The summer months are lucrative for three types of people: Lifeguards, whoever makes those personalized shot glasses you pick up in souvenir shops, and hockey rumor peddlers. (We used to include ice cream trucks on this list, but with the price of gas they could be selling crack inside their fudgesicles and still not break even.)

The guys who participate in Puck Daddy's weekly scuttlebutt chats -- Lyle "Spector" Richardson and David Pagnotta -- were invited because we respect the hell out of their track records, judgment and integrity. That's why others were not. But times are changing. There's so much information buzzing around the 24-hour news cycle, rumors are being addressed by the principles involved, and disposed of, in record time. We now know the next morning that Scotty Bowman isn't going to accept a job from the Blackhawks. Which brings us to Dan Boyle and the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Bryan McCabe and the New York Islanders.

TSN reported that Boyle, whom the Bolts didn't trade last deadline, could be trade bait this summer. According to Damian Cristodero of the St. Pete Times, this is how Barry Melrose and Oren Koules addressed the rumor:

Melrose said it was a case of the Canadian media trying to "make" the news, and added, "Danny Boyle is the guy I'm counting on to play 25 minutes a night."

Asked about the rumor, Koules said, "I'll answer anything that's important" and proceeded not to answer.

Ha! As for McCabe, TSN reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs could be trying to "strong arm" his out of town, which must frustrate a Canadian media that's been trying to do the same thing for years. From the minute he fell out of favor, Long Island has been the "logical" destination for McCabe. Former Islanders media relations VP-turned-rebel blogger Chris Botta thinks these bits of speculation from the Toronto media "often read like come-ons" for the Isles to save the Leafs from McCabe:

Why would the Islanders do the Leafs a favor, and also give up something of value? There is no reason for the Islanders to take on Caber's wicked contract unless the Leafs include a major sweetener. For example, the deal would have to look this:

Islanders get: Bryan McCabe, first round pick in 2009
Maple Leafs get: 7th round pick in 2011

I'm not really exaggerating what the Islanders would need to give up.

Stupid reality ... always ruining our rumor-fueled fun.

Related: Rumors, scuttlebutt, innuendo