On this post we’ll keep you updated on all the latest player movement around the NHL as the trade deadline approaches. With only two-plus days to make deals before the mid-afternoon deadline on Wednesday, March 3, teams could be burning out their phone’s batteries in the coming days.

Here’s what’s officially gone down:

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired defenseman Jordan Leopold from the Florida Panthers for a 2010 2nd round draft pick. Leopold, 29, has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists), is -7 and is averaging 22:26 on the ice  in 61 games this year. His name had been linked to a number of trade scenarios, including a trade that would send goalie Tomas Vokoun to the Blackhawks. He is, however, headed to Pittsburgh.

Center Matt Stajan has agreed to terms with Calgary Flames on four-year extension worth about $3.5 million per year. He is going to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Stajan was acquired before the Olympics in the trade sending Dion Phaneuf to Toronto.

The St. Louis Blues’ AHL affiliate traded goaltender Hannu Toivonen and defenseman Danny Richmond to the Chicago Blackhawks‘ Rockford affiliate for goaltender Joe Fallon. All players will remain in the AHL. Fallon was recently recalled by the Blackhawks when Antti Niemi had the flu, but did not appear in any game action. Richmond, 25, has 15 assists, 16 points and 135 penalty minutes in 54 games in Peoria. He is a Buffalo Grove, IL native who was part of the Hawks’ organization between 2005-08.

The Dallas Stars signed forward Steve Ott to a four-year extension with $2.95 million per season. Ott, 27, has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) and is -13 with 100 PIM in 51 games this season. Of the 23 players in the NHL with 100+ PIM, Ott is only one of three who have scored more than 10 goals.

The Edmonton Oilers traded defenseman Denis Grebeshkov, 26, to the Nashville Predators for a 2010 2nd round draft pick. Grebeshkov has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) and is -16 in 47 games this season. The Preds have been rumored to be shopping D Dan Hamhuis; Grebeshkov might be his replacement.

The Atlanta Thrashers acquired forward Evgeny Artyukhin from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for minor league defenseman Nathan Oystrick and a conditional draft pick in 2011. Artyukhin, 26, is a UFA after this season and adds size at forward that Atlanta GM Don Waddell has openly coveted.

On Tuesday morning, the Atlanta Thrashers agreed to an NHL contract with defenseman Chris Chelios. The Atlanta Thrashers were founded in 1999; Chelios was a rookie in the NHL in 1983-84. At 48-years-old, Chelios brings… experience… to Atlanta.

The Minnesota Wild are expected to announce a contract extension with defenseman Marek Zidlicky that’s good for three years at $4 million per season. Zidlicky, 33, has 36 points (five goals, 31 assists) and is -2 in 60 games this season.

The Anaheim Ducks acquired a 4th-round pick in either 2010/2011 from the Boston Bruins in exchange for defenseman Steven Kampfer, who is currently playing at the University of Michigan. Again, not a major deal for either team, but it moves another defenseman to Boston’s organizational depth that could make another deal (or two) possible.

The New York Islanders traded defenseman Andy Sutton to the Ottawa Senators for a 2nd round pick (that was acquired from the San Jose Sharks). Sutton was scratched from the Islanders’ game on Tuesday night against Chicago.

The Pittsburgh Penguins made the first major deal at the deadline, adding left wing Alexei Ponikarovsky from Toronto for prospect Luca Caputi and veteran Martin Skoula. Skoula was included in the deal to create enough cap space in Pittsburgh for Ponikarovsky to clear. Caputi, also a left wing, was the third-ranked prospect in the Pittsburgh system.

The St. Louis Blues have acquired right wing Matt D’Agostini from Montreal for forward prospect Aaron Palushaj. D’Agostini, 23, has two goals, two assists and is -12 in 40 games for the Canadians this year. Palushaj, 20, was the third-ranked prospect in the St. Louis organization.

The Boston Bruins have sent defenseman Derek Morris to the Phoenix Coyotes for a 4th round pick in the 2011 draft. Morris, 31, has three goals and 22 assists, is averaging exactly 22 minutes per game, and is -2 this season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will never see Martin Skoula in uniform. Skoula, who was acquired as part of the Ponikarovski trade on Tuesday night, is headed to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday morning. Toronto will receive a 5th round pick in the 2010 draft.

The Boston Bruins acquired defenseman Denis Seidenberg and defenseman prospect Matt Bartkowski from Florida for forwards Craig Weller and Byron Bitz and a 2nd round pick. Seidenberg will likely replace Derek Morris in Boston’s rotation.

The Anaheim Ducks have acquired defenseman Aaron Ward from the Carolina Hurricanes for goalie Justin Pogge and a 4th round pick. The Ducks send Nick Boynton to Chicago on Tuesday, but Ward figures to factor into Anaheim’s top-four.

The Edmonton Oilers claimed forward Ryan Jones off waivers from the Nashville Predators. Jones, 25, has seven goals and four assists in 41 games this season for Nashville.

The Washington Capitals acquired forward Scott Walker from the Carolina Hurricanes for a 7th round pick. The Capitals have been trying to add depth to their blue line for some time, and the veteran Walker accomplishes that goal at a relatively small price.

The St. Louis Blues have dealt center Jan Stastny to the Vancouver Canucks for Cedric Labrie. Stastny, 27, has one goal in just four games for the Blues this season. How, and where, he’ll fit with Vancouver is to be determined.

The Colorado Avalanche have dealt Wojtek Wolski to the Phoenix Coyotes for Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter. Wolski, 24, has 17 goals and 30 assists and is +15 in 61 games this season. Mueller, 21, has four goals and 13 assists in 54 games this season, and will be a restricted free agent after the season.

The Vancouer Canucks have traded defenseman Mathieu Schneider to the Phoenix Coyotes for Sean Zimmerman and a 6th round pick. Schneider, 40, has five points in 17 games for the Canucks this season and is likely a rental to fill their defense.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have dealt center Jeff Halpern to the Los Angeles Kings for Teddy Purcell and a 3rd round pick. Halpern, 33, has nine goals and eight assists in 51 games for the Lightning this year and, more importantly, is an unrestricted free agent after the season. Purcell, 24, has three goals and three assists in 41 games this year.

The Washington Capitals have acquired center Eric Belanger from the Minnesota Wild for a 2nd round pick. Belanger, 32, has 13 goals and 22 assists in 60 games in Minnesota this season. How he impacts the lines in Washington will be an evolving situation.

The Anaheim Ducks have added backup netminder Curtis McElhinney from the Calgary Flames for Vesa Toskala. Before the Olympics, the Ducks signed Jonas Hiller to an extension and dealt Jean-Sebastian Giguere to Toronto. Toskala has already taken away Miika Kiprusoff’s job once in his career…

The Buffalo Sabres have added forward Raffi Torres to play in front of Ryan Miller down the stretch. Torres, 28, has 19 goals and 12 assists in 60 games this season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus will receive Nathan Paetcsh and 2nd round pick.

The Sabres, after adding Torres, have traded Clarke MacArthur to the Atlanta Thrashers. MacArthur, 24, has 13 goals and 13 assists and is -14 in 60 games so far this season. His spot in Buffalo will be filled by Torres, and he’ll try to fill the void left by Ilya Kovalchuck in Atlanta.

The Washington Capitals added more defense, trading for Milan Jurcina. Jurcina, 26, has one goal and six assists this season in 44 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Caps have added both Jurcina and Walker now before the deadline.

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the deadline, sending forward Lee Stempniak to the Phoenix Coyotes. Stempniak, 27, had 14 goals and 16 assists, and was -10 in 60 games for Toronto this year. Toronto acquired 4th and 7th round picks.

Carolina traded Joe Corvo to the Washington Capitals for a 2nd round pick, prospect and Brian Pothier. Corvo is the second defenseman added to the mix for the Caps in one day. He had four goals and eight assists in 34 games for Carolina.

The Vancouver Canucks acquired defenseman Andrew Alberts. Alberts, 28, has two goals and eight assists in 62 games this season in Carolina. He will replace Mathieu Schneider in the Canucks’ blue line rotation. Carolina received a 3rd round pick for Alberts.

Los Angeles acquired Fredrik Modin from Columbus. Modin, 35, had two goals and four assists and was -3 in 24 games for the Blue Jackets this season. This was the second deal for the Kings at the deadline, while Columbus unloaded a number of players.

The Anaheim Ducks acquired Joey MacDonald from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 7th round pick. MacDonald, 30, was a reserve in Toronto who only played in six games for the Leafs this season. The Ducks added a number of netminders around the deadlines, both before and now after the Olympics, this year.

The Florida Panthers acquired defenseman Mathieu Roy for prospect Matt Rust. Roy, 26, had ten assists in 31 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season, and will likely replace Denis Seidenberg in the Panthers’ rotation.

The Anaheim Ducks sent Ryan Whitney to Edmonton for Lubomir Visnovsky. Visnovsky, 33, had 1o goals and 22 assists in 57 games for the Oilers this year. Whitney, 27, had four goals and 24 assists in 62 games in Anaheim this season.

The Nashville Predators acquired center Dustin Boyd from the Calgary Flames for a 4th round pick. Boyd, 24, had eight goals and 11 assists in 61 games for the Flames this season.

The Calgary Flames have agreed to a second major trade on Sunday, according to TSN. Calgary will send center Olli Jokinen and forward Brandon Prust to the New York Rangers in exchange for forwards Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins.

Kotalik did not travel with the Rangers to Denver for Sunday’s game.

UPDATE: TSN is reporting on Monday morning that Ryan Callahan might replace Higgins in the deal. Matt Gilroy’s name has also been mentioned.

So, to review Calgary’s busy Sunday, here’s a quick chart of the incoming and outgoing Flames.

The trade deadline isn’t until March 3, but the movement has started with a bang.

On Sunday morning, TSN reported that the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs have agreed to a seven-player deal that sends star defenseman Dion Phanuef  to Toronto. Going east with Phanuef are  forward Fredrik Sjostrom and defenseman prospect Keith Aulie.

Coming back to Calgary in the trade are forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White.

Phanuef was drafted ninth overall in 2003 by Calgary and is a two-time Western Conference All Star. He was a surprise omission from Canada’s Olympic team this year, and his overall production has been down all year. He has just 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 53 games; he hasn’t finished a season with less than 47 points in his NHL career.

Sjostrom, 26, has six points in 46 games this year.

What does this deal mean to the Western Conference playoff picture?

After just completing a miserable 4-8-3 January that left them clinging to a one-point advantage on Detroit for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, this deal, on paper, appears to fix almost all of the issues in Calgary.

Gone are Dion Phanuef and a couple of guys that really aren’t worth much more than salary. Of course Phanuef, the team’s top draft pick in 2003, is coming off consecutive All Star Game appearances, so this certainly wasn’t a small price to pay.

But the bounty the Flames received back makes this deal worth it. Hagman was Toronto’s leading goal scorer with 20, and Stajan was second on the Leafs with 44 points. Oh, and White has outplayed Phanuef this year on the blue line as well.

The net result of this deal is an increase of 80 points in 2009-10 production from the four incoming players.

The Flames averaged only 2.13 goals per game in January, and that’s with Saturday’s six goals and a four-goal loss in Anaheim included. Poor Mikka Kipprusoff hasn’t had any offense to support some incredible efforts during the month.

That has changed now.

Now, the Flames could realistically skate a top line of Hagman, Stajan and Jarome Iginla that would have 125 points between them. The second line for Calgary could now include Rene Borque, Curtis Glencross and Damond Langkow, a line that would have scored 95 points this year.

