Everyone is looking at Atlanta, wondering where they’re going to trade Ilya Kovalchuk.

But don’t forget to keep an eye on New Jersey, a team that also might be active before the trade deadline.

Not so much for Kovalchuk, but for a goal-scoring center who can help out on the powerplay.

I don’t think Kovalchuk is enough of a consistent two-way player for the Devils to be interested. Plus, he would be way too flashy of an acquisition for New Jersey. And of course, he’s not a center.

But Matt Cullen from Carolina? He could be a good fit. He’s a play-making center more than a pure goal-scorer. But he does have 11 goals on the season. That would put him in sixth place in goals on the Devils.

Cullen is also an experienced powerplay point man. He’s got just one goal this season, but he still seems to have his big shot.

I’ve also heard vague rumblings about Mike Modano coming to the Devils as a rental. I doubt he would leave Dallas, but one variable is the Stars’ GM: Joe Nieuwendyk.

Nieuwendyk won a Cup with the Devils acting as a key center. He took all of the important faceoffs and kept everyone honest in the defensive zone. It was a very specific role, but one he seemed to enjoy. Is he possibly selling Modano on that same kind of role, plus the chance to win another Cup?

Modano could be interested if the Dallas playoff picture gets irreparably bad before the trade deadline.

I love how Adrian Dater’s pet issue is tracking attendance at Avalanche games.

Yesterday he posted some ideas on how to improve attendance.

It’s interesting stuff: brighter lights around the arena; classic rock music, rather than metal; and a high definition JumboTron screen.

Dater also talked to some players about the low attendance this season, with one player calling it “disappointing.

Dater’s suggestions are good, but the easiest way to improve attendance is to lower ticket prices. There are tons of hockey fans in Colorado. You don’t have to sell them the game. You just need to sell them the ticket. It makes attendance a much less complex issue, compared to markets where you have to get people into the game before you can even begin to get them to consider buying a ticket.

The Rangers completed their trade for Olli Jokinen this morning, giving up the underperforming Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik for Calgary’s Jokinen and Brandon Prust.

Kotalik was strange for the Rangers. Brought in as a powerplay specialist, he became such a defensive liability, he found himself a consistent scratch, despite a booming shot. Also, presumably brought in because of his success on a line with Chris Drury in Buffalo, the two didn’t spend much time playing together.

So the Rangers unload a healthy scratch who takes up $3 million over three years.

Higgins also underperformed. Rangers coach John Tortorella went above and beyond in trying to get him going, giving him plenty of ice time and chances, but Higgins has seemed snake-bitten, hitting posts and missing open nets. The Long Island native might have been under too much pressure playing for the Rangers. A change of scenery to Calgary will do him wonders.

The Flames unload Jokinen, whose reputation as a horrible teammate proceeds him. The Flames knew they weren’t going to re-sign him, so they figured they’d get something now. It’s just weird that the something they wanted would be two players not living up to their potential.

Prust is an enforcer who might let the Rangers buyout the struggling Donald Brashear, who lately only seems to be enforcing the Rangers contractual obligation to pay him more than he’s worth. Also, Rangers GM Glen Sather likes to have as many third/fourth liners as he can.

It’ll be interesting to see where the Rangers place Jokinen. My guess is he won’t play with Marian Gaborik most of the time, in an attempt to give the Rangers the illusion of depth and scoring.

So the Rangers dump some dead weight and get back a difficult personality they won’t have to deal with for long. The Flames dump that same personality and get back some players the seem to think they can get going.

It’s a lot of bad pieces moving around, but at least the bad pieces are evenly spread.

I’ve been shocked by the struggles of the Calgary Flames, both because they seemed like a solid enough team and because coach Brent Sutter did a fantastic job in New Jersey last year.

But lately, I’m wondering if he really did as good a job as we think.

A large part of the Flames struggles has been an inability to clamp down on opponents. You saw it last night, where the Flames blew a two-goal lead to the Stars.

Last season in New Jersey, Sutter introduced an uptempo, offensive system to the previously defensive Devils. It worked well for the Devils, and they transitioned relatively well, although some players, at the time, seemed upset Sutter wasn’t doing things like line-matching and consistently using a checking line.

But now I’m wondering if defensive hockey wasn’t so ingrained in the culture of the Devils, that it was hiding some of Sutter’s coaching flaws. Was his system too high-risk, with not enough reward? Does he not spend enough time coaching defense? And did the Devils compensate for these failings on their own? Did they self-coach around Sutter?

The funny thing is, Sutter dumped the Devils, where things were going really well, to join the Flames. And now, things are a mess.

Maybe Sutter is going to Jarome Iginla too frequently, instead of using a more balanced attack.

Maybe the team is having trouble picking up a new system.

Or maybe Sutter just takes it for granted that teams will play defensively without being explicitly told to do so. Maybe he’s assuming the Flames are just like the Devils.

Obviously, that assumption doesn’t seem to be panning out.

I have to say, and say completely without sarcasm, that I think Tampa does a nice job with their young players.

Victor Hedman was starting to look a little overwhelmed and outmatched on the ice. Coach Rick Tocchet could have yelled at him or coddled him or told him to figure it out. But instead, he benched Hedman for a game and Hedman found the experience helpful.

Hedman noted being in the press box gave him a different perspective on the game. Literally. Because you can see more from above the ice than on it.

Tocchet also sat Steve Stamkos a few times last season, which seemed to give him some perspective on the game.

In general, I think more NHLers could probably use a night off from time to time. I know the last thing a player wants is to be benched, but sometimes even a night away from the ice can make a huge difference in how a player approaches the game. You see the benefits in baseball, where players tend to get more days off due to the grueling MLB schedule.

Sometimes players learn more about the game, and their game, when they’re not actually playing.

Tocchet should consider starting a foundation to remove the stigma of benchings. It doesn’t have to be a punishment. Maybe instead of saying a player is a healthy scratch, we can start saying he’s a mental health scratch. Or maybe just say a scratched player is on a special vacation.

It’s all in how you spin it.

Yikes! I’m not sure Kings GM Dean Lombardi got the memo not to upset your up-and-coming franchise defenseman.

Lombardi made some comments about Jack Johnson’s play in Michigan, where Johnson played college hockey. Lombardi also made comments about the quality of the Michigan program.

Did I mention they were negative comments?

Now, Johnson is pretty upset by the comments.

Lobardi says he was quoted accurately so I’m not sure what he was thinking. Obviously, Lombardi is entitled to his opinions, but why alienate a player who’s such an important part of your team’s future?

By the way, the interviews, which are really good, are available at Frozen Royalty.

I especially love how Lombardi talks about how much trouble Johnson had with criticism and then proceeds to criticize him.

I doubt Lombardi’s interview will do irreparable damage to his relationship with Johnson, but why complicate things with an important young player? It just seems like a huge waste of time and energy.

Also, check out this trailer for HOCKEY TOWNS, a TV pilot looking for a network. One of the producers describes it as MAN VS. FOOD for hockey.

As one of many hockey bloggers who is also a die-hard Food Network fan, I think there might be a market for this kind of show.

Finally, my column on how the Rangers have lost their balance.

Again.

So has Pat Quinn given up on coaching the Oilers?

Or is he worried about his job?

He’s kind of giving mixed messages.

First, after a 6-0 loss to the Avs, Quinn announce, “You get hit so many times with a right, you’re begging for a left…That’s the reason to draw the line in the sand, again, for ourselves.”

That sounds pretty bad. Right away, your first thought is, ‘Quinn needs to be relieved of his duties. This is just too much to ask of him.’ And then, maybe your second thought is, ‘Maybe the Oilers need to give assistant coach Tom Renney the keys. His defensive systems are perfect for a team that seems completely devoid of talent.’

So a plan seems to be forming, but then Quinn jumps in with “We cannot become a good team just by practicing hard. Just by learning a system. We have to learn about ourselves and those intangibles it takes to play well at this level.”

And the fact that Quinn is talking down system-oriented play seems like a plea to keep his job and not give it to Renney, who is all about the system.

The Oilers have one win in their last 16. There’s a lack of depth that’s been exposed by injuries. Goaltending has been an issue. And let’s be honest: even at 100%, this Oilers team wasn’t going to set the league on fire.

And I get that Quinn is frustrated, but as the team coach, he needs to do something. He needs to make his team feel like he’s at least trying to turn things around. Because this is the kind of slump that doesn’t just go away on its own. The Oilers are bad, but they’re not this bad.

