Over the last few seasons, the Philadelphia Flyers could count on their power play to help them win their fair share of games. They were third in the League last season at 21.4 percent; sixth the season before that at 22.5 percent; second in 2007-08 at 21.8 percent.

This season, however, they're 23rd at 16.7 percent. They're 0-for-10 in their last three games, just 2-for-27 in their last eight.

That's not going to win you many games.

"I'm not sure (of the problem)," Flyers captain Mike Richards said. "There are a lot of things we can improve upon, a lot of things we could probably do differently. It is something that is a big concern for us coming down the stretch and hopefully we can work out some kinks over the last 20 games and get ready for playoffs."

Coach Peter Laviolette has changed his two extra-man units around, mostly switching forwards, which led to a bit of public unrest, and he'll have to switch it again with Jeff Carter's absence Thursday against the Maple Leafs. But he's looking for something to work, and what he's been using clearly hasn't been.

"We're working on it in practice," the coach said. "Any time you see things going off course a little bit, you try to get it back on. Maybe there's a little extra video, some more meetings, you have some practice time here."

However, Laviolette said he isn't losing sleep over his powerless power play. One look at the track records of the players available for him keeps him positive.

"I'm not overly concerned about it because for years these same players have been very good on the power play," he said. "I think that when you go through parts of the season where there's something that's not right where you want it to be and I'm sure they'll get out of it.

Danny Briere, third on the team with 6 power-play goals, said he's confident things will get back on track and that it's good to get the problems out of the way now.

"I'd rather have the problems happening now and hopefully correct them before the playoffs," he told NHL.com. "The past few years it's been very good. I really believe we will have a good power play when it matters most."

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

One of the great strengths of the Philadelphia Flyers this season has been their depth on defense. However, the last week has shown that maybe that deep lake has a fairly shallow bottom.

First, last Sunday they lost Sean O'Donnell for what was expected to be 10-14 days with a left knee injury. However, that injury turned out not to be as serious as feared, and he was ready to play Thursday. That worked perfectly, as Tuesday's game against Phoenix saw Oskars Bartulis -- who's spent the season as the spare defenseman -- likely have his season ended on a late hit by Phoenix's Scottie Upshall. Bartulis is expected to have surgery on his shoulder soon, and miss 10-12 weeks.

Then on Thursday, Chris Pronger missed the last seven minutes of regulation and all of overtime against the Islanders after he was hit in the right hand by a shot. After the game Pronger and GM Paul Holmgren said X-rays revealed no fractures and Pronger was expected to play Saturday. On Friday, however, Pronger skipped practice and the Flyers called up rookie Erik Gustafsson as an insurance policy.

All that being said, does this mean the Flyers could be in the market for a spare defenseman prior to Monday's trade deadline?

The Philadelphia Daily News reported Thursday that Holmgren and Avalanche GM Greg Sherman had spoken regarding Avs captain Adam Foote, but he's currently out with a torn quad muscle.

Another candidate could be Sabres captain Craig Rivet, who recently went on waivers.

Holmgren said he had no intention of trading anyone currently on his roster to fill a need on defense, and said there were in-house candidates he felt comfortable using, including Matt Walker -- currently recovering from knee surgery that's not expected to keep him out too long -- minor-league veteran Danny Syvret and rookies Gustafsson and Kevin Marshall.

"Matt Walker won't be out that long," Holmgren told reporters Thursday, prior to Pronger's injury. "We like Gustafsson, we like Syvret, we like Marshall, but they're all young guys. Will I explore it? Probably listen around, look around, but I don't feel like trading anyone off our team to do anything like that."

Could he feel differently if Pronger is out for any length of time? We'll know more by Monday.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

After Colorado and St. Louis stunned hockey fans late Friday night, could there be more young talent changing places?

One rumor being reported Monday by TSN's Darren Dreger is a possible swap of Penguins defenseman Alex Goligoski for Stars forward James Neal.

