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The e-mails have flowed in this week -- "My team has done nothing, what are they waiting for?"; "We are over the salary cap and could possibly forfeit games if we don't trade some players."; "Great regular season, but the playoffs have been a disaster. Time for a major shakeup."; "All these trade rumors and none involve my team, what are we doing?"

My reply to most of the e-mails is simple -- just relax. It is way too early to push the panic button. Heck, we still have six weeks until training camps open.

Deals will be made, teams will be within the salary cap structure and teams still may pull off a blockbuster trade. But maybe not today.

I know fans want their team's roster wrapped up in a little red bow so they can have a sense of relief that all is well and they can look forward to the upcoming season. Having the satisfaction of "the team is set" in early August is not going to happen. Those of us that live and die with our team are experiencing a little nervousness right about now, waiting for something to happen -- and happen soon.

We know what moves need to be made, but frankly, many of those moves may not come until we get much closer to early September, and some of our hopeful moves may not be seen as a necessity by the GM, so we just may have to live with what we have.

In a perfect world, every trade and signing a fan wants would be made, but we all know that never will happen. You may be hearing all the trades and signings are about to be finalized, but the majority of those rumors are just that. Most will not come true and most have not even been talked about.

I find it much easier to wait for the unexpected move, because those do happen. I can recall more of these scenarios playing out over the last few seasons than the so-called can't-miss rumor coming true.

When the unexpected moves do happen, it puts the Internet hockey world into a frenzy, which claims of "Who saw that coming?"; "Wow, that came out of nowhere";

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The American Hockey League today released the complete schedule of regular-season games for the 2009-10 season, the league's 74th year of operation. The season, comprising 1,160 games, begins on Fri., Oct. 2 and concludes on Sun., Apr. 11. Each of the league's 29 clubs will play 80 games, 40 at home and 40 on the road.

With a divisional format again in place for the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs, nearly two-thirds of this year's schedule (758 of 1,160) will feature games between division rivals. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the 2010 postseason, with one possible exception: if the fifth-place team in the Atlantic Division finishes with more points than the fourth-place team in the East Division, it would cross over and compete in the East Division playoffs.

The AHL's regular season opens with two games on Oct. 2, including a rematch of last year's Western Conference championship series between the Manitoba Moose and the Houston Aeros at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. That night also sees the debut of the Texas Stars, the new top affiliate of the NHL's Dallas Stars, as they visit the San Antonio

Rampage.

Texas and San Antonio meet again on Oct. 3 in suburban Austin for the first-ever game at the Cedar Park Center, one of 12 games on tap for the opening Saturday of the season. Also that night, the Adirondack Phantoms hit the ice in Glens Falls, N.Y., for the first time when they open their 2009-10 schedule against the Worcester Sharks, and the Hershey Bears begin defense of their 2009 Calder Cup championship at home against the Norfolk Admirals.

The AHL's other new entry for 2009-10, the Abbotsford Heat, kicks off its inaugural season as the top development club of the NHL's Calgary Flames on Oct. 9 when San Antonio visits the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre.

The Portland Pirates and the city of Portland, Maine, will host the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic at the Cumberland County Civic Center, Jan. 18-19.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives and broadcasters of all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 84 percent of today's NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the eighth year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2008-09.

The entire 2009-10 AHL regular season schedule is available for viewing at theahl.com.

Let's go to the movies, where it's cool inside and a great time killer during these slow summer months.

* Ladies near Anaheim, get ready for Power Players auditions.

* Let's head to Joe Louis Arena and take a look back at the 1980 All-Star Game introductions.

This is the 14th installment of our 30 Teams in 30 Days feature, focusing on the Los Angeles Kings franchise. In it, we look at the franchise as a whole in the State of the Union section, focus on the team's up-and-coming reinforcements in the Prospect Roundup section and recap this season's selections in the Draft Recap section. NHL Network also gets in on the fun with a block of Kings programming Friday night from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

STATE OF THE UNION

Ever the pragmatist, Los Angeles Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi is keeping himself grounded while the excitement builds around him. Hope abounds, as it usually does this time of the year, though Lombardi is quick to offer the reality check that his team hasn't won anything yet.

But for the first time in years, there is excitement about hockey in Los Angeles -- and it seems real and feels real. At the end of August, the Kings are looking to capitalize on that excitement with a three-day fan extravaganza called "Hockey Fest '09" that brings together the present-day team with the club's stars from the past.

"When I first got here, not one player stayed here over the summer and worked out," said Lombardi, who's entering his fourth season as GM. "Here we were in the most beautiful place to play and not one player stayed, which is abnormal.

"This year, we had bunch of guys here at the end of June not only working out but pushing themselves, which is a huge step in building a culture here, building an identity."

It has been seven years since a Stanley Cup Playoff game has taken place in Los Angeles. Kings fans have remained loyal -- but they've had to endure a lot of losing, particularly in the last three seasons as Lombardi convinced parent company AEG that a true rebuilding plan was needed.

Lombardi's vision of creating long-term success seems to be gaining followers. The Kings, under first-year coach Terry Murray, improved by eight points over 2007-08, but the foundation is stronger heading into 2009-10 as they figure to ice 13 players with NHL experience that are 27 years or younger.

Among that group are players the Kings are counting on to be building blocks -- Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Alexander Frolov, Matt Greene and Jonathan Quick. Youngsters such as Oscar Moller, Wayne Simmonds, Peter Harrold and Teddy Purcell will be expected to take another step in their development. If they don't, there's more NHL-caliber talent waiting in the wings in the minors.

The youngsters will be supported by the returning presence of veterans Justin Williams, Jarret Stoll, Sean O'Donnell and Michal Handzus. But if there's one player Lombardi has a laser-like focus on heading into the season, it's the Slovenian-born Kopitar who's averaged 26 goals and 68 points in his first three NHL seasons -- but has been a double-digit minus player in each of them.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=469987