The NHL Column: Trade Talk, Fight Code, Adams Candidates, UFAs

Every Monday, Christopher Botta takes a spin around the league with notes, observations and opinions. We call it The NHL Column.

The three-headed monster of league parity, the Olympic break and the salary cap are combining to eliminate much of the drama leading up to the March 3 NHL trade deadline. There could be a buyer/seller ratio of 28-2.

According to a FanHouse survey of 10 general managers and assistant GMs, only the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers have begun trade discussions with their counterparts for several roster players. On the bright side, between 25 and 28 of the league's 30 teams are likely to be playing meaningful playoff-chase games when the post-Olympics schedule resumes on March 1.

Carolina, last in the East and 15 points out of a playoff spot, is expected to listen to offers for Jussi Jokinen, Sergei Samsonov (pictured), Rod Brind'Amour and 2010 unrestricted free agents Matt Cullen, Joe Corvo (injured), Scott Walker and leading scorer Ray Whitney.

Edmonton, last and 16 points out of eighth place in the West, does not have any significant rentals to trade, but will consider cutting ties with skilled but regressing youngsters like Robert Nilsson and Andrew Cogliano. Scoring defenseman Sheldon Souray is also available, but a tough sell with two more years and $10 million left on his contract after this season.

By the way, wouldn't the drafting of a Canadian phenom like Taylor Hall make it all worthwhile for the Oilers to not try and win too much the rest of the way?

Heroes of the Week: The annual Flyers Wives Fight for Lives Carnival was held at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on Sunday. This year's event put the combined 32-year tally at more than $22 million raised for local children's charities. Every current Flyer and dozens of alumni participated, from the dunk tank to the Guitar Hero stations to the autograph and photo booths. It is a remarkable undertaking for which the Flyers family -- through good seasons and bad -- should be very proud.

"This is not an easy job. We're paid well, but nowhere close to scale with the rest of the league. ... There's a respect among the players who stand face-to-face, as opposed to the guys who hit from behind and hide."
-- Shawn Thornton on Mutual Respect Between Fighters Inside The Game: The Post-Fight Tap
A pair of hockey players drop the gloves, square off, try to pound each other and often draw blood and break bones. Then when the linesmen end the bout, the rivals often ... well, they pat each other on the backs or shoulders.

When did NHL enforcers becomes as sensitive as James Taylor? Dave Semenko never gave his opponents a love tap after a fight. The last thing on Dave "The Hammer" Schultz's mind was thanking the other guy for a good go.

"You've got to show respect," said 6-3, 245-pound Montreal left wing Georges Laraque. "That's how it's done."
I checked with many NHL pugilists and no one knew the origins of the post-scrum pat. There were, however, some sound reasons why the tap has entered the fighting game.

"This is not an easy job," said top Boston tough guy Shawn Thornton. "We're paid well, but nowhere close to scale with the rest of the league. Fighting still plays an important role in the game, so I think there's a brethren among most of us who do it. There's a respect among the players who stand face-to-face, as opposed to the guys who hit from behind and hide."

Said Islanders fourth-line middleweight Nate Thompson: "I think with all the bad hits that have become part of the game the last few years, the players who fight ... it's like everyone understands there's a job to do. Some of the guys I've fought in the NHL, we've gone at it in the minors and some even back to junior. As long as the fight is fair and no one throws a late punch or does anything cheap, I tap the guy on the shoulder. It's just a way of saying, 'Good fight.'"

AwardsWatch: The Jack Adams Trophy

1 (tie). Joe Sacco, Colorado: No coach has done more to help his team exceed expectations. In Colorado's case, they were mostly picked to come in 13th or worse in the West.

Dave Tippett, Phoenix: Tippett has merely led a franchise whose very existence remains in question to the middle of the playoff chase.

3. Jacques Lemaire, New Jersey: Maybe the Devils are always good. No one had them leading the East this season. You may not know the Devils have been without an Olympian defenseman and several other top players to injury during the season, because they never stop winning.

4. Lindy Ruff, Buffalo: The Sabres' success is not all about Ryan Miller. In re-tooling years and seasons of high expectations, Ruff consistently creates an atmosphere that brings the best out of his teams.

5. Joel Quenneville, Chicago: The Blackhawks may appear to be stocked, but don't hate Quenneville just because he has made the development of all that young talent look easy.

Filatov's Fall: The disgraceful performance of prospect Nikita Filatov at the World Junior Championships might have trashed his trade value for now, but the news is not all bad for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The super-skilled but attitude-challenged wing no longer can whine that only coach Ken Hitchcock doesn't like him.

Filatov took his sticks and went home to Russia, only to tick off his national team. The 19-year-old, when he's not petulantly challenging authority, is a smart kid with a good heart. He may continue to tear up the KHL, but next season the Blue Jackets -- if they don't deal him in the summer -- will welcome back a young man who has been humbled. Death notices of this prodigy's NHL career are entirely premature.

USA Keeps it Simple: U.S. Olympic Team assistant Scott Gordon says the coaching staff understands limited practice time means they can't crush their players with too much information on systems.

Referring to head coach Ron Wilson, the Islanders coach said, "One thing Ron did that was very effective when we were at the World Championships last year was emphasize a more basic approach. USA Hockey has learned from past Olympics that you can't cram too much teaching and game planning when we have one day of practice before the first game. I know Ron will talk to the players over the next few weeks about their expectations for our style of play. He'll use that information and have everyone ready to go."

Deep Thoughts: Understand this about the story of the Edmonton Oilers' alleged refusal to pay the entire $17,000 bill at a Calgary restaurant. If the Oilers were playing well instead of residing at the bottom of the Western Conference, no one would have been in such a rush to crack jokes and tarnish the players' reputations.

If you didn't have Tyler Myers at the top of your Calder chart three weeks ago -- as I did not -- there is no argument now. The 20-year-old defenseman continues to log 25 shut-down minutes a game, and he's already scoring more than most scouts forecasted. In a win over rival Toronto on Friday, the young Sabre had two goals, an assist and two blocked shots in 24:48 of icetime. Colorado's Matt Duchene is No. 2 with a bullet. 2009 first overall pick John Tavares has a goal and an assist in his last 14 games.

One player's availability could give the March 3 trade deadline the kick it needs: Scott Niedermayer. All the move needs is for Anaheim to fall out of the playoff picture, and for the Team Canada captain to give his blessing.

Under-the-Radar Potential UFAs, East: Toni Lydman, Buffalo; Andy Sutton, D, Islanders; Tomas Plekanec, C, Montreal; Shawn Thornton, LW, Boston; Anton Volchenkov, D, Ottawa; Antero Niittymaki, G, Tampa Bay; Matt Cooke, LW, Pittsburgh; Matt Stajan, C, Toronto.

Question: Do you want NHLers in the Olympics forevermore? Take a stand in the Comments space.

Hail to the Writers: Michael Russo, Minneapolis Star Tribune; Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston Globe

Today's Three Stars: 3. Joe Cirella 2. Al Secord 1. Richard Brodeur