It's a highly interesting move that fills a need for both teams.

With the emergence of All-Star Kris Letang in Pittsburgh, plus the summer signing of Paul Martin, the Pens could part with a young talent like Goligoski, 25, who has 9 goals and 31 points in 60 games.

The Stars could use some offensive punch to their blue line, as their leading offensive performer is 33-year-old Stephane Robidas, who has just 26 points.

Sending away a young left wing like Neal, 23 would be a big price for Dallas, but one they seem OK in paying. Neal has scored 20 goals in each of his first three seasons, including 21 this season. But the Stars have All-Star Loui Eriksson and promising Jamie Benn who can play on the left, and a number of talented young forwards in the pipeline, including Tomas Vincour and 2009 first-round pick Scott Glennie.

With Evgeni Malkin lost for the season, Sidney Crosby a question mark and a number of other injuries, the Pens certainly could use the offensive boost Neal could give them.

Could this move happen? It would take a pair of very brave general managers. But after seeing the Blues and Avs exchange talented young players Friday, anything is possible.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

TSN is reporting the Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired St. Louis Blues defenseman Eric Brewer. Brewer had a no-trade clause, but he's apparently waived it to move from the West's 13th-place team to the No. 2 team in the East.

Brewer has 8 goals and 14 points in 54 games, and has been St. Louis' captain since the 2007-08 season.

Much attention has been focused on the rebuilding going on in southern Ontario, but there's another reconstruction effort that's taking shape in the eastern part of the province.

As the Senators have sunk to 15th in the Eastern Conference, GM Bryan Murray has begun to dismantle his team. He's said there are very few players off limits, a list that likely includes All-Star defenseman Erik Karlsson, rookie goalie Robin Lehner and team captain Daniel Alfredsson.

In the last eight days, he's bid farewell to forwards Mike Fisher, Chris Kelly and Jarko Ruutu, and today goalie Brian Elliott. In return, he's gotten first-, second- and sixth-round picks in the 2011 Entry Draft (plus a conditional 2012 pick) plus a goaltender Murray thinks could start for the team next season in Craig Anderson.

And with 10 days left before the Feb. 28 deadline, he might not be done.

When Murray made the Fisher trade, he said he wanted to start moving out veteran players to make room for a number of youngsters he expects to be arriving on a full-time basis next season.

"I feel we have some real top young players coming," Murray said then. "Robin Lehner, Erik Karlsson, Jared Cowen, David Rundblad, a couple forwards I could mention. We are going to have to open the door for some of these younger players to play come September. To do that, the hard part of the business is saying goodbye to some of the veteran players."

Other veteran players rumored to be on the move are forwards Alex Kovalev and Chris Neil and defenseman Chris Phillips, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, but will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

The San Jose Sharks and Carolina Hurricanes already have made one trade today; could another be coming?

The Sharks sent defenseman Derek Joslin to the Hurricanes earlier this afternoon, but a bigger move for a blueliner reportedly is being talked about, which would involve veteran Ian White going west to San Jose.

TSN is reporting a deal is in place that would send White to the Sharks, but there's no word on what might be going back to Carolina.

A trade involving White shouldn't be a surprise. GM Jim Rutherford alluded that he was considering an offer for White, and he was held out of Wednesday's game against the Devils.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @NHLAdamK

According to TSN, it's shaping up to be a pretty busy day for Boston GM Peter Chiarelli.

He's already got the Tomas Kaberle deal with the Leafs about to happen. But in order to keep some salary cap flexibility, he's apparently got another trade brewing.

The Bruins would send forward Blake Wheeler and defenseman Mark Stuart to the Atlanta Thrashers, in return for forward Rich Peverley and defenseman Boris Valabik.

Wheeler and Peverley are near-washes, stat-wise. The Bruins would get the older player in 28-year-old Peverley, vs. the 24-year-old Wheeler.

