Ryan Miller was pulled Friday night after some misadventures with the puck and four goals allowed. (Jerome Davis/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• We’ve seen this before, haven’t we? A proud goaltender, waving in mock appreciation as a home crowd serenades him with a Bronx cheer? Yeah, Ryan Miller seemed as tired of the First Niagara Center crowd as they were of him after a couple of brutal goals led to an 8-4 Rangers’ win that ended Buffalo’s playoff hopes. Very easy to see him demanding a trade after that display.

• “Yes sir, just like clockwork, you can count on Brad Richards to record a hat trick once every 896 games.” That’s the great lead from Larry Brooks, writing about the veteran’s first career three-goal game in the rout of the Sabres.

• Like everyone else in Boston, the Penguins experienced an unusual day on Friday.

• It became apparent early on that as long as the manhunt for the bomber continued, the show could not go on in Boston. The postponement and rescheduling of Friday’s game means the Bruins play their final six games in a span of just nine days.

• A struggling Milan Lucic could be benched for today’s rescheduled matinee against the Penguins. That should please Bruins fans who are tired of watching him float through games.

• Mike Heika, who offers as entertaining a read as anybody out there these days, says the Stars were taught a valuable lesson in how to impose your will by the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. They probably would have preferred two points, but that lesson might pay greater dividends down the road.

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Anze Kopitar, who was so vital to the Kings in their Cup run last season, has struggled to produce lately. (Jae C. Hong)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• The Kings are rolling, but star center Anze Kopitar is fighting it with just one goal in his last nine games. And he’s not the only one struggling: Jonathan Quick ranks 24th in goals against and 41st in save percentage but he hasn’t lost the trust of his teammates.

• Funny thing about lousy teams dressing a bunch of kids down the stretch: they sometimes find a way to win. The Dallas Stars were buzzing on the energy provided by newcomers Alex Chiasson and Lane MacDermid in an unexpected 3-1 win over the Ducks that pushed them two points further from the Seth Jones Sweepstakes.

• “Hey, Rob…what are you doing tonight?” 43-year-old former roller hockey star Rob Laurie was an emergency backup in net last night for the Ducks.

• The new-look Buffalo Sabres found another way to win Friday night. Luke Adam, Jochen Hecht and Brian Flynn broke long scoring droughts to lead the effort.

• Cory Conacher was “decent, if not spectacular”  in his debut with the Senators.

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The Bouwmeester trade is another questionable rebuilding move by the Flames after trading captain Jarome Iginla last week. (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

At some point, maybe not too far into the future, Calgary Flames fans might look back at the deal that sent Jay Bouwmeester to the St. Louis Blues for a first-round pick, along with defenseman Mark Cundari and goaltender Reto Berra, as the deal that righted this badly listing franchise.

More likely though, this will be remembered as the third entry in GM Jay Feaster’s 2013 trilogy of failed decisions.

This is just a bad, bad deal for the Flames.

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Jarome Iginla may have pulled on a Calgary sweater for the last time, as the captain could soon be headed to Boston. (Danny Murphy/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Jarome Iginla has played his last game for the Calgary Flames.

The team announced that its captain would be a healthy scratch for tonight’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.

Iginla has played 441 consecutive games for the Flames, so a scratch tonight makes sense only if a trade is on the horizon.

Meanwhile in Providence, Boston’s top farm team has scratched two prospects: Jordan Caron and Alex Khokhlachev. Another potential trade chip, defenseman Matt Bartkowski, was scratched from Boston’s game against Montreal.

Something may be imminent.

UPDATE 6: In an absolutely shocking turn of events, Calgary GM Jay Feaster has just confirmed that Jarome Iginla has been traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In return for the 35-year-old veteran, the Flames receive Pittsburgh’s 2013 first-round selection and prospects Ben Hanowski and Kenny Agostino.

Hanowski, a 6-2, 198 right wing with the St. Cloud State Huskies, was the 63rd overall pick in 2009. Agostino is a 6-1, 200 left wing with the Yale Bulldogs. He was selected 140th overall in 2010.

Both players are fair prospects, but hardly blue-chippers. An NHL scout just told SI.com that “they’re probably top-10 in Pittsburgh’s system, but at the bottom of the top-10.”

Somehow Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero has managed to acquire Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray without having to sacrifice any of his top-five prospects. Absolutely remarkable job on his part.

Jay Feaster, from his press conference: “Our pro scouts feel very strongly about these players … they fit our criteria for hockey sense and they have good skill level.”

Not sure anyone is buying that, though. Though his hands were tied by Iginla’s four-team list of trade options, it’s hard to believe Feaster had two teams battling it out tonight for Iginla’s services and this was all he was able to snag. The question now is, if this was all that was on the table, why pull the trigger tonight? Why not wait and hope that desperation on Boston’s part would push up the price?

