Talent now on-sale

The word of the week is fire sale. Well actually, that's two words, but the point is the same. Mid-February is upon us, and teams are already dropping out of the playoff race like flies in a snowstorm. With many teams unable to afford to keep high payrolls in these lean years, many are trying to cut their losses by unloading high-priced talent before the end of the season.

Starting the sell-off was last year's Stanley Cup finalists Carolina Hurricanes, who traded winger Sami Kapanen and minor league defenseman Ryan Bast to the Philadelphia Flyers for winger Pavel Brendl and minor league defenseman Bruno St. Jacques. Philadelphia was tired of waiting for Brendl to develop and Carolina has already stated that they are no longer looking to win this year.

The Hurricanes have also put goalie Artus Irbe on waivers to see if they can ditch his first-string goalie salary, now that he has been pushed out by former backup Kevin Weekes. Do not expect Carolina to stop there, as General Manager Jim Rutherford said that the team is "starting to plan for next year" and is looking to change the team's entire makeup before the start of the next season.

Another team that has fallen from its high expectations at the beginning of the season is the San Jose Sharks, who are actively shopping team captain Owen Nolan. Nolan has improved his play since the trade rumors started flying a few weeks ago, but the Sharks are still looking to deal him. San Jose has said that it needs to start winning 80 percent of its games if it wants to get back in the playoff hunt.

Another recently successful team that has underachieved is the Los Angeles Kings, who are now without starting goaltender Felix Potvin for six weeks with an ankle injury. LA had a chance to come back in the second half of the season before Potvin went down, but now the team has said that it will start moving players to lower its payroll.

The Kings have a lot of players to move, too. Potvin, center Bryan Smolinski, defenseman Aaron Miller, defenseman Dmitry Yushkevich and winger Craig Johnson are all unrestricted free agents this summer. But the first player to be moved will probably be winger Ziggy Palffy, who has an option on his contract for another year at $7.5 million.

One team that will not be looking to sell its more expensive talent is the New York Rangers. In fact, it is adding talent. The Rangers traded for Pittsburgh Penguins' forward Alexi Kovalev yesterday in an eight player deal. Not only will this trade not improve the New York Ranger's defense, it will also not get them into the playoffs.

Despite General Manager Glenn Sather stepping behind the bench to take over coaching responsibilities, the team has racked up nothing more than a couple of ties, bad penalties, and still cannot play defense. I guess after promising the Ranger fans a playoff spot next week, the organization is still hoping the $70 million payroll will come together to win a few games.

The Kovalev trade was a classic salary dump for the Penguins, who got rid of a restricted free agent who was looking for $8 million a year after this season. The players they got in return will likely never be more than fringe players. But at least they got $4 million in cold, hard cash with the trade, which may help them stay afloat a little longer financially. The question is who else is on the block as the Penguins follow the classic strategy of dumping salary during a losing season.

On the other side of the ledger, teams that are faring a little better are looking for some added pieces before the playoffs. The Anaheim Mighty Ducks have started already by picking up defenseman Sandis Ozolnish last week. Vancouver Canucks owner John McCaw has given the green light for GM Brian Burke to start looking for more higher-price talent. The New York Islanders and the Toronto Maple Leafs are both looking for something to add to their rosters. And never count out the Colorado Avalanche, who have never fail to make a big trade in early March to bolster their playoff roster.

Expect to see some busy trading between the winners and losers over the next month before the March trade deadline approaches.



Now who's the best?

For the last couple of years, ever since he beat Terry Sawchuk's record for the most career wins by a goalie, Colorado Avalanche Patrick Roy was referred to as the best goalie to ever play the game. But last night, Martin Brodeur collected his eighth straight 30-win season, the first time ever that has ever been accomplished. Brodeur has an Olympic gold medal, something Roy never got, and is seven years younger at 30. Maybe Roy should enjoy his status while it lasts.