(Ed. Note: The column formerly known as the Puck Daddy Power Rankings. Ryan Lambert takes a look at some of the biggest issues and stories in the NHL, and counts them down.)

8. “No, I uhh........ don't(?) want to leave.”

This Steven Stamkos denial interview in the Tampa Bay Times was something else.

He denies that he wants to leave Tampa, and denies that he has a rift with Jon Cooper. Fair enough, and there's not really much of a political reason (i.e. bargaining position) why he would be so vehement with all this stuff, so that's interesting.

Given the extremely high quality of the reporters (Bob McKenzie, Elliotte Friedman, etc.) who weighed in on these rumors to say probably there is something to it, one wonders if this interview was just an attempt to quell the raging sea of speculation. “Everything in Tampa is cool and good” might not be enough to get people to stop asking about his contract status as we move into the new year, though you gotta give the kid an 'A' for effort.

But 'F' for execution, really. Because this quote from the end of the article shows the real issue here:

"There's still a lot of time before then. A lot of things can happen. It's probably not something I can give an answer to right now. Still a couple months away. There's a lot of things that can happen before then."

Yeah, exactly.

7. The Fan Vote

Yo, so the NHL isn't telling anyone how many votes any players have because John Scott is embarrassingly far in the lead.

The Fans are speaking loud and clear on the issue: They want John Scott in the All-Star Game. Maybe this is just another case, though, where the league knows what The Fans want better than The Fans do, which is also why salary information doesn't get published on the league website and why their advanced stats page is so embarrassing.

That's the kind of stuff The Fans really want.

6. Good weather for an outdoor game

There was an AHL outdoor game in California this past weekend and it rained a lot the whole time. I'm sure it made the very-watchable AHL product even more watchable.

And if that wasn't enough, you'll never guess what the upcoming forecast is here in the beautiful Boston area, where it's raining really hard and 53 degrees as I type this at noon on Dec. 22. On Christmas Eve, it's gonna be friggin' 70. SEVENTY DEGREES FARENHEIT ON DECEMBER 24. Then a chilly 62 degrees on Christmas itself. And in the mid- to high-40s the entire week, with some rain, before the Winter Classic itself.

Anyone coming to the game is advised to bring a slicker and a pair of shorts.

5. Security at Barclays Center

Is having your fans get into altercations with security to the point that the arena, where there are seats that can't see like 25 percent of the ice, alters alcohol sales policies better or worse than playing at Nassau?

View photos Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi, of Switzerland, is congratulated by Shea Weber (6) after Josi scored a goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) More

4. The Predators

It's tough to know how to feel about this team. They are so, so, so, so good defensively. They have the best blue line in the league by a fair margin. Their goaltending doesn't even need to be that good and they're going to win plenty of games, but their goaltender is also a two-time Vezina runner-up so he could just go on a run of .940 for a month and the season would effectively just end.

But also we have to acknowledge that this offense is a bit of a mirage, that the Central is still 40ish-game knife fight, and good lord they're still only fourth in the division somehow.

Story continues