Iginla will have a farewell press conference Thursday morning at 10:30 local time in Calgary.

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Flames GM Jay Feaster and the NHL don’t see eye to eye on a rule in the new CBA. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Ryan O’Reilly may be back with the Colorado Avalanche, but the story of how he almost became a Calgary Flame isn’t over yet.

As first reported by Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston this morning, Flames GM Jay Feaster failed to understand a very critical element of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Had Colorado accepted draft pick compensation instead of matching Calgary’s two-year, $10 million offer, O’Reilly would have been subject to waivers before joining the Flames as a result of having played in the KHL after the NHL season got underway.

And that would have meant only one thing: O’Reilly would have been claimed by another team (likely Columbus) and the Flames would have given away a first- and third-round pick for nothing.

All because Feaster and his staff didn’t bother to contact the league and make absolutely certain that there was no misunderstanding of this CBA clause.

Fortunately for the Flames, the Avs matched the offer and spared Feaster that disastrous outcome.

But while he didn’t lose the picks, he may have lost something more valuable: the trust of Calgary’s ownership in his ability to move forward.

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Feaster famine: Calgary’s GM has had tough time of late improving his struggling Flames. (Terence Leung/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

For the second time in a day, Calgary Flames GM Jay Feaster baffled everyone with his thinking.

His decision to sign restricted free agent forward Ryan O’Reilly to a two-year, $10 million offer sheet might have seemed like a bold strike to solve his team’s glaring need for a No. 1 center. Instead, it strengthened a divisional foe ahead of the stretch drive. And he should have known that’s exactly what was going to happen.

Not that Colorado wasn’t willing to send the reluctant O’Reilly packing. In fact, after months of failed negotiations, finger-pointing and embarrassing parental interference, it was the preferred ending to this tiresome drama.

But an offer sheet? Nice try, but Do No Harm had a better chance of succeeding.

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One dimensional enforcer Brian McGrattan is a relic who won’t fix the flickering Flames. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

At some point, hopefully soon, a good friend of Jay Feaster will pull him aside, show him a calendar and make sure that Calgary’s GM has a firm grasp on the year in which he’s living and working.

Feaster’s dogged determination to wear Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff down to the wire for a team that has no real chance at the playoffs is enough to make you wonder.

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Hot goalie: Danny Taylor’s skates may have given him an edge in the AHL. (Frank Jansky/ZUMAPRESS.com)

By Allan Muir

Chart-topping statistics and an injury to starter Miikka Kiprusoff put Danny Taylor on the path back to the NHL. (MUIR: Flames face life without Kipper.) But he’ll be forced to change his skates before he can step on the ice with Calgary.

The 26-year-old Taylor, whose NHL experience consists of 20 minutes of relief for the Los Angeles Kings on March 29, 2008, has put together a tremendous season with Abbotsford of the AHL while wearing the new Step Steel Xtreme blades.

The blades, which are a quarter-inch taller than the industry standard, “create a better attack angle for lateral pushes by increasing the distance between the ice and the skate cowling” according to InGoal Magazine.

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Miikka Kiprusoff’s injury and prolonged absence could be a golden opportunity for the Flames. (Steven King/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Tuesday night’s 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings may have been the high point of the season for the struggling Calgary Flames. But the victory was soured when veteran netminder Miikka Kiprusoff was forced to leave early after suffering a lower body injury.

After the game, coach Bob Hartley was unsure of the extent of the injury, saying Kiprusoff would be evaluated today.

So maybe it’s nothing major. A little tweak, maybe a day or two on the sidelines and the Flames’ all-time wins leader is back between the pipes.

But what if it’s something serious, something that keeps Kiprusoff out for weeks or months? Would that really be the worst possible outcome for a team that’s relied on him to start 90 percent of its games over the last seven years?

Not at all. In fact, it might be the best thing that could happen to the franchise.

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Trying to plug holes by trading high draft picks has backfired on the Maple Leafs, so it may be wiser to deal Phil Kessel. (Nick Turchiaro/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

A guide to this morning’s must-read stories around the NHL.

• Trading Phil Kessel, rather than offer sheeting P.K. Subban, is the road forward for the Maple Leafs.

• How is this Lambeau Leap by Vancouver’s Aaron Volpatti any different than the one that earned Brayden Schenn a suspension last week? If Brendan Shanahan is committed to consistency, this one cries out for supplemental discipline.

• Lots to like about Jarome Iginla’s game despite his “slow start.” Still, with the Flames struggling to light the lamp, especially five-on-five, they need Iggy to start finishing.

• Kyle Clifford started the season on Los Angeles’ fourth line, but his hot hand has earned the team’s leading scorer a promotion to the Mike Richards/Jeff Carter unit.

• The Oilers have been brutal five-on-five , scoring just four times through four games. Might help if they slowed the parade to the penalty box and bought themselves a little more time at even strength.

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