If the NHL Players' Association ever needed an argument that it is the owners and management who are driving the payroll, and not the players, consider Saturday's "Bankruptcy Bowl" between the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres.

Somehow, despite the messy finances, the Senators have been strong all season, and the Sabres have turned around their fortunes -- at about the same time the club's fortunes were becoming a public joke.

Including their overtime win against the Sabres, the Senators are 9-2-1-1 since the first of the year. The Sabres are 6-1-2-1. Compare that to the success of the cash machine in Canada called the Maple Leafs, who are barely over .500 (6-4-0-0) or Detroit at 5-5-0-1.

The Senators with a payroll of roughly $30 million are among the best teams in the NHL, and are set up to stay that way whether they stay in Ottawa or not.

However, the Senators realize they need to add a grittier element to their team if they are to improve their chances at playoff success. They have been very open about their interest in Matthew Barnaby, who has played very well this season with the Rangers and makes only $1.6 million. In fact, hard as it is to believe, the Rangers and Eric Lindros have been much better with Barnaby providing an emotional spark than when Pavel Bure was providing the offense.

The Senators still think they can make a pitch for Barnaby at or near the trade deadline, but they are also thinking about players such as San Jose's Scott Thornton and more likely the Islanders' Jason Wiemer.

The Senators are fielding calls. They won't listen to teams trying to pry away Martin Havlat, but they'll will entertain inquiries about Magnus Arvedson.

If the Senators really want to make a run this season, they ought to call Calgary about Chris Drury. He is a player who makes a huge difference with good teams, and would be a perfect fit in Ottawa's playoff lineup. But there is that little money issue again. Drury makes $2.5 million and will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season. The Senators are looking to spend in the $1.2 million neighborhood.

So the question becomes: Do the Senators make a pitch for a player like Drury in hopes he can push them over the top this season, and then deal with the payroll issue after the season is over?

A need for 'D'
According to those who know, the Detroit Red Wings are among a number of NHL teams that have quietly inquired about Ray Bourque coming back to play this season. The answer to that and all inquiries has been, thanks but no thanks.

The Red Wings are still hoping -- but not convinced -- that Steve Yzerman will come back this season. Thus, they are in looking around to improve the team.

You can be sure the Wings will take a long look at what the New York Rangers would want in return for Brian Leetch before the March 11 trade deadline, and now that the Phoenix Coyotes are out of the playoff picture, perhaps Teppo Numminen.

However, watch for the Colorado Avalanche to also make the same calls. The Avalanche did not pull the trigger on a trade for Kyle McLaren, but not for lack of effort. In fact, Pierre Lacroix was so intent on getting McLaren that he annoyed the Boston management with suggestions for the Bruins to initiate three-way deals. Finally, the Boston management told Colorado to cool their jets and let them make the deal.

The Avalanche might have been even more aggressive if they had realized defenseman Derek Morris would be facing time on the injury shelf after what amounts to a bashed-in face (fractured orbital bone) following a fight with David Ling of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The irony here is that the Colorado coaching staff was trying to convince Morris to be an even tougher player.

As for their future, the fact that Martin Skoula was in play during talks about McLaren means his job security is tenuous as the trade deadline rolls around. The same goes for Alex Tanguay.

Didn't want to ... but did
The Montreal Canadiens didn't want to trade goalie Jeff Hackett to the Boston Bruins, but they did respond to Boston's inquiries about Hackett and laughed off an offer of nothing more than a fourth-round draft selection unless the Canadiens included some young prospects.

The Bruins wound up making what could be a terrific deal both short-term and long-term. The short-term benefit is obviously having Hackett for the balance of this season, with a chance of signing him after this season. The long-term benefit is defenseman Jeff Jillson, a New England product (Rhode Island) who has great potential, especially on the power play.

The Canadiens certainly look like they made this deal with dollar signs as the impetus -- a scary thought when you consider they are likely to be neck-and-neck with Boston for playoff seeding. The Habs biggest nightmare would be a crucial game against the Bruins when they run into a red-hot Hackett, and then lose when their penalty-killing unit, which is supposed to be strengthened by Sundstrom, gives up a power-play goal set up by Jillson. All right, Jillson isn't in the immediate plans, but he is certainly young enough where all the promise could still flourish.

A couple of other aspects of this trade should also be considered. The first is the immediate impact of Montreal's new coach Claude Julien, who has great faith in goalie Mathieu Garon, his goalie in Hamilton of the AHL. Garon will now take the place of Hackett behind Jose Theodore.

The second is the money angle. San Jose is picking up about $800,000 of the money owed Sundstrom this season.

As for Hackett, who makes $3.6 million, he will be unrestricted after this season. However, his agent is Rick Curran, who does not have a reputation of telling his client to get every last nickel. Rather, Curran considers what is best for the long run, and if Hackett is happy in Boston he will likely re-sign with the Bruins.

The snag there -- as will be the case with many free agents this summer, will be length of contract. With the current CBA due to expire after next season, teams won't be willing to sign players long term and then get caught in a salary-cap problem.

Colorado connections
No doubt that Lacroix is the guy who pushes all the buttons in Colorado, and for the most part he's pushed them in the right combination. However, isn't it curious how former teammates of Eric Lacroix, the GM's son and now director of Hockey Operations keep turning up in Colorado?

Eric Lacroix played with Tony Granato in Los Angeles, and Granato is now the head coach in Colorado, with virtually no coaching experience. Ditto for Rick Tocchet, who was also in Los Angeles at the time, and now he is the assistant coach in Colorado.

Mind you, that is not a bad trend as Eric Lacroix played his minor league hockey in St. John's where he was coached by Marc Crawford, who was later hired as coach of the Quebec Nordiques by Pierre Lacroix, and went on to win the Cup with Colorado.

Short shifts