Barry, I keep hearing that because the Bruins are doing well they are not going to let Kyle McLaren go until they get an offer that makes sense. What would that offer be? The rumored McLaren/Martin Lapointe for Alex Tanguay/Martin Skoula trade made sense to me, but I'm not general manager Mike O'Connell. -- Efain, Boston

Melrose: The Bruins' goaltending has not been very good in the last two games. Steve Shields was bad last night, John Grahame was not good the game before and Boston lost both games, so that might make the Boston brass worry a little bit. But they don't need to make a trade under pressure because they have played well so far this year. They can wait to get the deal they want from whomever they want. Colorado might be that team because they Avalanche are certainly struggling, but the Avs might need a goal scorer more than another defenseman. But the Bruins are in the top spot in the East and have the luxury of deciding when and where they trade McLaren.

With the Los Angeles Kings' top unit of Jason Allison, Adam Deadmarsh and Zigmund Palffy now healthy, do you see the Kings making a big push through the West the way they did last December? -- Travis, Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Melrose: I think the Kings are certainly a playoff team, but I don't know if they can overcome Detroit, Dallas and Vancouver. I can guarantee they are a team no one wants to see in the playoffs, though. That top line line is back and all three scored the other night against Dallas. The team is great defensively and Felix Potvin is giving L.A. solid goaltending every night. They are a scary team to face come playoff time.

A very concerned Habs fan here. What is the deal with Jose Theodore? From the first time I saw him play (a triple-OT win against the Devils in the playoffs) I thought he had a lot of potential, then he wins the Hart and Vezina trophies last season. But now he's invisible. In order for the Canadiens to do anything they need him back to last year's form. Is he just going through a tough time or was last year his career year? -- Robb, Delray Beach, Fla.

Melrose: If he did it once he can do it again. Jose is just not quite a mature goaltender yet. It takes time for a goalie to mature mentally and physically, but he got on a roll last year and played great. Montreal is just very lucky it has Jeff Hackett to back up Theodore. Hackett is playing great hockey and saving the Canadiens' bacon right now, because they can afford to wait and hold Theodore out until he is ready again.

Montreal was trying to move Hackett earlier in the year, but the best thing that happened was not moving him. Theodore now has a chance to recover because the pressure is not as high, and he is a French-Canadian kid who the Habs are not going to give up on him. Remember, the last time they traded a French goaltender away from Montreal it didn't work out very well. Have faith in Theodore and be thankful you have Hackett.

Trade rumors are running rampant, and one of the big ones involves Jaromir Jagr's supposed availability. One big rumor around here has the Red Wings going after him to play with Sergei Fedorov and keep Sergei around after this year. What's your take on this and where do you think his possible destinations might be? -- Rick Detkowski, Clarkston, Mich.

Melrose: I don't think Detroit would go after Jagr because he doesn't fit their style of play. The Wings' main concern is keeping Fedorov, and it is going to take a lot of money to keep him around. He would take a little less money to stay in Detroit but not a lot less, so the Wings are going to have to cough up some cash. But Washington is underachieving, Jagr has yet to lead them to the playoffs and he is available. Anyone who wants to spend some money and give up some good young players could get Jaromir if they wanted him, but I don't think Detroit is one of those teams.

With Jocelyn Thibault playing well, Eric Daze and Steve Sullivan racking up points and Phil Housley manning the blue line, does the return of Theo Fleury make Chicago a legitimate contender? -- Raul, Chicago

Melrose:The Blackhawks are a legit playoff team, but I don't think you can compare them to the top teams in the West. This is a good team and Brian Sutter is doing a great job with them. They looked good the other night in Manhattan with Daze getting a hat trick and Fleury scoring a goal, so things are working well. Chicago is playing hard and the goal is to make the playoffs, and they have a chance to win some games if they get there. But they are not one of the top teams in the West.

I think Gary Bettman is doing a lousy job as commissioner. Examples: poor attendance, high ticket prices, fewer games on ESPN, the threat of a lockout, strict fighting rules turning fans off. This sport should be thriving on the heels of such a great Olympic tournament, so why haven't more people taken him to task on this stuff? -- Dan James, Brooklyn, Conn.

Melrose: Well, revenues have gone way up since Gary took over and that's what gets the owners' attention. They are bringing in more money than they did before he came along. As far as attendance, most buildings are full. I like the rules right now, but I would like to see fighting stay in the game, and that is going to be an uphill battle because a lot of people want it out. But goals, chances and speed are up and we'll just have to wait and see what happens in the second half.

I think the biggest problem in hockey right now is the price of the tickets. The meat-and-potatoes fan who loves hockey and is passionate about it just can't afford to go to games the way he or she could 10-15 years ago. It's hard to spend well over $100 dollars a night to bring a family of four to a hockey game. That is the biggest thing right now and something the owners and players association have to hash out in the next collective bargaining agreement.

I am not a Jeremy Roenick fan at all, but I was a little surprised with the game misconduct call on his hit against Robert Svehla in Toronto last night. I thought it looked like a pretty clean hit. Did I miss something? -- Doug, Portland, Me.

Melrose: No, you didn't miss anything. It was a good, clean hit. Svehla had his head down and Roenick finished the check the way players are taught. And don't forget that J.R. was a little angry after the punch he took from Darcy Tucker earlier in the game and was looking to return the favor to someone. I'm on your side on this one. The hit didn't warrant a major penalty and a game misconduct.

To me, so much of the fun in hockey is watching the third and fourth-line guys do their thing night-in and night-out. Rarely do they get the recognition they deserve. Who are some of your favorite role players right now? -- Kevin, Knoxville, Tenn.

Melrose: I've always been a fan of guys like that. When I was coaching in Los Angeles one of my favorite lines was Warren Rychel, Pat Conacher and Dave Taylor, and those guys were one of the major reasons we made the Stanley Cup finals in 1993. Every team that wins has players like that. Some of my favorites right now: the Darren McCarty-Kirk Maltby-Kris Draper line in Detroit, Mike Keane and Greg de Vries in Colorado, Rob DiMaio in Dallas, Turner Stevenson in New Jersey. Those guys don't get the recognition or the money the goal scorers do, but teams don't win without the guys who do the dirty work and take care of the jobs no one else wants to do.

I'm not sure if you have the answer to this, but why does Philadelphia's Eric Weinrich wear a yellow face shield? -- Ginger, Sunnyvale, Calif.

Melrose: With games on television every night it is very bright in most buildings and the yellow shield is designed to try and reduce the glare from all the lights. A lot of players have tried the dark tint on the shields like we see in football, and there is talk that more guys are going to give the yellow shield a shot. Oakley is now in the face shield business along with ITECH, and I have actually talked to people at Oakley about this. The yellow shields are just like the sunglasses we see golfers like David Duval wearing on the course.

Barry Melrose, a former NHL defenseman and coach, is a hockey analyst for ESPN.