NHL edmonton Oilers

We weren't far into the annual craziness of NHL free agency when the Edmonton Oilers suffered a significant loss.

Goalie Dwayne Roloson was a rock for this team over his three-plus seasons in northern Alberta. After practically carrying the Oilers to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, he performed well over the new contract he signed that summer in Edmonton. The 39-year-old wanted a two-year deal when he got to free agency this year, but Edmonton didn't offer that. With Roloson gone to the Islanders, Edmonton moved very quickly to find a new starter.

Dany Heatley put the Senators in a rather difficult position earlier this offseason when he surprisingly requested a trade out of Ottawa. General manager Bryan Murray, naturally, worked to make that request a reality, and after several weeks of rumors and speculation, it appeared as if the two-time 50-goal scorer was finally traded to the Edmonton Oilers late Tuesday night for the somewhat underwhelming return of Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid.

Apparently, Edmonton wasn't good enough of a destination for Heatley, as he ultimately rejected the deal by refusing to waive his no-trade clause after hours of waiting (which led to fans losing their collective minds on the Hockey's Future message boads).

To recap: Heatley requests trade, Senators trade him, Heatley rejects trade. Yeah. That seems about right.

It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northwest Division.

It appears we are setting up for an offseason of significant change in the Northwest Division. Only the Vancouver Canucks will have the same coach as last year, and there could be some real upheaval in terms of personnel. Not only that, but two teams (Minnesota and Colorado) have changed general managers.

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The Edmonton Oilers have made a major splash in their efforts to make it back to the playoffs.

Three non-playoff years have followed Edmonton's magical run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, and that was enough to cost longtime coach Craig MacTavish his job. Tuesday afternoon, the Oilers turned to a couple of familiar names to help them turn around their fortunes.

After eight years, the Edmonton Oilers and head coach Craig MacTavish will be parting ways following the team's third consecutive non-playoff season. The Oilers compiled a 301-252-103 during MacTavish's watch, while also playing in the Stanley Cup Final in 2005-06, losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.

While he's not yet saying anything about his future as coach of the Edmonton Oilers, Craig MacTavish had more than a few words about the shortcomings of his team, which will be watching the playoffs from the outside.

"For me this year started with a lot of promise and maybe some false hope based on how we played last year," he said. "There was a lot of inadequacy in our game. The thing that was maybe more disappointing for me was our culture took a hit in terms of our work ethic and unselfishness. Just the universal commitment we've had here for so many years. There were a lot of nights as a coach I had to ask for more and sometimes the talk was pretty empty. It was a difficult year. A disappointing year in a lot of ways." [Calgary Herald]

The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.

It looked like a foregone conclusion not that long ago, but the Calgary Flames had trouble sealing the deal. Fortunately for them, Vancouver couldn't seize the opportunity to take control of the Northwest Division, and the Flames find themselves on the cusp of a division title. A 4-1 win over Los Angeles Monday night gave the Flames a two-point lead with three games to go.

The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.

Thanks to a loss to Atlanta on Friday, the Florida Panthers had their backs against the wall Sunday evening. With Pittsburgh in town, Florida needed a win to keep up with the Eastern Conference playoff race. As we enter the final week of the season, the Panthers are indeed still alive, and Pittsburgh's hopes for a fourth seed took a huge hit.

The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.

An 11th-straight home win did the trick for the Carolina Hurricanes. The 2006 Stanley Cup Champions will return to the playoffs for the first time since winning that title, as Carolina clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 3-2 overtime win over Pittsburgh Saturday in Raleigh.

The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.

It was a crazy Thursday in the NHL. David Backes' big night propelled St. Louis back into playoff position, while the Carolina Hurricanes moved into fourth place in the East with a win over the Rangers. New York now looks to be in a potentially perilous position, with just a two-point lead over ninth-place Florida. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames won and the Vancouver Canucks grabbed a shootout point, and both have clinched playoff spots.