Jan. 9: Building with the right blocks
Ah yes, what might have been.

Calgary Flames fans will see a little of what might have been when the Ottawa Senators arrive for an inter-conference tilt on Thursday night.

In this case, for the Flames, what might have been is Marian Hossa. You see, the Senators selected Hossa with the 12th overall pick in 1997. Or, six picks after the Flames wasted their top pick (sixth overall) on center Daniel Tkachuk, who's no longer playing for an NHL or AHL paycheck.

Those kind of draft day decisions are why the Senators stand near the top of the league and the Flames haven't qualified for the playoffs since 1996.

The Sens, financial woes aside, have done an excellent job at the draft table. They had 12 original draft picks in their 20-man lineup for Wednesday's entertaining 6-4 loss in Vancouver.

The Senators, who chose center Radek Bonk, defenseman Chris Phillips, left wing Martin Havlat, defenseman Anton Volchenkov and Hossa with first-round picks, also have done a nice job pulling some gems out of the later rounds.

Captain Daniel Alfredsson, for instance, was selected with 133rd overall pick in 1994. Center Mike Fisher was a second round pick in 1998, while forwards Magnus Arvedson ('97), Petr Schastlivy ('98) and Chris Neil ('98) were middle-round selections.

Ottawa's amateur scouts even found an NHL defenseman -- Karel Rachunek -- in the final round of the '97 draft (229th overall). A year earlier, they drafted defenseman Sami Salo, now with the Canucks, with the 239th selection.

Amazingly, the Senators draft success has continued under four general managers. Randy Sexton, Pierre Gauthier, Rick Dudley and Marshall Johnston have headed up the draft table since 1994. GM No. 5, John Muckler, will lead the Senators scouts this June.

While the Senators have been helping themselves in the draft, the Flames have been stuck in neutral. In the '90s, ex-GMs Doug Risebrough (now doing a much better job in Minnesota) and Al Coates had many more misses than hits.

On Tuesday, during their 4-2 win in Denver, the Flames had just five of their draft picks in their lineup.

There are, however, some signs that the club's draft luck might be changing under Craig Button, who spent several years as a scout in the Stars organization.

At the recently completed World Junior Championships, Flames' prospects -- forwards Andrei Taratukhin, Tomi Maki, Yuri Trubachev, Eric Nystrom and Brian McConnell, and goalie Andrei Medvedev -- were significant players on their respective teams. That list doesn't include 2001 top pick Chuck Kobesew, currently skating for the club's AHL affiliate in St. John, New Brunswick.

The playoff-starved Flames fans are hoping these kids can help push their club back toward the top. Until then, they'll have to settle for watching visiting young stars like Marian Hossa and wonder what might have been.

Congrats
On Wednesday, Rangers center Jamie Lundmark scored his first NHL goal during the club's 5-1 win over the Hurricanes.

Also, Blackhawks goalie Michael Leighton registered a 31-save shutout in his first NHL game, but didn't get the win. At the other end of the ice, Coyotes stopper Zac Bierk turned back all 40 Hawks shots as the clubs skated to the first 0-0 tie this season. It was the Coyotes first scoreless tie since the club relocated to Phoenix in 1996.

Jan 8: The view from King's throne
On Wednesday night, when Columbus visits expansion brother Minnesota, interim coach/GM Doug MacLean will carry the weight of an unusual streak with him when he steps behind the bench.

So far, each of the four teams that have fired their head coach this season have won their next game. And, if an interim coach preceded the new benchmeister -- which happened in San Jose and Calgary -- the new guy also won his first game. If your keeping score at home, interim and new head coaches have a perfect 6-0-0-0 record in 2002-03.

So MacLean, who fired Dave King on Tuesday, doesn't want to drop the ball in his first game.

I mean, heck, even Atlanta interim head coach/GM Don Waddell was able to guide his defenseless Thrashers to a victory in the first game of the post-Curt Fraser era. Of course, the Thrashers are just 1-4-1 since that first-game magic and Waddell is currently interviewing prospective miracle workers.

After MacLean dropped the axe on King, he pointed to the club's dreadful performance in a 5-1 home ice loss to the struggling Predators on Monday. MacLean, who will handle the coaching duties for the remainder of the season, added that he was frustrated by the inconsistencies.

In the end, though, MacLean got tired of watching from the press box. A former coach -- and one who has a much more aggressive style than King -- MacLean got the itch to get back behind the bench. So, he scratched it.

Now, MacLean will find out what King already knew; the Blue Jackets aren't very good.

MacLean didn't help King's cause by dealing veteran goalie Ron Tugnutt (and the remainder of his contract) to the Stars in the offseason. That left young stopper Marc Denis as the club's only experienced goaltender. As a result, Denis has played in 39 of the club's 41 games. He has compiled some impressive stats (.911 save percentage), but he hasn't received any help. You wonder if Denis, who has never played more than 42 games in his previous three full NHL seasons, can handle such a workload.

MacLean also increased his payroll to $28.2 million by signing veteran free agents Andrew Cassels, Scott Lachance and Luke Richardson during the summer. In MacLean's (and ownership's) mind, these vets represented a much improved club. In reality, they were just slight upgrade for a team that managed a league-low 164 goals last season, while surrendering 255 (only the Rangers and Thrashers gave up more).

All things considered, King seemed to be getting just about all he could out of his limited roster. Firing him won't change the club's current fortunes in the Western Conference.

