CNNSI.com's David Vecsey tackles three issues from around the league:

1	Which team is in bigger trouble: Buffalo or Ottawa?

Ottawa Senators AP The short answer is Buffalo. The long answer is the whole league, which is ready to implode. Things are actually looking up for the Ottawa Senators. After filing for bankruptcy protection, owner Rod Bryden then submitted a bid to buy the team back from his creditors at a much lower price -- less than $100 million for the team and the Corel Centre. Because of the sketchy financial situations of some of the creditors and the uncertainty of what the market might bear for an NHL franchise, it is believed that Bryden's offer will be accepted and he will end up owning the first-place team and its state-of-the-art arena for a fraction of the credit debt he ran up owning it the first time. In essence, he's telling his creditors he can't pay them what he owes them, but he'll gladly take the team and building off their hands if they want to take the cash and cut their losses. And in a few months, he just might wrap his hands around the Stanley Cup. That's how things go for a first-place team. In Buffalo, however, where the Sabres are just one point out of the NHL cellar, things are falling apart fast. Already the ward of the league after the Adelphi fallout, the Sabres have a $65 million offer on the table from businessman Mark Hamister. But that deal is contingent on Hamister getting $33 million in concessions from the local and state governments. He says he'll buy the team only if he gets financial aid to refurbish parking facilities and other civic shortcomings around the arena. At last glance, New York governor George Pataki wasn't digging too deep to come up with the aid … like the way you tokenly pat your pockets as you walk past a beggar that you have no intention of helping. And it'll be tough to shake down the city or the county for that much money for a last-place team. If the Hamister deal falls through, that could be it for the Sabres in Buffalo … and maybe for good. While cities like Portland, Houston and Las Vegas are routinely mentioned as relocation possibilities, contraction is a more likely fate for the Sabres. How could the league justify moving a franchise to an untested market in the midst of all this economic uncertainty? And didn't the commissioner himself recently say he felt the league was headed for a work stoppage? That would make a great relocation slogan: Come see your Portland Sabres in 2003-04 … or, you know, whenever!

2	At midseason, who's who in the East?

Jaromir Jagr Doug Pensinger/Getty Image As I look at the Eastern Conference standings, I see a tremendous stretch run for the playoffs developing. You can always pencil in New Jersey, Philly, Toronto and Ottawa into the postseason … and then you can erase them in the first or second round. To find your Stanley Cup rep from the East, you have to scour the pack for the four ugly sisters who trip into the playoffs and find the one that will rise up. Pretenders -- Boston and Tampa Bay, the two biggest surprises early in the season, have been steadily slipping and I don't think either one will make the playoffs. The Canadiens are hanging in the mix, but unless Jose Theodore and Donald Audette start showing up, they're not going to get in. And the Panthers? Please. Contenders -- Pittsburgh and Washington have the potential to make a real run in the playoffs. Nobody – but nobody – wants to play Mario Lemieux and Pittsburgh in the postseason. The Pens just need to hold on and get in. That could be the bigger test. Likewise, Washington – which would get home ice in the first round by winning the Southeast Division – has an explosive offense and proven pressure goalie in Olaf Kolzig. My biggest concern is rookie coach Bruce Cassidy going head-to-head against Ken Hitchcock or Pat Burns or Pat Quinn or Jacques Martin in a second-round series. Jury's Out -- I see the Rangers, Islanders and Hurricanes battling for two spots – and all three of them have been showing signs of life lately. The Islanders are probably the best of the bunch and have last year's heated loss to Toronto to use as a rallying point. The Hurricanes are the defending conference champs, and that counts for something – but not much. I don't see them bottling that same lightning. And the Rangers? They've been playing well since picking up Mike Dunham, but they're one bad streak away from being thrown right back into the Pretenders list, where they belong. So, my Eastern Conference playoff pairings as of midseason are (I don't ordinarily make predictions, and in a few months, you'll see why): First round: Ottawa def. Carolina 4-0; Philadelphia def. N.Y. Islanders 4-2; Pittsburgh def. Washington 4-2; Toronto def. New Jersey 4-3. Second round: Ottawa def. Pittsburgh 4-1; Philadelphia def. Toronto 4-3. Conference final: Ottawa def. Philadelphia 4-2 How did I end up with a 1-vs.-2 conference final? I have no idea. I'm just weak that way. We'll try again next week in the West.

3	Whose season is just flat-out over?

Tony Amonte AP Tony Amonte and Jarome Iginla. Put a fork in 'em. Shut 'em down. All that stuff. They couldn't possibly score enough goals the rest of the way to make their stats even remotely respectable, their teams aren't making the playoffs, and their new contracts mean they're not getting traded to a contender. Time to start writing that mission statement for next season. Amonte was one of the big catches last offseason, signing a four-year, $24 million deal with the Coyotes. Through 44 games, however, he has 11 goals, 16 assists and a minus-8 rating. Ouch. That from a guy who had scored no fewer than 27 goals in each of the past seven seasons. Phoenix's offense is abysmal from top to bottom, with 12 goals being good enough to lead the team. The Coyotes have five goals during their current five-game winless streak. Iginla is going to be in everybody's crosshairs next season, when he tries to make amends for this horrible follow-up to his MVP campaign. After leading the league with 52 goals last year, Iginla had 13 going into Thursday night's game against Nashville. That's not exactly living up to the two-year, $13 million deal he signed in the offseason.

 

Related information

Stories

Darren Eliot: Islanders making battle of New York interesting NHL Power Rankings: Week 16 Kostya Kennedy: So wrong it had to be right

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video