FanHouse MIke Keenan

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 Northwest Division.

It appears we are setting up for an offseason of significant change in the Northwest Division. Only the Vancouver Canucks will have the same coach as last year, and there could be some real upheaval in terms of personnel. Not only that, but two teams (Minnesota and Colorado) have changed general managers.

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There have been a lot of shocking developments over the years in sports. Tuesday's announcement in Calgary was not one of them.

Ever since Brent Sutter stepped down as head coach of the New Jersey Devils, speculation has had him taking over as head coach of the Flames, being that his older brother Darryl is the general manager there. Tuesday, it was all made official, as Brent Sutter was named to take over for the fired Mike Keenan.

After stepping down as head coach of the New Jersey Devils two weeks ago, rumors instantly started to fly about Brent Sutter taking over behind the bench of the Calgary Flames. After all, Brent's brother, Darryl, is currently the general manager in Calgary, while the team recently had its head coaching spot become available after Mike Keenan was fired following the Flames' opening round loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

According to TSN, the Sutter family reunion is close to happening, as reports are indicating Brent is nearing an agreement to take over as the Flames' bench boss.

On the same day his team's main rival in Alberta named two familiar and formidable names to their coaching staff, the Calgary Flames may have taken a step toward filling their opening.

Last week, Mike Keenan was axed after two years, with general manager Darryl Sutter saying that the team wanted to move in a different direction as they try to bring Calgary a Stanley Cup. That direction might be backward, as Sutter is sending overtures that he wants his old job back.

After loading up at the NHL's trade deadline with Olli Jokinen and Jordan Leopold, the Calgary Flames went from run-of-the-mill playoff team to a legitimate contender in the Western Conference. Or so we thought. After being knocked out of the first round in six games against the upstart Chicago Blackhawks, the Flames have decided to part ways with head coach Mike Keenan after just two years on the job.

The Calgary Flames face elimination Monday night at home. They'll play the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.

When they take to the ice, they hope to have star defenseman Dion Phaneuf available to play. Phaneuf left Game 5 after his head clonked that of Blackhawk Troy Brouwer. His status became cloudier when he was nowhere to be found for practice Sunday.

The math says a team that leads an NHL playoff series 3-2 goes on to win the series 80% of the time. With Chicago and Calgary tied at two wins apiece heading into Saturday's fifth game, a lot was obviously on the line.

While the Blackhawks easily won the game 5-1, it was not the big story of the night. That would end up being the obvious tension between Flames head coach Mike Keenan and the starting goalie he pulled in the second period, Miikka Kiprusoff.

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On Monday night, the Calgary Flames defeated the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time this season, cutting the deficit in their Western Conference Quarterfinal in half. Late in the third period -- with 13 seconds remaining, to be exact -- Chicago's Adam Burish decided to break his stick in half across Rene Bourque's face.

So much for the preliminaries. The 2008-09 NHL regular season is now history -- and, as I've written before, not a moment too soon. Beginning Wednesday night at 7:00 PM ET in Washington and Pittsburgh, the only hockey that really matters will finally take center stage: the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

To get an idea of what life is really like for a hockey fan this time of year, think of it this way: imagine the Sweet 16 of March Madness were all best-of-seven. It's the very simple reason why folks like us are completely giddy from now until sometime in June.

If your significant other is a fan of the NHL, Monday and Tuesday might very well represent the only real chance you'll have to say hello -- or, given the state of the relationship, goodbye -- for the balance of the next two months. It's a chance you shouldn't miss.

With that, I'd like to share a few thoughts on each of the eight playoff series that make up the first round. Safe to say, at first glance, it looks like the most compelling tournament in many years.

Matthew Barnaby spent his entire NHL career getting under the skin of every player and coach in the league. He was a pest, an agitator and a troublemaker that nobody enjoyed playing against. Basically, he was the Sean Avery of his time, only far more entertaining on the ice (and without the incredible sense of style and fashion off of it).

Even in retirement, Barnaby appears to have found a way to get on the nerves of those in the league, as Calgary Flames head coach Mike Keenan took exception to Barnaby's reporting on TSN prior to Wednesday's trade deadline.