Matthew Krendell had a brief chat with LA Kings center Brian Boyle, whom the Kings had play defense while he was down in the AHL. Boyle thought it was a permanent move, but it seems the Kings just wanted to improve the defensive elements of his game. I know I say this a lot, but the future of the NHL lies in players being able to play as a forward or as a defenseman, almost like some teams use a forward on the point for a powerplay. It makes match-ups more challenging and it makes rosters more flexible, something that is handy when you're dealing with a cap. I doubt Kings coach Marc Crawford is actively moving to a positionally agnostic system, but if any NHL coach is going to, I would imagine it would be a run-and-gun coach much like him.
It's kind of funny to talk about forwards playing defense amid rumors amid rumors Sergei Fedorov might be coming home to Detroit. Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman famously occasionally used Fedorov on defense, both to give the blueline some offensive pop, as well as to punish Fedorov into being defensively responsible.
Bowman saw the future before we even knew what a salary cap was.

Mike Heika briefly addresses what I occasionally wonder about: How does the two-headed beast that is the Dallas Star GM-ship go about doing business? Not that there's really an answer. Heika reports that co-GM Brett Hull seems more interested in winning in the present, while co-GM Les Jackson is a little bit more interested in preserving the Stars' future.
Obviously, as the trade deadline moves closer, there's going to be a lot of rock-paper-scissor going on in Dallas.
Also, the Globe and Mail had a rather complicated piece on the NHL possibly returning to ESPN. It may or may not be impacted by NBC's decision to renew its NHL package. I don't know. It can't be good for the NHL to switch networks every few seasons. I'm not sure, but I think I might have watched Toronto-Buffalo on the Food Network. Is that possible?
(Thanks to Watchdog for the tip).
Also, how do you celebrate ending a four-game losing streak? If you're the St. Louis Blues, you announce you're raising your ticket prices. The Blues had a two-game winning streak between the end of January and the start of February. I bet they wish they had thought to make the announcement then.

I don't get the whole Brian Campbell/Sabres contract thing.
Now he's saying he expects to be a Sabre next season. This is after he said negotiations with the Sabres had ended. While it now seems some contract talk has been going on, it'll seem a little bit suspect if Campbell is traded and then re-signs with Buffalo. It's just a lot of exposition. Is Buffalo management trying to get everyone to forget Buffalo is not a lock for the playoffs? Is Campbell trying to bore the Sabres into a contract?
Also, with everything going wrong with the Rangers, it's kind of weird to see Larry Brooks suggesting the Rangers re-sign Sean Avery now because Avery seems a little down lately.
Maybe that's how Campbell should have played it with Buffalo. Maybe he should have just acted sad.

Florida Panther Richard Zednick, slashed in the neck by teammate Olli Jokinen Sunday night, is stable and expected to recover.
Zednick is expected to be out the rest of the season. Doctors said luck was the only reason Zednick didn't die. Mike Harrington also reports doctors said the injury was worse than the skate to the neck taken by Buffalo goalie Clint Malarchuk in 1989. Not surprisingly, Malarchuk attributed his survival to luck, also.
I'm always shocked (but glad!) this kind of thing doesn't happen more often.
There's a vivid account from someone who was at the game over on MetaFilter.
On a slightly less intense note, I saw the headline "Senators acquire Stillman and Commodore" and for some reason my head went immediately to New York Islander Mike Sillinger, who's been in nine trades and on 12 NHL teams in his 17 year career. The Times did a big piece on how he's happy to be settled on Long Island as an Islander. But don't worry. I was just confusing Sillinger and former Caniac Cory Stillman. This is why I'll never be an NHL GM. I tend to focus on the second through fourth letters of last names and then stop.

Tim Panaccio says the NHL needs more exciting goaltenders like Ron Hextall (login info.). Hextall likes Miikka Kiprusoff, Robert Luongo, Martin Biron, Antero Niittymaki, and Martin Brodeur, in terms of excitement. I'd throw Rick DiPietro into the mix. He once bumped Nikolai Khabibulin on his way to the locker room during an Islander playoff game against Tampa. It actually was pretty exciting. Maybe not Hextall exciting, but still exciting.
Speaking of exciting goalies, people in LA are a little freaked out about the return of Dan Cloutier, which is understandable. I think people in Vancouver still worry about him coming back.
Friday, the Times had a front-page story on the history of the face wash. You've got to love the paper when there's no football or baseball.
And Rob Blake going to the Ducks? Seriously. How are they not over the cap? Has anyone crunched the numbers? There's got to be something going on with the Ducks' books.