NHL Weekend Wrap

Another weekend that was anything but dull in the NHL.

In Tampa Bay the Lightning dropped a 5-3 decision to Ottawa on Saturday then fired head coach Guy Boucher on Sunday before losing 3-2 to the Winnipeg Jets. The Lightning have underperformed this year and Steve Yzerman felt a change was necessary. The players said the right things but in watching the interviews didn't seem overly broken up about it. In fairness Boucher never had the kind of goaltending it takes to win in this league but the team was a mess defensively and should be better with the talent they have.

The Pittsburgh Penguins added another depth piece to their roster acquiring Dallas Stars captain Brendan Morrow and a third round pick for prospect, defneceman Joe Morrow and a fifth round pick. The trade will add some veteran presence and grit to the Pens line up. He is an unrestricted free agent at seasons end so may well end up being a rental. This is the kind of move Penguins GM Ray Shiero has made in the past for guys like Bill Guerin, or Hal Gill so it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Morrow is familiar with several players on the team and should help the Penguins defensively as well.

The Jerome Iginla trade talks are heating up with the Flames doing just enough not to be in the basement but still a ways out of a playoff spot and in need of a rebuild. He has apparently provided the team with a short list of teams that he would accept a trade to including Chicago, Detroit and Pittsburgh. His contract is up at the end of the season so there is again speculation he could even return after being traded as a rental ala  Keith Tkachuk several years back in St. Louis. Whatever he or the team decides Calgary needs to make some move for the future and could likely get some valuable assets for him.

Cory Schneider is looking like a man who wants to stay in net after leading the Canucks to another victory in Colorado last night. The team has won four straight and Schneider's play has looked sharp. They are tied with the Wild for first in the North West thought the Wild have two games at hand, but are trending in the right direction after struggling the last few weeks.

What stood out to you?