ESPN NHL

1. A-Lightning Rod:Alexander Ovechkin has been a lightning rod for criticism over the past couple of seasons, especially this season, as the Washington Capitalshave listed aimlessly for much of the season and are in the unusual position of battling for a playoff berth. Ovechkin's production has been down and his leadership skills have been called into question as captain of a team that has lacked a spark for long periods. Much of that criticism has been fair, but it’s also fair to point out that recently, when his team has needed the old Ovechkin most, the Caps captain has responded. Heading into Thursday’s important tilt with the Philadelphia Flyers, Ovechkin ranks third in goals scored since Dec. 15 with 23. Only NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin and goal-scoring leader Steven Stamkos have scored more over that period.

In his past seven games, Ovechkin has six goals and an assist as the Caps continue to hold down eighth place in the Eastern Conference (Buffalo is now tied in points, but the Caps have a game in hand).

Not only is he producing, but Ovechkin is producing in a manner that is reminiscent of his play of a few years back, when he was as dynamic a player as there was in the NHL. He has scored off the rush a number of times in recent games, blasting pucks past goaltenders.

“I think that’s fair. I think that’s an accurate observation,” GM George McPhee told ESPN.com when asked if he’d seen more of the old Ovechkin in recent days.

“He’s playing like the guy we’ve known for a long time,” he said.

The veteran GM has no real answer for the sudden uptick in production other than to note that a player’s career rarely follows a straight line.

“He hasn’t changed his approach,” McPhee said.

The problem for the Caps moving forward might not be the captain but the rest of the guys wearing the Caps jersey. With Nicklas Backstrom still sidelined after taking an elbow to the jaw from Rene Bourque, there has been a dearth of secondary scoring. Ovechkin’s 32 goals lead the Caps, but there’s a significant drop-off to Alexander Semin and Troy Brouwer, who are tied for second with 18 goals. Backstrom hasn’t played since Jan. 3 and is still third among all Caps forwards in point production.

“Yeah, we’re going to need some scoring. It can’t come from one or two people all the time,” McPhee acknowledged.

2. Varlamov, as in paying off: Speaking of the Caps, remember when everyone was making fun of Colorado GM Greg Sherman after he traded a first- and second-round pick for Semyon Varlamov, who was threatening to bolt for the Kontinental Hockey League because his stock had fallen so dramatically with the Caps?

Remember the suggestions that the Avs might be so bad that the first-round pick might actually end up being a lottery pick?
No? Didn’t think so.

With fewer than 10 games to play in the regular season, both Colorado and Washington are fighting for their playoff lives.

But if the Avs do hang on -- they are currently in seventh place -- it will be in large part to Varlamov’s contributions.

If the Caps do not, it will be due in large part to the lack of consistent goaltending.

As of Wednesday, the Avs were 12th overall in goals allowed per game. The Caps ranked 22nd.

With his overtime win over Calgary on Tuesday, Varlamov stretched his personal winning streak to five games. He is 10-2-0 with a 1.48 GAA and .951 save percentage in his past 12 starts.

His 10 wins in the past month lead all NHL netminders and his four shutouts this season have all come on the road. Varlamov has been unbelievable is 8-0 in the shootout, allowing two goals on 24 attempts, a record that in the end might mean the difference between an invitation to the postseason dance or not.

Head coach Joe Sacco isn’t a goaltending coach, so he doesn’t profess to understand any technical changes in Varlamov’s game, but he does know there’s been a real growth in Varlamov’s confidence and hence his role with the team.

“To me what I’ve seen is more of a take-charge kind of attitude,” Sacco told ESPN.com shortly before the Avs jetted off for a crucial matchup at Phoenix on Thursday night. “He just appears more confident. I think he feels that he fits in more than he did."

That kind of confidence is contagious, especially for a young team whose players don’t have much experience with the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a playoff race.

“That allows our team to go out and play our game, to play to our own identity,” which is based on speed and energy, Sacco said.

3. You are like a Hurricane:Shssssshhhh, don’t look now, but the Carolina Hurricanes have shouldered their way back into the playoff discussion in the Eastern Conference. Yes, the Canes have their work cut out for them given that they’re five points out of eighth with eight games to go and three teams to jump over. But the fact this team is even part of the discussion is a testament to the impact rookie head coach Kirk Muller has had in this young squad, and the drive of guys like captain Eric Staal, who has kept the playoff dream percolating for a team long left for dead.

“I don’t think the hockey world knows how good (Staal) is playing,” Muller told ESPN.com Thursday before the Hurricanes headed off to Columbus for a game there Friday night.

Indeed, the Hurricanes are the ultimate under-the-radar team, riding a four-game winning streak and having gone 19-10-9 since Christmas, including a sterling 12-3-4 record at home.

Staal has been on a tear since the All-Star break, scoring 12 times and adding 18 assists in 23 games, including a franchise-record 11-game assist streak. He is plus-10 over that stretch after being a woeful minus-23 in the first 51 games of the season.

The playoffs might be a pipe dream -- the team’s brutal 3-15 record in overtime and the shootout, where they’re 0-for-6, will likely keep the Canes on the outside of the playoff bubble when the dust clears -- but their play certainly bodes well for the future.

Muller acknowledged that the first 10 or 15 games after he replaced Paul Maurice were a kind of in-season training camp, where he was experimenting with his roster, finding out who could do what and what roles his players could accept.

“The biggest thing was learning the personnel,” Muller said.

Regardless of how things shake down over the final eight games, Muller is already anticipating exit interviews where he will reinforce to his young squad that they need to build off this terrific run next fall at training camp.

“It doesn’t mean anything if we don’t start (next season) that way, too,” Muller said.

4. Stars filling in the holes: Dallas Starspresident Jim Lites likes to describe the process of reviving the franchise’s fortunes on and off the ice in terms of a hole in the ground.

As in, once the Stars resolved their long-standing ownership issues, they stopped digging one.

“We’re filling it in now, game to game, week to week,” Lites told ESPN.com this week.

The hole -- really a crater -- was created by a combination of previous ownership’s financial woes that led to an ownership vacuum and an on-ice product that saw fans become increasingly disenfranchised.

New owner Tom Gaglardi reassured the team of its direction under GM Joe Nieuwendykand rookie head coach Glen Gulutzan, and reassured the fan base the Stars are for real -- again.

“He’s a real guy and he’s a real hockey guy,” Lites said of his new boss.

When Lites returned to the post he held twice previously after Gaglardi took over the team late last year, the team dropped ticket prices, and with the Stars making an unexpected charge to the top of the Pacific Division, the fans have swarmed back to the previously sparsely populated American Airlines Center.

The price reduction that coincided with Gaglardi’s ratification as owner began with a Dec. 19 game versus Anaheim, and in the 22 games since, home attendance jumped almost 4,000 per game.

The past seven home games' average attendance is more than 17,000, including a franchise-record 19,099 against Chicago on March 16, which included standing-room-only tickets that were sold in suites.

“I see empty seats in my sleep. It kind of haunts you,” Lites said. “When I see the building full and going, I sleep a little better.”

There have been walk-up crowds of 4,000 as the Stars’ surprising second-half run has continued.

“Nobody does that,” Lites said.

That said, this is a team that’s still far removed from the constant sellouts that marked the franchise around the time of its only Stanley Cup run in 1999.

“It’s a lot of hard work winning fans back. They’re pretty cynical,” Lites acknowledged.

If Gulutzan can keep his squad on track, that road back to relevancy in the tough Dallas market might not be as long as some had believed.

The team sold the equivalent of 55 full season ticket packages last week and Lites hopes that through the summer there will be upward of 2,000 additional season ticketholders, numbers that would drive the Stars’ season-ticket base back toward 9,000.

“Some people thought we were never going to get it back,” Lites said.

For his part, Gaglardi said he wouldn’t have pursued the team had he not thought they could return to being a top-10 team again in terms of attendance and revenues.

What’s been impressive about the attendance turnaround is that the numbers for the most part reflect real human beings in the seats, as the team has reduced the number of comp tickets allocated by about 75 percent, Gaglardi said.

It’s been tough, the owner said, “but you have to educate the market. You’re not going to be able to watch NHL games for free.”

5. Chemistry experiment: One of the most intriguing parts of this season’s HBO 24/7 reality series was watching New York Rangers forward Artem Anisimov apologize to his teammates after making a mock firing motion with his stick after scoring a goal against Tampa, a celebration that sparked an on-ice brouhaha and might have indirectly led to a loss.

It was a window into the nature of a team’s chemistry, the dynamics of a dressing room where players have each other’s backs and where errors of judgment effect more than just the player in question but the greater good.

We wonder, then, what does Alexander Radulov say to his teammates behind closed doors, now that he has landed back in Nashville, that will in some way make up for running out on his teammates at the end of the 2007-08 season four years ago?

