Bryzgalov mystery, front office stars, and Ruff's bark

Brian Burke: The pugnacious Ducks GM preferred nothing to a low-ball offer. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

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Ilya Bryzgalov picked up a shutout last Saturday only hours after being claimed on waivers by the Phoenix Coyotes, the first team that had a shot at the ex-Anaheim backup. While there is a healthy debate among scouts whether Bryzgalov could be a legitimate No. 1 (on a team other than rebuilding Phoenix) or is merely a decent backup, there is no question he played, and won, some big games for the Ducks, including in the playoffs.

So why couldn't Ducks general manager Brian Burke at least get a draft choice for Bryzgalov, a potential unrestricted free agent next summer who is making $1.36 million this year? Although one team executive told me that Pittsburgh took a serious look at Bryzgalov a few weeks ago, apparently Burke never found a serious trading partner. Maybe he could have off-loaded Bryzgalov somewhere for a fifth-round pick, but as another GM said, "There are certain teams, rivals, you don't want to trade with. And sometimes when a team is lowballing you, you just don't want to give them the satisfaction of making the deal. Knowing Phoenix's situation [in goal], I'm sure Burke had a good idea where the player was going to end up. Parking him in Phoenix, a team that isn't going to threaten [the Ducks] right now, makes sense. Besides, a fifth-rounder just doesn't have much value."

From Hall to office

If you thought that Brett Hull being named co-general manager of the Dallas Stars last week was the most surprising front office appointment in recent NHL history, you are not even close. My vote would go to Gord Stellick's rapid rise (and sudden descent) with the Toronto Maple Leafs almost 20 years ago.

A mere 30 years old when Harold Ballard made him GM of the heritage franchise in April 1988, Stellick had been around Maple Leaf Gardens since 1975, where he started in the press box. Back in the pre-computer days, Stellick worked for Can-Fax, a firm that took typed copy from the reporters and faxed it back to their newspapers on monstrosities called telecopiers, which needed six minutes (or four, if you didn't much care about the quality) to transmit a single page. (And you thought dial-up was slow.)

The Stellick Era with the Leafs lasted a mere 16 months, ending when he resigned because of what he said was interference from the owner, which, of course, was what Ballard lived for. Stellick is now a media regular in Toronto, including on Sportsnet's hockey panels.

Garth Snow's ascension from the Islanders' net to their front office in 2006 was one of the more surprising NHL managerial moves. Len Redkoles/Getty Images

Those with shorter memories might make a case for Garth Snow going from backup goalie to GM of the New York Islanders in the summer of 2006, but a) Neil Smith's sudden firing after 40 days on the job seemed even more quirky than Snow's hiring and b) astute players like Snow had previously jumped from a uniform to the front office, notably Serge Savard, who quit playing in Winnipeg and immediately returned to Montreal to become GM of the Canadiens.

With Les Jackson doing most of the grunt work in Dallas, Hull gets to be the public face of the franchise. If he wants to work at the job, he has a chance to be successful because his hockey IQ always was the most underrated part of his game. But if Hull treats the job like a sinecure, this is just one more ill- conceived, albeit grand gesture, by owner Tom Hicks.

Hull will not be the last high-profile former player easing into the GM's office in the next several seasons. Steve Yzerman in Detroit, Al MacInnis in St. Louis and Ron Francis in Carolina all are working in the front offices, learning from managers who either have won Stanley Cups (Ken Holland in Detroit and Jim Rutherford in Carolina) or who are well-respected in the industry (Larry Pleau in St. Louis). The difference is that all these ex-stars are being groomed for bigger things, not force-fed the position as the Stars did Hull after they fired Doug Armstrong.

Ruff's bark silent

Considering the stretch of 499 minutes 41 seconds in which the Buffalo Sabres failed to have a lead -- the streak ended last Friday against Montreal -- the biggest upset in the NHL in November had to be how quiet coach Lindy Ruff has been.

Ruff might not ever have been Bob Hartley-tough on referees, but he was well known for giving lengthy soliloquies to refs for what he considered poor calls. This season, he has backed off.

"I realized it's a giant black hole" complaining about the calls, Ruff said. "Now I have to tell my assistants to stop yelling at the refs."

The Sabres are graced with one of the brightest young assistant coaches in the NHL, former defenseman James Patrick, who left the organization as a player, finished his career in Germany and then stepped seamlessly behind the bench in Buffalo. His insight is matched only by his aggressiveness, a willingness to challenge conventional wisdom and indeed, when he doesn't agree, challenge Ruff in the coach's room. Ruff thinks that if Patrick really wants a head job, a discussion the two had last week, then his assistant is ready to take over a team.

While Patrick should be on most NHL team's short lists when they look for The Next Coach, Hockey Canada should consider Ruff when it goes shopping to replace Pat Quinn as coach of the 2010 Olympic team in Vancouver. St. Louis coach Andy Murray might have the inside track because of his gold-medal coaching performance at the 2007 World Championships, but Ruff, a player's coach, merits a look as part of the Team Canada staff.

And while on the subject of possible Olympic coaches, the systematic work of Jacques Lemaire of the Minnesota Wild might not translate to a two-week tournament, but that doesn't alter the opinion that Lemaire is the best coach in the NHL. Said Wild forward Dominic Moore, "It's like being taught by a Harvard professor."

Moore should know. He went to Harvard.