Center Jeff Carter is available in the Blue Jackets' fire sale and the Kings need some scoring. A match? (John Grieshop/Getty Images)

The NHL trade deadline arrives on Feb. 27 and unlike last year when February turned into trade season, there has been little movement thus far. As Kevin Allen noted last week in USA Today, the trade market appears to be stalled with many teams still evaluating their situation.  Should they be “buyers” or “sellers”? Asking prices for potential trade targets are said to be prohibitively high.

The first deal, however, could break things open. That may not happen until we get closer to deadline day and the undecided teams determine for sure if they want to build for next season or take a shot at the playoffs. Then the “buyers” — the teams hoping for a playoff spot or a deep postseason run — will have more trading partners among the “sellers,” who will be looking more long term while trying to clear out cap space for future moves or acquiring useful players now.

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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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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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Headshot Theater rolls on with this offering from the Sharks’ Scott Nichol, who leaped into the Coyotes’ David Schlemko on Monday night and was given a four-game, no expenses paid vacation by the NHL. Schlemko left the game after the hit in the third period and didn’t return. “He got one in the head pretty hard there,” Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said after the game. “He got his bell rung pretty good.”
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A rough season for the Blackhawks just got rougher with the loss of captain Jonathan Toews to a shoulder injury in the teeth of a tough Western Conference race. (Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Blackhawks have staggered through the opening half of this season, in part because of the changes to their roster after they won the Stanley Cup, and because no team has had more injuries to its key players. Jonathan Toews is the latest casualty, gone for up to two weeks, and that’s going to make the task of securing a playoff spot more daunting for a team that is hanging on to the eighth spot in the Western Conference.
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It could make sense for the Flames to start their rebuilding process by dealing popular captain Jarome Iginla for picks and useful cheaper players. (Noah Graham/NHLI via Getty Images)

What might the Flames start to look like with Jay Feaster now in charge — at least on an interim basis — after Darryl Sutter was asked by Flames president Ken King to step down as general manager? Don’t expect them to look like the Tampa Bay Lightning, which Feaster turned into Stanley Cup champions, any time soon.
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Time may be running out on coach Brent Sutter (left), who has been trying to spark an aging squad that's steeped in mediocrity. (Gerry Thomas/Getty Images)

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the NHL’s self-immolating franchise, the Calgary Flames.

There are pretty bad stories surrounding some NHL clubs right now. The New York Islanders’ team photo could be the dictionary illustration for the word “woeful.” The Toronto Maple Leafs, who last night lost for the 16th time in their last 20 games, were called “the worst team $1 billion can buy” in The Globe and Mail. The New Jersey Devils, from whom much was expected, seem to have fallen into a sinkhole from which they cannot extricate themselves.

The Flames, who this morning reside in the Western Conference basement, seem intent on joining those three teams. Calgary’s current situation is made all the more glum by the recent play of their bitter provincial rival, the despised Edmonton Oilers, who just completed a three-game sweep of Canada’s eastern teams (using a different goaltender in each victory) and whose infant players are showing the first signs of growth (which is the only conclusion you can come to when 18-year-old top draft choice Taylor Hall gets booed in Montreal).

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Canadiens blueliner P.K. Subban (left) did not endear himself to the Flyers on Tuesday night. (Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

Is Montreal rookie P.K. Subban too cocky? Flyers captain Mike Richards thinks so, but you have to wonder if he would be as critical of the brash defenseman, who is playing a leading role for the Canadiens, if Subban were wearing orange, black and white instead of bleu, blanc et rouge.

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