It seems like Quinn needs to decide if he wants to try and help his team get through the season with a tiny bit of dignity, or if he wants to let coaching become someone else’s problem.

But he can’t lobby to hold onto his job while also dropping hints he’s out of coaching options. That’s just confusing to everyone.

Mrs. PuckUpdate and I love to joke about announcers who warn against the dreaded two-goal lead, what a lot of them call ‘the most dangerous lead to have.’

A lot of times, a team will go up two goals and the announcer will talk about how it’s actually a risky lead to have, since a team will protect a one-goal lead, but could get cocky with a two-goal one.

It seems pretty nonsensical; the type of thing a color guy probably brings up to keep the game interesting.

Having said that, San Jose’s 9-1 blowout of the Flames might not be the best thing for the Sharks.

The Sharks, as we all know, don’t have the best playoff record. To succeed in the playoffs, a team needs to know how to play under duress. With just 10 regulation losses so far this year, they haven’t been in that situation very often.

If the Sharks continue to relatively effortlessly roll through games in the playoffs, as they have during this regular season, it’s not an issue. Scoring nine goals in a playoff game should be enough to get them a win.

But if they’re getting played tighter and thinking a nine-goal explosion is just a shift away, that might cause some playoff problems.

So yeah. An eight-goal victory margin is cool and it’s great that the Sharks got their secondary scoring going, but if I’m coach Todd McLellan, I want my team humble yet confident. Huge wins like this make me think the Sharks are just getting set-up for another big flop out of the playoffs.

San Jose could use a nice bit of adversity to toughen them up for the playoffs. I don’t think they’ve had to fight through any yet this season.

Speaking of the playoffs, it’s been a while for the Panthers. Their last playoff appearance was 2000.

If Florida does finally make it in this year, that’ll be a good example of a team that won’t be overconfident in their approach to the post-season.

Question: Can the Ducks and Kings both be good teams at the same time? Can they both be bad teams? Or, my theory here, do they feed off of each other, with the success of one causing the demise of the other, a veritable Western Conference yin and yang?

The Kings recent swoon has coincided with a Ducks hot streak.

But last night belonged to the Kings, who shut-out Anaheim 4-0.

As Helene Elliott points out, the Ducks have always been a second-half team. It’s going to be tough going for Anaheim (and Team Finland), as the Ducks keep accumulating injuries. Teemu Selanne will be out two to six weeks while his jaw heals. Saku Koivu left last night’s loss with a lower-body injury. If I’m Kimmo Timonen, I’m going to wear a mattress out on the ice for the next few days, just to make sure someone can compete for Finland.

It will be interesting to see if the Kings feed off of the Ducks pain and solidify their playoff spot. Or, if my theory is disproved, and both teams finish out of the playoffs.

Speaking of the Olympics, here is my theory on why Chris Drury will actually be huge for Team USA. Hint: It has to do with his being under no pressure since he’s the worst player on the team.

Finally, the worst hockey movies of all time. I actually love MYSTERY, ALASKA and I’m not sure how THE CUTTING EDGE isn’t here, but the rest of these are suitably bad, as promised.

The Ducks have basically said Scott Niedermayer can play in Anaheim as long as he wants, even until the end of time.

Niedermayer isn’t quite so sure he wants to play forever.

I know what you’re thinking. This is the NHL equivalent of TWILIGHT. And you’re right. It is. Except there’s probably more sexual tension in NHL contract negotiations than in TWILIGHT.

But it got me thinking about Niedermayer’s numbers. I took a look and they’re shockingly consistent. It really is almost like the guy isn’t aging. The only potentially alarming thing is he’s a -23 over the past three seasons, but that includes his current -13, which is more a reflection of the Ducks recent struggles than his ability.

But other than that, he’s pretty much been a 50-point defenseman the past six seasons, and before that he was usually good for around 40 points a year.

So yeah. I can see why Niedermayer has the green light to play until he’s a senior citizen.

Teemu Selanne had that kind of consistency and durability, too, but this season has been pretty brutal. He just got back from missing 17 games with a hand injury and then, last night, he broke his jaw on a deflected shot. The Ducks aren’t sure when he’ll be back. It could be a few days or a few weeks. And the Olympics could still be off the table for him.

Unless Niedermayer bites him, that is.