So the wheels have really come off in Philly, eh? They've lost nine in a row (login info.). What's going on with the Flyers? A lot of things. Injuries (Simon Gagne has shut it down for the season and I wonder if he'll ever full recover from his concussion; Joffrey Lupul, Steve Downie and Derian Hatcher are also out). No one seems to be scoring. And perhaps, most significantly, Daniel Briere has struggled after a strong start to the season. He's pointless in the past five games, and has just a goal and four assists for February. It's not all on Briere, but he's sure playing like it is.
Bob Ford seems pretty depressed about the whole thing, saying the Flyers need leadership from somebody. He's talking about players but I don't think it would be the worst thing in the world for coach John Stevens to step-up and get his team to focus.

Are the Sharks really interested in Marian Hossa? Interested enough to give up Patrick Marleau or Jonathan Cheechoo, plus prospects and/or picks? What with the Sharks out on the East coast, I've been watching more of them than I usually do, and you can't help but notice their wonderful down-low game. They almost always have a forward, usually Joe Thornton, behind the net, dishing the puck up into traffic. Would Hossa be willing to set up in the slot like that? Or wouldn't he rather be getting shots off of the rush? Hossa's a big guy, and he can definitely establish position wherever he needs to. But does he want to? It seems like a steep price for an experiment.
Also, Peter Forsberg announced he definitely might or might not announce his NHL return/retirement within the next 2-196 days. PuckUpdate, as always, is there first.

I've been heavy with Wings news this week. I'm not sure why. Actually, I think a lot of it is just being excited for Darren McCarthy's seemingly successfully mounting an NHL comeback. The guy just belongs in Detroit. It looks like the Wings will sign him in the next day or so.
Speaking of spectacular comebacks, how about the Rangers blowing a five-goal lead to the Habs and then losing in the shootout? What a great game, though. I know there were some penalties, but I don't recall a whistle over the last 30 minutes of the game.
Isles coach Ted Nolan impresses me more and more. He missed the first period of Monday's game comforting his son over the death of a teammate. Nolan was back for the rest of the game and told the press, "Sometimes, there's a lot more important things to worry about than a hockey game."
You read all of those stories about NFL coaches, and how they see their families like two weeks a year. One of the thing that makes the NHL special is guys like Ted Nolan, who want to win, but who also see the big picture.
Finally, the Blues are mad the NHL is considering forbidding teams from trading players and then re-signing them when the season is over. I touched on this yesterday, but just to clarify, I was thinking more about a situation like Geoff Sanderson, who was traded to the Cancucks from Columbus in March 2004, and then, once the Canucks were out of the playoffs, was placed on waivers by Vancouver and then claimed by the Blue Jackets. I think those sorts of shady agreements have a lot more downside and are nowhere near the spirit of trading rules. It's not a common thing, but something the NHL needs to watch.

I know the season isn't over, but I'm ready to weigh in with the least surprising announcement of the 2007-08 season: Peter Forsberg isn't coming back to the NHL this season. I'd be shocked if he ever returned to the NHL. I don't get the feeling his foot will ever be 100%.
Also, Chris Botta, the Islanders' vice president of media relations has a nice blog. Sunday, he had an interesting entry about how the NHL keeps saying media accessibility is the key to hockey reaching a wider audience. Botta points out there are few, if any, professional sports that provide more/better media accessibility, and it doesn't seem to be working.

I love how GMs very rarely see the big picture. They'll take a small edge today and give up something bigger for the future. I'm actually not even talking about the NHL. Look at what happened when the Nets tried to trade Jason Kidd to the Mavs and Maverick Jerry Stackhouse told everyone after the trade, the Nets would buy out his contract, after which he would then re-sign with the Mavs. How does working around the cap this way make things easier down the line? How does a GM think it's helpful to have every other GM making these kind of backroom deals with players? And it's not like NHL GMs don't pull this kind of stuff. Watch the trade deadline and then watch how many players return to the team that traded them once the season is over.
Obviously, now that the details of the Mavs/Nets trade have seen the light of day, it seems like they're going with a more conventional deal, but it just spotlights how shortsighted most GMs seem to be.
Meanwhile, the NHL is really in a nostalgia frame of mind. First, rumors Sergei Fedorov might return to Detroit. Now, just like the old days, rumors the Hurricanes are also interested in Fedorov. You might recall it was just about 10 years ago that Mike Karmanos, Hurricanes owner and sworn enemy of Detroit owner Mike Ilitch, signed Fedorov to an offer sheet that paid him $12 million for reaching the Stanley Cup finals, something Detroit was expected to do. Detroit bit the bullet and matched the offer, but it did make reaching the finals bittersweet for the Wings. It might have been cheaper to go out in an earlier round.
I'm guessing there's less money on the table this time, though.
Also, as the Red Wings continue to struggle (they've dropped six in a row), they've got to be keeping an eye on ex-Red Wing Darren McCarty, who had a hat trick in his AHL debut. I suspect McCarty will soon be a Red Wing, for the emotional boost as much as anything. I don't think anyone in banking on an NHL hat trick from him.
Also, a very sweet story out of Buffalo: The Zedniks were touched the way what seems like the entire city reached out to them during Richard's injury and recuperation. Richard is back in Florida now.
Finally, my fantasy column is up. A lot of people are injured.