There is not denying the upgrades made to the forward lines in Calgary with this deal.

What makes the deal even more impressive is bringing back White in the package. White likely won’t play as many minutes as he was in Toronto (23:47 per game), but adding someone with his scoring ability to the already-talented group of Jay Bouwmeester, Mark Giordano and Robyn Regehr means that this deal won’t negatively impact the depth Calgary had on its blue line for the sake of adding offense.

The Flames now have two weeks before the Olympics to work out their lines and figure out their chemistry for a big playoff push in March and April. Making this deal, however, will go a long way in helping Calgary compete in the West.

The next domino to fall is a reported deal between the Leafs and Anaheim Ducks. Yesterday, the Ducks agreed to a four-year, $18-million extension with Jonas Hiller, and today Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that Jean Sebastian Giguere has been dealt to Toronto for Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake.. Giguere has one year and $7 million left on his contract after the 2009-10 season, while Toskala makes $4 million this year and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The Blackhawks were coming off a two-game stretch in which they played arguably their best game of the year in Detroit, followed by perhaps their worst in Ottawa.

The Flames lost their previous game 9-1 at home to the San Jose Sharks.

Both teams were frustrated. Something had to give.

Not very often is a losing goaltender the game’s Number One star, but Mikka Kipprusoff absolutely earned the recognition on Thursday night, keeping a Flames team with zero offense over the last month at least relevant in the game before finally losing 3-1; Kipprusoff allowed two of the goals on 27 shots, many of which were in traffic, in the loss. The Flames have now scored only 21 goals in 11 January games, an average of less than two per contest.

For the Blackhawks, coach Joel Quenneville made the move in net to start Antti Niemi instead of a struggling Cristobal Huet, and he was rewarded with another solid effort from the Finnish rookie. Huet allowed just one goal on 20 shots, a power play score by Jamie Lundmark with less than two minutes left in the first period, and was solid all night. After the game, he received a vote of confidence from Quenneville, who told the media that there’s a good chance we’ll see more of Niemi moving forward based on how well he’s playing.

The scoring got started with Patrick Kane’s 21st goal of the season, a power play goal assisted by only Jonathan Toews half-way through the first period. The score would remain tied into the third period because of Kipprusoff’s exceptional play, and it wasn’t until 5:52 in the third that a rebound bounced off Ben Eager’s leg and fell past the Calgary goaltender that the Hawks finally had the lead back. Two would be all Niemi would need on Thursday night, but Duncan Keith scored the Hawks’ first empty-net goal of the season for good measure late to make the final score 3-1.

Niemi received a lot of help from active defense, though. The Hawks were credited with 17 blocked shots on Thursday night, led by a number of players with two. One of the players that blocked two shots was Brent Sopel, who’s been sticking parts of his body in front of pucks all year and has obviously paid the price a few times lately. Sopel left the ice after a blocked shot on Thursday and wouldn’t return; he played under nine minutes in the game, and Quenneville said he had the infamous “upper body injury” that would be further evaluated on Friday.

Tomas Kopecky also played a strong game for the Blackhawks, being credited with an assist, a team-leading three hits, one takeaway and was +1 for the night. The entire energy line was solid for the Hawks, with Colin Fraser also assisting on Eager’s game-winner and being credited with two blocked shots as well. The other surprise on the stat sheet was Patrick Sharp, who won 12 of 16 faceoffs in the game in arguably his best night as a center. His time in the circle could be coming to an end shortly, though, as Dave Bolland hopes to return in early February from his back surgery.

At the end of October, we looked ahead to a November schedule that looked like it would provide a rough test for the Blackhawks. With most of the top teams in the Western Conference on the schedule, and the annual Circus Trip taking the Hawks on the road for two weeks, it was clear that November would provide an opportunity for the Hawks to gauge their play against the best in the West.

November is now over, and the Hawks got a pretty good idea of where they stand in the West: one of the elite.

