The Sabres may want to buy out winger Ville Leino, who has been a bust with no goals in almost a calendar year, but they might have to keep the Finnish player around to reach the salary-cap floor next season. Leino signed a six-year deal for $24 million as a free agent, but it’s no fun going to work when you’re disappointing people. “The money doesn’t make me feel any better. It’s kind of a dumb excuse to blame the money. Something has to change. Things can’t stay the same year after year,” Leino told the Finnish paper, Helsingin Sanomat.

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If the Carolina Hurricanes are moving Conn Smythe Award-winning goalie Cam Ward this summer to cut payroll — they will likely hand the net to Anton Khudobin — I can see the New York Islanders being a possible destination. Or the Washington Capitals. Buffalo apparently offered Ryan Miller to the Capitals at the deadline, though, and they weren’t interested.

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Patrick Roy has got a lock on the coach-of-the-year award, but Craig Berube stepped in with the Flyers when Peter Laviolette was fired and turned the ship around. He should be in the top three in voting.

And "Short Shifts"...

How good has Gustav Nyquist been in Detroit? He has scored 21 goals in 45 games, including five game-winners, and 31 of his 38 points are even-strength. He’s got Pavel Datsyuk skills; he slithers through checkers.

Most unsung NHL forward this season: Wayne Simmonds in Philadelphia. He’s got 40 points in his last 36 games and is the only NHLer with at least 100 penalty minutes (104) and at least 20 goals (24).

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The Boston Bruins might get their second-best defenceman, Dennis Seidenberg (surgery for torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in January), back in the playoffs. He’s way ahead of the six- to eight-month normal recovery time. Seidenberg normally plays with Zdeno Chara, with Johnny Boychuk on a second pairing. For now, Dougie Hamilton has been Chara’s partner on the juggernaut Bruins.