Am I blue

Here's wishing Eric Lindros a clean and full recovery and then that he bids us all farewell. He's a brave man to keep going at it, but I still wish that he would nobly hang up his skates. I admire his love of the game and, I know, who am I to tell someone not to do the thing they most love? I'm just wary of the day when the ringing in his head starts and doesn't stop. No one was surprised at this concussion; no one would be surprised by the next one.

Be careful, Big E.

And now, on to your mailbag ...

Other than their woes on offense, why are the Blue Jackets having such a terrible year? Is this simply just another expansion team being hit by the sophomore jinx or is it something more systemic?
—Michael Hancu, Grove City, Ohio

Columbus is dreadful in all areas, including the offensive troubles to which you allude. Most specifically, they get extremely little production out of their blue line, which is death to any NHL team that doesn't have a truly outstanding scoring cast up front. When you see that the Jackets' forwards are led by the (decent) Ray Whitney and the (moderately serviceable) Espen Knutsen, you see that they do NOT have anything like an outstanding cast.

I also know that Columbus has been very disappointed by captain Lyle Odelein. He's a minus-12 (one of the worst marks among Blue Jackets' defenders) and he hasn't provided the emotional drive they thought he would. It isn't easy for Odelein, who was always upbeat in New Jersey, to handle being on the league's worst team after spending so much time on one of the best. Odelein is a prime candidate to be traded to a contender come February or March.

Do you think the Canucks can rally in the second half and make a real push for a playoff spot or did this squad just overachieve last season and set expectations too high for this season? Do you think a trade involving Brendan Morrison and/or Todd Bertuzzi might be looming?
—Rob, Vancouver

No, Vancouver won't get in. The West is tough and the Canucks have shown way too much inconsistency to think they can leapfrog a few teams and catch Calgary for the eighth spot. This team is getting good play out of its best players -- Ed Jovanovski and Markus Naslund -- but otherwise this is a collection of disappointments. The Sedins' ability to cycle the puck so authoritatively was a pleasant surprise when they broke into the league, and they don't need to be scoring stars, but they do need to contribute more often than they have been. Neither is on pace for even 15 goals, which should be the bare minimum for both of them.

Most dispiriting is that Dan Cloutier -- who is a really nice guy, in good physical shape and coming off a good couple of games -- does not have what it takes to be a No. 1 goalie. For the Canucks to do the improbable and rally into the playoffs, they'd need a goaltender to win a bunch of games for them. I cannot see that happening.

Will the Stars keep Ed Belfour next year or let Marty Turco take over?
—Mark Weddington, Fort Worth, Texas

Turco's time has come. Unless Belfour does something truly spectacular in the playoffs -- and that's a possibility -- Dallas will make Turco the starter next year. Turco has outplayed Belfour this season by a wide margin, he's very affordable and he has the makeup and the experience you want to see in a young goalie. Neither will the Stars miss Eddie's I-am-an-island demeanor in the clubhouse.

You've probably had just about enough of the Olympic selection questions, but please answer this one for my dad. He says that Team Canada's biggest snub was not Anson Carter or Joe Thornton, but the Blackhawks' Eric Daze. Is he even Canadian? And is he underrated or just not that good?
—Mike Vanoostveen, St. Catharines, Ontario

Daze is very much a Canadian (he's from Montreal) and he was also a near miss. He doesn't have the all-around game that Carter or Thornton has; he's primarily a one-way player. Daze, though, does have some size and knows how to pot the puck. You can make a case for Daze, but I'd take Thornton or Carter ahead of him.

With the B's near the bottom of the league in attendance, how can they afford to trade or not re-sign Bill Guerin or Byron Dafoe? Who could they possibly get in return to bring more people through the gates? And can they really trade Guerin while they are playing so well?
—B. Manning, Boston

With the possible exception of Mario Lemieux, there are exactly zero gate attractions in the NHL (see Anaheim, where Paul Kariya is one of the three best players to watch in the league) so the Bruins won't be getting anyone to lure more fans. Boston's best bet to get the turnstiles whirring is to keep winning and make a run deep into the playoffs. They would be batty, and I mean absolutely batty, to trade either Guerin or Dafoe. The Eastern Conference is wide open and the Bruins are as strong as any team in the Eastern Conference; they have a very real chance to go to the Stanley Cup finals. Without Dafoe they would have no shot. Without Guerin they would have only a teensy-tiny chance. Boston is going to keep both of them and make a run.

Do you think the Penguins will get a big enough boost from Mario Lemieux's return to be a real contender in the second half?
—Bob Lenard, Wake Forest, N.C.

No.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Kostya Kennedy covers the NHL for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. To send a question to his Mailbag, click here.

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