As you might expect, several players are upset that the NHL's decision to crack down on interference is beginning to fade.

The Penguins' owner/player Mario Lemieux is the most notable player who has led the charge for a more wide-open game, but he isn't the only one. In Philadelphia, Mark Recchi said there is a noticeable difference in the way games are being called now than they were early in the season.

Part of the reason? A clarification that the league does not want to end all contact, just the interference away from the puck, which the league denies.

"We told them at the beginning of the season: we're going to clear up through the neutral zone and into the forecheck. When you don't have the puck you shouldn't be held up. That hasn't been a problem," the NH's director of officiating Andy VanHellemond told the Canadian Press. "They're saying the battles on the puck should be the same as when you don't have the puck. But we can't have that. Hockey is hockey. When you get the puck you're subject to being checked. That's where I think it's coming from."

The dilemma facing general managers at this point is deciding what type of player will be most effective as the game is called later in the season, especially in the playoffs. Who teams trade for will in part depend upon the GMs' beliefs of what the game will be like in late March and April.

By the way, did anybody really think this full-force crack down would last all season?

Carrying the flag
Woe Canada, who's gonna stand on guard for thee now?

The Toronto Maple Leafs don't look like they'll be carrying the Canadian flag at the top of the standings, not the way they've melted down over the first quarter if the season. The Leafs are so busy trying to fend off stories they are the most despised team in the NHL, they might be losing sight of the fact they are in danger of being the most abused team in their own city.

The Six from the Original Nation came into this week with exactly one team with a promising start, the Vancouver Canucks at 9-5-4-0. The Canucks were also one of only two Canadian-based teams to score more goals than they have allowed (52-46. Ottawa, at 8-6-1-0, has out scored opponents 41-38.). Meanwhile, the struggles have continued from Quebec to Alberta.

The mess is very sticky in Toronto, but we all know that Toronto is one Canadian-based franchise the NHL can literally bank upon. The Leafs are facing all sorts of second-guessing about the exit of Curtis Joseph and Pat Quinn's ability to continue in his double role as coach and general manager. But in Toronto, such worries just help sell tickets.

The same doesn't hold true for other Canadian franchises, for which winning is far more important. That is why it is disheartening to see teams struggling in Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and even Montreal.

The most distressing part of the plot involves the biggest stars. Go back to last season and recall the voting for the most valuable player. Two of the names to go wire-to-wire: Jarome Iginla and Jose Theodore. You want keystones for success, how about the hottest goalie in the league and the top goal scorer? More than that, these were young, vibrant players, guys who you could market on many levels.

But the only level that counts on the ice is the only level that matters -- performance. And at the start of this season it has hardly been a case of either player being mentioned as a first-quarter MVP.

Iginla is on a pace for -- ready for this? -- 18 goals. That's quite a long way from the league-leading 52 goals and 96 points he had last season. During the first 18 games last season, Iginla had 12 goals. This year, he has four goals and 14 points. Extrapolate that over 82 games, you've got 18 goals and about 65 points. And this is in a first quarter in which 15 players have projected numbers to score 100 goals through the start of this week.

It makes you wonder what would have happened if they didn't acquire Chris Drury from Colorado.

It is also most curious that a team struggling for offense traded away Marc Savard to Atlanta for a future prospect. Savard has had troubles with coach Greg Gilbert, but at this time when the team is desperate for offense, maybe a little free-wheeling was what was in order.

The Flames entered the week having been shut out in three of their last five games, and having scored just two goals in two games they weren't. The good news is that goalie Roman Turek could be back this week, although Jamie McClellan can hardly be blamed for surrendering eight goals in that span.

Meanwhile in Montreal, Theodore has struggle mightily. The league MVP, who's save percentage is submerged below .900, is having a difficult time holding on to the No. 1 job. There is no doubt that Theodore was the backbone to last season's success, and any hope the Habs keep about rising in the standings is tied to goaltending.

In Edmonton, the ice coach Craig MacTavish is skating on is getting thinner by the day, and Ottawa shows no signs of making a move to improve their lot in the NHL.

The sound of silence ...
... coming out of the office of Buffalo general manager Darcy Regier is downright deafening. He's got one of the better coaches in the NHL, but a team that is either not responding or just doesn't have the talent. In short order, expect either an impact trade or a coaching change.

Al Morganti covers the NHL for ESPN.