Numbers define the hockey world.
Better stats can mean better salaries. More wins can mean more fans. Less wins can mean higher draft picks.
Here’s some numbers of current interest from around the world of hockey.

$10,000
Reebok Canada was offering $10,000 for the safe return of Sidney Crosby’s missing golden-goal gear—his stick and one glove.
But as it turns out, it never was stolen to begin with.
The stick was accidentally packaged in a shipment of Olympic equipment to be sent to the IIHF in Russia. And the glove was accidentally put into teammate Patrice Bergeron’s bag.
If the Russians did end up getting their hands on the stick, they probably could have used it in a trade back to Sidney Crosby in exchange for Crosby promising to bring NHL players with him to the Sochi Olympics in 2014.
Oh, well.

2K11
What a year it has been for Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks.
The Selke-nominee was a force playing on a line with Patrick Kane on Team USA at the Olympics. And like Kane before him (on the cover EA’s NHL ’10), Kesler will be the cover boy for 2K’s NHL 2K11. Kesler follows Alex Ovechkin and Rick Nash as the worldwide poster boy for the video game.
The world witnessed Kesler’s tenacity and hunger at the Olympics when he scored an empty net goal that Pierre Maguire called, “heroic beyond belief” by outwilling Corey Perry in the last minute of the Canada-U.S. preliminary game. Kesler dove full-speed-ahead and poked the puck off Perry’s stick and into Canada’s open net. Game over.

20
It’s incredible to think that Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty are only 20-years-old.
Stamkos has 43 goals through 72 games and is among the big three in contention for the Rocket Richard Trophy along with Crosby and Ovechkin. Stamkos was just two goals off the lead as of Monday’s games.
Doughty was tied for the second best plus-minus on Team Canada (plus-6) on the grand Olympic stage and he is still a minor in the U.S.
It’s probably safe to say that the first and second overall picks in the 2008 NHL Draft are flop-proof.

48.2 per cent
The team that finishes in last place has a 48.2 per cent chance of winning the first overall pick in the NHL Draft Lottery. The Edmonton Oilers and the Toronto Leafs seem fairly locked-in to the bottom two spots. Consequently, Boston owns Toronto’s pick as part of the Phil Kessel trade. So either way, odds are that OHL superstars Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin are headed to Edmonton and Boston.  
In particular, the Oilers look like a team that has too many prospects to not  eventually have a dramatic turnaround. With Hall in their sights, the Oilers also have top prospects Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson on the way. High-powered offence could well be returning to Edmonton.

3.5/1
The Washington Capitals are the odds-on favourite to win the Stanley Cup, according to bet365.com, with 3.5/1 odds.
The Blackhawks, and Penguins both have 4.5/1 odds.
Vancouver leads all Canadian teams with 7.5/1 odds, followed by Montreal (28/1), Ottawa (33/1), and Calgary (33/1), with the Leafs and Oilers out of the conversation.
If you’re looking for more dramatic odds, the New York Islanders (eight points back of a playoff spot at press time) have 400/1 odds of winning the Cup. A $25 winning bet would get you $10,000.
Do you believe in miracles?