On Wednesday, against the Wild, MacLean will have recent history on his side. After that, though, he'll be on his own. Just like Dave King, who never really had a chance with the talent his old boss gave him.

Big shot
Quickie quiz: Who is the top goal-scoring defenseman in the league this season?

Al MacInnis? Nicklas Lidstrom? Rob Blake?

No, no and no.

It's Andy Delmore of the Predators. The former Flyer with the hard shot scored his 12th and 13th goals of the season to boost the Preds to a 2-1 OT win over the Blues on Tuesday.

Delmore does most of his work on the power play. Twelve of his 13 goals have come with the extra man. He netted a personal-best 16 goals for the Preds last year. At his current pace, he'll tally 26 by season's end.

The first rookie defenseman to record a hat trick in a playoff game (on May 7, 2000), Delmore could be a valuable pickup for a Cup contender that's looking to upgrade its power play. Interested parties should contact Preds GM David Poile, A.S.A.P.

Jan. 7: Peca: A powerful presence
Michael Peca isn't the biggest or the fastest or the most skilled guy roaming around NHL rinks. In fact, when you see him away from the rink -- without his trademark five o'clock shadow -- you'd think he was a young businessman or college student.

Still, Peca is a every bit a special hockey player. He's an impact player. He's about little things and intangibles and hard work.

With Mark Messier past his prime and Steve Yzerman on the shelf, Peca is the best captain/leader in the game. Like Messier and Yzerman, Peca doesn't have to utter a single word to get his team going in the right direction.

Since his return from offseason knee and shoulder surgery, Peca has been able to point his once-struggling team back in the right direction. The Islanders are 12-6-4-1 since their captain's full-time return on Nov. 14. (He came back for a 27-second cameo appearance against the Blues on Nov. 2.)

And, quietly, the Isles are climbing out of their early-season hole and back into the playoff chase in the wide open Eastern Conference.

On Tuesday night, at the Nassau Coliseum, Peca's team can take another step up the postseason ladder when they complete a home-and-home series with the Penguins. Mario Lemieux's team, which scored a 3-2 overtime victory over the Isles at the Igloo on Saturday, stands two point ahead of New York in the Atlantic Division.

The key matchup in Tuesday's tilt will be the Pens' league-leading power-play against the Islanders' red-hot penalty-killing unit. Pittsburgh, which got a boost from the recent return of power play quarterback Dick Tarnstrom, has scored 49 power play goals in 183 chances (26.8 percent success rate).

The Isles, meanwhile, have successfully killed 25 straight penalties and 59 of the last 60. Not surprisingly, their renewed penalty-killing success has coincided with Peca's return. Since he's been back in the lineup on a full-time basis, the Isles have killed 99-of-107 power play chances.

Chris Osgood's puckstopping revival and assistant coach Greg Cronin's aggressive schemes also have played a big role in the club's recent penalty-killing success. But, it's no surprise that a unit so dependent on hard work and intensity would improve when Peca returned.

Working overtime
Are the Oilers getting paid by the hour? Maybe they should be. Eight of their last 12 games have gone to overtime, including Monday's 5-5 tie in San Jose.

The Oilers, who lost center Mike Comrie with a broken thumb during the penalty-filled contest, blew a three-goal lead en route to the tie.

On Saturday, on home ice against the Canadiens, the Oilers coughed up another three-goal cushion. In that case, they came back to get a 5-4 OT win.

The struggling Oilers are just 2-4-1-4 in their last 11 games. They haven't posted a regulation-time win since stopping the Hurricanes, 4-1, on Dec. 11.

Jan. 6: Russia does it the old-fashioned way
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- For the second straight year, Russia finished one goal better than Canada in the gold medal game of World Junior Championships.

This time, though, the Russians overcame a wild home crowd, a red-hot goalie and a third-period deficit en route to their third WJC gold medal in five years. In other words, they earned it.

Their forwards, led by Flames' prospects Yuri Trubachev and Andrei Taratukhin and Wings' draft choice Igor Grigorenko, were dynamic throughout the evening. Their defensemen, anchored by Rangers' prospect Fedor Tyutin and Kings' draft pick Denis Grebeshkov, played a steady, solid game and they weren't intimidated by Canadian forechecking pressure. And, when they needed the big save, their oversized goaltender, Flames' pick Andrei Medvedev, was there to make it.

On the flip side, Quebec-born goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was brilliant in the Canadian crease. The youngest player on the Canadian roster, Fleury was good enough to stake his team to a 2-1 lead through 40 minutes. But in the final period, not even Fleury could stop the Russians, who were a little too big, a little too fast and a little too talented.

Although some of the home fans at the Metro Centre may have been disappointed by the result, they shouldn't have been disappointed by their team's effort. With the hopes of a nation on their shoulders, the Canadian teenagers delivered a strong performance. From gritty team captain Scotty Upshall (Predators) to speedy center Derek Roy (Sabres) to physical defenseman Steve Eminger (Capitals), each player in a white and red sweater gave their best effort.

In fact, Roy dominated the faceoff circle, winning 15 of 19 draws. Throughout the tournament, the Canadians seemed to be the only club that knew how to win a faceoff.

Canada's best player, though, was Fleury, who plays for Cape Breton of the Quebec Major Junior League. A classic butterfly goalie, Fleury displayed poise beyond his 18 years. He impressed the many NHL scouts in attendance and likely will be the top goaltender taken at the NHL entry draft in June, possibly in the top 10.

Here are some random notes and thoughts from the World Junior Championship: