Forward Mike Cammalleri was swiftly and unceremoniously dispatched from Montreal after making unflattering public remarks about the struggling Canadiens. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

For all their triumphant history and tradition, which are unmatched in hockey and rivaled by very few in all of sports worldwide, the Montreal Canadiens are at a low point. All teams have their cycles, so perhaps this is the downside of the glory decades that is catching up with them. For those who envy, even hate, the Habs, that’s happy news, although it’s never really good for any sport when a marquee franchise struggles.

Not all of Montreal’s struggles are on the ice, although they start there. We’ve chronicled them at various points this season as events transpired (here, here and here) and things looked to be unraveling.

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Philosophical differences between coach Brent Sutter and captain Jarome Iginla do not bode well for the Flames. (Colleen De Neve/ZUMAPRESS.com)

By Stu Hackel

Coaches are hired to be fired, as the saying goes. But what happens in between cements the perception we have of the guys who stand behind the bench in the NHL, the ones who prepare their teams in long hours of meetings and video study. It’s a hard job, especially when fans, the media and even the players believe they know better than the coach what a team should be doing.

That seems to be the situation in which Flames coach Brent Sutter finds himself vis a vis his captain Jarome Iginla. Sutter believes his team won’t be the consistent force it can be unless everyone buys into his scheme, and that Calgary will continue to play as a bunch of individuals and not realize the potential of its collective talents. Specifically, he wants Iginla — the 15-year NHL veteran who has topped the 1,000 point plateau and is only 11 goals away from 500 — to concentrate on his defensive game.

Right now, the 34-year-old Iginla is minus-12, with only five goals and four assists — not vintage Iggy.

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After three seasons without a playoff appearance, Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson is quite likely on notice, his assistants having been replaced, reportedly against his wishes. (Photo by Nick Turchiaro/Icon SMI)

By Stu Hackel

Coaches are hired to be fired, the cliché goes, and it’s a given every NHL season that some of the guys behind the bench will not make it to Game 82 while some will … and still be gone at season’s end.

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Hoping for an offensive boost, the Wild are hoping that Dany Heatley’s 26 goals and apparent lack of speed last season were a mere blip in his otherwise productive career. (Jason O. Watson/US PRESSWIRE)

By Stu Hackel

The moves – and non-moves – that NHL teams have made for the upcoming season can leave one either jubilant or very puzzled. We looked at a few that we called “science experiments” in early July and it has indeed been a wild summer of roster movement. There are few sure things in the world (hey, if you want a guarantee, buy a washing machine) and here are nine situations that might be considered some of the biggest gambles in the league. As with our looks at rookies last week (here and here), these are not in any particular order and not intended to be a definitive list. Just some thoughts as we head toward training camp.

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Ex-Wild blueliner Brent Burns will help the Sharks, but at a very steep price. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

By Stu Hackel

With apologies to my friend and colleague Adrian Dater, saying for certain which NHL teams were winners and losers during all the trading and drafting that began last week is as risky as the draft itself — which essentially tries to project which teenaged players will make it to the NHL sometime in the next few years. Various researchers have shown that only about 16 percent of the kids who are drafted have decent careers — in some years, that figure has dropped to nearly 11 percent — and almost all the success stories come from first- and second-rounders.

While we’ll need time to watch how these young players develop, there were a number of interesting moves during the weekend that will have a more immediate impact. It’s worth venturing a few thoughts on them.
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The young Rangers are up and coming, but Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews has had considerably less support to work with this season and it shows in his team’s play. (Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

Their seasons on the line, two Original Six teams found themselves in the eighth and final playoff spots in their respective conferences as the week began. The New York Rangers had only a two-point advantage on hard-charging Carolina in the East and needed a win on Monday night at home against Boston. By now, you probably know the Rangers trailed 3-0 before clawing their way back to victory and jumping into seventh. It was a game that had coach John Tortorella praising his team’s desire and fortitude, which he attributed in some measure to its youth and innocence (video).

The defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, on the other hand, are trying to hang on to their one-point advantage over Calgary in the West, and they skate tonight in Montreal. A year ago, the Hawks were a young, fresh club set to embark on the strong run that would culminate in the franchise’s first Cup in 49 years. Now, the rigors of salary cap management and significant injuries have shorn them of their innocence, not to mention the depth that served them so well last spring.

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Strong defense and solid goaltending are just two of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Canucks’ strengths as they head for what should be a deep run in the playoffs. (John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

In their 40th season, the Canucks have finally finished first overall, clinching the Presidents’ Trophy with their 3-1 victory over the Kings on Thursday night. The win was revealing in a couple of ways, first in how truly good Vancouver has been all season. Despite a run of injuries to their defense corps and the recent loss of Manny Malhotra, they have made the necessary adjustments and dealt with obstacles while getting stronger as the season progresses. In March, the Canucks grabbed 26 of a possible 30 points, a blistering pace.
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By Stu Hackel

The NHL’s video review procedures have taken a few hits this season and the latest will sting a bit as it may have sealed the end of the Flames’ playoff hopes. They’re not happy about it in Calgary, and with postseason spots at stake and each goal meaning so much, the seemingly annual grousing about the review system has arrived.

But in this case, the system functioned exactly as it should, even if it appears to some that it failed and the league got the call wrong.
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What about Bob? As so often happens at playoff time, the Flyers have questions in net where rookie Sergei Bobrovsky (above) and journeyman Brian Boucher must prove that they are Stanley Cup-caliber. (AP Photos)

By Stu Hackel

The Stanley Cup playoffs won’t be here for another two weeks, but it’s a good time to look ahead and see which clubs have problematic goaltending heading into the postseason. Because, after all, you need great goaltending to win in the playoffs — except when you don’t.

Forever, it seems, the “great playoff goaltending” axiom gets trotted out annually. If it’s not the most overused cliché in hockey, that’s only because Conn Smythe’s immortal “If you can’t beat ‘em in the alley, you can’t beat ‘em on the ice” is more primal. But there’s some evidence that this theory needs a bit of refinement.
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In a tight fight for a playoff berth, the Blackhawks could ill afford to have forward Patrick Sharp go down with an injury after he had proved to be very effective on a line with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

The Capitals’ surprise announcement on Monday that Alex Ovechkin would be sidelined for the next week-to-10 days while he heals from an undisclosed ailment (perhaps the dreaded “upper body injury” to his lower body) was followed on Tuesday with word that the Kings have lost winger Justin Williams for 3-4 weeks with a separated shoulder. The word on Ovie came a day after the Blackhawks said that top center Patrick Sharp would be out with a knee problem.

The injury parade in the NHL, especially to so many important players, has never seemed as long. At this stage of the season, some of these absences either have already had, or will have, an impact on the stretch drive and into the playoffs.

As with Ovechkin, some clubs seem intent on resting key players who have some knocks and dings so that they’re in better shape for the playoffs. Those teams feel they’re already safe in their playoff positions and are looking ahead to the spring tournament. Others don’t have that luxury and may not have some key players at 100 percent when the postseason starts.

Here’s a look at the teams that are still in the Western Conference playoff picture and how their current injury situation affects their chances. (Click here for the Eastern Conference.)
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