Peter Chiarelli: What’s a guy gotta do to get some help around here? (Photo by Steven Senne/AP)

By Allan Muir

Peter Chiarelli has to be feeling a bit like Mary Ann Summers this morning.

Summers, of course, was the beautiful, charming young castaway stranded on a desert island with one other eligible woman…who just happened to be the world’s most beautiful movie star.

It didn’t take her long to get comfortable with the First Runner-Up sash. Looks like Chiarelli’s getting used to it, as well.

Twice in the last week, the GM of the 2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins has put an offer on the table for a player he hoped would help his team raise another banner in 2013. And twice he could do nothing but watch as Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero — the Ginger Grant of the NHL — stole those players away with a wink and a smile.

Didn’t matter that Chiarelli offered more substance. Shero dangles the sizzle of skating alongside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin while working for owner Mario Lemieux. Who can resist?

Hey, the heart wants what it wants, right?

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Alex Ovechkin says he’s gone from the toilet to being king of the world. (Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

A notated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• It’s swell that Alexander Ovechkin is having fun with his critics now that he’s finally producing, but he wouldn’t have been on the receiving end of all that grief if he’d performed like this the past two seasons. Let’s hope he keeps it up. The NHL is a better league when he plays like he cares.

• Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter plans to bend Barack Obama’s ear about the Keystone XL pipeline when the Kings meet the President today at the White House. Hey, why waste a chance to talk to the guy, right?

• While Ray Shero’s trade acquisitions are being lauded in Pittsburgh, the true value of a couple of aging players is being questioned elsewhere.

• Injured Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson updated the media on his condition last night. Unfortunately, the prognosis isn’t good, buddy.

• Damien Cox says a Jarome Iginla trade won’t be a home run for the Flames, but they might acquire some useful parts if they can find a willing partner. For the time being, Calgary management is staying quiet about any possible deal.

• The Oilers could get a boost down the home stretch if they’re able to win the Danny DeKeyser sweepstakes.

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