The Blackhawks ended November 8-2-2 (18 pts), and finished the Circus Trip an impressive 4-1-1.On the Circus Trip, the Hawks put seven goals on both the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks in the midst of an eight-game winning streak that raised the Hawks to national prominance.

Cristobal Huet had a solid month goal, allowing only 2.00 goals per game and earning a 7-2-1 record for the month. His play raised him to the Top Five in the NHL in goals against average and put the Hawks near the top of the conference standings. For the month, the Hawks outscored their opponents 39-25, or 3.25-2.08 per game.

Huet was aided by superb defense from nearly every position. The Hawks continued their dominance on the power play kill, only allowing seven goals on 39 power plays (an 82.05 percent kill rate). When you factor in that the Hawks scored four short handed goals in November, including the spectacular three-goal effort in San Jose last week, the Blackhawks have established arguably the best PK unit in the game.

Many players had good offensive months, but perhaps the most suprising player in November was Troy Brouwer. Usually a third or fourth line wing, Brouwer led the team with three power play goals among his nine points (four goals, five assists) in the month. Duncan Keith led the team with 13 points in 12 games, recording one goal and 12 assists in the month. Patrick Kane led all goal scorers for the Hawks with five; Kane also had seven assists in the month.

Jonathan Toews missed the first two games of November because of his concussion but rebounded to score four goals and record six assists for 10 points in just 10 games. Toews had two power plays goals as he and Brouwer led a resurgent unit for the Hawks that improved by scoring 10 goals on 38 power plays in the month (26.32 percent conversion).

Oh, and we haven’t even started talking about the arrival of Marian Hossa in the lineup. the great two-way forward has already contributed two goals in just three games and is playing physical defense on both sides of the ice. Despite the Hawks losing Dave Bolland to back surgery early in the month, they have continued scoring and moving the puck well, even with players like Kris Versteeg occasionally picking up ice time in the circle.

As the Hawks come home for most of the month of December, the Eastern Conference teams come calling. The Blackhawks got a good idea of where they rank among the heavyweights in the Western Conference in November and should feel fairly confident heading towards Christmas.

Has anyone else ever seen the old Blackhawks commercial, where actor Jeremy Piven made himself a personal favorite to anyone who wears the Indian Head sweater? The link to the 31 second spot it here, courtesy of YouTube, if you’ve never seen it.

Wow. Truly a Chicagoan. A man’s man. A Blackhawks’ fan.

And then came Thursday night in Calgary, where Piven was apparently the guest of honor at the Flames-Blackhawks game. The emcee (I didn’t know they had those at hockey games) at one point presented Piven with a personalized Flames jersey.

I totally understand pandering to your public, but you can’t watch the commercial he made and then watch him, without a single item identifying him as a Chicagoan, accepting a Flames jersey.

I’m not going to hate the man (“The Goods” is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a while), but there are times in life when you need to keep it real. On Thursday night, Piven had an opportunity to keep it real and show that “everything he learned in life he learned from his dad, at a Blackhawks game.”

Traitor or publicity whore? Piven might have "The Goods," but it didn't help the Flames.

October’s in the books, and now November begins with even more questions than answers in the NHL’s Western Conference. So many injuries have hit the rosters that it’s beginning to raise concerns that some teams, like Vancouver, might not be able to withstand the losses of players and games early in the year.

Other teams, like Colorado and Los Angeles, have jumped out of the gates with a stronger showing than expected. Anze Kopitar leads the league in scoring, and Craig Anderson in Denver has been phenomenal (former Hawks prospect, too).

So let’s put it on paper. How do the teams in the West stack up after one month of the season, and how do they project moving forward.

15. Minnesota (5-9-0  10 pts)

The Wild thought adding injury plagued players like Martin Havlat would help them compete for a playoff spot this year, but the chance they took with those checkered pasts has come to haunt them. They’ve been outscored 42-31 through 14 games. Injuries and sloppy play have left Minnesota the lowest scoring team in the league.

