GMs mull letting goalies play the puck anywhere again

The growing injury list this season had NHL general managers searching for answers at their meetings Tuesday and Wednesday in Toronto.

One idea on the agenda was removing the trapezoid behind the net, which would allow goaltenders to play pucks anywhere again behind the goalline.

The thinking is to reduce injuries to defensemen from hard-charging forwards on the forecheck. Even since the rule changes following the lockout, forwards haven't been allowed to be held up, giving them free runs at defensemen going back to retrieve pucks that the goalie can't play.

The trapezoid was put on the ice to encourage forechecking, which in theory leads to more scoring.

"It's changed the way teams play, and there might be more injuries because of it," Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell said. "A lot of teams are just soft chipping now because they know the goalie can't come out.

"It's a tough situation to figure out what's best for the league. I know as defenseman we'd probably say we don't like it, but does it lead to more scoring? There's probably a good argument that it does."

Hawks goalie Cristobal Huet can live with the trapezoid there or gone.

"For us, it would probably make it easier (if they remove it)," Huet said. "I think it makes teams forecheck a little more and that's the point of it.

"You just have to make sure there's no hits to the head from behind and keep it clean. But when there's a good dump now and it goes in the corner and the goalie can't play it, it creates a lot of offense."

Shame on the Flames

A senior staff member for Alberta Health Services was fired for giving Calgary Flames players and their families swine flu shots while thousands of people were waiting in line for the vaccine.

Flames president Ken King told reporters the team felt the shots were a priority for players because of their extensive travel and the close-contact physical nature of their sport. King also said the team didn't want to cause a commotion by having the players stand in line at a public clinic.

Said Flames captain Jarome Iginla: "For us as a group of players, we were just following the medical protocol given to us. Today we can see that they are stopping (the shots) and that there's a shortage. So, yeah, we can understand why people might be upset."

Scotty and the Babe

While new Hall of Famer Brett Hull enjoyed his greatest success with St. Louis, Hull said he'll never forget the 2001-02 season when he got to play for the Red Wings and coach Scotty Bowman.

"To play for Scotty, I kind of put it this way: I was lucky enough to kind of feel what it was like to be an old New York Yankee," Hull said during a conference call with reporters last week. "I got to play with the Babe Ruth of hockey and became one of his good friends. I got to play for Casey Stengel, one of the greatest coaches that ever walked the earth."

Say what?

No player in the NHL delivers more borderline hits than Alex Ovechkin, so it was comical when Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau questioned the hit by Columbus' Jason Chimera that injured Ovechkin's shoulder.

Boudreau told reporters he felt the Blue Jackets were targeting Ovechkin.

Gee whiz, Bruce, you think?

Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock didn't deny targeting Ovechkin.

"That would be correct," Hitchcock told the Columbus Dispatch. "Why, is that against the rules now?"

Around the rinks

• Wayne Gretzky attended Monday's Hall of Fame inductions in Toronto even though he is at odds with the NHL over the $8.2 million he is owed by the Coyotes, who are now being run by the league.

• Red Wings GM Ken Holland isn't looking to make a trade for a forward with Jason Williams joining Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula on the long-term injury list with a broken leg.

"We're in a cap world," Holland told the Detroit Free Press. "If I start acquiring guys now, how do I get rid of money in March?"

• Minnesota's Martin Havlat was still struggling big time with 1 goal, 7 points and a minus-12 going into Tuesday's game at Toronto.

"It's been a hard adjustment for him - a new city, a new team and a new coach," Wild coach Todd Richards said. "And he has been compared to Marian Gaborik."

• Washington center Michael Nylander cleared waivers and appeared headed to play in Russia.

The list

There hasn't been a coach fired in the NHL yet, but that could change shortly with these five on the hot seat.

1. Paul Maurice, Carolina: Something's got to give soon with the Hurricanes off to a 2-11-3 start.

2. Randy Carlyle, Anaheim: Apparently winning a Stanley Cup doesn't guarantee longevity.

3. Andy Murray, St. Louis: The Blues are falling short of expectations and have been dismal at home.

4. Peter DeBoer, Florida: He's probably safe, but you never know if the Panthers continue to be bad.

5. Ron Wilson, Toronto: GM Brian Burke has given his old friend a vote of confidence, but those often mean little.

Ex-Hawk of the week

Remember Kent Huskins?

While he never appeared in a single game for the Hawks after being the team's sixth-round draft pick in 1998, Huskins has put together a pretty good NHL career.

He helped Anaheim win a Stanley Cup and now is solid contributor in San Jose, where he was plus-9 with 6 points in the Sharks' first 18 games.

tsassone@dailyherald.com