GM David Poile and Radulov spoke with the media Wednesday and said all the right things about putting the past in its place and moving forward. But Radulov’s return to the NHL represents a great clash of two motherhood issues for pro athletes and specifically for hockey players: the desire to win and loyalty to your team and teammates. Radulov straddles those two imperatives. He enhances the Predators’ chances for their longest playoff run ever. But he has shown zero loyalty to the franchise that drafted him.

Captain Shea Webertold ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun in no uncertain terms that the players were comfortable with Radulov’s return, regardless of the circumstances of his departure, but one wonders whether there are enough mea culpas in the world to make up for what might have been.

Think Radulov would have helped against Chicago in 2010 when the Preds had the eventual Cup champs on the ropes in the first round? Or last spring, when they were battling Vancouver and couldn’t find enough goals to dislodge the Presidents’ Trophy winners?

How many millions of dollars in playoff revenues did Radulov’s selfishness cost the franchise that owns his rights?

Those questions, though, seem moot when confronted with what is believed to be this franchise’s best opportunity for a long playoff run and perhaps a shot at their first Stanley Cup.

In short, winning -- or the lure of winning -- trumps all, even the shame of having turned your back on your teammates.

• Ryan Callahan is the first Ranger to score a game-winning overtime goal on his birthday. The last player to do it was Dion Phaneuf of the Maple Leafs on April 10, 2010 at Montreal.

• Ryan Miller made 34 saves for his sixth shutout of the season in the Sabres’ 3-0 win over the Canadiens. Miller has earned five shutouts over his last 22 starts, dating back to Feb. 1, tying him with Ilya Bryzgalov for the NHL lead in that category since that date. Miller had only one shutout in his first 31 starts of the season.

• Eric Staal scored two goals for the Hurricanes in their win over the Panthers, three days after he scored twice in a game at Winnipeg. It’s only the second time in his NHL career that Staal had back-to-back multiple-goal games. Staal had a two-goal game and a hat trick in consecutive games in April 2010.

• Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks is the fifth U.S.-born player to score at least 20 goals in each of his first five or more seasons in the NHL. The other Americans to do that are Jimmy Carson (first seven seasons), Bob Carpenter (five), Mike Modano (five) and Chris Drury (five).

• Nineteen-year-old Jaden Schwartz of the Blues has scored a goal in each of his first two NHL games. The last teenager to score a goal in each of his first two career NHL games was Eric Lindros, in October 1992.

We asked you to rant again this week and you did not disappoint, my friends! Let’s take a look:

ThePin04: If I could sum up the Habs' season in one word: embarrassing. Oh, wait, do I have to add more in order for it to be considered a rant? OK, here goes. This team is the epitome of failure. The first line, with Plekanec and whoever gets called up for the day, seems like they deserve to score goals as often as Scott Gomez actually scores them. There is no heart in the team, and with the exception of the second line, Plekanec, Eller and some injured players, they seriously need to re-evaluate what the team is doing.

How many games as a healthy scratch will it take P.K. Subban to stop playing selfish hockey and demanding the puck whenever it is in the offensive zone? Do you want to know why the second line is scoring? They don't play as often with Subban and when they do, they don't give him the puck. Seriously, the team was built as a defense-first team (at least for the past few years), with a breakout crew at forward. Do they not remember getting outshot by 20 in the playoffs and still winning the games? It's because of blocked pucks and unselfish hockey (not to mention a goalie standing on his head).

Gauthier kept removing pieces from a solid team until he was left with nothing of the original, and this is why the Habs are in the situation they are in. Dominic Moore, Maxim Lapierre, Tom Pyatt, Jaroslav Halak were in the first batch to go, the energy guys that would keep the stadium going, then Gill, Cammalleri, Kostitsyn, Spacek. I mean, what are they left with to build around? Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta and Thomas Plekanec? Is that really something you would want to build your team around? The Devils won the Cup in 2003, for those that cannot count, that is 9 years ago. When is enough enough and we just scrap everyone on the roster?

P.S. At least they finally got it right and realize that they are not making the playoffs this year, but the packages received in return were lacking, especially for the near future.

My take: Beauty, eh? Great job on the rant. Once GM Pierre Gauthier traded for Tomas Kaberle earlier this season, I would have axed him right then and there. How he added that brutal contract to a team that already had the contracts of Andrei Markov and Scott Gomez is beyond me. No one knows for sure, the Canadiens are a cone of silence, but most people around the league expect a GM change after the season.

Dead Hex: My beef here is with the tiebreaking procedures. I just don't understand why it makes sense to take away shootout wins before looking at overtime losses. The argument is that shootout wins mean less than a regulation win does, but couldn't you make the argument that an overtime loss means less than a shootout win? Admittedly, I'm not a fan of teams getting points for an overtime loss, after all, a loss is a loss, but if they insist on sticking with it, I think that OTL should be the first tiebreaker, and not wins adjusted without shootout wins.

My take: The NHL’s 30 GMs enacted the ROW tiebreaker rule (it’s in its second year) as a way to minimize the impact of the shootout. It’s the same reason Wings GM Ken Holland would like to see an extra five minutes of overtime added, but three-on-three, in order to end games playing hockey as opposed to the shootout. He represents the vast majority of GMs on that account. They can’t stand the shootout. They know the fans like it, so they’ll live with it, but they don’t want it to decide who makes the playoffs or not. Hence, shootout wins have been eliminated from the tiebreaker formula. I’ve got a better idea: Why don’t we just scrap the shootout?

SumNoob: What is going on in Calgary? I thought this was the time of the year you were supposed to really push! Instead, like last year, they're throwing away a great stretch of hockey that saw them climb up into a playoff spot, just to throw it away and gun for another 9-11 finish. What's the problem? It's not injuries; they have played some solid hockey while missing key players and they are now starting to get back all the key players who were missing. So what is the problem? What are we missing to get the players going? I've seen and heard the way this city comes alive during the playoffs and I'm not asking for another '04 run, I just want a chance to go to my first playoff game. So what is it going to take to get this poor playoff-starved university kid in the Saddledome come the playoffs?

My take: The Flames are like a ’68 Chevy Camaro running on its last fumes. Everything has its time. This core is old. The Flames need a serious retool. With nine pending free agents (6 UFAs, 3 RFAs), GM Jay Feaster will finally have his window to bring more serious change to this roster. And that’s his intention. Sure, the Flames are only three points out of a playoff spot going into Tuesday night’s games, but what exactly are they going to do if they get in? The big picture is what matters here. Time for change in Calgary.

Instinctz1: Something needs to be done to the point system. Isn't winning what matters most? Detroit has 43 wins and is behind St. Louis, which has 2 fewer wins. Same with Vancouver. It's just not right. 43 > 41. change the system to reward winning more!

My take: Clearly you weren’t reading our page last Friday! Once and for all, I went after the NHL’s points system.

jmblumenshine: My rant is simple. Why didn't the Hawks do a package deal for Tim Gleason or Joni Pitkanen and Cam Ward? I think they could have leveraged some of their young talent along with Corey Crawford and gotten a young veteran goaltender who has won a Stanley Cup. Plus, Gleason would be a great replacement for Sean O'Donnell on defense. Every Hawks fan has to realize that with guys like Hayes, Shaw, Morin, Smith and Beach waiting in the wings, Patrick Kane is not long for Chicago. They should have packaged him, an AHL player and/or a draft pick and Crawford. This could be the difference between getting swept by the Yotes and another trip to the Stanley Cup.

My take: Simple answer: The Hurricanes did not make Ward or Gleason available.

lpfanatic54669: What is going on with San Jose? Seriously! My beloved Sharks have put their fans on the biggest roller-coaster ride this season, consistently going up and down the whole way. What has happened to the high-powered offense that we have benefited from at the beginning of the season? I find it hard to believe that EVERY goalie they face is on a hot streak (other than Ryan Miller). Combine that with Niemi's own up-and-down season, and the subpar play of the defense (with and without Douglas Murray), and we stand exactly where we are currently: in 7th place and season slipping through our fingers faster than the Toronto Maple Leafs' season. Is there any hope? Is Havlat really all we need to right this ship, or are the Sharks finally falling apart after sooo many great years?

My take: The Sharks have been really disappointing. Especially in a year when really no one is pushing that hard in the Pacific Division, at least when it comes to the lofty standards San Jose had set over the last several years in that division. But here’s the hope for Sharks fans: Martin Havlat and Douglas Murray return with a big impact for the playoffs, and the Sharks open for once as an underdog seed with no pressure on them. They would be a dangerous low seed, that’s for sure. They’ve gone to back-to-back conference finals, and they’ve knocked out Detroit two years in a row -- this is a team with playoff mettle. The Sharks just have to get there first.

kbattleson: I'm glad to see that there's buzz from Blues fans. What I'm a little tired of, though, is how large-market teams get all the glory and respect from analysts and the NHL themselves even when a smaller-market team is doing really well. Might I remind you that most people at the beginning of the season had the Blues picked for somewhere 8-11 place in the Western Conference. Now? They're in the hunt for the Presidents Trophy. Very little has been said about how good this team is, or "bad" for that matter. But time will only tell with the last month left of regular season and then the playoffs. I hope that not only can the Blues bring home a Cup to the fans in STL, but also open the eyes of others in the league.

AND

courv: You're ranting to the wrong analyst/journalist. LeBrun has been talking about the Blues all season long.

My take: Thank you, courv. Indeed, I predicted the Blues would be playoff-bound back in September. I believed in the makeup of this team. Of course, I didn’t know it would be Ken Hitchcock leading the charge behind the bench instead of Davis Payne. If Hitchcock doesn’t win the Jack Adams Award this season, it’s highway robbery.

Stephen7417: Trading Ben Bishop for a second-round draft pick. Say what you want about the Blues' ownership problems, but a second-round draft pick? The Blues have habitually made bad drafts in the second round, with exception to David Backes, so how can the Blues justify the trade? Did they think they could have a better chance at finding new owners by selling the team at $150 million vs. $151 mil? I just can't rationalize trading a player who waited patiently in the AHL to play for his city and then, instead of being given the chance, was shipped off. I'd rather have Bishop playing in the AHL and helping talented prospects develop until he replaces Elliott.

My take: Bishop was slated to be UFA July 1 before signing a one-year, $650,000 extension upon joining the Senators. With Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott both signed for a few years, it didn’t make much sense to hold Elliott up at No. 3 at 25 years old. A second-round pick is decent value for a goalie with almost no NHL experience. I have no issue with what the Blues did here.

ChazFDC: Caps are so disappointing this year. I really want them to make the playoffs but they don't deserve to. Le sigh ...

AND

sporty7527: It is hard to believe that 2 years ago, the Caps had to most exciting offense in the league and won the Presidents Trophy with a 54-15-13 record for 121 points. I don't even recognize this team anymore. They're not fighting for top spot in the conference, they're fighting just to get in the playoffs.

My take: Is there a more disappointing team in the NHL this season when you consider expectations? Maybe Buffalo, but the Sabres haven’t had the track record of the Capitals as contenders these last few years. The concussion to Nicklas Backstrom cannot be overlooked. He’s their best player, plain and simple. Mike Green’s injury struggles this season have hurt, as well. The goaltending hasn’t been good enough. More than anything though, Alex Ovechkin needs to have a serious look in the mirror this offseason and ask himself how much he wants to win in this league. Because right now he’s not committed at the level it takes a franchise player to deliver night in and night out. He needs to look at Pavel Datsyuk, Evgeni Malkin, Jonathan Toews et al, and realize what it takes to be a leader and superstar.

Pierre LeBrun heard from one team executive that the Sabres are asking for a first-round pick for Paul Gaustad. "Crazy price,'' the GM says.

Meanwhile, Scott Burnside spoke to Stephen Freyer, who is Jaroslav Spacek's agent; the veteran defenseman has a limited no-trade clause that includes a list of 15 teams to which he would agree to be moved. But as Freyer pointed out, while a team might not be on the list, that doesn't mean it would preclude Spacek from going there. Spacek is a terrific guy, and people forget how good he was in Edmonton during the Oilers' run to the '06 final and in Montreal a couple of years ago.

The high-stakes game of poker that is trade deadline day begins with many NHL general managers with lots of chips on the table but unsure where to place their bets.

GMs who spoke to ESPN.com in recent days describe this as one of the most curious trade periods in recent memories. So many teams would like to add pieces but there are so few teams that are actually out of contention. Seven points separate seventh and 13th in the Western Conference, and teams like as Dallas and Colorado have assets they’d like to move including Steve Ott, Mike Ribeiro, David Jones, T.J.Galiardi and/or Daniel Winnik, but they would like to make a hockey trade and bring back every-day players.

In the Eastern Conference, there remains a furious battle for the Southeast Division lead and the last playoff berth in the conference.

Much of the attention Monday will be focused on whether the Columbus Blue Jackets will move captain Rick Nash, but as of Sunday evening it appeared that the top suitor, the New York Rangers, were unprepared to meet the demand for top assets in return. Will the asking price drop as the day progresses?

Will Toronto GM Brian Burke, looking to make a move for an impact forward and perhaps a goaltender, find a deal that works for the slumping Leafs? And what kind of Plan B exists for the many teams looking for offensive help? Andrei Kostitsyn in Montreal, Paul Gaustad and Derek Roy in Buffalo will be players whose names are bandied about.

Defensemen are always at a premium on deadline day and this year is no different, with Jaroslav Spacek and Bryan Allen in Carolina likely to be on the move to teams looking to shore up their defensive lineup. Will there be a trade out of left field? Given the strange dynamics of this year, it’s entirely within the realm of possibility. Stay tuned.

The latest news as we count down to the trade deadline:

Rick Nash

Teams that I believe have either been contacted by Columbus regarding Rick Nash or have reached out to the Blue Jackets: the New York Rangers, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Los Angeles Kings, the Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Of that list, I think the Rangers, Flyers and Kings really stand out in terms of their interest and ability to provide the right assets. The Canucks and Leafs obviously have interest, but I’m not sure they’re willing to part with the kind of package of assets the Jackets are looking for.

The Leafs have worked hard over the last few years to build up their base of assets and don’t want to empty the cupboard on one player, even though it’s a player they like. My sense is that Toronto will remain involved on some level just to make sure the price doesn’t go down.

Wild-card teams: San Jose and St. Louis. I’m not sure the Sharks can pull this off midseason; I think they’d be more interested in the offseason. The Blues have ownership issues, which I think really limits their ability here, yet one source suggested to us that we should not discount them. Still, trade Nash within your division? That would surprise me.

Jackets GM Scott Howson has told some teams, a source told ESPN.com, that while he is listening to offers on Nash, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll move the superstar winger by the Feb. 27 trade deadline. There’s still a chance this gets moved to an offseason transaction. Still, given that the cat is now out of the bag, you know Howson will work his hardest to make it happen in the next two weeks.

Ryan Smyth

You can take Ryan Smyth's name off the trade market list. The veteran winger (UFA on July 1) solicited interest, we’re told, from the likes of Detroit, Boston and the New York Rangers, but Oilers GM Steve Tambellini had a meeting with Smyth on Tuesday where both sides agreed he’d stay put in Edmonton. And that was just fine with Smyth. Sure, Smyth was flattered to hear some Cup contenders wanted his services, but given what he went through to force a trade from L.A. to Edmonton last June, he’s more than happy just to stay put.

Tuomo Ruutu

You can also officially scratch Tuomo Ruutu's name off the trade market. That was pretty much the case last week when Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford announced he would try to re-sign the pending UFA forward, but now with Ruutu out three to four weeks with an upper body injury, it makes it a moot point. A Canes source confirmed to ESPN.com Tuesday night that Ruutu would not be going anywhere. Talks on a contract extension continue.

Tim Gleason was a man in demand.

Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Nashville and Detroit were just some on a long list of the teams that were believed to have some level of interest in the rugged defenseman.

Slated for unrestricted free agency on July 1, he was an obvious target for playoff-bound contenders, and the trade rumors were hard to ignore.

"I was pretty much going somewhere every day," Gleason laughed Thursday night in a chat with ESPN.com.

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford knew he could get very good value for Gleason, but he wrestled with the thought of having to replace him next year.

"Despite what the rumors were, I don’t think at any time we had made a decision we definitely wouldn’t keep him," Rutherford told ESPN.com Thursday night. "As we studied it, we just felt if we let him go that he’d be hard to replace. So we met during the All-Star break and we’re able to get something done."

Said Gleason of the four-year, $16 million extension announced Monday: "It got done pretty quickly."

The deal includes a no-trade clause for the first two seasons of the deal, but it doesn’t kick in until July 1. Because of that, Gleason's veteran agent, Pat Morris of Newport Sports, protected his client by getting in writing Rutherford’s assurance that he wouldn’t move Gleason between now and July 1.

Rutherford looked Gleason right in the eye and promised him as much.

"I shook Jimmy’s hand, it was a promise," Gleason said. "You have to respect that, obviously. Jim is well respected by myself and my family. We were happy to get the negotiations finished."

The grass can often look greener in pro sports. Gleason knew some of the teams rumored to want his services had a serious shot at winning a Cup. But he said he the Canes are turning things around, and he wants to stick around for it.

"The last 10-15 games, we’re moving in the right direction," Gleason said. "We’re in every game. It’s only going to get better I believe. That was part of my decision."

The other part? Gleason and his family have been in Raleigh since 2006. It’s home now.

"I’ve been here for a while and you get to know people inside and outside of hockey," he said. "Friendships are hard to find here and there around the hockey world. We’re happy here."

Red Wings' shopping list

The Detroit Red Wings remain on the hunt for a top-six forward, but I’m not so sure they’re as keen on Oilers winger Ales Hemsky as they were earlier this season.

I was told Friday that now they’re more inclined to try to pick up a forward who has more edge to his game.

Forward Tuomo Ruutu of the Carolina Hurricanes is one of several names on the Wings’ short list. But, will he be available in the end? The Hurricanes could always pull a Gleason with Ruutu and talk extension with the forward before deciding whether to trade him.

The Wings are like many of the contenders right now, they haven’t done anything because the buyers outnumber the sellers on the trade market.

As for Hemsky (UFA on July 1), I believe Los Angeles and Nashville still have interest in him.

I wrote earlier Friday that perhaps Dominic Moore would be another name the Wings were interested in, completely forgetting the history between the Moore family and Todd Bertuzzi. Scratch that idea.

Schneider's future

Cory Schneider’s trade value continues to soar with each and every impressive performance.

But judging from what sources around the league are telling ESPN.com, I would be stunned if the Vancouver Canucks moved him before Feb. 27.

It’s not impossible, but my understanding is that the Canucks would have to be absolutely blown away by an offer.

My sense is that the Canucks are more than happy to have a 1-A and 1-B situation in goal with Roberto Luongo and Schneider entering the playoffs, giving themselves tremendous insurance should Luongo either get injured or struggle.

Come summer, the Canucks can revisit their situation in goal and capitalize on their depth on the trade market.

I also think it’s brilliant that coach Alain Vigneault started Schneider for a key game in Boston earlier this season, as well as in this past week’s win over the rival Blackhawks. It gives Vigneault the necessary confidence to know that if he has to go to Schneider in a playoff game, he can do so without worry.

Jagr's extension talks

The Flyers and Jaromir Jagr’s agent, Petr Svoboda, had preliminary conversations last month about a possible extension.

Jagr wanted some time to think about things before getting back to the Flyers.

"I’ll be talking to [Flyers GM] Paul Holmgren again within a week probably," Svoboda told ESPN.com Wednesday.

Jagr, who turns 40 on Feb. 15, signed a one-year, $3.3 million deal last summer. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but there’s obvious interest in staying in Philadelphia if both sides can come to agreement.

"It’s a good situation for him there," Svoboda said.

Blackhawks not done

Chicago’s acquisition of veteran center Brendan Morrison doesn’t mean the Blackhawks are done before the trade deadline.

The Hawks, I’m told, would like to acquire a defenseman to play on their third pairing. After allowing eight goals in Edmonton on Thursday night to sit 25th in goals against in the league entering the weekend, help on defense should indeed be a priority.

And despite getting Morrison, they’d still be willing to add a forward, one with grit. With the rugged Daniel Carcillo out for the season, they’d like a little sandpaper in any forward they acquire.

Predators' recent success

One of the reasons for Nashville’s torrid run of late might surprise some, given that people assume defense to be the team’s top priority. Fact is, the Preds were middle of the pack in early January in goals against but have really tightened up over the past month.

"Defensively we’ve been much better than we were earlier in the year," Preds coach Barry Trotz told ESPN.com this week.

Trotz also pointed to the leadership on the team as a major contributing factor.

"The young guys are playing more like poised veterans, and the veterans are doing a really [good] job in terms of helping them out," Trotz said.

"Our core of leaders is as strong as it’s ever been here in terms of character and work ethic. Also in terms of accountability to teach others, they don’t take any days off; they’re very professional."

Injuries to top rookies like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Henrique have served to tighten a rookie of the year race that early on looked to be a runaway for Nugent-Hopkins. Now, the field has closed considerably with strong performances from first-year players in Philadelphia, Carolina and New Jersey; all of which will make for some interesting storylines as the NHL heads into its final 2½ months.

Adam Henrique, New Jersey Devils

The surprising Adam Henrique has hit a bit of a wall as he’s been held without a point in four straight games and has been bothered by a nagging groin problem. Henrique remains second among all rookie scorers, one point behind Nugent-Hopkins, but he missed the Devils’ first post-All-Star break game against the New York Rangers and is considered day-to-day. But Henrique’s play through the first half of the season was crucial to the Devils' assuming a place in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. He leads all first-year forwards in average ice time per game, an indication of the level of trust head coach Pete DeBoer has in him.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers

It is a measure of the superlative season being enjoyed by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins that the first overall pick from last June’s draft remains the leading rookie scorer in the NHL in spite of not playing for a month with a shoulder injury. It would be a shame if a top Edmonton rookie was denied a shot at the Calder for the second year in a row because of injury, but that’s a very real possibility. Last season, Taylor Hall missed the last part of the season with an ankle injury. But Nugent-Hopkins is listed as day-to-day, so his return could make the Calder discussion a lot more interesting in the coming days.

Cody Hodgson, Vancouver Canucks

The path to NHL success hasn’t always been easy for Cody Hodgson, the 10th overall pick in 2008, but he has seen his stock rise dramatically in the past couple of months. The talented center has recorded points in 12 of his past 18 games and his five power-play goals are second only to Nashville’s Craig Smith among first-year players.

Matt Read, Philadelphia Flyers

With the Flyers dealing with injuries to key forwards Danny Briere and Jaromir Jagr (Jagr did return to action Tuesday night), more is being asked of the Flyers’ collection of top-end rookie performers such as Matt Read. Although he’s gone three games without a point, Read has moved into third overall in rookie scoring and is fourth among all first-year players with a plus-11. His three game-winning goals have him tied for the league lead among rookies with three others.

Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes

Although New Jersey’s Adam Larsson has received most of the ink this season when it comes to first-year defensemen -- and with good reason -- it would be unwise to ignore the impact Justin Faulk has had on the Carolina Hurricanes. Faulk leads all first-year players in average ice time per game at 22:32, and GM Jim Rutherford pointed out to ESPN.com Wednesday that Faulk is logging those minutes against other teams’ best players. The 37th overall pick in 2010 has 11 points, and Rutherford noted that his minus-10 can be explained in large part by being paired with Tomas Kaberle earlier in the season. He has been an even or plus player in seven of his past eight games.

Honorable Mention: Craig Smith, Nashville Predators; Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche; Adam Larsson, New Jersey Devils; Colin Greening, Ottawa Senators; Carl Hagelin, New York Rangers.

OTTAWA -- From conversations I’ve had with teams over the weekend, there’s a chance the trade season will get going for real after the All-Star break.

One name that could move as early as this week is Tuomo Ruutu, the Carolina Hurricanes forward who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The Canes have taken lots of calls on him and may finally be ready to move him.

One player that won’t be on the move is Ryane Clowe. The San Jose Sharks winger was mentioned in a published rumor this past week, but Sharks GM Doug Wilson vehemently denied it, telling ESPN.com there was no way Clowe was going anywhere. It would not make sense at all to move him, in my mind. Clowe is a glue guy on that roster, an important blend of sand paper and skill, and the perfect compliment to center Logan Couture.

Speaking of grit, Habs winger Travis Moen is garnering some interest around the league. He’s an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and would be a decent rental pickup for a contender looking for a bit more of a physical presence on their third line. Vancouver and Detroit are among several teams that have an eye on him, although one NHL source told ESPN.com that Montreal GM Pierre Gauthier is telling teams he’s not ready to sell yet. The Canadiens play eight of their next 12 games at home and the word is Gauthier wants to see if his team can make a run before pulling the plug.

Meanwhile in Columbus, GM Scott Howson is expecting he'll be a very busy man in the next four weeks. Aside from the obvious rental players (players who will be UFAs on July 1) he’ll attempt to move, keep an eye on center Jeff Carter. Howson, we’re told, is willing to move Carter less than a year after acquiring him from the Flyers, in part because the player doesn’t want to be in Columbus. But can Howson find a taker for Carter’s contract? He’s in the first season of an 11-year, $58-million contract (cap hit $5.27 million).

The NHL trade deadline got an early jump Thursday night with the Montreal Canadiens shipping outspoken winger Mike Cammalleri to the Calgary Flames.

Just a day after spouting off about his frustrations with the way the team was playing, Cammalleri was gone.

Was it a rash move by embattled Habs GM Pierre Gauthier?

Consider this: One NHL GM told ESPN.com Thursday night he wished he would have known Cammalleri was available because he had some interest in the player.

Deduce from that what you will.

Whether or not the Canadiens informed a lot of teams, the Flames say this deal was not done overnight.

"It's been percolating for quite some time, we've been having a lot of conversations," Flames GM Jay Feaster told reporters in Calgary after the deal was announced.

The Habs also dealt goalie Karri Ramo and a fifth-round pick in 2012 in exchange for forwards Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland and a second-round pick in 2013.

The Flames got the better player in Cammalleri, but the Habs will save cap space; Bourque has a $3.3 million yearly cap hit, while Cammalleri is at $6 million.

Will the trade spark more moves? Another NHL GM told ESPN.com before this trade that he thought the chatter had more volume this early on compared with other years.

Let’s start in Boston with the Stanley Cup champs:

Bruins looking with caution

When you’re leading the NHL in goals for and goals against, and blowing away the opposition on some nights, just what exactly do you need ahead of the trade deadline?

"Obviously we have a lot of cap room, so there’s a lot of flexibility," Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli told ESPN.com Thursday. "I would like to add depth-wise on the forward front and depth-wise on the defenseman front. But I don’t want to subtract anything."

