Was the firing of Michel Therrien the right move for the Montreal Canadiens? --Chad, Shenandoah, Pa.

	Michel Therrien is the sixth NHL coach to be fired this season.

Melrose: That is the way teams are doing things right now. The Habs are struggling and are out of the playoff picture at this point, and they are losing games lately they feel they should win. There are certainly a lot of guys underachieving in Montreal right now, but as the saying goes it's easier to fire one guy than 20.

The Canadiens have seen Calgary win four straight games under Darryl Sutter and Colorado win three straight under Tony Granato after coaching changes, so they likely think this is something that can get them back on the right track. But only time will tell if this can jump-start them in the short-term and help turn things around.

Is the addition of Claude Lemieux the final piece of the puzzle for the Dallas Stars? I believe his addition mirrors the addition of players like Guy Carbonneau and Mike Keane for the 1999 Cup drive. -- P.J., Dallas

Melrose: Claude is certainly a great playoff performer and he always plays his best hockey during the postseason. He hasn't had a good year and the trade was the result of him making $4 million and having just six goals and eight assists so far this year. Phoenix realized it couldn't afford a guy like that with the financial situation the team is in, and money is no obstacle in Dallas.

Lemieux will fit in well there. He is a tough guy who is a good checker, and he can score when he gets a chance. The Stars are building a team that can win the Stanley Cup, so he is a good addition. Claude still has some good hockey left and they are hoping they can get it out of him.

What's up, Barry? The Washington Capitals are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now and finally appear to be playing up to their potential. With Jaromir Jagr finally back on track (hopefully for good) I see them being a strong team in the East come playoff time. What do you think? -- Ryan, Salisbury, Md.

Melrose: Without a doubt. Just looking at the roster tells you that team should be a winner. Washington started terribly, but Jagr is starting to score, Michael Nylander had been a great find, Sergei Gonchar is starting to pick it up and Olaf Kolzig has played well in goal all season. And don't forget about Peter Bondra and Robert Lang.

This is a heck of a hockey team. If the Caps can play some defense and help Kolzig out a little they will score enough goals and be good on the power play. They are in first place in their division and are climbing the ladder in the playoff picture, so this is a scary team for the rest of the wide-open Eastern Conference.

Luc Robitaille a healthy scratch for a Wings-Avs game? You probably know him as well or better than anyone around the game right now, so can he turn his season around or is Lucky Luc done like dinner (I hope not!)? -- Billy G., St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

Melrose:Well, obviously Luc's biggest problem right now is that he is not scoring goals. The coaches in Detroit say he has been getting chances, but is not putting the puck in the net, and his job is to do that. He is not a physical player or a great defensive player, and four goals are not enough for a guy like that.

The game is also a little faster now, and while he was never a great skater to begin with, he may have slowed down a bit. I think the Wings sat him down to wake him up a little bit, but he is a streaky scorer who could easily come back and turn things around in the second half.

Who do you think is the most surprising pick for this year's All-Star Game and who do you think should have been chosen, yet wasn't? -- Barb, St. Paul, Minn.

Melrose: Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and Toronto's Alexander Mogilny are the biggest snubs in the East, while Wade Redden has had a great year on the blue line and may be Ottawa's best defenseman this season. And in the West there is no doubt that Milan Hejduk is the biggest oversight. Just look at the numbers. Todd Bertuzzi has 50 points and is a minus-3, but Hejduk has 50 points and is a plus-16.

I know you try to get players from every team, but I don't think Paul Kariya of Anaheim or Jarome Iginla of Calgary deserve to be on the team. There has to be as many teams as possible represented, but guys like Derian Hatcher, Adam Foote, Sergei Zubov and Jere Lehtinen are also having great years.

Barry: How long before Robbie Ftorek will be the scapegoat for the Bruins' problems? If you ask me, he is not issue, but with the lack of commitment by management and players he will be the one that pays. -- Dan, Hoboken, N.J.

Melrose: There is no doubt that Robbie will be the one who pays. That is a given. Once a good team struggles, the coach knows he is on the hot seat, and the players know it, too. It's unfortunate and I don't think it's right, but as in Montreal, it will be easier to get rid of the coach than the underachieving players.

Boston is three points from being out of the playoff picture right now, and a team that started very hot has to turn things around very quickly or else Robbie will be the next coach to be fired.

Why don't NHL goaltenders ever wear the "C" or the "A" on their sweaters? -- John Madden, Dublin, Ireland

Melrose: They can't wear a letter on their sweater because they are not supposed to leave the crease to get involved in anything. There is no rule that says a goaltender can't be a captain, he just can't wear the "C" on the ice. When I was in Los Angeles, Kelley Hrudy was as good a leader as anyone else on the team, but goalies just have to do it in other ways.

It would be very disruptive to a game to have goaltenders skating all over the ice arguing calls, and it would look pretty ludicrous, too. Also, the goalie has to worry about stopping the puck and nothing else. He doesn't need to be chasing the referee around worrying about offsides, icing calls or penalties.

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