FanHouse Pekka Rinne

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 Central Division.

The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to build off a magical season. Columbus got its first taste of playoff hockey, while St. Louis returned to the playoffs after a far-too-long absence. Meanwhile, Nashville is trying to rebound after just missing the cut for the Western Conference playoffs.

If Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury and Carolina's Cam Ward can repeat their Game 1 performances, when the two youngsters matched each other save-for-save in the Penguins 3-2 win, this series likely won't be decided until a seventh game.

Ward, 25, and Fleury, 24, have already helped lead teams to the Stanley Cup Final, while Ward not only won the whole thing as a rookie in 2005-06, he also took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

So, are these two guys considered elite, franchise goaltenders?

The nominees for this year's NHL awards are starting to be announced, and on Wednesday we learned that Columbus' Steve Mason, Anaheim's Bobby Ryan and Chicago's Kris Versteeg were the top vote-getters for the Calder Trophy as the league's rookie of the year.

There's no surprises here, as it's been assumed for much of the season that Mason, Columbus' 20-year-old goalie, is a slam dunk winner. Despite his struggles in the playoffs (awards are voted on before the postseason begins, by the way) no goalie recorded more shutouts during the season (10) while he also finished second in the league with a 2.29 goals average and 12th with a .916 save percentage. He is, perhaps, the biggest reason Columbus made its first trip to the postseason in franchise history.

Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.

Hurricanes 4, Rangers 2: Carolina continued its winning ways with a 4-2 win over the Rangers on Thursday night, extending its current winning streak to seven games. Chad LaRose scored a pair of goals in the win, while Cam Ward stopped 36 shots, including 29 through the first two periods.

The defending champs claim the top spot in this week's power rankings, while the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes make jumps of their own as they look to earn playoff berths in their respective conferences.

There's also a new team taking over the basement, thanks to a pair of blowout losses on home ice in the past week.

Flames 5, Flyers 1: The Calgary Flames were the big winners during the NHL's trade deadline, picking up Olli Jokinen from the Phoenix Coyotes and Jordan Leopold from the Colorado Avalanche. It didn't take the two newcomers long to make an impact for the Flames, as they each scored in the first period of Calgary's 5-1 win in Philadelphia.

Jokinen scored a pair of goals in the first period, while Leopold added his seventh of the season to help the Flames race out to a 4-0 lead.

Kings 5, Capitals 4: Exciting game in Washington as the Caps and Kings combined to light up the scoreboard with nine goals and 80 shots in Los Angeles' 5-4 win. The Kings had a number of two-goal leads throughout the night, including a 5-3 advantage late in the third period. With just over a minute to play in regulation, Brooks Laich scored his 13th goal of the season, closing the deficit to just one.

Jonathan Quick managed to hold on for the Kings in net, as Washington fired 22 shots on goal in the third period, and 45 for the game. Alex Ovechkin scored his 37th goal of the season -- and 200th of his career -- for the Capitals.

Capitals 5, Devils 2: The Washington Capitals took advantage of their three power play chances on Tuesday night, converting on all of them on their way to a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Mike Green and Brooks Laich scored a pair of goals with the man advantage just three minutes apart in the first period, while Michael Nylander picked up his second goal of the game at the 10:59 mark of the third period.

Jose Theodore stopped 32-of-34 shots in net for Washington, including 16-of-17 in the third period. The loss for New Jersey snaps its eight game winning streak, despite receiving another goal another Jamie Langenbrunner, who has now picked up seven goals in his past four games.

Brendan Shanahan made his season debut for the New Jersey Devils on Monday night, and it didn't take him long to make an impact. At the 1:38 mark of the second period, the 39-year-old forward beat Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne from right on top of the crease, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead on their way to a 3-1 win over the Predators.

Shanahan registered nearly 14-minutes of ice-time, while firing six shots on goal. His tally came on the power play, which is where he should make his biggest impact for a New Jersey team that entered play on Monday ranked 15th in the league with the man advantage.

Scott Clemmensen stopped 31 shots to pick up the win for the Devils, while Brian Rolston recorded a pair of assists.

Fantastic game in San Jose between the top two teams in the Western Conference, as the Sharks and Red Wings entered Saturday's tilt separated by just one point in the standings. In a game that featured 11 goals and 75 shots on goal, San Jose emerged with a 6-5 win, extending its lead to three points for the top spot in the conference.

Patrick Marleau's goal with 6:36 to play in regulation proved to the be the game-winner, while Detroit goalie Chris Osgood surrendered six goals on 42 shots. Ryane Clowe picked up four assists for the Sharks, while Milan Michalek registered a goal and an assist in the win.