Thanks to the work of Alain Desjardins and others, the NAIHL is back in business.
 

Simming has resumed, and GMs should send their lines to Alain at alaindesjardins©bell.net for now, although the traditional naihllines©gmail.com address is being transitioned to Alain and should be available shortly.
 

No plans for an accelerated schedule have been announced, but you will see it in this space if and when it happens.

An open letter to the NAIHL:

The NAIHL is in a crisis for the first time since it began in 1998. As the founder and former commissioner of this league, it has provided countless hours of enjoyment for people worldwide over the years. But this year, with the antics of the NHL and other interests in my life, I no longer have the time or interest to keep up with this. I haven't sent in lines since the start of the season, and really have hardly followed hockey at all.

Jouni is in a similar situation, with a young son and a new job that requires a lot of travel. He has not simulated in a month, and won't be running the sim going forward. Like me he just doesn't have the time, and perhaps to a lesser degree, the interest.

I would be happy to see the NAIHL stay afloat, but it will take someone from within the GM ranks to step forward and take over the simulation. That means forking out $45 for the simulator, and then getting the league files from Jouni. Once that is done, then I would work with whoever it is to set up accessing the site, getting files updated, etc.

If someone thinks they are up for this, e-mail me at jgchilds [at] gmail [dot] com and we can get started.

If no one steps forward to do this, I will be shutting down the NAIHL website. There is no deadline or timetable for this, but if it becomes clear that no one is going to fill the void to run the simulator, then it will be closed down.

Regardless of what happens, I want to thank all of you for your participation. I have made some good friends as a result of this league, and I know the same goes for many of you. 

All the best to everyone.

Jeff Childs 

The Winnipeg Jets, fighting for a playoff entry, made a major deal today that will only set the team back in the short term.

Traded away was one of the top players on the team, the Jets' top centre, young star Jeff Skinner. Joining Skinner on his trip to the west coast Ducks is prospect Jake McCabe. McCabe is no small piece, recently the captain of the Gold Medal Winning US World Junior Team.

"It's hard to give up such great quality. Jeff's been a great player for us all season long, and it's very, very difficult to see such a player move on," said Jets GM Chris Pethybridge.

Saturday morning the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers finalised a deal that sent all-star defensemen Drew Doughty to the Habs.

The 6 foot 210 pound London Ontario native has played in 22 games scoring 5 goals and 15 assists with a +2 rating on a Rangers team that sits just 3 points from the basement of the Eastern Conference.

"Anytime a player with the stature of Drew Doughty comes up in trade talks, you listen." said Canadiens gm Steve Call. "We have been looking for an all star defeneman , and have definately found what we have been looking for."