14. Anaheim (4-6-2  10 pts)

The Ducks aren’t so mighty right now, and have fallen well behind the Kings in their annual competition to be southern California’s best insignificant team. Ryan Getzlaf has only scored one goal in 12 games, and the team’s third leading scorer is James Wisniewski. If not for Corey Perry and Getzlaf, the team’s 34-42 point differential would look a lot worse.

13. St. Louis (5-6-1  11 pts)

They definitely have the Blues in St. Louis right now, as they’ve only been able to muster a 2-5-0 record at home so far. Their offense has disappeared, climaxing with consecutive shutouts to end the month of October. Not a single Blues player has reached double digits in points yet, and Chris Mason is allowing 2.74 goals per game.

12. Nashville (6-6-1  13 points)

Until their last three games, the Predators weren’t living up to their name. They’ve been outscored 38-28, the worst differential in the Western Conference, and have had issues settling on a goalie. Their last three games, though, have been exceptional and they may have not only found a goalie, but their offense has come alive. Pekka Rinne appears to have established himself as the top goalie, benefiting from a 10-5 scoring differential in those three games (including a shutout of the Blackhawks).

11. Detroit Red Wings (5-4-3  13 pts)

They’ve struggled to stay healthy so far this year, already missing key components from last year’s conference championship team from free agency. With two of their top three centers out for between eight weeks and four months, the Wings are desperately seeking defense. They’ve come out of the gate averaging 3.50 goals per game, but are allowing nearly four. If there’s anything to the rumors that Detroit’s going to make a strong play to add Peter Forsberg, they could be a dangerous team.

10. Edmonton (7-7-1  15 pts)

The Oilers paid a lot of money for the 2008-09 Nikolai Khabibulin, but have seen the goalie that was regularly booed in Chicago the two previous seasons. The Bulin Wall has allowed 3.12 goals per game so far, and the offense has skated hard to keep pace. They’re very much an average team that will struggle to break into the top eight spots this spring for the playoffs without a trade.

9. Vancouver (8-7-0  16 pts)

What happens when you take Daniel Sedin, Sami Salo, Pavol Demitra and Roberto Luongo out of multiple games? That’s just to mention a few of the Canucks’ injury concerns to start this season, and they’re understandably struggling to stay above .500 through a tough early schedule. Sedin and Salo are both expected to miss most of November, so the ice will stay thin for the Canucks.

8. Dallas (6-3-5  17 pts)

If only they faced Cristobal Huet every night! Their inability to get it done in regulation has killed a team trying to get much-needed early wins without Mike Modano. They’re only converting 17.7 percent of their power play opportunities, perhaps the biggest impact of Modano’s absence. If they can get healthy and play defense (3.25 goals against per game), they could be a playoff team.

7. Columbus (7-5-1  15 pts)

The Jackets are in second place in the Central behind a strong start from Rick Nash, but are being outscored after a month of action (42-46). They’re going to need to step up their defense to allow their strong offense to shine. Obviously, getting Jan Hejda back off injured reserve should improve their defense, and that could happen as soon as Wednesday. They just lost Andrew Murray for four weeks, though. Like many teams, health is an ongoing issue.

6. Calgary (7-4-1  15 pts)

The Flames have the best converting power play in the conference (27.8 percent), but they’re allowing 3.5 goals per game. They’re an older, veteran squad that hasn’t received what they had hoped for from Mikka Kiprusoff in goal, but have been pleasantly surprised by former Blackhawks wing Rene Borque, who leads Calgary in scoring to date.

5. Phoenix (9-5-0  18 pts)

The Coyotes, unlike Edmonton, haven’t missed Wayne Gretzky for one second and have admirably played through their off-ice distractions to have a solid start. They’re third in the Pacific Division, and have held opponents to just over two goals per game. The NHL might have bought the best goalie in hockey in bankruptcy court, too, in Ilya Bryzgalov; he’s allowing only 1.78 goals per night and has sprinted out to an 8-3-0 record.

