Who knew goaltending was such an important position? Jonas Gustavsson earned his first NHL win with his second solid NHL start.

But credit Anaheim, too, for playing a very dull game. It’s almost like they wanted to give the Leafs their first win of the season.

Now, with the one win under their belt, it’s not like the Leafs are ready to take the NHL by storm. They’re still a weak team with a lot of issues. But with the one win completed, they should be in a position to earn a win more often than every nine games.

Turning to other struggling NHL teams, the Islanders continue a rather impressive streak of going to overtime, only to lose. While the Islanders aren’t in great shape, standings-wise, imagine how bad it would be without the charity point.

Finally, the Wild are 0-8 on the road to start this season. The good news is they’re undefeated at home, so there seems to be a decent chance the team can still finish at .500. It’s very strange how the team has been unable to put together a solid 60-minute game on the road.

Even with some teams like these obviously suffering in a big way, the NHL’s U.S. TV ratings are up, seemingly driven by the power of the game in HD.

I don’t think anyone should have to watch Toronto in HD, though. That seems inhumane to all parties involved.

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1. Isles and Leafs Place Offense Before Winning
2. Wild, Wild Win; Flyers Grounded
3. Isles Love Starting a Backup

The Islanders are still waiting for their first win of the season and are in a challenging situation. Coach Scott Gordon has some talented, but undeveloped forwards and uses a very aggressive, attacking style. So the team has been sacrificing just enough defense to put a win out of reach. Gordon could dial back the offense and play more of a defensive game, but then what is he teaching his young team?

Basically, the Islanders aren’t ready for Gordon yet. But Gordon is an interesting, talented coach, so I’m sure Islanders management, whoever that is, wants to keep him in the organization.

It’s almost like what’s going on in Toronto. There too, you have a coach who refuses to dial back the offense. Of course, over in Toronto, coach Ron Wilson doesn’t have to deal with young, undeveloped talent. His undeveloped talent is older. And Wilson’s goaltending situation is just absurdly bad. But, like Gordon, he refuses to retreat into a defensive posture.

I’m sure it’s frustrating for the fans, but at least it makes for much more interesting hockey.

Speaking of struggles, Simon Gagne is still waiting for his first goal of the season, and is trying not to let it drive him crazy.

And just so we’re not too negative today, how about Colorado not struggling, helped by strong goaltending for the first time since Patrick Roy was an Av. The Avs are riding the shocking emergence of goalie Craig Anderson. Of course, that raises the question of how long Anderson can play, because there’s no one behind him on the Avalanche goalie depth chart. But for now, the Avs are off to a strong start, and a strong enough NHL start can pretty much guarantee you a seat in the playoffs.

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1. Leafs End Suffering; Isles and Wild Continue Theirs
2. Penguins Detroy Isles
3. Vile Isles

This seems to be the new GM move: spending an excruciating amount of time, and to a certain extent, money, on guys who will play 10 to 15 minutes a night.

At least San Jose GM Doug Wilson has the excuse that he’s trying to rebuild his checking line. But then again, the Sharks are a team that scored 10 goals in six playoff games. Is checking really the priority here?

The Sharks aren’t alone in this. The New York Rangers signed Marian Gaborik in the off-season, but other than that, GM Glen Sather has spent most of the past two years tweaking the third and fourth line nearly constantly, even as scoring and offense all but evaporated from his team.

And if you look at much of Toronto’s off-season moves, you see a lot of third- and fourth-line work and not much top six help. Obviously, Phil Kessel will change that, but until that happens, Toronto GM Brian Burke has been acting mostly like he’s trying to fill an NBA backcourt or an NFL offensive line.

Part of the reasons GMs spend so much time on their bottom six forwards is that the cost is better. Top six forwards are expensive, either in terms of cap space or trade demands. So logistically, it’s just easier to land third-/fourth-line players.

But these players are also low-risk for GMs in terms of job security. It lets them make trades and obtain players without expectations. It’s roster movement for the sake of movement. If a trade results in an important player, it’s great. But if it doesn’t, which it usually doesn’t, no one was expecting much.

The best example of the throwaway third-liner-to-gold trade move is when Sather first brought in Sean Avery. Avery was supposed to be a third- or fourth-line energy guy, but for whatever reason, he thrived with the Rangers, making Sather look like a genius, and also making you forget the 20 other comparable moves Sather made that did nothing to improve the team.

And that’s another reason GMs might like these kinds of moves: It’s a form of gambling, or at least investing. They’re all hoping to find that cheap player that puts their team on a path to greatness; that diamond in the rough that no one else in the NHL recognized or knew how to use properly.

