Now some of you may say; the last four years have been horrendous for Leaf fans.   They have had to endure a half-decade long playoff drought; so, the Leafs must make the playoffs.  Others would say; rebuilding a team is a process, this method takes time.  This recent trend of black and white thinking has become an eternal struggle, it is an argument I have had with many followers of the Maple Leafs.  Though I do not have a dogmatic, narrow-minded view of the current Maple Leaf situation, I am inclined to agree with the latter.  Simply because while the Maple Leafs do have a myriad of future assets including but not limited to; Jiri Tlusty, Nikolai Kulemin, Justin Pogge and the newly-acquired Mikhail Grabovski, to name a few. None of these potential stars really stands out to attain the status of super-star.  Now that they have finally obtained one of these superstars in Luke Schenn, it is time to acquire someone equally as high in status and talent to launch the Maple Leafs into triumph.

Take a second to look around the league, while the most extreme example being the Pittsburgh Penguins (Crosby, Malkin, Fleury) there are many others around the league who have had high draft picks over the last few years and will surely be successful in the near future.  Perhaps the most talked about turn-around in hockey, the Chicago Blackhawks, have a dynamic duo in Jonathan Toews (3^rd overall in 06) and Patrick Kane (1^st overall in 08) to go along with their abundance of other career NHLers such as Cam Barker, Dave Bolland and Jack Skille.  The Los Angeles Kings who have been quietly stock-piling future talent for years, made there biggest splash this year with 2^nd overall pick Drew Doughty to accompany future stalwart Jack Johnson (3^rd overall in 05).  Another standout of course is Wayne Gretzky’s new and improved Phoenix Coyotes who acquired Danish prospect Mikkel Boedker (8^th overall in 08) to complement Kyle Turris (3^rd overall in 07) and Peter Mueller (8^th overall in 06). FYI: I firmly believe these aforementioned teams will be a top the NHL standings in no later than two years.

These are just mere examples of what the Leafs are now facing. But one thing is abundantly obvious; most dominant teams are built on at least two or three standout prospects.   It has been 41 years since the great city of Toronto has seen the Leafs hoist the Stanley Cup.  Is it really too much to ask to endure one more season of failure?  Personally, I do not wish for a top 10 pick, I believe it’s imperative to obtain a top 3 pick.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have the choice between mega-prospects John Tavares, Victor Hedman and Luke Schenn’s brother; Brayden, among others. The Maple Leafs have been mired in mediocrity for so many years, it has certainly become an exercise in futility.  Many Leaf followers wish for the return of Mats Sundin and for some strange reason, Maple Leaf brass is seemingly leaving the door open for his return.  The team Cliff Fletcher has fielded for the 08-09 season has hockey pundits everywhere saying that not only is this team not good enough to make the playoffs, they will be lucky to escape with the 13^th spot in the Eastern Conference.  It is almost set in stone that the Leafs are a shoe-in for another playoff mishap for the fifth consecutive year. With presumably the only bottom-feeders below them being the Garth Snow inflicted; New York Islanders and the one-pony show; Atlanta Thrashers.  So if Sundin loyalties get their wish, it is my belief that it may only move them up a mere one, maybe two spots in the standings.  Is that really what we want?  You really have to ask yourselves Leaf-fans, do you want another Nik Antropov in the 09 draft, or someone who can vault this team to Stanley Cup success? So I implore you Leaf fans, as a life-long fan myself, we must lose, really lose, to win.

The Philadelphia Flyers locked Joffrey Lupul up with a four-year contract extension. Lupul is one of several players the Flyers are committing to for years to come as they believe only good things will come from these young talents.

The Phoenix Coyotes re-signed left wing Daniel Carcillo in which they feel this sparkplug brings great balance of speed and toughness to the team. Carcillo led the league in penalty minutes last season as a rookie and that seemed to be the type of player the Coyotes want as they deal is undisclosed but was a 2 year contract.

The New Jersey Devils signing center Fedor Fedorov, who is the brother of Sergei Fedorov and has been playing in Europe the past few seasons.

