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Thanksgiving is a holiday where we get together with family and friends to celebrate all that is important in our lives. We here at NHL FanHouse will be doing that today but before we get to the turkey, we decided to get together and talk about something else that is important in all of our lives -- hockey.

For starters, we're thankful that we get to follow hockey all day long and that you take the time to read what we've got to say. But there's a lot more that we love about the "coolest game on ice" that plays such a big role in each of our lives.

The idea of 65 minutes of hockey (including overtime) being decided by what is essentially a skills competition is one of the most polarizing rule changes hockey has seen over the the past decade.

Love it or hate it, the shootout is a part of the NHL and it's not likely to be going away anytime soon. So, is it worth it for a team to carry a "shootout specialist," even if he has potentially no other value as an NHL player?

The NHL has always been at the forefront of the major American sports leagues when it comes to the internet. The league streams most of its games online through its GameCenter Live application and has openly embraced bloggers and websites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Given all of that, maybe it's no coincidence that an internet savvy sports fan has chosen these same websites with which to embark on an NHL social media experiment.

We have a lot of stuff to cover on our weekly NHL FanHouse chat. At 2 pm ET, we'll discuss Alex Ovechkin's return, the topic of headshots in hockey, the red-hot, playoff-bound (maybe) Islanders, and so much more. Join the FanHouse staff for the chat after the jump.

Brendan Shanahan announced his retirement on Tuesday afternoon, ending a 21-year career that saw him finish with 656 goals (11th all time), 698 assists and 1,354 points with the New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils.

He was a member of three Stanley Cup winning teams (all in Detroit), an eight-time All-Star and a two-time 50-goal scorer.

Not only was he a dominating player on the ice, he was also an extremely entertaining person off of it.

Scott Gordon was told, with a purposeful tint of vagueness, that a reporter had a question "about your days in Boston College."

"I bet you do," said the head coach of the New York Islanders.

Gordon had been warned about this two weeks ago. The video, the one he filmed in 1986, was recently re-discovered, dropped on the world wide web and slowly but surely was starting to go viral.

It's time, once again, for our weekly NHL FanHouse live chat, so please stop by and join us as we discuss the mountain of injuries around the NHL, the continued success of the Colorado Avalanche, the continued struggles of the Carolina Hurricanes, and anything else taking place on the ice.

The fun has started. Jump in now.

Every Tuesday, FanHouse discusses the top NHL prospects found in college hockey.

More and more underclassmen are signing pro contracts and not playing four years of college hockey. This puts additional pressure on seniors to help carry the load for their teams. Coaches love to lean on experience when the playoffs come, and while the freshmen and sophomores might have all the talent, it's the older guys who bring valuable experience to a locker room. For Boston College, there's hope that a big defenseman -- who happens to be off to a great start -- can help lead them back to the NCAA Tournament.