Of course, when you look at a team like the Devils, who seem to lack a true second-line center right now, you have to think it might be nice if GMs spent their time filling actual holes rather than conducting the NHL equivalent of daytrading.

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1. Leafs Roll Older-School Line; Blues Contemplating Schneider?
2. Rangers Finally Tipping a Hand
3. What Glen Sather Learned from Donnie Walsh

Obviously, a lot of the disinterest is posturing by GMs, but Heatley’s contract just doesn’t make sense, financially, in a lot of places. And when you consider players like Jay Bouwmeester and Marian Hossa and the Sedin twins are available as free agents, Heatley just doesn’t seem as attractive. And then, if you factor in the fact that he’s publicly demanding a trade, he becomes an expensive player that’s going to need to be handled, personality-wise.

Toronto’s Brian Burke agrees, publicly ripping Heatley for publicly demanding a trade.

Meanwhile, free agent goalie Jonas Gustavsson, who was never drafted by an NHL team and can sign anywhere he wants, is making the rounds, trying to decide where to go. He reportedly has his teams narrowed down to Colorado, Dallas, San Jose and Toronto, which makes me wonder if he understands how the NHL’s standings system works.

Does San Jose have the inside track? Possibly. Gustavsson’s agent co-founded a sports management business with Joe Thornton’s brother. San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov must be super psyched about that connection.

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1. McLellan Manages the Heck Out of Heatley
2. Heatley Not Going Anywhere
3. Heatley-Hossa. Oprah-Uma

The Blues beat Detroit, the Blues on the second half of a back-to-back and the Wings coming off of three days of rest.

The Blues are now in the playoffs. I don’t think anyone saw that coming a few weeks ago. The bottom of the Western Conference is crazy. It’s like a new team every day.

Speaking of the Wings, they’re close to locking down Johan Franzen longterm, which you have to believe means Marian Hossa will walk at the end of this season. Especially given that Detroit looks like it will be in the market for some new goaltending this summer. Unless Hossa takes another massive discount to stay in Detroit. There is a precedent in the American auto industry…

Am I the only one who’d be touched to see AHL-exiled Blues goalie Manny Legace make a triumphant NHL return as a Wing? Not that it would be any kind of upgrade for Detroit. But sometimes signings need to be more about bringing people together and less about success. And if Detroit brought Legace back, maybe he could change his name to Legacy. This could be a huge thing.

The Nashville Predators are one game out of the playoffs with a game in hand on the Blues. The Predators recalled the beloved Jed Ortmeyer for the push, giving Nashville grit, defense, and experience, but not much else. Jason Arnott could be back next week, but given how tight the playoff race is, and how soon the season is over, that could be too late to save Nashville’s season.

Speaking of saved seasons, or lack thereof, Toronto GM Brian Burke apologized for the team not making the playoffs. Of course, Burke’s next move as GM will be to bring in an army of thugs to skate for the Leafs. I almost feel like as Burke was saying ‘I’m sorry,’ in his head he was thinking, ‘I’m sorry we didn’t terrorize more people this season. Suckers.’

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2. Cujo’s Back! Again!
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For my money, no one was a better coach/performer than Pat Burns when he was with the Devils. The man started out the 2002-03 season demeaning the players, putting them through tough drills, and making their lives miserable. During the course of the season, Burns would ever so gradually take his foot off of his team’s neck, so that by the time the playoffs came around, the players loved him, simply because he stopped torturing them. The team hung on his every word and were ready to follow him anywhere, simply because he let up on them at just the right time in the season.

But some current coaches have a pretty good mind game. The Leafs Ron Wilson would have to be at the top of the list of current coaches. After Tuesday’s brutal loss to the Panthers, instead of coming down hard on the team, Wilson left them alone, choosing to talk about how he relaxes and his preferred TV shows, allowing his team to move forward from a bad loss.

But Wilson knows when to apply pressure, too, as he’s done when calling out goalie Vesa Toskala and as he did recently with Nik Antropov.

Wilson knows when to push and when to pull. It’s like watching Meryl Streep at work.

And some coaches know line construction is a good way to heal wounded psyches. Down in Tampa, coach Rick Tocchet has the underperforming Steve Stamkos playing with Steve Downie, who’s around the same age as Stamkos, and the grizzled veteran Gary Roberts. Stamkos has two assists in the past two games with Roberts and Downie, which is huge. And you have to believe the success is gong to give Stamkos confidence.

And when all else fails, a good coach knows when to be cryptic. Thrashers coach John Anderson was asked what his out-of-the-playoffs team is playing for:

Jobs…especially mine. I would think pride. We’re all getting paid. We owe it to the Atlanta fans to play as good as we can.

And then, moments later:

I’ve never worried about my job…because the only thing I can do is the best I can. I’m trying to do that right now.