Other signings this week included the Anaheim Ducks agreeing to one year contracts with left win Josh Green and center Eric Boguniecki. The biggest signing of the week has come from the Vancouver Canucks, as they signed six players Wednesday. Those players include RW-Ryan Shannon, C-Rick Rypien, RW-Mike Brown, Defs-Nathan McIver, Zach FitzGerald, and James Sharrow. Make sure to check back to see all the NHL’s top news as this year the Stanley Cup will truly be up for grabs. All this action is getting fans excited for the 2008-2009 season and with opening day being less than three months away it will be interesting to see what other deals come our way.

- Darryl Sutter has hinted in several interviews that he has all but completed a deal with Daymond Langkow. The Flame’s #1 centerman has scored 30+ goals and 60+ points the last two seasons. Estimates suggest the contract (which has yet to be officially confirmed) is in the $5M/year, 3 year range.

- Sutter has also mentioned that he pursued European scorer Fabian Brunnstrom prior to his signing with Dallas and the organization has it’s eyes on some other potential diamonds in the rough from overseas.

Apparently, Swedish Elite league scorer Martin Thornberg is also garnering Sutter’s attention. The 25 year-old left winger 20 goals and 37 points in 51 games last season and added 17 points in 17 games in the post-season. From first-hand accounts, Thornberg was a part of one of the best forward units in the league with linemates Johann Davidsson and Juka Voutilainen. No word on whether the Flames have actually offered Thornberg a contract or simply a try-out.

While it’s difficult to assess his potential impact at the NHL level, the Flames as an organization are woefully shallow at left wing behind Alex Tanguay (Eric Nystrom, Marcus Nilson, Brandon Prust), so Thornberg’s addition would likely be a welcome one, at either the NHL or AHL level.

- Another name that has cropped up recently is former Phoenix Coyotes/Toronto Maple Leaf/Minnesota Wild Erik Westrum. Westrum is a bit older at 29 and has already spent some time in the NHL and AHL. He’s been a scorer at almost every level he’s played, including college hockey (168 points in 161 games), the American Hockey League (295 points in 420 games, including a 98 point season with the Houston Aeros) and, most recently, the Swiss-A League (33 goals and 70 points in 55 games). Despite decent stats at the lower levels, Westrum has never been able to stick in the big leagues, even though he’s had a cup of coffee with all of the teams listed above.

Like Thornberg, nothing official has been announced, although rumors claim that the Flames have offered Westrum a one-way offer. Considering Darryl Sutter’s reticence to grant one-way deals to relatively unproven plaayers (Mark Giordano comes to mind), I personally find that hard to believe. However, with the team’s impending budget crunch, Sutter may be forced beyond his “comfort zones” in order to fill out a roster poised to lose a lot of players to unrestricted free agency (Kristian Huselius, Owen Nolan, Stephane Yelle, Craig Conroy) and lacking enough young prospects to fill the gaps.

When the Anaheim Ducks placed goalie Ilya Bryzgalov on waivers last November, Lombardi admits he wasn’t as aggressive in trying to land the Russian netminder. The Phoenix Coyotes picked up Bryzgalov, where he has won 23 of the last 34 games he played for them.

“Uh, yeah. That’s a good one,” Lombardi said. “I think the jury is still out. There were some issues, things you heard out of Anaheim in terms of him being a teammate… In retrospect, we should have been more aggressive. This is how a mistake can lead to another, a logjam of contracts there cut off our flexibility.”

Last summer, Lombardi passed up the opportunity of trading for then Nashville Predators goaltender Tomas Vokoun because he did not want to part with a first round draft pick and a second round draft pick as well as goalie prospect Jonathan Bernier. Vokoun ended up being dealt to the Florida Panthers.

Two summers ago Lombardi tried to acquire Chris Pronger of the Edmonton Oilers but did not want to include rising Star forward Anze Kopitar as part of a multi-player package. Pronger was later traded to the Ducks, where he helped lead them to their first Stanley Cup.

“Thank God we didn’t do that.”

The Rangers are set to play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Czech Republic next October, and Sather would like to have the Czech forward in the line-up.

But while Jagr claims he would like to return to the Big Apple, the 36-year-old is yet to decide if and where he will play next season.

Phoenix Coyotes pending unrestricted free agent forward Mike York tells Jim Gintonio of The Arizona Republic that he’s not too concerned about his contractual status. York says he’s more focused on helping his club earn a playoff berth.

