California Forecast: Haze
The Kings, Ducks and Sharks have their fans wondering about their deadline moves.

General Manager's Dave Taylor, Brian Burke and Doug Wilson (of the Kings, Ducks and Sharks, respectively) are all smart hockey men, but their activity over the past week leaves a lot to be desired by their fan base. The evidence follows:

Kings: Los Angeles has had increasing difficulty keep the pucks out of the net as the season wears on. Their defensive corps is more finesse than physical, their goaltending is slumping and their penalty killing ranks 28th in the league. So what does Taylor do? He acquires Mark Parrish and Brent Sopel, a goal scorer and an (injured) offensive defenseman. 

With Jason LaBarbera's continuing bad play in net, there remains an acute need for a veteran backup goaltender to support Mathieu Garon. 

LaBarbera surrendered another weak goal in the Kings loss at Detroit last week and it's painfully obvious that he's lost whatever early season confidence he had. Curtis Joseph, although 38 years old, is in the midst of a stellar season for a non-playoff team and a tandem of Garon and CuJo would have been interesting in the second season, but now it rests all on Garon's shoulders. 

Taylor should have upped the ante for Brendan Witt; the story goes that LA offered Sean Avery and a pick for the rugged defenseman, but Caps GM George McPhee thought that the Nashville package of Kris Beech and a 2006 first rounder was more robust. The sight of Witt clearing out the slot in front of the goal would have been welcomed in downtown Los Angeles, not only to mention the addition by subtraction of clearing troublemaker (good and bad) Avery off their roster. 

When the Witt offer came up short, he should have pursued serviceable defenseman Eric Weinrich, who wound up with the aggressive Vancouver Canucks. Perhaps the Kings' latest streak (six out of seven entering Monday's tilt in San Jose) has given Taylor more confidence in his roster and with hope that both Pavol Demitra and Alexander Frolov return to form sooner than later. 

Parrish does provide a quality not existent on this Kings' squad, the willingness to pay the price in front of the net and he's has already paid more dividends than Taylor's forgettable deadline deal for Anson Carter two years ago (Parrish scored the lone goal in Saturday's shootout win in St. Louis), but this deal raises a bigger question about the organization ability to assess talent. With the former Islander being a free agent at year's end, what does it say about dealing two former first round picks (Denis Grebeshkov and Jeff Tambellini) for a walk-away free agent? Parenthetically, I have yet to understand the Kings and Phoenix Coyotes' dual fascination with Yanick Lehoux. Once again, he's swapped a Crown for a Desert Dog jersey.

Mighty Ducks: Burke has his charges on the cusp of a playoff spot and with one big push, they could make the Final Eight in the West. So why would he take the heart and soul of the franchise, Keith Carney, and deal him away only to replace him with journeyman Sean O'Donnell? To make matters worse, Burke sent Carney to the Canucks, a team Anaheim will be competing with for one of the final playoff spots. 

Why not keep Carney in place and leave team chemistry alone? O'Donnell is at best a 5-6 defenseman and not the solid citizen that Carney is; while you can argue that O'Donnell is signed through next season and Carney is unrestricted, the disparity in the talent and heart between the two makes this a bad deal. 

Burke cited "poor decision making and bad defensive zone play" as the primary reason for the deal and called O'Donnell "an upgrade." Hmm, we'll see about that. 

We understand the deal of Sandis Ozolinsh on a couple of levels: his prior problem with substance abuse and Burke's overall dislike of European players, but was rounding into shape and is a 20-minute a night d-man when right. Certainly he could have been kept around in favor of, um, Joe DePenta? 

With the Ducks tied for eighth in the conference, last in the Pacific in goal scoring and the 35-year-old Teemu Selanne their top point getter, it made more sense for Burke to acquire a Mark Parrish than it did for Taylor and the Kings. 

Jeff Freisen was buried and unhappy in Washington, so taking a flyer on him hoping they'll strike gold as they did in 2001-02 is certain, and if he does nothing more than score the game winner Sunday night against Phoenix, it was worth it. 

When a team has twelve overtime/shootout losses (tying them with Pittsburgh for the most in the league) it's a simple case of not putting enough biscuits in the basket. Hopefully, the Ducks aren't depending on a strong close by Chris Kunitz to put them over the top. Burke can't honestly tell Ducks' fans that his roster is better now than it was ten days ago and with a massive four-game road trip coming up with stop in Detroit and Dallas, you would think that Anaheim would have like to hit the road with a few more cylinders under the hood. Or not. 

Sharks: The San Jose organization will argue that they made their big move by acquiring Joe Thornton earlier this season, but it clearly hasn't been enough. 

Even with Thornton's hefty green, the Sharks payroll is still swimming somewhere below $30 million, enough flexibility to make a big move this season. Thornton will make a difference in the coming seasons, but this year's model of the Sharks hasn't got enough juice from his presence to make a difference in an infinitely more balanced Western Conference. 

Wilson's only response for the stretch run was to acquire Ville Nieminen from the Rangers for a third round pick. While the Finnish winger is a pest on the ice and a good man in the room, he's not an influencer that will help the Sharks make up points they need if there is to be playoff hockey in the South Bay. 

With Jonathan Cheechoo's bust out year (a 40-goal scorer for sure) and Thornton playing at his normal level, you'd think the Sharks would be competing for the Pacific Division title... but instead they sit as a study in mediocrity. When you only have two forwards scoring over 20 goals, there's not much mystery to their plight. There's enough depth on the Sharks' roster to have offered their former trading partner, the Bruins, more than they got from Edmonton for Sergei Samsonov. And how would have Mark Recchi looked on Thornton's flank in teal? Sharks fans should have expected better for all their loyalty over the past decade. 

WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM

When you talk about the serious contenders in the East, the names that come up are the usual suspects, Ottawa, Carolina, Philadelphia and the Rangers. 

But as we sat in the press box on Sunday prepping for the riveting contest between the Ducks and Coyotes, a team appeared on the TV screen that no one considers a serious contender. 

They're wrong. 

The Buffalo Sabres VERY quietly have fashioned a fantastic season hard by the banks of Lake Erie. After they destroyed the morbid Boston Bruins at the TD Banknorth Garden late Sunday afternoon, it put them 26 games over .500 and 13-1-2 in their last 16 matches. 

With Dominik Hasek MIA for the Ottawa Senators, it's not far fetched that this squad could win the Northeast and be the No.2 seed in the East. So why isn't anyone talking about them? 

Nobody ever confused the HBSC Arena for Madison Square Garden, so they're hurt by being in the classic "small media market." Despite having a boatload of talented youngsters, there's not a recognizable face on the team save for Chris Drury, but in Drury they have a captain who was clutch playoff performer in Colorado and is still missed in Denver. 

They are exceptionally strong down the middle with Drury, Tim Connolly, Derek Roy and Daniel Briere. Arguably, their goaltending is among the best young talent in the league as Ryan Miller's 2005-06 stats are better than Martin Brodeur, Marty Turco and Jean-Sebastian Giguere. 

Moreover, they are DEADLY on special teams, ranking second in both penalty kill and powerplay efficiency, a rarity to have both specialty teams ranked that highly. 

That prowess is the reason the Sabres are 21-8-2 away from the friendly confines of HSBC. If they do have a weakness, it's certainly the talent along the blueline, where no one will confuse them with the '71 Canadiens. The most recognizable name on defense is veteran Teppo Numminen; with Jay McKee, Brian Campbell and Toni Lydman rounding out their top four; an Achilles Heel for sure. And for all the good things happening by the lake, the folks that book odds on the Stanley Cup don't believe the Sabres, either. 

At last check, you get 12-1 odds on the Buffaloians to win the Cup in June. One caveat is the recent disclosure that Coach Lindy Ruff's daughter was found to have an unidentified mass on her brain. If her condition casts a pall over the fiery Coach of the Year candidate, it can't be good for the team; as the saying goes, hope for the best and expect the worst. If Buffalo is to win all sixteen matches required to win the first NHL championship for the franchise, they have to do it with special teams and goaltending but isn't that how it's done?

HERE AND THERE

Burke was very forthcoming during an interview on the Ducks' post game radio show Sunday evening. As in the past, he's refused to take kudos for the young Ducklings that are coming of age.

"I can't take credit for Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Dustin Penner," he said. "They were drafted by Bryan Murray (now the coach of the Ottawa Senators) and Al Coates." 

As things got close to the deadline and he knew he was going to be a buyer and not a seller, Burke went to two key players and let them know the deal. 

"I spoke with Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Ruslan Salei and told them they weren't going to be dealt," Burke said, noting that he often goes to players to strike down incorrect rumors. 

He also reiterated that the vision he's looking to create continues. "We've traded away a lot of highly talented players that we're getting the job done here. We are going to be a blue collar, lunch pail type of team," he said, in reference to sending away the likes of Ozolinsh, Sergei Fedorov and Petr Sykora. 

With respect to future Ducks, he has high praise for 2004 first-rounder Ladislav Smid saying, "outside of Scott Niedermayer, he has the best decision making ability in our organization."

. . .

You hear that laughter coming from the North? Bet it's Minnesota GM Doug Risebrough chuckling at Edmonton's expense. He got a 2006 first round pick and a conditional pick and the Oilers got perfection. Dwayne Roloson is 0-3 for Edmonton.

. . .

It's sad to watch Wayne Gretzky behind the bench of an overmatched Phoenix team. Looks like the Great One has aged about a decade after his Desert Dogs blew a two goal lead on the back end of a losing home and home to Anaheim. Think he's one and done regarding his behind the bench duties and reverts solely to his managing partner role next season?
 

Dennis Bernstein, the man behind SCORE! Media, is a columnist for TheFourthPeriod.com and the Los Angeles Correspondent for The Fourth Period Magazine.