Brian Burke would thrive in a super casino, as he’s willing to take risks. The Toronto GM did just that over the weekend, getting Dion Phaneuf from Calgary, among others, in what was a very big weekend for the Maple Leafs, and kicked off the countdown to the trade deadline. We know Ilya Kovalchuk will go somewhere, but what about other players?

Some rumors are kicking around that the St. Louis Blues may be in the market to move a couple of experienced wingers, Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya. The Blues are five points out of a playoff spot, but odds are they won’t go very far, so they could be selling. Tkachuk and Kariya would be a good fit on the right team, and probably a team that could use some scoring. Boston comes to mind as the Bruins are in freefall due to their lack of scoring, and Detroit could use them as well. The Red Wings are a bit old already, but having these two to help out Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg would be a boost to their Stanley Cup odds. Pittsburgh made a similar move to get Bill Guerin last year, and promptly put him on a line with Sidney Crosby to add some grit and experience. The Blues are playing well right now, but they could make this move before the Olympics.

The Super Bowl spread participants, Indianapolis and New Orleans, struggled down the stretch before the playoffs, but it was nothing like what Calgary is going through as the Flames have dropped nine of their last 10. They’ll try to right the ship in Dallas on Wednesday.

Flames vs Stars betting – Wednesday, 8:30 PM ET

A lack of goals is the main problem for the Flames, as they’ve scored more than two goals just twice in their last 10 games. Captain Jarome Iginla hasn’t lit the lamp since January 2^nd against Toronto, and this is his longest drought since the 1999-2000 season. Other players have to step up, obviously, but Iginla has to spark his team somehow.

The Stars had their own funk to start January, but have won three of their last five games, including two in a row at home, where they are 14-5-5. Maybe the Stars just need to keep it close: in those last five games, their three wins have all been by a one-goal difference.

The Stars should be favored at home, but Calgary won in Dallas on November 4^th by a 3-2 result in overtime, getting a pair of goals from Iginla, including the winner. The Flames desperately need to get it going, and they’ll have to get a big game from their captain in what will be a physical matchup. They’ve won four of their last five in Dallas overall, so maybe this is the place where they’ll turn it around.

NHL betting odds pick: Calgary

While the tri-state area will be checking Super Bowl odds, there’s an NHL matchup on Friday night to get you warmed up as the New Jersey Devils go for their seventh straight win over the Montreal Canadiens.

Canadiens vs Devils odds – Friday, January 22, 7:00 PM ET

The Canadiens have lost three in a row and are 2-6 since the beginning of the year, and they still have no idea who is their No.1 goalie. Is is Jaroslav Halak? Is it Carey Price? Neither can get any momentum going as the Canadiens play musical chairs between the pipes.

There’s no such controversy in New Jersey, where Brodeur runs the show. They snapped a three-game skid with a 2-0 shutout of Florida on Wednesday, the seventh of the year and 108^th of his career for Brodeur, who knows he has to be at his best each night, as the Devils struggle to score goals.

The Devils should be favored at home, as the Canadiens have lost their last two games away from home after going 6-1 on a road trip to end 2009. Halak has better numbers, but the Canadiens seem to be stuck on Price, and that causes controversy, which isn’t needed when you’ve lost seven of your last 10, and six straight, against your next opponent.

Bet on sports: New Jersey

While most people are focused on the 2010 Super Bowl odds, the NHL season has passed its halfway point and you know what that means: it’s time for trade winds to start blowing.

One of the most bandied about players right now is Atlanta Thrashers sniper, Ilya Kovalchuk, who has been the face of the Thrashers since they drafted him. While they have tried to build around him and get him some help, the reality has been that they simply have failed to do so. They’ve barely even made the playoffs during his time there and as he moves closer and closer to free agency at the end of this season, it’s time for the Thrashers to start looking for what they can get in return for him.

The Thrashers have already had some problems re-signing Kovalchuk because he is probably looking for a fresh environment. One of those environments could be the Calgary Flames, who are desperately looking for scoring.

In return, the Flames have been said to be offering defenseman Dion Phaneuf, who is still one of the best in the NHL, but the team has soured on his performances recently.

The Thrashers could use a solid defenseman – something they have lacked for a while – so keep an eye on the two teams to see if they get together on this. The Flames would be getting a rental but the Thrashers could be getting a rock for years to come.

Alright, back to NFL picks.

Hard to believe sportsbook betting on the Winter Olympics is so close…close enough that we’ll start seeing major nations announce their rosters in the coming weeks.

I had a funny thought today — one that contradicts my earlier opinions. As much as were used to seeing half a dozen teams battle hard for the gold — Canada, Russia, USA, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia — I’m suddenly wondering if two teams are head and shoulders above the competition.

