Sundin's sour grapes, unsung coaches and more

	The current format could allow the Thrashers to qualify for the playoffs with fewer points than the Maple Leafs. Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
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Heading into the weekend with a lot on my hockey mind ...

I'm not sure how much Mats Sundin and I have in common beyond our natural athleticism and mastery of Euclidean geometry, but we're both on the same page when it comes to divisional seeding as part of a conference-based playoff format.

It's gotta go.

Sundin shared his frustration Wednesday, suggesting it was unfair that the Southeast Division-winner gets home ice in the first round despite the possibility of having fewer points than every other playoff team in the conference (and qualifying only by virtue of the automatic berth).

But timing is everything when it comes to the airing of grievances, and last I checked, Festivus wasn't celebrated in March. For a player in Sundin's situation (one point out of the eighth and final seed with five games left) to gripe about it at this juncture is pointless. Everyone entered the season knowing what the playoff structure was, and each team had 82 opportunities to win enough games on its own so it wouldn't have to worry about what clubs in other divisions were doing.

The Leafs are looking in from the outside not because of the playoff setup, but because there were far too many times when they failed to take care of business. A few more goals from Sundin, who has just one in March, might have helped.

And speaking of timing, Mats: You might want to make sure you don't lose a must-win game to one of those Southeast teams the night after you spout off about their worthiness. ...

With the season winding down, awards talk is heating up. In the race for the Jack Adams, candidates like Lindy Ruff, Barry Trotz and Ted Nolan are receiving most of the buzz. They've earned it. But so has Dave Tippett of the Stars, a name that no one's mentioning.

In his fourth season behind the bench, Tippett has guided the team through the locker room turbulence that followed the removal of the C from Mike Modano's sweater, and a catastrophic trail of wounded bodies that's seen Dallas lead the league with man-games lost. (Yes, the Stars actually top the battered Buffalo Sabres in that department.)