A year ago, Chiarelli was a busy man, adding Rich Peverley, Chris Kelly and Tomas Kaberle ahead of the deadline en route to a Stanley Cup championship.

This year, while willing to add again, Chiarelli is treading more carefully.

"The difference between last year and this year is that I’m a little more certain about the chemistry at this point," said the Bruins GM. "So I have to be a little more careful about adding. I don’t want to subtract in order to add. If I can add, I want to be careful about chemistry."

Chiarelli declined, like all GMs, to name any possible targets, so I’ll do a little sleuthing on my own.

I think two names that bear watching are forward Tuomo Ruutu and/or defenseman Tim Gleason in Carolina. Both are slated to be unrestricted free agents July 1.

But those are just two possibilities. Like any buyer at this time of year, the B’s would have more than a dozen names on their shopping list.

Parise's future

There has been lots of chatter this past week about Zach Parise and his future. The Devils' star captain is slated to be an unrestricted free agent July 1.

I’m not convinced the Feb. 27 trade deadline means a whole lot to Devils GM Lou Lamoriello in this particular case. Normally, when a pending UFA star like Parise hasn’t signed an extension yet and has the potential to walk away July 1 without compensation, the team will try to move him before the trade deadline to maximize his remaining asset value -- much like the former Atlanta Thrashers did with both Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk and the Nashville Predators may be forced to do with Ryan Suter this season.

But from talking to people around the league, there’s a growing feeling that Lamoriello will not move Parise.

"He can’t trade away his captain, the face of the franchise, with the team sitting in a playoff spot," one source told ESPN.com Thursday.

Another factor is that the Devils need Parise to make the playoffs, and the club -- still in an ownership mess -- can really use the additional revenue.

"Don’t discount that part of it," said the source.

The feeling is that Lamoriello will use the remaining months between now and July 1 to try to convince Parise to stay on board.

The other option for the Devils is that if Parise hasn’t signed by the June entry draft, they can move his rights then. It won’t fetch as much as trading him now would, but it’s better than nothing.

Wild hoping to buy

The Minnesota Wild, like many teams, don’t quite know yet if they’ll be buyers or sellers, as it depends on where they sit in the standings come Feb. 27.

They’re certainly hoping to be buyers and, if that’s the case, it’s pretty obvious they’ll be looking to upgrade a 29th-place offense.

"We’ve been talking to teams for a couple of months now," Wild GM Chuck Fletcher told ESPN.com Thursday. "We haven’t scored a lot of goals this year. I think there’s room for internal improvement, I think we have guys who will score more goals. But obviously if we could find a way to upgrade our team, we will."

What the Wild won’t do, however, is mortgage the future. Fletcher and his front office have worked hard to replenish the prospect base and minor league system in Minnesota.

"We’re not going to trade any of our top young prospects," Fletcher said. "We think we’ve worked hard to put together a pretty good crop of prospects going forward and we’re not looking to dismantle the whole thing for a quick fix. But if we can find a way to make a good hockey trade here, or move something that isn’t as critical to our future, then we’ll certainly look at that."

My sense is that the Wild would be willing to move a B-level prospect, a draft pick or a player off their current roster if that helps get them a top-six forward.

Fletcher, of course, would not mention any names, but I’ll put this guess out there: Vaclav Prospal, UFA July 1, is available in Columbus and Fletcher had him in Florida. I’m sure the Wild have a dozen targets on their wish list, but I’d be surprised if Prospal wasn’t one of them.

More rumblings

• I can confirm reports that Philadelphia and Toronto have chatted over the past week. The Leafs have long coveted winger James van Riemsdyk. Sources on both teams, however, told ESPN.com Thursday that nothing was close to imminent on any deal. The Flyers' top priority is to get help on defense, and it just so happens that's where Toronto has extra bodies. Still, as I reported earlier this week, Philly's top name on its shopping list is Suter. Tim Gleason of the Hurricanes also interests the Flyers.
• The New York Rangers, we’re hearing, are looking for either a top-six forward who can put the puck in the net and/or a power-play defenseman with a good shot. Like most other contenders, including the likes of Philadelphia and Detroit, the Rangers are keeping a close eye on Nashville and what the Predators are going to do with either Suter (UFA July 1) or Shea Weber (RFA July 1). Needless to say, the Rangers would covet either one of those studs on defense.
• The Detroit Red Wings have more cap space than they’ve ever had since this system was put in place in 2005. They’ll be looking to add, but not at all costs.
  
  "We got cap space, I’m going to work the phones like I always do over the next six to seven weeks," Wings GM Ken Holland told ESPN.com Thursday. "If there’s a fit, we’ll do something, but if there isn’t, I don’t feel the urge to do something for the sake of doing something. I like our team."
  
  As I reported earlier this season, I believe the Wings have some interest in Oilers winger Ales Hemsky, who is UFA July 1. I also believe an upgrade on backup goalie Ty Conklin would be a target.
• The Vancouver Canucks are looking for size up front, most likely in the form of a bottom-six forward. Backup goalie Cory Schneider, who is starting material, would need to fetch a big-time offer to move before Feb. 27. My sense is he’s more likely to move in the offseason.
• New York-based rumors this week had Shane Doan possibly on the move with the Rangers a team that would covet him. Well, the Rangers do like him, but he’s not available at this point. "No truth in that whatsoever," Coyotes GM Don Maloney responded via email when asked about those Doan trade rumors. The Coyotes captain is slated to be an UFA July 1.
• The Florida Panthers want to get healthy before they decide what they’re going to do regarding the trade deadline.
  
  "We don’t know yet, hopefully we’ll have everybody back in the lineup in the next couple of weeks and then we’ll see what we have," Panthers GM Dale Tallon told ESPN.com Thursday. "And then we’ll see where we’re at as well. There’s no rush here."
  
  The Panthers feel pretty good about their blue line, so odds are they’ll be looking to add up front, more specifically in my opinion, a No. 2 center to help beef up the secondary scoring.
• The San Jose Sharks made a lot of their moves last summer but could still use more depth in the form of a third-line forward. They’re also shopping goalie Antero Niittymaki.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are open for business.

GM Scott Howson has seen enough and signaled his intentions in a solid column by Bob Hunter in Wednesday’s Columbus Dispatch.

I reached out to Howson on Wednesday to follow up, and his feelings certainly had not changed. The GM was willing to forgive his lineup in the opening six weeks with so many faces missing because of injury or suspension, but since then it’s been mostly a healthy lineup and the Jackets have remained stuck in the basement.

"We haven’t played well in the last 2 to 3 weeks and it’s given us a little bit more clarity," Howson told ESPN.com.

So trades are coming.

"We’re going to be open to discussions, yes," Howson said. "There’s nothing imminent right now; I don’t have anything on the burner right now. But certainly between now and over the next couple of months, we’re going to be very active, yes."

Rick Nash isn’t going anywhere, but what about Jeff Carter?

"I have no intention of trading Jeff at this point," Howson said.

That’s not going to stop other teams from calling about Carter, however.

Otherwise, Howson will be open to almost anything. While the GM refused to name specific players, one has to assume Derick Brassard will be in play, given the controversy earlier in December with the forward’s agent, Allan Walsh, hammering coach Scott Arniel over the usage of his client.

Brassard has two more years on his deal past this season, paying him $3.2 million a year.

Your typical rental players should be available, the likes of Vaclav Prospal, Sammy Pahlsson and Kristian Huselius, all unrestricted free agents July 1.

Either way, interesting times are ahead in Columbus.

Oilers on the move?

If you’re looking for a big name who could possibly move by the Feb. 27 trade deadline, circle Ales Hemsky.

He’s an UFA as of July 1, and with the kids ruling the roost in Edmonton, word is around the league the Oilers might be willing to move Hemsky, although it hasn’t been totally ruled out that they might try to re-sign him as well.

Hemsky has all-world talent, but it doesn’t show up on a consistent basis, and health is always a factor.

Still, given that he’d be a traditional rental player, you will see a number of clubs willing to take him on for the rest of the season if and when the Oilers decide to put him on the market.

The Kings had interest in Hemsky last season before settling for Dustin Penner in a deadline-day trade with Edmonton. If the Darryl Sutter renaissance is successful in L.A. and the Kings are in a playoff spot come February, it wouldn’t surprise me if they came sniffing around on Hemsky again. They need an upgrade on the wing in L.A. -- whether or not the Kings fix that this season or next summer is what remains to be seen.

Another club that could come calling on Hemsky is Detroit. The Red Wings have cap space and will be an aggressive team come the trade deadline. They’ll look at all kinds of options, but I believe Hemsky will be among the names on their shopping list.

Weber contract talks could open soon

With Jan. 1 rolling around, the Predators and the camp for Shea Weber will be allowed to talk contract.

As per collective bargaining agreement rules, because the Nashville captain is on a one-year contract, the two sides have to wait until Jan. 1 to begin talks on a new deal.