Naturally, the two main contenders are Canada and Russia. I’ll save a comparison or discussion about them for another day. Instead, I want to focus on why the other teams’ sports betting prospects suddenly seem slimmer.

For whatever reason, it seems the Czechs, Slovaks and Finns haven’t produced as many top-flight NHL prospects of late. In fact, in the last two drafts combined, none of those nations has produced a first-round pick. That’s a far cry from the days when Teemu Selanne and Marian Gaborik topped draft boards.

For the Americans and Swedes, the problem is purely temporary. They’re producing boatloads of elite youngsters — Erik Johnson, Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson, Peter Mueller, and so on — but many of their top players will be a bit young to compete with the big boys. Sure, the Americans have Patrick Kane and Zach and the Swedes have Henrik Zetterberg and the Sedins, but those elite players wouldn’t even be first liners on Canada or Russia, who can ice Crosby, Iginla, Malkin, Ovechkin and so on.

It’s also worth noting that many key contributors from the 2002 and 2006 Swedish and American Olympic teams — Markus Naslund, Mats Sundin, Mike Modano, Keith Tkachuk — are either retired or well past their prime.

As NFL betting teams will eventually do with the Green Bay Packers, Canada and Russia will have major competition on their hands for 2014 and beyond once the Swedish and American youngsters grow up a bit. In 2010, though, hockey odds suggest the gold will go to Canada or Russia.

What up, sportsbook hockey bettors. The last time we spoke, it was regarding the Jonathan Toews hit. What’s happened since then? Well, Toews still hasn’t played (though he hopes to suit up tonight) and we’ve seen half a dozen more NHLers fall to concussions, not to mention an OHLer go into intensive care.

To me, the scariest hits of the ones we’ve seen recently aren’t the fluky (Iginla on Souray, who happened to fall just as he was getting hit) or the dirty (the Mike Richards on David Booth hit, perhaps?). It’s the clean ones. Starting with Toews, were’s seeing guys get concussed — KO’d — with clean, crisp hits. I still wonder if the vicious OHL hit was even dirty, as the perpetrator was forechecking a defenseman who had the puck and was facing him.

The truth is that the NHL betting landscape is changing because the game is so fast — Autobahn fast. The obstruction rules are gone and the guys are just flying out there — so much that collisions are more devastating than ever before. Defensemen can’t pick guys or grab sweaters or do anything to slow anyone down. The result is a more exciting and finesse-oriented game — but also a more dangerous one.

Damien Cox in the Toronto Star today had an interesting idea. If we can’t do anything to stop clean but hard hits, we can find other ways to protect guys from brutal hits — like removing the puckhandling anti-goalie trapezoid. If goalies could play the puck in the corner, defenseman wouldn’t get crushed as often in races for the puck.

NFL betting fans know what it’s like to have their league institute rules to protect the vulnerable (like punters and quarterbacks who get hit while performing their tasks). Maybe it’s time for hockey to undergo similar changes.

If nothing changes, expect hockey odds to fluctuate throughout the year as one big star after another goes down to a head shot.

So I made my BetOnline.com wager and turned on the Canucks/Hawks game last night. Picked Chicago, of course. Midway through the third period…

BAM!

Willie Mitchell hops out of the box and brutalizes Jonathan Toews, goes Gambino Family on him. Massive hit but it was crisp and clean, so it was nice to see that Mitchell wasn’t indicted by the league and coaches. The BetOnline.com odds of that happening are usually pretty slim — seems every big hit these days is “dirty” in someone else’s mind.

All the big hits today show a weird trend; it used to be that only blatant cheap shots started big brawls. Now, any big hit gets you jumped by the other team and you end up with the post-whistle scrum you usually see in NFL betting after a fumble. What gives?

I long for the olden days — even 10 years ago — when the answer to a good clean hit was another good clean hit. I totally understand that teams have to respond in some way to show they can’t be pushed around — but why not answer hits with hits?

OK, offshore sportsbook lovers, it’s time to play…PANIC/DON’T PANIC!

It’s easy to have knee-jerk reactions to certain teams or players’ slow starts just a few weeks into the season. I’m here to sort through them for you.

PANIC: Detroit is banged up and starting slowly

Do I think Detroit will miss the playoffs? Of course not. Do I think the Wings will take a step back and possibly even lose home ice in the first round? You bet. After Johan Franzen’s serious knee injury, the Wings are now missing four of their top six goal scorers from last season. Gulp.

DON’T PANIC: Buffalo is the no-scoring zone

Aside from their outburst against Detroit, the Sabres have struggled to find the net early in 2009-10 and that’s ironic, because scoring should be one of the only things they do well this season. They still have plenty of speedy, soft-handed forwards, so the goals will come. So will the losses (Craig Rivet is their top defenseman).