“I think much more, we’re playing for the playoffs,” he said. “You want to be your best at this time of year, no matter what. Next year’s a long way off.”

While Pittsburgh Penguins pending unrestricted free agent Georges Laraque has fallen out of grace with the Penguins’ coaching staff recently, Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports the club would like to bring him back due to his physical play and fighting abilities.

Luke DeCock of The News & Observer reports that Carolina Hurricanes defenseman David Tanabe is done for the season due to concussion problems.

DeCock suggests that the Hurricanes may consider buying out Tanabe’s remaining year of his contract (valued at $900,000) during the off-season at two-thirds of the amount (which would come out to $600,000). Is that even possible, though? Can a team buy out an injured player?

Carey Price made 37 saves for the Habs, showing all Habs fans that his performance against the San Jose Sharks on Monday was a glitch, a bad game nothing more. The goals for the Habs were scored by Tomas Plekanec in the first period, the other three goals for the Canadiens were scored in the third period by Saku Koivu, Andrei Markov, and Sergei Kostitsyn. The assists for the Habs were Alex Kovalev with 3, Chris Higgins with 2, Andrei Markov, Brian Smolinski, and Josh Gorges all had one assist each. The goal scorers for the Coyotes were Shane Doan, and Zbyenk Michalek, with assists from Peter Mueller with 2, and Ed Jovanovski with 1.

The Habs have now taken control of the Eastern Conference again being that they have played less games than the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Canadiens now have 83 points, eleven less than the Detroit Red Wings for the league lead, is this goal attainable? Possibly but unlikely as the Habs would have to win 6 games in a row and the Wings would have to lose 6 in a row, however by seasons’ end stranger things have happened.

The Habs now move forward to L.A. to face the L.A. Kings on Saturday afternoon at 15:30pm. Most people seem to think that Jaroslav Halak will get the start to let Price rest up to face the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, this could be a good thing but, it could also be bad as Price played well tonight and needs all the NHL experience he can get before the play-offs. The Canadiens have fourteen games left and Carey Price has to play at least 10 of those to stay sharp.

Another game in the books, another two points as well, will the Habs be able to win at least 18 more points, meaning winning nine games out of 14, or winning 8 games and losing one in overtime to get at least 100 points? We’ll see, for now let’s hope the Canadiens keep doing well, and position themselves well in the conference.

Now, more and more NHL teams are employing the hockey version of cheerleaders.

The Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Tampa Bay Lightning all have them. That’s 16 teams.

Three Canadian teams have them, too, including the Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators, and the Vancouver Canucks.

So, what exactly do Ice Girls do?

Well, according to PuckThatHit.com, this is what the job entails:

Ice Girls often (but not always) step onto the ice, clean away excess snow, wipe down the glass, and of course give away t-shirts. Any excuse to have them parade their increased chest sizes and minuscule waists is good enough for management and fans.

For those interested, there’s a poll over at PuckThatHit.com where you can vote for which team has the best ice girls. There’s pictures, too… pretty pictures… go check ‘em out. I threw in my vote for the Chicago Blackhawks’ Ice Crew.

Anyway, I’m wondering how soon will it be before ALL NHL teams has a crew of Ice Girls dancing in a seat near you? And which team will it be the next in line? Will it be the Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, or the Washington Capitals?

This is an unscientific poll, by the way.

1. G Al Montoya and LW Marcel Hossa to Phoenix for RW Fredrik Sjostrom, G David LeNeveu, LW Josh Gratton and a conditional pick in the 2009 Entry Draft.
2. St. Louis traded D Christian Backman to NY Rangers for the Rangers’ 4th-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft.

Now, the initial reaction among many is somewhere along the lines of; huh? what? or ugh… But if we dig into these, Sather actually pulled out solid deals. Lets analyze the first.

