In The Crease

Word out of Colorado is that the Avalanche needs a vocal leader in the dressing room. The player the team misses is right wing Mike Keane, a free agent who left the club after last season to sign with the Rangers. Keane is not afraid to challenge teammates to play better and work harder; and with New York foundering, he could be back in Colorado for the right price....

Neil Smith, the Rangers general manager, has a difficult decision: Does he begin now to rebuild a team that is ninth in the East, or hope his team rebounds in its final 25 games and makes the playoffs? If he decides to retool, he probably will try to move, in addition to Keane, high-priced veterans such as forwards Brian Skrudland and Kevin Stevens and defenseman Jeff Beukeboom. However, Smith would have to eat a portion of their sizable contracts. By the way, Smith asked the Red Wings about unsigned restricted free agent center Sergei Fedorov. Detroit asked for defenseman Brian Leetch in return, ending the conversation....

Nine Canadiens missed practice because of nagging leg injuries after a game against the Islanders last week. Many Montreal players attributed their hurts to the soft, rutted ice they had played on in Carolina three days earlier....

Islanders coach Bick Bowness should be overjoyed with the addition of center Trevor Linden, who was acquired from the Canucks last week for defense-man Bryan McCabe and wing Todd Bertuzzi. The Islanders are a talented young team, but the 22-year-old McCabe was in over his head in the captain's role. Linden is a solid veteran with leadership ability....

The Canadiens brass knows it needs bigger players if the team is to become a serious contender. That's part of the reason 5'11", 179-pound Valeri Bure was traded last week to Calgary for 6'3", 213-pound wing Jonas Hoglund and 6'1", 215-pound defenseman Zarley Zalapski. Two weeks earlier Montreal made a deal with Tampa and brought in three players, the smallest being 6'1", 208-pound forward Patrick Poulin.