PANIC: The Toronto Maple Laughs

The Leafs aren’t nearly as bad as their record suggests, but they’re in a hole already. I envisioned them as a fringe team, on the cusp of finishing eighth or ninth in the East, but a start this slow could put them too far back in the pack to contend already.

DON’T PANIC: Bruins aren’t so big and bad

Boston has stumbled out of the gate and people are turning on their NHL betting odds already. Relax, everyone! Boston opened with five straight home games, which could be a curse instead of a blessing. Road trips, especially early in the season, give players crucial bonding time. Expect the Bruins to rally now that they’re hitting the road.

PANIC: Caps getting scored on as much as they score

As flashy Washington’s offense is, the Caps have lost four of their first six games. Ovechkin, Semin and company will keep the Caps’ Stanley Cup odds afloat but Washington seriously lacks blueline depth and neither Jose Theodore nor Simeon Varlamov looks like a clear-cut No. 1 goalie right now. Unless the Caps acquire some help, they’ll stay stuck in neutral. I’m betting management considers making a move soon.

I’ve been immersed in sportsbook betting lately, with hockey back, the baseball playoffs and the NFL in full swing. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have time to dis the guys I don’t like for 2009-10!

Here are some guys who could cost you money in your hockey odds betting this season. Some will be busts with new teams, some are getting old, others are just douchebags. Here they are, in random order.

Niklas Backstrom (the goalie) — Not to be confused with Washington’s stellar playmaking center. Let’s see…locked up cushy long-term contract…defensive-minded head coach Jacques Lemaire left town…yep, that’s a recipe for way more shots — and goals — on Backstrom. (Side note: last year in my fantasy hockey pool, I had the No. 32 and No. 33 picks overall. I took Niklas Backstrom and Nicklas Backstrom back to back. Was I the first guy ever to do that?)

Marion Gaborik — One healthy season didn’t convince me that Chad Pennington’s NFL odds of getting through 2009 healthy were good. Gaborik will be lucky to play half the year with that groin of his.

Jamie Langenbrunner – Career year last year for a first-line guy with second or third-line talent. Don’t expect a repeat with Lemaire back behind the bench.

Alexander Ovechkin — Just kidding! Wanted to make sure you were still reading.

Pekka Rinne – Nashville goalies are cursed; every friggin’ last one of ‘em wins the job midseason only to lose it to the backup the next year.

Nicklas Lidstrom – Sacrilege! Don’t get me wrong — I rank him as the second-best defenseman ever to play the game — but he’s almost 40. Niklas Krownwall is getting really good really fast, so Detroit can start cutting back Lidstrom’s ice time.

Marty Turco – He’ll never be a star No. 1 goalie again. He’s older than you may think — 34 — and I’d be shocked if Dallas re-signed him. Who takes the plunge on him next year? Seems like a Philly thing to do. I’m betting management considers it.

Jonathan Cheechoo — He was miscast in his short-lived sniper role in San Jose. He’s more of a blue-collar player who can chip in occasional offense now with his speed and ability to drive to the net. I wouldn’t expect a major performance spike in Ottawa.

A shorter list, but I stand by my picks.

If you bet at a sportsbook, you know there’s nothing wrong with stealing ideas. You overhear a guy make a compelling argument as to why the Lions will be the Redskins in NFL betting, you place a wager. No harm, no foul. Well, I’ve taken it upon myself to steal another idea — “Guys I like” and “Guys I don’t like” for the upcoming NHL season.

If you’re the type of bettor who factors individual performances into your hockey odds betting, remember these names as potential contributors to your success this season.

Anaheim’s top line — Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry. My pick to be the NHL’s most dominant first line this season.

Blake Wheeler — For all the hype Milan Lucic gets in Boston, Wheeler has fantastic hands and agility for his size. Maybe he’s the next Cam Neely.

Derick Brassard — He really looked like he belonged as Rick Nash’s centerman last year. This season, he’ll have better injury luck and help take Nash to new heights.

Valtteri Filppula – Somebody has to eat up all those power-play minutes and ice time with Datsyuk and Franzen in Detroit after Hossa and Hudler blew town.

Drew Doughty — I think he can make the leap into true offensive relevance as a sophomore.

Claude Giroux — Could see first-line duties with Simon Gagne good for an injury every year.

Chris Kunitz — A heady, well-rounded player who can be a defensive conscience on Crosby’s line.

Mikael Samuelsson — Only a matter of time before Vancouver puts him with the Sedins.

There you have it — some guys to think about. There aren’t the only guys I like — Jonathan Toews and Alexander Ovechkin are clearly good at hockey — but just some names you may be forgetting who could surprise this season. Remember that when you do your betting management.