gretzky has been able to keep out of the tug-o'-war going on in the NHL threatening to take his Phoenix Coyotes back over the Canadian border. Now, he's been ordered to release his income tax returns for the City of Glendale to review. The Great's attorneys though, have countered with a statement saying he is a resident of California and therefore entitled to the privacy protection that applies in that state. Besides, the attorneys say, his personal finances are not relevant to the legal battle involving the sale of the team. Will this issue be resolved before the start of the season?

All the best.