Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Habs' Markov, Streit lead potent power play; Forsberg makes decision; Hawks sign Seabrook to extension; tragedy strikes Calgary organization; Flyers, Hurricanes beset by injuries up front; and more...

ONE-TWO PUNCH 
It's kind of ironic that two of the best defensive forwards ever to play the game, Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau, are currently the general manager and head coach of the team with the best power play in the NHL. And that, for the second year running.

The Montreal Canadiens and their 24.1% efficiency are humming along right now, contending for top spot in the entire conference. A year ago, it was thought that the Habs relied on Sheldon Souray and his mighty shot from the blue line in order to succeed so well with the man advantage. But Souray is gone now, to Edmonton as an unrestricted free agent, and his former sidekick, Andrei Markov, is now the main man.

In fact, Markov is on pace for a career-high 61 points, which is just three shy of what Souray managed a year ago. The new PP sidekick this season is Swiss defenseman-and-sometimes-forward Mark Streit. The talented 30-year-old is on pace for 53 points. If the two keep up their current pace, their combined 114 points will up the number that Markov and Souray accomplished last season: 112 points.

So, if the Habs were able to replace a component of their awesome one-two punch so easily, are they just lucky to have found the right fits? Or does Carbonneau really know power plays? While Carbonneau rarely played on the PP during his lengthy career, it cannot be argued that he defended against thousands of them. For both the Habs and the Stars, Carbonneau was the main component of the penalty kill. He was one of the best shutdown guys around. Evidently, he knows how to exploit weaknesses in a typical power play and has his team trained to avoid them. Whatever the reason, the Habs PP is flying and Markov and Streit are the big beneficiaries.

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BLACKHAWKS 
Chicago signed rearguard Brent Seabrook to a three-year, $10.5 million contact. The 22-year-old was Chicago's first choice, 14th overall, in the 2003 NHL entry draft. The Richmond, B.C., native has seven goals and 19 points this season and is a plus-12 in 58 games. The Blackhawks face the Blues in St.Louis on Tuesday.

DEVILS 
It's a logjam at the top of the Eastern Conference after the Devils pulled to 6-1-2 in their last nine with a 5-1 win over the Hurricanes. Travis Zajac led the offense with a goal and an assist. Defenseman Karel Rachunek sat out the contest with an undisclosed injury. The strain on the defense was amplified with the loss of Colin White, who left the game after the first period, also with an undisclosed injury.

FLAMES 
Tragedy struck the Flames organization Monday when promising prospect Mickey Renaud passed away. The captain of the OHL's Windsor Spitfires collapsed in his home and was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was 19. Calgary drafted Renaud in the fifth round, 143rd overall in the 2007 NHL entry draft.

FLYERS 
The Flyers learned Monday that rookie Steve Downie has a concussion and Joffrey Lupul's high-ankle sprain will likely keep him out for the remainder of the regular season. With the two wingers out along with Simon Gagne, the team is rumored to be attempting to recall Claude Giroux up from his junior club on an emergency basis. To do so, they would have to receive league approval, much like Columbus did with Steve Mason and Florida did with Shawn Matthias. Stay tuned...

HURRICANES 
The Flyers aren't the only team decimated by injuries up front. The Hurricanes, already without Justin Williams and Rod Brind'Amour for the remainder of the season, were without Ray Whitney and Erik Cole Monday. Whitney is nursing a groin injury while Cole has the flu. The team recalled Joe Jensen from Albany of the AHL. The 25-year-old pivot got into his first NHL game and played just over seven minutes. The 'Canes got hammered by the Devils 5-1. Jeff Hamilton scored the lone goal for Carolina, his first goal since November 14.

ISLANDERS 
The Islanders may have lost the services of defenseman Andy Sutton when the veteran was helped off the ice with just seconds left in Monday's game against San Jose. The 32-year-old leads the Islanders in penalty minutes with 86. Andy Hilbert and Bill Guerin tallied two points each to lead the Isles to a 3-2 victory.

RED WINGS 
The Red Wings finally ended their season high six-game losing streak Monday with a 4-0 win over the Avalanche. Goaltender Chris Osgood stopped 18 shots for the shutout, ending a personal four-game losing streak and two straight games in which he was pulled. Henrik Zetterberg scored twice while Pavel Datsyuk added three assists in the victory.

SHARKS 
San Jose placed captain Patrick Marleau on injured reserve Monday. He has missed four contests with a groin injury. The 28-year-old pivot has 10 goals and 28 points in 55 games this campaign. The team recalled center Mike Iggulden from Worcester (AHL). Iggulden has 18 goals and 43 points in 49 AHL contests this season. The 25-year-old played just 6:40 Monday and was a minus-1 in what was his first career NHL game. San Jose lost the game against the Isles 3-2. Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov left the game in the second period after taking a shot off the mask that cut his face. He returned later in the game after rookie Thomas Greiss faced and stopped one shot.

NHL 
All the Peter Forsberg talk of the past six months is finally over. Countless articles speculating where the highly skilled pivot would end up this season turned out to be for naught. Forsberg, through his agent Don Baizley, made the announcement Monday that his problems with his foot are too great to risk playing this season. Forsberg had stated earlier that if he weren't confident that he could play to the best of his ability with his injured foot then he would not play at all.

TRADE BUZZ 
It's almost like the perfect storm. With high asking prices for rental players league-wide, a lot of teams were courting superstar center Peter Forsberg in hopes of adding a top line player without giving up an asset at all. Monday's news from the Forsberg camp announcing that he would not be returning to the NHL this season will force teams to focus on the trade market now. Combine that with the fact that all 30 of the NHL's general managers are in the same room together at the GM meetings and it seems as though it is only a matter of time before deals start getting done.
When the Blackhawks injected a potential superstar into their lineup in the summer of 2006, it was thought that the team would be building around Martin Havlat. When he flew out of the gate in the 2006-07 season, that line of thinking was reinforced. However, derailed by injury after injury last year and then again this season, and Chicago brass are obviously rethinking things. With the heart and soul of this team now in the hands of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, Havlat is suddenly a highly skilled, but expendable forward. With 34 points in 51 career postseason games, Havlat is clearly not one of those exceptional players who packs it in come April. He steps up his game and there is no shortage of teams eager to add him to their roster. Do not be surprised if he is moved.