- Montoya is finally gone. To me, we didn’t get enough for him. He finally gets a change of scenery but he steps into almost the same situation in PHX. Bryzgalov isn’t going anywhere and they have another hot prospect as well fighting for the backup spot. Tough luck for Al. Hossa is gone, and lets just say I wont miss him. I still think we could have got more for these two. Now we got Frederik Sjostrom in return. Sjostrom was a 3rd liner (probobly 4th here) grinder in PHX with some offensive upside. He will have to fight to get into this lineup though. Look for him to get a shot though. David LeNeveu is a young goaltender with a little NHL experience. He will probobly be down in Hartford backing up Wiikman. And finally, Josh Gratton, an enforcer type who will be down in Hartford as they need a phsycial presence. He could get called up if Orr or Hollweg go down to injury or poor play. The pick in ‘09 is always good as well. So this trade gets a B- from me. We should have gotten more for Montoya but the Rangers are gelling and Sjostrom gives us good Depth up front.

- Backman for a 4th was a better deal than the PHX one. Backman is a solid veteran defensive defensman. He won gold with Sweden at Turin ‘06 on the second D-pairing. Expect him to jump right in and give Strudwick a rest as Mara recovers from his facial injuries. I’m sad to see Strudwick get the crap end of this deal but Backman is definitly an improvement. Backman will probobly compete with Malik for ice-time. I give this trade a B+ because the 4th rounder isn’t that much and were still in good shape.

Overall, I give the Rangers a B grade for the deadline. We didn’t lose any important youth, and we added depth to a team that finally looks like it is coming together for good. Remember, we didn’t make any crazy moves at the ‘94 deadline :D. Plus Sjostrom and Backman are Swede’s - it gives Henrik someone to hang out with as he knows them well from the Olympics and World Championships.

As for Thursday, it will be a test. Everyone will be excited to see the lineup and especially Backman, who will be most evident in the lineup. I hope Renney doesn’t switch things up too much. Backman will be wearing #55 and Sjostrom will be wearing #20, meanwhile Gratton and LeNeveu are down in Hartford as expected (http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/). This is my best guess at what the lineup will/should be:

Avery-Dubi-Jags
Dawes-Gomez-Shanny
Straka-Drury-Cally/Sjostorm
Hollweg-Bets-Orr

Staal-Rozi
Toots-Girardi
Malik/Mara-BackmanScratched: Prucha, Struds.

Thats my best guess. I’m looking forward to Tommorow. Look for a preview post. - Rob

1.) Western Canadian guys. Sutter looks for players who were born or played in Western Canada, especially Alberta. In part because there’s a high probability either he or one his brothers have observed the player up close in the past (particularly current Devils coach Brent Sutter thanks to his years of coaching and managing the WHL Red Deer Rebels). In addition, a player who has lived or played in Alberta may be more likely to be familiar and comfortable in Calgary and therefore more amenable to signing a contract with the team. Some recent examples include Brad Stuart (Calgary Hitmen WHL career), Jim Vandermeer (Red Deer Rebels WHL career), Daymond Langkow (born in Edmonton, AB), Jamie Lundmark (born in Edmonton AB) and Eric Godard (born in BC, Lethbridge WHL career).

2.) Former “Sutter” guys. Darryl has been around the league for awhile, coaching for several years in both Chicago and San Jose before becoming the Flames coach and then GM. He draws from his extensive experience and values (some would saying “overly values”) players he’s had - and liked - in the past. Since becoming the Flames general manager, Sutter has acquired or signed Miikka Kiprusoff (Sharks), Tony Amonte (Blackhawks), Jeff Friesen (Sharks), Owen Nolan (Sharks), Mark Smith (Sharks) and Wayne Primeau (Sharks) to name a few.

3.) Guys his brothers know. If he doesn’t have direct knowledge of a player, Sutter leans on one of his 5 brothers (Brent, Brian, Duane, Rich, Ron) to provide him with information. For example, Duane Sutter was part of the Florida Panthers coaching staff from 1996-2002, where he would have had experience with future Darryl Sutter acquisitions Marcus Nilson and Kristian Huselius. Daryl has also made a number of trades with the Phoenix Coyotes during his tenure in Calgary (acquired Langkow and Lundmark) where his brother Rich is a scout. In his first season as Flames GM (’03/’04) Sutter traded for the Blackhawks Ville Neiminen near the deadline. Neiminen’s coach in Chicago that year was Daryl’s brother, Brian.

And so on. It’s clear Sutter likes to have as much primary, first-hand knowledge of a potential acquisition as possible and he takes full advantage of his extensive familial connections (as well as personal experience) throughout the NHL to that end. He’s also stated publicly that he deeply believes in Western Canada’s grass roots and junior hockey systems and their abilities to produce quality players, thus his resultant preference for those players with Western Canada somewhere in their past (over and above the reasons alreayd stated).