4. Los Angeles (9-4-2  20 pts)

Their offense, led by Kopitar, is as good as it gets in the league (51 goals through 15 games), but they’re not doing a lot of the little things right to jump into the top spot in the Pacific. The Kings are only killing 74.1 percent of power plays, and are only 5-3-2 in their last ten games. They’ll need to allow fewer than their current three goals per game to win their division, much less the conference.

3. Chicago (8-4-1  17 pts)

The Blackhawks are certainly talented enough to end the regular season in the top spot in the West, but haven’t jumped to that spot yet. Missing Jonathan Toews for two weeks hasn’t help a strikingly unproductive power play (17.3 percent), but their defense has been good around Cristobal Huet’s roller coaster season. Once they get Toews, Eager and Hossa back, watch out.

2. Colorado (10-3-2  22 pts)

The Avalanche have followed Anderson’s lead between the pipes and sprinted to an early lead in the Northwest, and could expand their six-point lead on a banged up Vancouver team. The perfect storm might have landed in Denver to begin this season, as the Avalanche are playing well while the rest of their division gets hurt and plays poorly. They could run away with their division before the Olympics.

1. San Jose (10-4-1  21 pts)

They took the huge gamble this summer in adding Dany Heatley to their roster, and it’s payed off on paper so far. They’ve scored almost a full goal per game more than their opponents, have the second ranked power play in the conference (25 percent) and third-best power play killing unit in the conference (85 percent). Chemistry will be a theme to watch as this season progresses, though… Heatley has never been known for making friends.

Antti Niemi makes a stop against Calgary on Monday, something Cristobal Huet couldn't do.

After the Blackhawks’ first two games against the Florida Panthers, I made the argument that Antti Niemi should be the goaltender moving forward for Chicago.

After Monday night’s comeback win, I think the case for Niemi is stronger, and has more backing from the fans, than ever.

I have attended each of the first two home games this year, and the reaction to Cristobal Huet during player introductions has been mixed at best. He’s earning less than a mixed reaction.

Huet’s top shelf is so wide open it’s painful. He would have the worst glove in Chicago if the Cubs could trade Alfonso Soriano, and he drops to his knees faster than an intern in Bill Clinton’s White House. There are so many holes in Huet’s game, you’d think he was Swiss, not French.

But then again, with Huet being French, it’s too easy to refer to his five hole as the “Arc de Failure.”

Niemi might not be the long-term answer, but he’s certainly better than what Huet’s doing for the team right now. He shut out a Florida team that got pretty much whatever it wanted just the day before against Huet in Helsinki and then was more than adequate after a rough first few moments in the Blackhawks stunning 6-5 victory on Monday.

Huet allowed three goals on five shots Monday. After the first two, less than five minutes into a crucial early season game against a playoff competitor, coach Joel Quenneville even burned the team’s only timeout to slow Calgary’s momentum. Less than a minute later, the puck was in the net behind Huet and Quenneville was making the switch.

After the game, Quenneville was (obviously) asked about the goalie situation moving forward. His answers to the questions was as telling as the final score was; there was zero commitment to Huet moving forward.

Indeed, there have been whispers from the Blackhawks organization that the early season boo’s are taking a toll on an apparently fragile Huet’s self esteem.

Good. I hope his inner child is looking for a second box of Kleenex. It’s time for Niemi to be the Hawks primary goalie until Huet can cowboy-up and play like his $5.6 million salary would indicate he’s able. This team is too good to wait any longer for decent goaltending.

Brent Seabrook reacts to scoring the game-winning goal against Calgary on Monday night.

History.

On Opening Night, the Blackhawks brought out some of their greatest players and then gave fans a thrilling victory after the longest shoot out in the history of the organization. The entire evening was filled with both the great history of the franchise and the immense pressure of the present.

