Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our daily look at the previous night's action. During the offseason, we'll look at some of the storylines and moves taking place around the league three times per week. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.
No Zubov For Columbus
On Sunday, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus-Dispatch reported on how Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson is prepared to enter the season with the team's current defensive lineup, and that despite a connection between free agent rearguard Sergei Zubov and current head coach Ken Hitchcock, the team has no interest in the veteran. Actually, he doesn't seem to have interest in anybody at this point. Even with Howson's desire to enter the season as is, the Blue Jackets could certainly use some punch from their defense.
While that's not terribly inaccurate, a subsequent signing by the Bruins shows that the deal wasn't about clearing cap space as much as it was about attempting to upgrade the position. Boston moved on from Ward quickly, signing Derek Morris to a one-year deal.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Atlantic Division.
It will be an interesting summer for the five teams in the Atlantic. Four teams made the playoffs, including the eventual Stanley Cup champion, and the one team that didn't make it -- the New York Islanders -- holds the first pick in Friday's draft, which isn't a bad consolation prize. All around it was a pretty successful season for these five teams.
Before the Rangers made a whole host of changes to their team in March -- the additions of Sean Avery, Derek Morris, Nik Antropov and a coaching switch -- they had a few problems; their high paid stars weren't producing, they played with no emotion many nights and they couldn't score at all, depending on Henrik Lundqvist to win games.
During last night's loss to the Capitals and in their other three losses during the series, the Rangers fell prey to these same faults. Blame coach John Tortorella's distractions and GM Glen Sather's letter all you want, but this was still the same that struggled mightily before the bandaids were applied.
If you were looking for a more unlikely hero to step and save the season for the Washington Capitals, you'd have a tough time finding a better choice than right winger Matt Bradley. A plugger with a lot of heart who commands respect inside the Washington locker room for his work ethic, Bradley has never scored more than nine goals in a full season and only had five all season long.
But that didn't matter earlier this evening. With his team down three games to one to the New York Rangers and the season on the brink, Bradley scored a pair of first period goals that were all Washington needed on its way to a 4-0 win over the Rangers to force a Game Six on Sunday back in New York.
It's not very often that I find myself on common ground with Mike Milbury. The fiery, often controversial announcer and former Islanders GM has a tendency to be outspoken -- and other times simply misquoted. Today, he wrote a blog for CBC praising Glen Sather and the Rangers for turning things around since the deadline. And I can do nothing else but wholeheartedly agree.
The Rangers were a soap opera without any identifiable characters for past few months. Their hot start in October was nothing but a faint memory as they slipped down the standings and were frustratingly futile on offense. No one in the locker room really seemed concerned to do anything about it. Not that they didn't care -- I'm sure they did -- it's just that they needed someone to light a fire under them.
Each Friday throughout the season, I'll provide you with my predictions on whose stock is on the rise and whose is failing miserably like the American job market pretty much everything these days. It's a neat little segment entitled Buys and Sells. There are a few teams/players/issues to buy and a few to sell.
This year's trade deadline features 22 trades that sent 45 players to new cities. There were only a handful of major ones, but those should still have an impact on their respective teams. Those deals can also drastically change the complexion of a the playoff races. Today, we'll examine if that will be the case for any of the teams currently in the hunt.
The New York Rangers have struggled offensively all season. That fact has been driven home of late, as the Rangers have scored more than two goals in only two of their last nine games. Today, they got some help on that front as GM Glen Sather made a serious deadline push to get his team into the playoffs.
The Rangers have acquired Nik Antropov from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for second round and conditional picks, both from this year's draft. In a separate trade, they also acquired Derek Morris from the Phoenix Coyotes for Dmitri Kalinin, Nigel Dawes and Petr Prucha.
Weeks of rumors, innuendo, and e5s will finally come to a head on Wednesday. At 3pm Eastern, the NHL trade deadline will pass. You can follow all the activity with our NHL Trade Deadline Tracker.
Entering play Tuesday night, 23 NHL teams are either in a playoff position or within six points of one. While this is great for the playoff races, it's not so good for the deadline. It minimizes the number of potential sellers, drives up the trade market for the few players who should be available, and leaves us wondering if any big deals will go down. Here's a look at how the Western Conference looks heading into the deadline.
The Phoenix Coyotes will be hosting the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night, and it's likely they'll be taking the ice without defenseman Derek Morris. According to Darren Dreger of TSN, Morris has reportedly given general manager Don Maloneya list of teams he would be willing to accept a trade to.
Dreger also reports that until a trade can be made, Morris will not play for the Coyotes in order to avoid an injury.
Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our daily look at the previous night's action. During the offseason, we'll look at some of the storylines and moves taking place around the league three times per week. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.
The Boston Bruins 
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Atlantic Division. 
Before the Rangers made a whole host of changes to their team in March -- the additions of 
If you were looking for a more unlikely hero to step and save the season for the Washington Capitals, you'd have a tough time finding a better choice than right winger 
It's not very often that I find myself on common ground with 
Each Friday throughout the season, I'll provide you with my predictions on whose stock is on the rise and whose is failing miserably like 
The New York Rangers have struggled offensively all season. That fact has been driven home of late, as the Rangers have scored more than two goals in only two of their last nine games. Today, they got some help on that front as GM 
Weeks of rumors, innuendo, and 
The Phoenix Coyotes will be hosting the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night, and it's likely they'll be taking the ice without defenseman 