So as the deadline nears and the Flames look to tinker heading into the stretch-drive, keep the above in mind…you’ll be way ahead of Eklund, or most other media rumor mongers, in predicting Sutter’s moves.

The fight - Calgary has 66 points in 59 games played. They are tied with the Vancouver Canucks in the NW Division and are only a single point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche. Overall, they currently sit in 8th spot - the cusp of the Western Conference play-off bubble - tied in points with the Phoenix Coyotes, and with the aforementioned Avs (65), St Louis Blues (63) and Columbus Blue Jackets (63) hot on their tail. Fan and media expectations for the Flames have rarely been higher heading into the season, considering the quality and expense of the players on the roster. As such, there is considerable pressure on Sutter and Flames upper-management to succeed now. Put simply, missing the post-season is not an option.

The Cap - This season Sutter locked up a bunch of the Flames heavy lifters to long-term contracts. Robyn Regehr, Jarome Iginla, Miika Kiprusoff and Dion Phaneuf were all granted multi-year extensions, with a majority of them getting hefty raises to boot. So while the organization’s core is in place, Flames management faces the difficult task of re-signing or replacing the likes of Kristian Huselius, Damond Langkow, Craig Conroy, Stephane Yelle, David Hale and Owen Nolan in the off-season on a thread-bare budget. To give context to the severity of the situation, four of those players are currently top 6 forwards for the Flames. With about 48M already committed to next year and the cap purportedly rising to something between 54 and 58M, Sutter has roughly 6-10M in projected cap-space to work with. Or, in more qualitative terms: “not nearly enough”.

The UFAs - The primary assets of concern heading into the deadline are Huselius and Langkow. They both enjoyed career seasons last year, each scoring 77 points, and both are on pace to score 60+ points again this season. As such, both are in line for significantly larger deals this summer (Huselius makes 1.4M this year, Langkow 2.442M). They represent two thirds of the Flames #1 line right now (with Jarome Iginla) and each could likely command upwards of 5M/year on the open market come July.

The Conundrum - Sutter now faces the difficult decision of liquidating his attractive UFAs at the deadline, with the concurrent risk of hobbling the team’s chances of making the play-offs and/or achieving post-season success. Alternatively, he faces the equally unpleasant possibility of keeping Huselius and Langkow for the stretch drive, falling in the first or second round anyways, and then losing them for nothing in the summer.

Given that Calgary is going to need some relative bargains up front to cheaply but effectively fill out their forward roster in the near future, acquiring young but established players, plus the odd prospect and/or draft pick (read: draft day bargaining chips) at the deadline is likely an attractive option for the Flames GM. Whether Sutter deals one or both of Langkow/Huselius will depend on the nature of the packages offered. A roster player that is signed beyond this season to a relatively cheap salary + a decent prospect/pick might just do the trick. Example: Ottawa is said to be looking for more secondary scoring at the deadline. Kristian Huselius for Antoine Vermette or Chris Kelly+a draft pick might make sense for both teams.

The Salary Dumps - The Flames also have a lot of “roster fat” that Sutter would no doubt like to trim in order to increase that 6-10M in (potential) cap room next year. Players like Wayne Primeau (20GP, 2g-2a-4pts, -5), Marcus Nilsoin (28 GP, 2g-1a-3pts, +3) and Rhett Warrener (27GP, 0g-3a-3pts, -1) contribute little and fail to justify their respective cap-hits (1.4M, 1M and 2.35M). Each is signed beyond this season and each could conceivably be replaced by a farm-hand or bargain basement replacement (500k) without really effecting the club’s on-ice performance. With that in mind, Sutter may look to package one or more of these guys if he does decide to deal any of his other attractive pieces in the next 7 days or so.

Conclusions -

In short, the Flames:

- Have a lot of roster holes to plug next season and little cap space with which to do it.

- Have an urgent need to make the play-offs this year, with an inexorable tooth-and-nail stretch drive staring them in the face.

As such, they:

- Cannot trade for big contracts that extend beyond this year (unless they trade some of their own).

