Both the Stars and Flames are in for some serious evaluation -- in Dallas, it starts in the front office; in Calgary with a veteran roster that may require turning iconic captain Jarome Iginla into trade bait. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

While everyone is talking playoff matchups and predicting the number of stitches that doctors will need to close the combined wounds of the Penguins and Flyers, there are 14 other clubs who are packing up for the summer and planning for next season. Here’s a roundup of the NHL’s also-rans and what might be in store for them during the offseason. We’ll start at the bottom of the league and work our way up.

Columbus – Yes, the Blue Jackets won seven of their last 11 games and ownership continues to back the hockey department, but the team’s dreadful start when so much was expected, its last place finish, the coaching change, the fan protest, and the Rick Nash mess all made for a dreadful season. The future of interim coach Todd Richards is uncertain, but the huge question mark is Nash’s fate. If he is traded — which is widely expected — what will embattled GM Scott Howson get in return? Will it be enough to reverse this club’s direction and win back the many discontented fans? Michael Arace of The Columbus Dispatch summed it all up over the weekend.

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It's possible that the Predators' impeccable Pekka Rinne may be wearing down from his heavy workload. (Scott Kane/Icon SMI)

It’s the oldest adage in the game: You win in the playoffs with great goaltending. But sometimes you win with only good or just average goaltending (as we pointed out a year ago when we looked at how the postseason clubs were fixed at the position on the eve of the annual tournament), but no one can deny how much Tim Thomas meant to the Bruins in their march to the Stanley Cup last season. His winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP marked the 15th time that a goalie has been so honored since the trophy was first presented in 1965.

Suffice to say, it’s hard to go anywhere in the spring if you have a leaky guy standing — or falling — in the crease, so with the playoffs only nine days away, here’s how the each Western Conference clubs goaltending shapes up. Click here for our Eastern breakdown.

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Chasing the Stars in the Pacific Division, Joe Pavelski and the enigmatic Sharks control their own destiny. (Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

As the days of the regular season dwindle down to a precious few, the playoff picture has begun to get clearer, but only somewhat. Much remains undecided, including the bottom qualifiers in each conference and the first round seedings.

From a strictly mathematical perspective, only the Blues and Rangers have clinched playoff spots and only the Blue Jackets have been eliminated.

Yesterday, we looked at the East and today, let’s take stock of  the Western Conference where, realistically, it appears that the Oilers, Wild and Ducks are close to joining the Blue Jackets in the Also-Ran department, too far out of contention with too few games left for us to believe they can make a serious charge to eighth place.

Beyond that, not much is certain.

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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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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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