Preds GM David Poile told ESPN.com Tuesday that he expected to chat with Weber’s people "sometime in January."

Poile added, however, that the more urgent matter remains Ryan Suter because he’s an UFA July 1, whereas Weber will be a restricted free agent.

The plan, if it wasn’t obvious, is to be able to go to their franchise player in Weber once/if Suter joins star goalie Pekka Rinne with a contract extension to show how serious the team is about competing. It makes sense to approach it that way because in the end, Weber’s deal will be the most difficult to negotiate. Better have the other two in the bag before commencing that one.

So the pressure point now is on the Suter talks with the trade deadline approaching.

"David and I continue to talk, but there’s nothing new to report at this point," Neil Sheehy, Suter’s agent, told ESPN.com Wednesday.

If Suter is not signed by Feb. 27, what does Poile do? He decided not to move Dan Hamhuis a few years back because the team was in a playoff spot only to see the top-four blueliner walk away in free agency. That aggravated Poile; I don’t think he could stomach that again. I think he deals Suter if there’s no extension signed by the trade deadline.

Tick-tock, tick-tock ...

Bruins will have work to do

Boston GM Peter Chiarelli has done a remarkable job managing his cap and payroll, the Stanley Cup champs returning to the ice this season with a near identical roster and with cap space to boot.

But the work never ends.

Earlier this season, Chiarelli took care of his top priority when he extended center David Krejci to a three-year, $15.75 million deal. Krejci would have been an UFA July 1.

The Bruins still have six players headed for unrestricted free agency in forwards Chris Kelly, Shawn Thornton, Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell as well as blueliners Joe Corvo and Johnny Boychuk.

Like any team right now, the tricky part is to try to guess at what the CBA is going to look like next season with the expectation that if the owners and league get their way (and the players will have a big say in that), the salary cap will go down, which means less money to spend on players. So you have to be careful in handing out extensions right now.

"We have six UFAs and we are sorting out our future expenses (new system)," Chiarelli told ESPN.com via email Wednesday. "So, nothing new except that we will try to sign as many as financially responsible and possible."

Just a guess on my part, but I think Kelly is the next player to get signed. Kelly, a versatile two-way forward, is on pace for a career-high 49 points. His career high was 38 points in Ottawa in 2006-07.

Trade winds blow in Carolina

Whether they’ve been buyers or sellers over the years, the Carolina Hurricanes have usually been an active team ahead of the trade deadline and often much before the actual deadline day.

And they have five pending UFAs on their roster who could be in play: defensemen Tim Gleason, Bryan Allen and Jaroslav Spacek as well as forwards Tuomo Ruutu and Alexei Ponikarovsky.

Here’s the catch for the Hurricanes right now, however: They can’t just go ahead with straight-up salary dumps in January in any trade because it risks moving them below the payroll floor. According to capgeek.com, the Canes are at $51.4 million in payroll with the league’s floor set at $48.3 million this year.

Any deal they make in the short term has to be more of a hockey deal. Instead of just getting a draft pick or a prospect in return, they’ll need to get an NHL roster player back.

If they decide to wait right up until the Feb. 27 trade deadline, by then the cap hit (and payroll hit) should be minimized, so they can go ahead and make any kind of deal they want.

Lots of teams, as always, will be looking for defensemen, so veteran Canes GM Jim Rutherford will be a popular phone call with his colleagues around the league.

1. Jets no longer thrashing around

I must admit I didn’t give the Winnipeg Jets much of a chance to be in the playoff hunt in the Eastern Conference this season and likewise figured it wouldn’t matter much to the NHL-starved fans in Winnipeg now that the Jets had returned home. But head coach Claude Noel said it didn’t take long for the astute fans in the prairie city to give it to the home team when they weren’t playing well. He recalled a game against Florida on Nov. 10 when the Panthers ate the Jets’ lunch at home in a 5-2 victory, and the fans let the hometown boys know it.

“They were not happy,” Noel told ESPN.com this week. “I think that was good, though. It was like the honeymoon was over. We got exactly what we deserved.”

Since then, the Jets have used the raucous MTS Centre to their advantage -- something that almost never happened when the team was in Atlanta -- running their home record to 9-2-1. Overall, they are an impressive 11-5-1 at home.

The fans in Winnipeg aren’t coming for “the event” Noel noted; they’re coming for the game. “The fans here, they watch the game,” he said.

As of Thursday morning, the Jets were in 11th place in the conference, just one point out of eighth place. They’ll need to get better on the road, where they are 4-8-4, but Noel is happy with the way the team is trending with better special-teams work, good goaltending and an overall toughness that wasn’t apparent earlier in the season.

“We were all over the map” earlier in the season, Noel said. “We’re a lot more stabilized now. We’re trying to play fast and responsible, and we’re doing that.”

With Bryan Little and Evander Kane leading a youthful charge offensively, the Jets would be happy to trade the honeymoon for a couple of unexpected home playoff dates in the spring. Surprisingly, that could be in the cards.

2. Bachman turns it into overdrive

One of the reasons we were skeptical of the Dallas Stars’ ability to shoulder their way into the playoff discussion in the Western Conference was starting netminder Kari Lehtonen's injury history.

Lehtonen and the Stars got off to a great start, but again, Lehtonen is on the shelf with a groin injury -- not the first time he’s dealt with core body issues. Credit rookie Richard Bachman with stepping into the breach and keeping the Stars at or near the top of the Pacific Division standings. A native of Salt Lake City, Bachman moved to a small town near Lake Placid, N.Y., where his family ran a bakery for a time. Bachman ended up with a youth team that lacked a goaltender, and the die was cast. Although the 24-year-old has flown a bit under the radar after being drafted 120th overall in ’06 by Dallas, all Bachman has done is win. He was rookie of the year and player of the year in the WCHA for Colorado College and an ECHL all-rookie team member and goalie of the year before putting up solid AHL numbers for the Stars’ farm team in Austin.

Although Bachman isn’t the prototypical NHL netminder -- in other words, tall and agile -- he has impressed folks in the Stars organization with his technical aptitude.
“What he does so well is that he reads the play very well,” goaltending coach Mike Valley told ESPN.com this week. “There’s no wasted movement. He’s quietly good. There’s not much flash to him. He’s just very calm.”

Well, most of the time.

Bachman acknowledged that it’s taken some getting used to suiting up for NHL games like last week when he found himself stretching beside future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur before a game that marked Bachman’s first NHL loss.

Still, with each passing game and victory, Bachman said his confidence and the team’s confidence in him grows.

“It’s been a bit crazy. It’s all happened very quickly,” Bachman said.

Bachman took the loss against Philadelphia on Wednesday night, but his record remains a solid 4-2. And with Lehtonen not expected back until into the new year, the youngster looks to shoulder an even greater load in unexpected circumstances.

3. Wings are looking good

One of the games of the week if not the entire month saw the Detroit Red Wings visit the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night, with the Canucks topping Detroit by a 4-2 count. The game featured two of the hottest teams in the NHL, both of whom have put behind them sluggish starts to assume what most see as perennial positions as Western Conference powers and Stanley Cup contenders. It seems that whenever the Red Wings hit a bit of a lull, as they did earlier this campaign when their offense was struggling, people predict that the Wings’ run of greatness is about to end. Yet every season the Wings seem to plow through those rough patches as only the elite teams know how to do. Still, even head coach Mike Babcock has been pleasantly surprised by a team that had to fill the void created by the retirement of Brian Rafalski.

“I just think we’re a better team than I anticipated going in [to the season],” Babcock told ESPN.com this week.

The Wings have turned out to be deeper and more physical and have seen more growth out of some players than had been expected, Babcock said.

Valtteri Filppula is one of those growth players up front, as he has 26 points in 32 games. His 10 goals are tied for second on the team.

Johan Franzen, enjoying a nice bounce-back season after being waylaid by injury last season, leads the team with 14 goals, another pleasant surprise.

Dan Cleary has shaken off a slow start, and playing with Darren Helm on the team’s third line has made the Wings more difficult to defend.

Justin Abdelkader has given some oomph to the team’s fourth line, Babcock noted.

Defensively, the coach also praised the positive growth of Jakub Kindl and Jonathan Ericsson.

The Red Wings have been especially impressive at home, where they have won 10 straight.

“We’ve been more assertive at home and come out with more jump,” he said.

The Wings lead all NHL teams with 67 goals at home in just 16 home dates, a little more than four per game.

Does this mean Babcock is sitting with his feet up smoking a big stogie down in the basement at Joe Louis Arena waiting until the puck drops on what will be the Wings’ 21st straight trip to the postseason?

Uh. No.

“Look at our division,” he said. “It’s tight, tight, tight.”

As of Thursday, three of the five Central Division squads, Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis, were firmly entrenched in the playoff grid, with Nashville one point out.

4. Sabres not looking sharp

The Buffalo Sabres are like Kevin Bacon in “Animal House” repeating the mantra: “Remain calm, all is well” while all around, chaos reigns.

