Tick, tock, you're on the clock... (8-10 ET, 5-7 PT)

You've built up that "bad cold" credence for the last week, cancelled that long sought after root canal at the dentist and bunkered down in front of the big screen, ready to do the quantum mathematics of capology 101.

Trading Deadline Day has arrived once again, the annual celebration of sub-leases and moving vans across the NHL map, as contenders stock up on the players they think will take them deep into a June Stanley Cup run and the pretenders unload those contracts they never should have signed and begin anew the call of "wait til next year"

And with the arrival of the NHL's day of destiny the sports channels once again unleash the battalions upon our television screens, eager to be the first with the breaking news, more than likely requiring all of that talking head talent just to fill up some time.

The day began at 8 AM in the East, 5 AM in the West (really anyone think that a GM is phoning his player at 5 AM to tell him he's been traded, sorry, not going to happen) and from our observations thus far, the features of the deadline shows are going to be getting a pretty vigorous workout.

Panels, bloggers, tweeters, GM conclaves it's all been in place for the first two hours.

Much discussion on who needs what, not so much on who has acquired whom. One interesting thing is that for the most part, the commercial breaks have been in sync, making your trek to the coffee maker that much more efficient.

Dave Hodge's The TSN Reporters panel offers up an extension of their Sunday morning review of events and will be worth seeking out as the morning morphs into afternoon, likewise the Sportsnet Trading Desk offers up the usual collective of hockey observers, all no doubt hoping to have the scoop of the day, though surely everyone has learned from last week's Iginla's going to Boston moments...

One thing perhaps worth keeping an eye out for as you channel surf through the morning, the Milbury Rating Scale on Sportsnet, where Puck Daddy (doing double duty) will rate the trades on a sliding scale of importance as though Mike Milbury had been left in the room with a cel phone. That could make for some entertaining commentary as the day moves along.

The hour by hour reviews continue on, the archive of network portals and past trades to date can be found in our Pre Game Skate section, near the top of our right hand column.