The Hockey Stop

You know a franchise is in trouble when just before the All-Star Break the rumor mill is heating up about a big trade, a head coaching change and selling the team.

The focus should be on a successful first half of the season a year after making the playoffs for the first time in nine years. But the Kings are mired in a three-game losing skid, have lost nine out of their past 11 games, and are looking up at the top eight in the Western Conference. At 49 points they are in last place in the Pacific Division and are in 12th place in the conference -- five points behind eighth-place Colorado for the final playoff spot.

The Kings are going to need a big second half to make the playoffs after their unexpected struggles so far. The bad news just keeps piling up for the team:

-- GM Dean Lombardi is facing a steep $50,000 fine after apologizing for comments he made last night after the Kings' 2-0 loss to the Coyotes. Lombardi questioned the objectivity of league exec Mike Murphy following a Phoenix goal that went to video review. Lombardi said Murphy was not happy about being denied the Kings' GM job.

-- Left wing Marco Sturm has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, putting the spotlight again on the team's apparent deficiency at the left wing forward position. Talented rookie Andrei Loktionov is manning the first line next to Anze Kopitar, but L.A. Times' columnist Helene Elliot postulates that what is preventing Kopitar from reaching the next level is the lack of a veteran, creative, scoring left winger on the first line. That is one reason the Kings could be keen to make a trade soon.

-- The website L.A. Observed reported today that the Kings could be up for sale. Apparently ownership group AEG is shopping the team for around $350 million. AEG has been publicly pursuing an NFL stadium in downtown L.A. to lure a team back to the city. Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive of AEG, refuted the report to the L.A. Times later today, saying "We are neither looking at or in talks to sell. Very focused on the NFL."

It seems to me that all these off-ice distractions could be resolved by one thing: winning hockey games. This team is too talented and has made too much progress to not rebound from this slump and make the playoffs. So will the playoff appearance last year be a blip on the radar for a perennial losing organization? Or is this slump the blip on the radar for a once-proud franchise in the middle of a rebuild that will turn them into eventual Stanley Cup contenders?

The Washington Capitals had a busy time at the trade deadline, adding toughness to the front and back lines. Carolina defenseman Joe Corvo (pictured above) is heading to Washington for Brian Pothier and prospect Oskar Osala. The Capitals also picked up Hurricanes forward Scott Walker in exchange for a 7th round pick in the 2010 draft. Washington also nabbed Wild center Eric Belanger for a 2010 2nd round pick. And in a surprise move the Blue Jackets' Milan Jurcina will be returning to Washington. The Caps traded Jurcina and Chris Clark to Columbus earlier this season for Jason Chimera. The blueliner played for Team Slovakia in the Winter Olympics.

More trades at the deadline:

Sabres forward Clarke Macarthur to Thrashers for 3rd and 4th round picks

Blue Jackets forward Raffi Torres to Sabres for defenseman Nathan Paetsch and 2nd round pick.

Ducks goalie Vesa Toskala to Flames for goalie Curtis Mcelhinney.

Lightning forward Jeff Halpern to Kings for forward Teddy Purcell and 3rd round pick.

Canucks defenseman Mathieu Schneider to Coyotes for defenseman Sean Zimmerman and 6th round pick.

Full list of completed trades at NHL.com

Roundup of yesterday's trades:

The Ducks nabbed Hurricanes defenseman Aaron Ward in exchange for goalie Justin Pogge and a 2010 or 2010 4th round draft pick.

Defenseman Derek Morris is returning to Phoenix as the Bruins traded the player to the Coyotes for a 2011 fourth-round pick. The Bruins then replaced Morris by picking up defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and a prospect from the Panthers in exchange for Craig Weller, Byron Bitz and a second-round draft pick.

The Blues nabbed forward Matt D'Agostini from the Canadians for Aaron Palushaj.

Well it didn't take long for the Isles' Andy Sutton to find a home -- and it isn't with the Capitals. The Ottawa Senators acquired the veteran defenseman in exchange for a 2010 second-round pick that formerly belonged to the San Jose Sharks.

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed 48-year-old defenseman Chris Chelios. The three-time Stanley Cup winner would be the oldest NHL player if he returns this year. The deal is for $700,000 and Chelios will stay with the Chicago Wolves minor league team unless he is claimed on waivers.

Right hip injury sidelines Flyers goalie Ray Emery for the season.

The Sports Network is reporting that a deal is in place to trade Toronto forward Alexei Ponikarovsky to Pittsburgh for prospect Luca Caputi.

Leafs-Ducks-Flames in huge deal

Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke had seen enough.

The storied franchise has been mired in mediocrity in recent years and this year has been particularly bad with the Maple Leafs sitting second to bottom in the league with a record of 17-28-11 for 45 points.

Toronto aims to get back on the right track with this blockbuster deal pulled off Sunday -- Toronto gets defenseman Dion Phaneuf from Calgary and Stanley Cup-winning goalie J.S. Giguere from Anaheim.

The rest of the seven-player deal with the Flames includes right wing Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie to Toronto for forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White.

My opinion? This is a smart move for Toronto. They needed to shake things up and as the old saying goes -- defense wins Cups and the Leafs just added two stonewalls in back of their blue line. And Phaneuf has the ability to light the lamp often as well, which is always a plus with a defenseman.

Sale of Tampa Bay Lightning could come soon

The financial mess the Lightning face -- the NHL had to bail the ownership out to make payroll -- could soon be resolved, according to a report in the St. Petersburg Times.

The report says that talks are underway about selling the team to Boston hedge fund manager Jeff Vinik. The article says there is speculation that an NHL-brokered deal could happen swiftly.

Many Lightning fans are likely rooting for this deal because the current ownership is not very popular because of their non-hockey background and flashy Hollywood-type decisions such as hiring Barry Melrose as head coach. We all know how that worked out. On the other hand, Vinik is a minority partner in the Boston Red Sox so he knows about how to run a winning franchise. He also managed the Fidelity Magellan Fund in the 1990s so he is wise to the financials and would probably not get himself into a situation where he fails to pay his players.

But the most intriguing part of the story? The speculation from The Hockey News that Vinny Lecavalier may be traded in order for the team to cut costs. Lecavalier would have to waive his no-move clause. He is in his first year of an 11-year, $85 million deal. One potential place Lecavalier could end up is Los Angeles. To be continued ...

Caps aim for franchise record Tuesday

Speaking of the Lightning, the Washington Capitals beat them 3-2 in a matinee affair at the Verizon Center Sunday on a game-winning third period tally from Alex Ovechkin. The win was the Caps' 10th straight, which ties the franchise mark set in 1984.

The red-hot Caps have a chance to set the franchise record for most consecutive regular season wins on Tuesday when they face off against the struggling Boston Bruins at TD Banknorth Garden.

And while Washington's explosive league-leading offense has propelled the team to victory after victory, solid penalty killing and clutch saves from Jose Theodore and Michael Neuvirth have contributed as well.

I've been saying for awhile that the Capitals are one shutdown defenseman away from being a Stanley Cup contender. I still believe General Manager George McPhee will be shopping for a veteran sacrifice-the-body-in-front-of-the-net blueliner to put the final piece of the puzzle in place for a Stanley Cup run.

The goaltending situation I believe to be resolved as this past winning streak has shown. Number one goalie Simeon Varlamov is nearing a return from injury and has been getting some important schooling from Caps goaltending coach Arturs Irbe. Varlamov is sure to match his high skill level with more maturity when he returns. That said, veteran Jose Theodore is playing his best hockey since he became a Cap, and rookie Michael Neuvirth has been playing solid under pressure. Plus there is highly touted prospect Braydon Holtby, who has been tearing it up in Hershey but has yet to play an NHL game. Needless to say, the future between the pipes for the Caps is a bright one.

Jonathan Quick with save of the year?

I expect to be watching a replay of L.A. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick's unbelievable save on the ESPY Awards.

On Sunday in New Jersey, the talented young netminder was sprawled on the ice with bodies in front of him blocking his view when a Devil lifted the puck off the ice into an open net only to see Quick's glove hand rise up and snap the puck out of the air. All this while Quick's eyes were probably staring at the skate blade of one of the players in front of him. It was spectacular and one of the reasons the Kings rallied with two goals late in the third period to win 3-2 and go 5-0 on their road trip.

The Kings are certainly ready for the playoffs and could potentially ride their hot goalie deeper into the postseason than many pundits think they will go.

Here are the game highlights. Quick's spectacular save is at the 4:35 mark: