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You would think teams in the NHL would at least have the courtesy to let one fire extinguish before sparking up the next one.
The Phoenix situation won't be resolved until Ice Edge Holdings officially becomes the owners of the Coyotes (it has been pretty quiet on that front, no?), but here comes the Tampa Bay Lightning to get NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly to polish up his e-mails (does that mean he's putting money in the pocket of BlackBerry dude Jim Balsillie? That's some irony right there).
The Sports Business Journal revealed the Lightning needed a $2 million US advance from Sun Sports, its television rights holder, to make payroll last April.
The Lightning then apparently got an advance from the NHL on revenue-sharing money not due until after the season to make January's payroll.
Not good.
But an executive with an NHL team told QMI Agency he believed there have been negotiations with an owner who wants to keep the team in Tampa, "so this is unlikely to become another Phoenix situation."
We'll see, I guess.
Revelations
The frosty relationship between Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock and goaltender Chris Osgood dropped a few more degrees when Babcock opted to start Osgood, who had only mop-up duty in his previous 12 games, against the Washington Capitals, the best offensive team in the league.
"That's quite a coincidence," Osgood said, "or maybe not."
When asked about the decision Babcock replied: "I don't know if you know this, but we practise every day. We get ready every day. So let's play." Osgood stopped 20 of 23 shots in the loss and Jimmy Howard started the next game because Babcock said the Wings needed points. "I've gotten him a lot of points, you can write that," Osgood told Detroit reporters. "I got him to the Stanley Cup finals the last two years. You can write that, too."
Speculations
My pick for the Calder Trophy at this point: Buffalo Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers. Has there been another rookie who has had a bigger impact with his team? ... Nothing against the KHL -- it's keeping bench-clearing brawls alive -- but Chris Simon playing in its all-star game? Maybe he's just there for the skills competition, you know, for the sucker punching Jaromir Jagr part.
Hear and there
One of the sharp-looking things at the Montreal Canadiens new Hall of Fame is a re-creation of a post-game celebration in front of the net (the net is one of the last two to be used in the Forum, R.I.P.). It's done in life-size, with the players' doppelgangers wearing game-worn equipment. There's goaltender Carey Price, defencemen Andrei Markov and Hal Gill, among others. What did Gill think of his double? "I thought he was quite handsome," he said.
Just sayin'
They're a couple of lightweights, but Detroit's Patrick Eaves and Chicago's Kris Versteeg had a pretty good tussle last Sunday. Versteeg landed a pretty good one, leaving Eaves with a mouse under his eye. "I don't really feel it. I think it's a little mouse, just another nick in the Picasso," Eaves said.
Just wondering
On the NHL's Twitter page, you can sign up to be members of groups for each of the NHL clubs. What does it say when the Florida Panthers have only four more members than the Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques? Even more interesting is the Panthers have three fewer members than the Hartford Whalers. Maybe it only means there's more to do in Florida than go on Twitter.
Parting shot
It doesn't seem so long ago 15-1 were the odds of sweeping the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames, not the margin by which the former Alberta powerhouses were outscored on the same night.
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GO FIGURE
Deciphering the stats
52
The number of years it has been since a brother combination led the NHL in scoring in a calendar month. Daniel and Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks combined to lead the NHL in scoring for the month of December. Henrik had five goals and 20 assists while Daniel had nine goals and 13 assists. The last time brothers led the league in scoring for a month was October, 1957, when Henri and Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens turned the trick.
1,200
The number of games played by Montreal Canadiens defenceman Roman Hamrlik when he dressed against the New York Rangers on Sunday. He is the first player born in 1974 to reach that plateau (the 83rd player in NHL history; 11th among active players) and leads all 1992 draftees.
Only three other players from the 1992 draft have played 1,000 games in the NHL: Kirk Maltby, Jason Smith and Ian Laperriere.
0
The number of Toronto Maple Leafs defencemen who have led the team in scoring for a season. Defenceman Tomas Kaberle currently leads the team in scoring going into Saturday night's games. Kaberle is a fine offensive defenceman, but his spot at the top of the Leafs' scoring list is less about him and more about the Toronto forwards.
Kaberle is the only blueliner in the NHL to currently lead his team in scoring.
13
The number of fights enforcer Georges Laraque had for the Montreal Canadiens over the past two seasons before being bought out Thursday, half way through his three-year deal.
Tampa's Zenon Konopka leads the NHL this season with 19. Laraque's peak was 18 in the 2001-02 season with the Edmonton Oilers. If people thought he hadn't fought enough for the Habs, they weren't paying attention. He just hasn't fought that much the last few years.
CHRIS.STEVENSON@SUNMEDIA.CA