I am going to go with a personal story line rather a league wide one. The biggest story line is Nat Emerson proving he is human and slowing down after being one of the best pure defenders since the switch to FHM. It's a mixed bag of story. On the negative side it shows that Emerson's best years are certainly behind him now. After a career best 40 points last season Emerson is on pace for one of the worst of his career. He isn't just taking a step back offensively. He isn't blocking the same volume of shots that he was last season either. But that brings us to the positive side of this story. After holding down the blue line for the Platoon during their rebuild the young defenders that were mentored by Emerson are staring to come into their own. Emerson's D partner Valentin Kalashnikov is stepping into his own and picking up the slack and covering up any mistakes that old man Emerson may be making on the ice. It is a bittersweet story of a great player's career starting to wind down.