Well, here’s a little reality if you’re the ninth-place Sabres.

As the NHL heads toward the Christmas break, the Sabres have played the fewest road games of any team in the league, 13, compared to 20 at home. They have managed the fewest goals on the road, just 28, and that means they’re going to play more road games in the second half of the season. It also means scoring just a hair over two goals per game away from Buffalo won’t get the job done. Of the eight lowest-scoring road teams so far this season, only two occupy playoff positions: San Jose and St. Louis. The others include bottom feeders Columbus and Anaheim and the mightily struggling Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings. And, of course, the disappointing Sabres.

5. Canes brighten up the holidays

On Thursday, former Carolina Hurricane Shane Willis and members of the Canes' staff were expected to travel to Fort Bragg, N.C., with a load of Christmas presents for a local family whose house was broken into and their presents stolen. The donations by the Hurricanes were significant on a couple of fronts, not the least of which was the good cheer brought to the family of SSG Patrick Jacobson, who had sold his truck to help pay for Christmas presents for his family before his deployment to Afghanistan early in 2012. It was also significant as it represented the first coordinated efforts of the newly formed Carolina Hurricanes alumni association. With the help of longtime Hurricanes staffers Mike Sundheim and Kyle Hanlin, local alumni who number about a dozen hope to become a much more visible entity in the community and at Canes events moving forward.

The group’s movement from guys getting together for some shinny to working with the team to buttressing the team’s standing in the community is an important nod to the team’s history in Raleigh.
The alumni group’s evolution “is of the upmost importance,” former defenseman Aaron Ward told ESPN.com.

Ward has developed into a top-notch national hockey analyst in Canada but makes his home in the Raleigh area. He was a key figure in the Christmas gift event and represents an important touchstone to the Canes' humbling beginnings and first brushes with success.

“It’s one of those things you learn. Your job’s not done when you decide to retire,” Ward said.

Willis played 141 regular-season games for the Canes in the late-1990s, married a local girl and is now the youth and amateur hockey coordinator for the team.

He said young fans will relate to the Jeff Skinners and Eric Staals, but there are older fans, parents and grandparents, perhaps, who will relate to alumni such as former captain Rod Brind’Amour, Hall of Famer Ron Francis and defenseman Glen Wesley, all of whom work for the team and make their homes in the area.

“It’s a great mesh of all the fans coming in,” he said.

Some holiday venom on display in this week’s Rant Blog. Well done, people. Let’s take a look:

shawnp422: So Jimmy Howard just won his 20th game of the year, which leads all goalies, and I decided to go vote for him in the All-Star game...AND HE'S NOT EVEN ON THE BALLOT? How can the goalie for one of the model franchises of this league not be on the ballot?

My take: Yes, it’s very surprising. There are other notable omissions as well. It’s never perfect. If the league’s hockey operations department (which selects the ballot) put everyone on there so that no one would have any complaints, there would likely be 200 names on it. My own suggestion, since most of the voting is now done online, is to not have a ballot but rather have voters select from the entire 700-plus player pool. What’s the difference anyway? As for Howard, who has rocked the house for my fantasy team this year, check out Scott Burnside’s Trophy Tracker blog on Wednesday, when he’ll focus on the Vezina contenders. Pretty sure you’ll be happy.

---

clane33: Hey Pierre, I'm an avid Hurricanes fan and there season so far has been far more than a disappointment. How much of their mediocre start is due to the defense? Cam Ward is an elite goaltender even though numbers may not show it this year. Should I expect him to be a Cane at the end of the season? He does everything in his ability to help the team stopping more than 30 shots a game. I know he must be frustrated about all this. What's the solution for Carolina to begin winning games?

My take: It’s retooling time in Carolina. Forget about trying to win games to get back into the playoff picture. Focus on getting a high draft pick. The Canes will move out some of their UFAs before Feb. 27 to get some assets. Tim Gleason, Jaroslav Spacek and Bryan Allen are among the forthcoming UFAs who could be moved. As for Ward, I agree he hasn’t had the kind of season we’re accustomed to with him. That’s certainly hurt the club. At this point, I don’t see him going anywhere, but it’s possible, I suppose, that the Canes will revisit that thought come the offseason. At this point, however, I don’t see him going anywhere.

---

courv: Scrap the All-Star Game and implement a midseason tournament. There are too many undeserving "All-Stars" and too many great players left in the shadows. Make the tournament single elimination NCAA style brackets and seeding. Award one point to the winners of the rounds of 8 and 4 and then 3 points to the tournament winner and one to the loser of the final. It would only take two weeks to complete and it would be a lot more exciting than what we currently have.

My take: Well, you certainly had me five words in. Scrap the All-Star Game indeed! I’ve been saying that for only five years or so. As for your tournament idea, I’ll give you credit for some creativity, but the last thing the league wants to do is add more games to the season. If anything, with the injuries in today’s game and the season-long grind, it would go the other way. Frankly, given the success of the Winter Classic and the way that event has become a way for the league to take care of corporate sponsors, etc., the All-Star Game has lost that much more relevancy. Blow it up!

---

WhnMusicsOver: The one thing I don't like about the new playoff format for next season is that it makes winning your conference/division virtually meaningless. Sure being the 1 seed in your division grants you home-ice advantage through the first two rounds. But as far as playoff matchups go, there isn't likely to be a big difference between playing the 3 or playing the 4 in your own division. Now teams in the regular season are just going to fight to be in the top 4 rather than try and win the division and be guaranteed a top 3 seed as in the current format -- a much bigger advantage. Why would the NHL try to dilute the importance of the regular season?

bmac76er: It seems to be a return to the old system from before the '94-95 lockout. I think it could be a very good change. Those Patrick, Adams, Norris and Smythe Division playoff series were usually awesome. This guarantees plenty more rivalry matchups in the playoffs. I have to admit, a Devils-Panthers or Rangers-Senators matchup isn't as enticing as Devils-Rangers or Bruins-Canadiens.

My take: Well, bmac76er took care of answering WhnMusicsOver rant for me. Indeed, this is a return to the kind of divisional playoffs in the 1980s and early ‘90s that some fans still consider the great rivalry period of the NHL because the same teams had to play each other over and over again every spring in the playoffs. The hope is that the new conference setup starting next season will generate much the same kind of renewed rivalries or create new ones.

---

Cofomike17: What happened to the goalie poke check?

My take: Check out Jonathan Quick on Joffrey Lupul in Monday night’s shootout in Toronto.

---

ColoAvs82: A coach’s job is to use the players and their abilities to create the best possible outcome for winning games. Yet in Colorado we have Joe Sacco that knows just one system, dump and chase and hope to get lucky bounces. He is a B-rated coach in the AHL at best, but management is dragging their heals to fire Sacco and try to salvage what is left of this pathetic season. Only thing worse than the Avs right now is the way they are being managed upstairs in the office.

My take: Avs fans continue to burn in their anger. They did beat Philadelphia in a shootout Monday night. Maybe that will appease Avs fan a little for 48 hours. Not sure if you Avs fans noticed, but Patrick Roy held a news conference in Quebec after coaching a junior game on Sunday and told reporters he’s considering an NHL job for next year if there is interest.

"Once the end of the season arrives and if a team shows some interest in me -- Colorado or Montreal, for example -- it's certain I would listen to see what kind of role I would have in the organization," Roy told the assembled media.

---

chwpgh64: I am so SICK of people hating on Crosby. They say he isn't tough. News flash: Concussions have nothing to do with toughness or skill. Also, most of the people questioning Sid's toughness are ones that have never put on a pair of skates. They say he's a crybaby and he gets too much attention. He himself said that he was sick of cameras coming to his stall every day after practice. He's the best player in the world, so he will get some attention whether he, or other people like it.

My take: Well said. I’m pretty tired myself of all the Crosby haters. If they got to know the kid as some of us have had the chance over the past several years, they’d have a different impression of him. I can guarantee it. It’s why he’s won the admiration of the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr et al because of his all-world skill, but just as important because of his work ethic and the way he respects the game. Enough said.

---

Shurikenman23: As a Sabres fan, this past offseason gave me immense hope for the team. Terry Pegula putting up big money, making big moves such as acquiring Ville Leino, Robyn Regehr, Christian Ehrhoff, signing Drew Stafford and Tyler Myers to long contracts. But Regehr and Ehrhoff are the only ones who have even done that well this season. Ehrhoff playing decently on the blue line and Regehr leading with hits and blocked shots keeping our end of the ice safe. The injuries have been huge and costly to the team. Obviously, not too much that can be done about that, but considering so many starters out, wouldn't Ryan Miller try to play better and play harder and put more effort forth?

