It still amazes me as to how a player this good and this dominant, and at a position of such importance, could be traded -- twice! -- for such awful returns.
When discussing Zdeno Chara and Jason Spezza in my top 50, I made mention of how then-Islanders general manager Mike Milbury traded the future Norris Trophy winning defenseman, and the pick that was used on Spezza for Alexei Yashin, and how infamously bad it ended up being. Not even that was bad enough to make up for the sting that was his June 24, 2000 deal that sent Luongo -- and Olli Jokinen -- to the Florida Panthers for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha. Luongo, of course, blossomed into an elite goaltender for the Panthers, while Jokinen eventually developed into a consistent 30-goal scorer.
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 Pacific Division.
San Jose saw its Presidents' Trophy campaign come to a surprising end in the first round of the NHL playoffs, Los Angeles is still the perfect spot for Dany Heatley, and is there any hope for success on the ice in Phoenix?
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.
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.
As the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Jonathan Toews has always been blessed with exceptional talent. He's excelled on the ice during his first two years in Chicago, he's currently the youngest captain in the NHL, and now that he's getting an opportunity to shine in the playoff spotlight, he's certainly not disappointing.
Toews scored a pair of goals in the second period on Saturday night, as the Blackhawks erased an early deficit to pull out a 3-2 win in game 2 of their Western Conference quarterfinal. Chicago now has a 2-0 lead in the series as it heads to Calgary on Monday.
After the performance Martin Havlat put on in the third period and overtime of Chicago's 3-2 win on Thursday night, that seven-year playoff drought was almost worth it for long-suffering Blackhawks fans. After scoring the game-tying goal with just under eight minutes to play in regulation, Havlat buried the game-winner behind Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff just 12 seconds into the extra period, giving Chicago its first playoff win since April 18, 2002.
The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.
At one point, the Vancouver Canucks had lost nine straight home games, Mats Sundin was an overpaid flop, and the team was going to have trouble making the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames had won the Northwest Division before the deadline deals that brought them Jordan Leopold and Olli Jokinen. It's obvious now that we spoke way too soon, as the division has a new leader, and there appears to be no doubt Vancouver will be a dangerous team in the playoffs.
In this week's power rankings, the New Jersey Devils remain one of the hottest teams in the NHL, holding off the Detroit Red Wings for the top spot thanks to an historic week for goaltender Martin Brodeur.
Vancouver makes a big jump, while the Montreal Canadiens continue to fade at the absolute worst time of the season.
Flames 6, Red Wings 5: After the first period of Thursday's game, the Detroit Red Wings held a ridiculous, and somewhat dominating 28-4 edge over the Calgary Flames in the shot department, thanks in large part to a series of five-on-three power plays. Somehow, the Flames managed to keep themselves in the game and rally for a 6-5 shootout win, thanks to a three-goal performance late in the third period.
Trailing, 4-2, with less than four minutes to play in regulation, Calgary received goals from Jamie Lundmark (two) and Olli Jokinen to take a 5-4 lead. Just 38 seconds after Lundmark gave the Flames their first lead of the night, Detroit's Daniel Clearly picked up his 13th goal of the season, sending the game to overtime. Jokinen scored the game-winner in the shootout, helping Calgary snap its three-game losing streak.
The Calgary Flames had a huge trade deadline, acquiring forward Olli Jokinen from Phoenix and defenseman Jordan Leopold. The team has the look of a Stanley Cup contender, and they showed it with a 5-1 thrashing of Philadelphia in their first game after the move. In two losses since, they've been outscored 11-5. Sunday, they fell to Atlanta 5-2, and Leopold scored his second goal in his return to Calgary. Unfortunately for the Flames, Leopold put the puck past the wrong goaltender. Check out the video starting at around the 1:45 mark.
FanHouse's Adam Gretz takes a look at his top 50 players in the NHL. No. 6 is Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.
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 Pacific Division.
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. 
The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. 
In this week's power rankings, the New Jersey Devils remain one of the hottest teams in the NHL, holding off the Detroit Red Wings for the top spot thanks to an historic week for goaltender 