So think about playing for your job without somehow worrying about it, or just play hockey without thinking and making your head hurt. I think we know what the Thrashers will choose.

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• The Flyers sold their Philadelphia-based AHL team and are looking for a new affiliate near Philly. Having an AHL affiliate across town is a tremendous advantage for a team. It makes call-ups much easier, but also makes scouting incredibly simple. The Phantoms played in the Spectrum, which is about to get knocked down.
• The Leafs have lost 13 of their last 20 and rumors persist goalie Vesa Toskala might be temporarily shut-down to allow his groin/hip soreness to heal and make Toskala tradeable. Goalie Justin Pogge, who’s lately been playing in front of a Toronto defense that already seems to be out on the links, has looked pretty good.
• David Pollak suspects that for the most part, the Sharks will stand pat at the trade deadline. I think it would be funny if they traded away Joe Thornton. We haven’t seen a good throwback trade in a while.

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1. Groin Talk
2. Who Can Stop the Flyers? Seriously. Help!
3. Too Hot for Maxim: Chicago Brings a Third Goalie Into the Mix

Hartsburg had a solid enough team, albeit one with one line and unspectacular goaltending. All he had to do was keep his top line going and he could have scratched out a playoff berth.

Ultimately, I think Hartsburg was too ambitious. He wanted to build more than one scoring line. I’m not sure he wanted to win, so much as he wanted to teach and build character.

And now, he’s looking for a new job.

Meanwhile, over in Toronto, Jason Blake is going to the net and starting to score. Blake is also doing well playing on the wing of gritty, down-low center Dominic Moore.

It’s an interesting study in coaching effectiveness. The Leafs Ron Wilson sat Blake and rode Blake and Blake responded. Hartsburg tried to do the same thing in Ottawa, especially with Jason Spezza, and it totally backfired.

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1. Turmoil in Ottawa? May Comes Early in Toronto
2. Toronto Heart Domi; Gilmour Retires
3. Leafs Roll Older-School Line; Blues Contemplating Schneider?

Maybe.

Le Journal de Montreal reported they’ll be replaced by Hockey Canada’s Bob Nicholson (as new GM) and Pat Quinn (as coach).

Eugene Melnyk, the owner of the Senators, says no decision has been made.

Quinn has got to be close to an NHL return. Any time a coach loses a game, there are rumors Quinn is going to come in as coach.

Meanwhile, in Toronto, the Leafs traded for Anaheim’s Brad May, reuniting May with current Leaf GM/former Duck GM Brian Burke. Thus, the overhaul of the Maple Leafs begins, with the team becoming tougher and bigger and meaner. Eventually, this will change the complexion of the Eastern Conference. For now, just make a note of where you were when May came over.

Today’s Chicago Tribune has a piece by radio personality Steve Dahl on what he wore to the Winter Classic. If you’re in a city expected to land the classic next year (New York? Boston?), you might want to save it. Or just remember to wear anything with the word Gore-Tex on it. Dahl has a great line, though: “Wrigley Field is like a 60-year-old stripper that’s had a lot of work done. She looks passable on the outside, but inside she’s a mess.”

To be honest, I’m not quite sure what it means, but I’ll probably start using it in day-to-day conversations later next week.

Finally, the current issue of ESPN the Magazine has a piece on Tampa’s Ryan Malone. Unfortunately, it’s not online. There are two interesting revelations in the piece, though:

1. The players’ culture is very flat. Guys don’t hang out together and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of energy in the room.
2. Malone went to GM Brian Lawton and offered to start a fight with a teammate in practice, hoping to get the team’s juices flowing. I assume Lawton denied the request but how did Malone even go there? How did he get to the place where beating a teammate seemed the cure for what’s ailing Tampa?

The more I hear about the Lightning, the weirder I think that organization is. Malone left Pittsburgh for another planet.

Related posts:

1. Ottawa Did Not Heart Hartsburg
2. Ottawa Names Murray as Coach
3. Ferguson Won’t Protect Quinn

According to Damien Cox, a lot of NHL GMs are nervous about the global economy and about future caps, and that might make them open to dumping a huge contract and some picks for the peace of mind of not having that huge contract on their books.

Of course, then the Leafs are capped out, so I’m not sure if this is an ideal situation for new GM Brian Burke.

Of course, the 2009-10 cap is confirmed to at least stay the same, so I can’t imagine any of the contracts being hypothetically dumped would be very good ones. They’ll probably be guys like Jason Blake.

Oh wait. Toronto already has his contract.

Obviously, cap space is always a great option, but I don’t see an NHL-wide doomsday scenario where teams around the NHL need to unload high-performing stars. I think it’s more likely teams will want to dump under-performing stars, but that’s always true.

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