I guess not, unless an average of five goals allowed in the last three games is considered playing hard and putting forth your best effort. It's clearly time for moves. Some that can't be made until players are healthy. I'm willing to wait another year on Leino. Brad Boyes could be considered useless now since he's still injured, but he can play and will hopefully show that when he gets back on the ice. Patrick Kaleta can be traded off for a decent replacement. If talks of Bobby Ryan leaving Anaheim resume, Jochen Hecht, Kaleta, and Drew Stafford in exchange for Ryan and perhaps a draft pick. Some of the new boys, Kassian and Adam (in his first full season with the team) and McNabb, who’s doing a decent job on our end of the ice, have really shown up where a lot of the vets have not, which is really disheartening. Someone needs to light a fire under this team. I think Lindy Ruff can do it, but I don't think GM Darcy Reiger can continue to build a team for Ruff that can be put out on the ice night after nice and play with a fire in their hearts. So Darcy, you've got to go.


My take: I will have more on the Sabres later today/this evening in my Rumblings blog, be sure to check it out. But indeed, the interesting thing about finally having expectations in Buffalo after years of being limited by small-market financial constraints is that it raises the level of hope. The buzz leading into the season was surreal. The team has been maddeningly inconsistent. Injuries have played a big part, to be sure.

---

prashanthiyer: Hey, Pierre. Obviously the rant of the week is the obnoxious amount of concussions we have had this year. My rant is about why the NHL won't kick it into 2nd gear, realize that they are dealing with a serious issue, and look to the IIHF and some of its rules that they have in place that have minimized concussions and serious facial injuries. First off, why not widen the rink to international size and increase the space behind the nets? Also some form of no-touch icing. In IIHF controlled leagues, all players born after 1974 are required to wear visors and all officials are as well. Match penalties are assessed to players that cause an injury with a direct blow to the head. These rules are found all over the world, except for in the NHL. Why not? Also, even though this doesn’t pertain to concussions, the IIHF also has the 3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for an overtime win, 1 point for an overtime loss. Pay attention to them!

goblew14: Then the NHL would turn into the NBA. No contact. Concussions are part of the game, but I'm all for safety of the players. No-touch icing should probably be instituted. Also, I think people are starting to get a sense of what is a hit to the head and what isn't. In terms of visors, I think the players should choose what they want. No one is forcing them to play and if they don't want to wear one they know the risk of what they're doing.

ZZUCRU: I don't want to see the physicality of the game removed. I play in a no-check league and it is simply not the same game. But they need to do something. It seems that given the flimsy design of hockey helmets, they could prevent many concussions by improving the helmet designs. I agree with the match penalty for targeting the head.

My take: Three concussion posts in a row, illustrating the common arguments involved right now with this gigantic issue. No question, this is the most pressing issue in the game right now. But you can’t say the NHL is ignoring it. That’s not factual. The league has protocol in place and, more than ever, prevention/treatment is a point of focus for all 30 teams. However, you can still argue that not enough is being done. The key is to continue as a league and players’ association to dig deeper and push even harder on this issue. Talk to as many doctors and researchers as you can, continue to gather as much information as possible and be as proactive as possible. The league has taken some important steps, but the battle is far from won.

The concussion saga has taken over all the talk this past week. What can we do with high-profile player after high-profile player dropping like flies?

But despite the bad optics, there was no league memo sent to teams and no new measures discussed, because the league feels it's already doing as much as it can in terms of prevention and treatment.

“The only way you’re going to totally eliminate concussions from the game is to stop playing the game,” Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner, told ESPN.com on Thursday. “We’re not inclined to stop playing the game, and players aren’t, either. There’s a certain level of risk that everyone accepts in any profession. If I’m a construction worker, I’m more likely to have health issues than if I’m an office worker. It’s just the nature of the job.”

There are no more concussions this season than last season at this time, but I think because of the big names involved it has given the story more juice, and that’s understandable. What could possibly be worse than having Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux, Milan Michalek, Mike Richards, Chris Pronger and Jeff Skinner sidelined at the same time?

“I'd say that we've been on this regardless of which players are hurt,” Brendan Shanahan, director of the Player Safety Department at the NHL, told ESPN.com via email Thursday. “The nature of these latest injuries shows that there's no 'magic pill' that prevents ALL concussions. I'd also say that players and teams are more cautionary now in the identification and treatment than ever before -- which is the right thing to do. Because of the leadership of groups like the Concussion Working Group and the protocols in place, we're catching more of these injuries before a player is placed in the MORE dangerous position of a secondary concussion on top of another.’’

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford, who has been a leading voice among his colleagues on the elimination of head shots, says the speed of the game has become more than ever a big factor.

“We have a game that’s very, very fast now,” Rutherford told ESPN.com on Thursday. “Really at the level of speed that it appears that players don’t have time to react at times to an opponent coming or a teammate coming. These concussions are happening from good hits, from accidental hits, from accidental hits from teammates, to periodically bad hits. The league has taken this very, very seriously going back a few years and probably ahead of any other league, and the key is to continue to do studies and have conversations about what we’re dealing with and what we can possibly do, if anything, to prevent or lessen some of the injuries that are taking place now.’’

One theory out there is whether the red line should be put back in for two-line passes to slow down the forecheckers and therefore the impact of their hits. Some even wonder if the league should allow the return of a little more interference in certain areas of the ice to slow down the players. I doubt either idea ever sees the light of day. The game has never been more fun to watch; who wants to regress from there?

“We have to keep this a really good game, which we have now, and we have to think of the safety of the players. Those are the two things we deal with,” Rutherford said. “We don’t want to go back to the old game because the new game now is much more accepted by fans, media, players -- everybody. But is there something in the game that can be changed a little bit to give players a little more reaction time? I don’t have an answer for it. But I know the league continues to talk about it. Everybody continues to talk about it. And hopefully somebody comes up with an idea or two that can help try to prevent as many injuries as we’re getting.’’

There is no cure-all answer. That’s the truth, no matter how hard it is to digest when some of the game’s top players aren’t on the ice.

All-Star Game Captains

It’s as close to a done deal as it gets: Daniel Alfredsson of the host Ottawa Senators will be one of the All-Star Game captains. That’s a no-brainer.

But what about the other?

If it were me, I’d select Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks. The classy winger is more than likely in his final NHL season, and he’s been nothing but a tremendous ambassador for the game throughout his career. And I’m told internally that the league has indeed brought up his name as a candidate, although at this point nothing is decided. Let’s do the right thing and honor the Finnish Flash.

Conference Games

I can’t tell you how many readers or Twitter followers have asked me about the names for the new conferences next season under realignment.

Many fans would love to see Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr honored with the four conferences named after them.

But unless there’s a change of heart at the league head office, my sense is that the conference names will remain geographically themed, similar to the current division names.

I think the concern at the league level is the potential political backlash. How would the Flyers and their fans react to putting up a Mario Lemieux Conference pennant in their rafters? Or the Habs celebrating a Bobby Orr Conference title? That’s the basic concern.

The league could still be swayed. Nothing is written in stone, but right now the general feeling is to stick with geography.

Sharks Coach

Well, given the two coaching firings in Southern California already this season, I suppose we can’t be shocked the San Jose Mercury News pondered the fate of a certain coach in Northern California.

What I’m hearing is that San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellan is in absolutely no danger at this point. And frankly, that’s the way it should be. San Jose’s recent struggles are not on him. They’re on the top players on his team who haven’t performed up to their level, beginning with Martin Havlat and his one goal so far this season. (But I will say I thought Havlat may have played his best game of the season Thursday night versus Colorado.)

Either way, my sense is that Sharks GM Doug Wilson is solidly behind McLellan at this point.

NHLPA/Realignment

The league and NHL Players’ Association have gone back and forth on realignment over the past week or so, the league providing materials to the union, which had specific questions about the proposed new format for next season.

The two sides are expected to speak again next week. The league wants to get the union’s blessing so it can get to work on next season’s schedule. I’ll be curious to see whether the NHLPA plays hard ball with this. The NHLPA says it’s within its collective bargaining agreement rights to have a say in realignment.

We actually had a trade in the NHL on Friday when Carolina and Montreal exchanged old, Czech blueliners with Tomas Kaberle going to the Habs and Jaroslav Spacek to Carolina.

The key here is that Carolina unloaded Kaberle's contract, which calls for two more years after this season at $4.25 million per year. Spacek will be an unrestricted free agent July 1, so the Hurricanes gain financially.

"I can't believe Jim Rutherford was able to unload that contract," said an NHL team executive who requested anonymity.

The Canadiens are gambling that Kaberle can find his old ways and help kick-start a struggling power play. The Habs' power play ranks 28th in the league, and the team is 25th in goals per game.

Kaberle has actually played some of the better games in his career at the Bell Centre (26 points in 32 games), but that version of Kaberle hasn't been seen in a few years. He didn't play well for Boston last spring and has been terrible for the Canes this season. He has nine points in 29 games to go along with a multitude of defensive miscues.

If the gamble doesn't pay off, you have Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier possibly adding another bad contract to a payroll that already has Scott Gomez for two more years after this season at $7.3 million per season. And the jury is still out on Andrei Markov's deal (three years, $5.75 million a season), which the blueliner still hasn't played under as he recovers from knee issues.

This was a desperate move by a team in desperation.