- Need to retain their high value contracts (ie: bargains, ie: Matt Lombardi @ 1.83M/year).

- Would like to get value for Langkow or Huselius now without doing too much damage to the roster and hobbling their post-season aspirations.

- Would like to deal away some of the “empty calories” that are bloating their total salary/cap hit.

Keep this stuff in mind when reading Calgary trade rumors in the media heading into next Tuesday. Whatever happens, I’m certain that this trade deadline is going to be a very interesting one for Flames fans.

The teams represented were the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils.

While Gormley suggests that the scouts were there to observe the Lightning players, more than the Flyers, Philadelphia may end up becoming trading partner with Tampa.

The Flyers appear to have pegged pending Lightning unrestricted free agent defenseman Dan Boyle as their prime target.

But if the bidding war for the blueliner gets too intense, expect the Flyers to bow out of the running.

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren tells Gormley he would be “very” reluctant to trade either of his top two forward prospects in Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk for a rental.

Meanwhile, another Lightning player that could be on the move is forward Vaclav Prospal. He is indeed on the trading block and teams appear to have some interest in acquiring his services.

Hagman says he’s not too worried about the lack of contract talks.

“I just don’t feel a need to rush this. If I play well, then everything will take care of itself. That’s all I want to concentrate on right now – playing well.”

Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe suggests that the Calgary Flames will have to move forward Alex Tanguay because of his pricey $5.375 million price tag for next season.

Even though the Flames are committed to 14 players for next season for a cap hit of $45.5 million, Flames GM Darryl Sutter tells Allen Panzeri of The Ottawa Citizen that there is enough cap room to re-sign pending UFA forwards Craig Conroy, Kristian Huselius, Daymond Langkow, Owen Nolan, and Stephane Yelle, and defenseman David Hale.

Still, Dupont believes that Tanguay could land in Montreal with the Canadiens in exchange for pending UFA Michael Ryder.

Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press suggests that with forward Dan Cleary going down for an extended period of time with a fractured jaw, the Detroit Red Wings will be more active in adding a scoring forward before the February 26 trade deadline.

Erik Erlendsson of The Tampa Tribune reports that Tampa Bay Lightning GM Jay Feaster would like to initiate contract talks with pending UFA defenseman Dan Boyle.

However, due to the uncertainty of the Lightning’s ownership situation the club’s management may have to forgo any attempts of re-signing Boyle, or picking up reinforcements before the deadline.

According to Panzeri, the starting price for Boyle is $7 million per season.

Panzeri also reports that the Edmonton Oilers are trying to unload veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson, and might make forward Jarret Stoll and defenseman Steve Staios available.

Lastly from Panzeri, he reports that Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is looking to add a scoring forward before the deadline.

“There’s hardly anything out there right now, unless you’re willing to give up something very, very significant,” said Chiarelli. “You can get a top-six forward, a goal scorer, but it’s going to cost, it’s going to cost a lot.”

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that the Minnesota Wild might move pending UFA Nick Schultz before the deadline. Apparently, a number of teams have called to inquire about the blueliner’s availability.

According to Garrioch, the Phoenix Coyotes may opt to trade pending UFA forward Radim Vrbata before the deadline because of concerns he may ask for a significant raise.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes would also like to deal defenseman Brendan Bell.

Garrioch also reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets have received inquiries about defenseman Ron Hainsey, although the club is yet to decide whether they’re ready to become sellers.

Lastly from Garrioch, he reports that the New York Islanders are looking to move forwards Mike Comrie and Miroslav Satan. Garrioch suggests the Ottawa Senators could use either player.

In fact, talks could commence sooner rather than later, despite Feaster’s opposition to discussing contracts during the season.

“Philosophically, I have always been opposed to negotiating with a player during the season,” he said. “However, I have come to the conclusion that you have to do it in some cases under this new CBA, and this is one of those times.”

Should Boyle hit free agency July 1st, he could get a deal worth between $6-$7 million per season.

But with the Lightning already have a salary cap hit over $19 million tied up in forwards Vinny Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Marty St. Louis, they will have to decide whether they want to pay Boyle market value and lock up so much cap space in four players.

So, if the struggling Lightning can’t get the 31-year-old blueliner under contract it’s likely Feaster will shop him leading up to the February 26 trade deadline.

“In the end, you can’t lose significant assets for nothing should they elect to leave the organization as unrestricted free agents,” Feaster said.

The Chicago Blackhawks are said to be interested, as they have scouted the Lightning over the past two weeks, as as have Phoenix Coyotes and Ottawa Senators. Scouts from the latter two teams also took in the Lightning’s Saturday game.

The biggest problems facing the Lightning is their lack of prospects in the minor leagues ready to make the jump to the NHL. Head coach John Tortorella agrees.

“We have some problems with our organization. We readily admit that, with our lack of depth from our minor leagues right up to our big club,” Tortorella said. “We’re not a group of guys who are going to hide from that. It needs to be fixed.”

So, as the trade deadline inches closer, the Lightning should explore dealing some of the club’s pending unrestricted free agents to replenish their system with assets.

Lightning GM Jay Feaster tells The Tampa Tribune that he’s well aware of all the options at his disposal.

“At some point, you do have to be a realist,” Feaster said. “But one thing I’ve never believed is that you trade players at the deadline because you feel you can’t re-sign them or will have difficulty getting them signed. We’ve always approached it as let’s run it hot and see where things take us. Now the reality is, we haven’t won the Stanley Cup the last two years and we haven’t advanced past the first round. Now those assets leave and you get nothing for it, and the only thing you get back is the cap space.”

“So, from the standpoint of where we go, I think we need to be realistic and come the trade deadline Feb. 26, if we have not made a dent, then we have to say that we need to make sure we are not going to lose assets without anything in return.”

The list of player’s whose contracts are up at season’s end, and could be on the move, are forwards Vaclav Prospal and Chris Gratton and defenseman Dan Boyle.

Scouts from the Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks and Phoenix Coyotes have been attending Lightning games lately.

Western Conference

The top 10:

Detroit: What do you buy for the person who has everything? Still, if the Blue Jackets fall out of contention, Sergei Fedorov could head north.

San Jose: Jonathan Cheechoo’s drop-off will have them looking for a big-time winger to play on Joe Thornton’s line.

Vancouver: The heat will be on general manager Dave Nonis to add one (or two) offensive threats.

Dallas: A tough question looms: Do they still believe in goaltender Marty Turco, or is this Mike Smith’s time?

Calgary: Coach Mike Keenan has leaned hard on goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff this season, but it’s not working.

Minnesota: Look for the Wild to play defenseman Martin Skoula less and Keith Carney more down the stretch.

Anaheim: They have no salary cap room to add a player. It’ll have to come from within.

Colorado: With Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth out for extended stretches, they need to simply persevere.

Columbus: Might finally be a buyer at the trade deadline. The pressure is on, GM Scott Howson.

St. Louis: The addition of center Andy McDonald was an early present, but you know team president John Davidson has got something else up his sleeve.

The other five:

Phoenix: Adding goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was huge. But don’t be surprised to see defensemen Ed Jovanovski and Derek Morris moved.

Chicago: The future is bright, but goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has been a major bust.

Nashville: By the time injured winger Steve Sullivan returns, it could be too late.

Edmonton: It has been a disastrous 12 months for the Oilers, who now have a long way back.

Los Angeles: They’d be smart to unload defenseman Rob Blake and center Derek Armstrong to a contender.

Eastern Conference

The top 10:

Ottawa: The drama surrounding goaltender Ray Emery threatens to derail a return trip to the Cup Finals.

New Jersey: The Devils can never have enough “D.” Look for them to add a shut-down defenseman.

Carolina: They’re giving up way too many goals, so look for a move to shore up the back end.

Montreal: A defensive-minded forward or a shut-down defenseman would help a woeful penalty kill.

Pittsburgh: Keep an eye on Marc-Andre Fleury’s health. There’s no way they’ll go into the playoffs with Ty Conklin in goal.

Boston: Could be looking for a center. It doesn’t look like Patrice Bergeron will be back this year.

New York Rangers: “What can we get for you, Mr. Jagr?” As if Scott Gomez and Chris Drury weren’t enough.

New York Islanders: No way this holds, with so many minus players. Look for a second-half downward spiral.

Philadelphia: Biggest need is secondary scoring, even with the emergence of center Mike Richards.

Buffalo: Left winger Darcy Regier needs a big move to restore his reputation among Sabres fans.

The other five:

Florida: Putting lots of pressure on goaltender Tomas Vokoun will catch up to them eventually.

Atlanta: Stuck in a tough spot between “almost there” and “time to gut the roster.” Coach Don Waddell has a tough call.

Toronto: The torches are being wrapped and dipped in fuel. They’re coming for you, GM John Ferguson.

Washington: At some point, they’ve got to consider moving goaltender Olaf Kolzig to a contender.

Tampa Bay: Bad goaltending killed the season. Which one of the “big three” is on the move?

BRAD STUART, LOS ANGELES: Arguably the top defenseman available. Not a physical presence, but a useful two-way defenseman who was a blue-line fixture in San Jose before he was shipped out in the Joe Thornton trade. He has bounced around since.

MATS SUNDIN, TORONTO: A dark horse, but what team wouldn’t want a two-way center who’s also a class act and a leader? If the Leafs decide they can’t sign him and they can’t make the playoffs, a Sundin auction would attract many bidders. A Sundin trade could swing the balance of power in either conference.

ADAM FOOTE, COLUMBUS: He can’t really keep up with today’s game, and he’s not getting any younger. But he’s a veteran and as rough and tough as ever. He’ll end up somewhere, and the Blue Jackets will get a nice return.

PETER FORSBERG, UNSIGNED: If he ever gets his health issues sorted out, he might return from Sweden this spring. When healthy, he’s a superstar. When slowed by injuries, he’s dead weight. A total wild card. Conventional wisdom says if he comes back, he’ll join the Detroit Red Wings’ Swedish brigade.

ROB BLAKE, LOS ANGELES: But would he leave L.A. again? If the answer is yes, he may not be a Norris Trophy candidate but he can help.

AARON WARD, BOSTON: The Bruins have to decide whether they’re serious about this season or looking to build around this core for the future. If it’s the latter, Ward would be a nice addition in the right blue-line role. The Hurricanes could certainly use him again.

PAUL MARA AND MAREK MALIK, D, N.Y. RANGERS: With salary-cap concerns this season and going forward (not to mention a long-rumored [J]ones for [Phoenix Coyotes blueliner Ed] Jovanovski), the Rangers are likely to attempt to drop one of these two, who have alternated time as healthy scratches.

LADISLAV NAGY, LOS ANGELES: Skilled, but he hasn’t really produced in two seasons and was a total flop as a deadline acquisition in Dallas last season. A gamble.

BROOKS ORPIK, D, PITTSBURGH: He has been on the outs with the Penguins (with their woeful defense, that’s hard to believe) and could provide a useful physical edge to a contending team.

J.P. DUMONT, NASHVILLE: A proven goal-scorer pretty much everywhere he has been. He could hit the market if the Predators slip out of the playoffs.

MICHAEL RYDER, RW, MONTREAL: His struggles with the Canadiens are hard to fathom. He may start scoring some goals again with a change of scenery.

SERGEI FEDOROV, C, COLUMBUS: Yeah, he’ll probably be available. But as Bobby Clarke said about Eric Lindros at the 2004 NHL draft, “Who’d want him?”

First off, it’s unlikely that teams will want to trade for a temperamental goalie that’s being paid $2.75 million salary this season, $3.25 million the next, and $3.5 million after that. Due to his on- and off-ice antics, Emery’s trade value has never been lower.

“I really don’t think they could trade Ray Emery in his current state,” an NHL executive said yesterday.

“Nobody is going to want the baggage that goes with him right now.”

Secondly, two clubs that were previously believed to be interested in acquiring Emery’s services no longer feel that way.

At some point in time this season, both the Los Angeles Kings and Phoenix Coyotes thought about trading for Emery. However, the Kings aren’t interested anymore and the Coyotes have since claimed Ilya Bryzgalov off waivers to fix their goaltending issues.

The one club that may make a play for Emery is the Tampa Bay Lightning. With goalie Marc Denis and his $2.9 million salary on waivers and headed for the minors, the Lightning would have to dump some more payroll to go after Emery. Lightning’s management is under orders from ownership not to add salary until the club’s sale is resolved.

It’s believed that the Senators would like to trade their enigmatic goalie for a top-six forward.