Fast forward 48 hours to Monday night. Most history from the young Blackhawks at the expense of their fans’ blood pressure.

It took five shots on goal and less than five minutes for starting goalie Cristobal Huet to find himself a warm seat in the locker room. Huet allowed three of those first five shots to reach the net, despite coach Joel Quenneville using his timeout after two.

Quenneville saw enough, and made a change that a capacity crowd, of which I was a part, appreciated.

In both home games this year, Huet has received a noticeably mixed reaction in player introductions. After Monday night, the portion of that reaction that was once positive might be disappearing. In his post game press conference, Quenneville was open about there being continued dialogue around the situation in goal for the Blackhawks.

Huet has not been good enough this year.

But when Antti Niemi came in, he gave up two quick goals and suddenly an electric crowd was stunned by a five-goal deficit less than ten minutes into a big game against a conference opponent. From my seats, the reactions from the Flames players with each successive goal appeared to be as surprised as the fans; the fact that shots that didn’t even appear to be sincere were going in was making the visiting Flames laugh out loud.

At least the Flames were able to LOL for 20 minutes, because the Blackhawks officially put the Western Conference on notice Monday night with their play in the second and third periods.

No team is safe, no lead is safe, and no score is big enough against these Blackhawks.

John Madden, perhaps my favorite off season addition in the last decade for this team, scored a goal to draw the Hawks within a 5-1 score just before the end of the first period. Then an effort worthy of 20,000 paying fans began at the expense of Miikka Kiprusoff.

The Hawks began hitting, led by Andrew Ladd and Troy Brouwer. The team that started the game as soft as a marshmallow was now hitting hard enough that, at one point, a Flames player was hit through the glass, delaying the game.

The Hawks began skating. Patrick Kane has matured more than the threat of jail time would have inspired over the summer, and with him next to Dave Bolland the Hawks began sprinting circles around Calgary, with their snipers taking aim at the net as often as possible.

The Hawks began playing shut-down defense. The Flames finished the first period with five goals on 10 shots. They had six shots in the second period, and just four in the third. The physical play, coupled with an intense, attacking approach kept the Flames from even getting the puck to Niemi.

As the Blackhawks faught and clawed slowly back to a 5-4 score after two periods, the crowd was starting to appear as surprised as the Flames were to get five easy goals in the first period. There was a very real sense that a five goal hole wasn’t too big. And it wasn’t.

Once the third period began, the expectation from the stands and on the ice appeared to be that the Hawks were going to win the game. When Patrick Sharp tied the game on a fantastic re-direct, the roof nearly came down on the erupting crowd.

In a game against a playoff-caliber opponent, a playoff-caliber crowd backed the biggest comeback in the history of the Blackhawks Monday night. As Brent Seabrook picked up a wandering puck in front of the net, centered his legs, and unloaded the game-winning shot in overtime, I doubt there was a butt still attached to a seat. I know mine wasn’t.

The Blackhawks out-shot the Flames 40–20 in the game. Kane had three points (1 goal, 2 assists), Bolland, Brian Campbell and Ladd all had two, and Dustin Byfuglien, Duncan Keith, Madden and Cam Barker each had one. The goals were scored by Madden, Kane, Byfuglien, Bolland, Sharp and Seabrook.

Niemi got the win… now the discussion will become whether or not he should get the next start. That discussion is coming soon.

FUN FACT: Only one other team in the history of the NHL has come back from a five goal deficit, the St. Louis Blues, who were coached in that game by Joel Quenneville.

On Wednesday, the Chicago Blackhawks announced they had traded defensiveman Aaron Johnson to the Calgary Flames for wing Kyle Greentree.

Johnson, 26, has not appeared in a game for the Hawks yet this year. He’s making $540,000 on a one-year contract, after scoring eight points in 38 games in the 2008-09 season. He was +19 last year.

Greentree, 25, played in just three games for Calgary last year, and is reportedly being assigned to the AHL. He has played in four career games.