Stuart has just 5 points this season, his second straight subpar season, but he's just 26 and two seasons removed from a 17-point season and back-to-back 82-game seasons.

Valabik, the 10th pick of the 2004 Entry Draft, has yet to earn a full-time NHL job. However, he could be another Zdeno Chara -- he's 6-foot-7 and 255 pounds, and hails from Slovakia. He had 2 points in 23 NHL games last season, but has spent all of 2010-11 in the AHL, where he has 9 points and 165 penalty minutes in 49 games.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @NHLAdamK

Tomas Kaberle has been pretty steadfast in the past few seasons about not wanting to waive his no-trade clause. However, as he nears the end of the final year of the deal, and with the Leafs on the fringe of playoff contention, could he have softened his stance?

TSN and the Boston Globe are reporting that he has, and a trade of the blueliner to the Bruins is imminent.

Going back to the Leafs, if the rumors are true, would be top prospect Joe Colborne and the Bruins' first-round pick. For clarity's sake, it's the Bruins' own pick, not the one they got last season from the Leafs in the Phil Kessel deal.

If that's truly the deal, it would be a win/win deal. Boston gets an elite offensive defenseman that will bring desperately needed punch to their blueline -- Kaberle has 38 points this season; only Zdeno Chara has more than 25 among Bruins defensemen.

In return, the Leafs would get a real solid center prospect in Colborne, the 16th pick of the 2008 Entry Draft currently playing with AHL Providence. The 6-foot-5, 190-pounder has 26 points in 55 games in his first pro season.

It seems like Tomas Kaberle goes with trade-deadline rumors like peanut butter goes with jelly, but could this be the time a move actually happens? TSN's Darren Dreger is reporting today that barring "a complete meltdown," the talented defenseman will move from Toronto to Boston prior to the Feb. 28 trade deadline.

There's no report on what the return to the Leafs might be, but according to Dreger, the Bruins are not requiring Kaberle -- who can become unrestricted free agent on July 1 -- sign a new contract to consummate the deal.

At 32 years old, Kaberle is having one of his typically strong seasons, with 38 points in 58 games. One place the Bruins are lacking is offense from the back end, as Zdeno Chara is the only Boston defenseman with as many as 25 points.

Dreger is reporting it's doubtful the deal happens today, and that the Bruins might have to make another move to settle any salary-cap issues. However, Kaberle would have to waive his no-trade clause for the deal to go through, something he hasn't been amenable to doing in the past.

Will he do it this time? We'll find out for sure some time in the next 11 days.

UPDATE: Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com confirms Dreger's report that Boston is close to adding Kaberle, and also reports defenseman Mark Stuart could be on his way to Chicago to open up some salary cap space. Haggerty said the package for Kaberle is believed to be young forward Blake Wheeler and a draft pick, while Stuart would only bring a draft pick (and more importantly cap space) in return.

According to capgeek.com the Bruins have enough to acquire a player who carries a cap hit of just more than $2.5 million. Kaberle's deal has a cap hit of $4.25 million, but moving out Wheeler and Stuart would free up $3.875 million of acqusition space -- enough wiggle room to add Kaberle and still have a little space left.

Wheeler was the No. 5 pick in the 2004 draft by Phoenix, but didn't sign with the Coyotes after leaving the University of Minnesota and instead inked a deal with Boston as a free agent. He had 21 goals as a rookie, but only 18 last season and 10 in 57 games in 2010-11.

After spending some time with Oshawa Generals forward Nicklas Jensen, you learn two things. One, he had some really good English lessons growing up in Denmark, because he really doesn't have much of an accent.

And two, he knows where to go find the most exposure.

And it wasn't staying home in Denmark.

"In Denmark there's not that many scouts," he told me in an interview at the Top Prospects Game. "Over here there's scouts at every game. It's better for me, especially in my draft year, to be seen a little more."

And after talking to some scouts, they've liked what they've seen in Jensen.

You can read all about it by clicking here.