Jeff Stoughton plays on: New team for 2014-15 includes Rob Fowler

We're getting closer and closer to this curling shuffle coming to an end.

With Jeff Stoughton apparently settling on a new team for next season, there aren't too many cards left in the deck to be dealt, when it comes to men's teams.

As Paul Wiecek reports in the Winnipeg Free Press, Stoughton - who'd been stung by the announcement of the splintering of his current team just a few weeks ago - has put together a rink for the 2014-15 season, although the formal announcement has not yet been made.

There'd been speculation, lately, that Stoughton would be reuniting with a former teammate of his, Rob Fowler and that does seem to be the case, according to Wiecek:

Fowler is, himself, a skip who has appeared in that capacity at a Brier, representing Manitoba in 2012 and winning a bronze medal. Previously, he'd played second for Stoughton between 2006 and 2010, including two Brier appearances. This should be an easy transition for the two of them, with the familiarity that they have for each other and Fowler's obvious ability to shoot on the back end.

It's good to see that Stoughton will be back on the ice next season and not ending his decorated career on terms that were not his own. Superbly talented, Stoughton is also one of the top fan favourites of the game, due to his friendly demeanour and willingness to put on the odd show with a patented Stoughton Spin-o-rama.

With this move, most of the big names have landed somewhere, but there are two rather large questions - giant ones really - remaining.

Kevin Martin is currently without a team for next season, playing at what some speculate might be his last major event, this week's Players' Championship, in Prince Edward Island. There is a growing feeling that Martin may be about to retire, ending one of the most stellar skipping careers in the history of the sport. Some of us would love to see The Old Bear return for one more season; a victory lap of sorts.

There is a sliver of a chance that he could wind up with a notable trio that is looking for a skip - Pat Simmons, Carter Rycroft and Nolan Thiessen. They will return to the Brier next March as defending champs, albeit without the skip that led them to the 2014 national championship, Kevin Koe. Koe forms a new team with Ben Hebert and Marc Kennedy, who are leaving the Martin team, along with Brent Laing, who is leaving Glenn Howard's Ontario-based squad.

Earlier this week, Howard announced that his former vice, Rich Hart, was coming out of retirement to play with him and that soon to be former Stoughton vice Jon Mead would play second for the team.

There has been some stability illustrated this week, as Mike McEwen announced that his team would remain intact. As well, Jennifer Jones issued a media release on Tuesday that stated her foursome was dedicated to playing for the next four years, aiming for another Olympic berth.

There are a few moves to be made - one wonders if John Morris really is taking next season off - but with Stoughton cementing his future for next season, most of the dust from this major reconstruction phase in Canadian curling has settled.