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The Calgary Herald reports that on Feb. 27 at the Scotiabank Saddledome, Al MacInnis, the guy with the big shot who transformed himself into one of his era’s elite defencemen, becomes the first honoree of the Forever A Flame program, designed to recognize unique, landmark players of the past without actually retiring sweater numbers.

With the team he now serves as vice-president of hockey operations, the St. Louis Blues, in town, it’ll be Al MacInnis Night in Calgary.

One more time.

He already has a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame. His signature No. 2 has been retired by the Blues. And no Flame deserves this inaugural bow more.

“I’m excited, being the first recipient. It’s a different direction ownership has decided to go. It’s not a sweater retirement but there’ll be a banner, I think. To have people come into the rink who used to watch me play and maybe remember what I accomplished there as a player, and we did as a team — that’s what’s special.

“My wife, Jackie, is excited to go back to Calgary. My kids are excited. We’re looking forward to the couple of days we’ll spend there.

“We love Calgary. We always did.”

Drafted in the first round, 15th overall, in 1981, the unsure kid from Port Hood, N.S., would go on to collected 822 points as a Flame. His 609 career assists remains a franchise record. The 103 points he stockpiled as a defenceman in 1990-91 will never be bettered in this town.

The Herald speculates that perhaps the work MacInnis put into becoming a solid two-way defenceman was largely obscured by the pulverizing force, the threat, with which he regularly released the puck from the point.

“Most players,” he says now, “have a calling card. A way in. What’s your ticket to get into the National Hockey League? And let’s fact it, that was my ticket. That was my calling card. That gave me the opportunity. And it stuck with me. And that’s OK.”

MacInnis may have had to travel to the Midwestern U.S. to collect a coveted Norris Trophy, the one bauble missing from his collection while in Calgary. But this is the place it all began for him, where he was drafted, nurtured, where worked his tail off to become a quality all-around blue-liner. Where he celebrated his only Stanley Cup title, a Conn Smythe Trophy. Where he made his name, forged a career.

Forever a Flame.

If there ever was one.

“Calgary,” says MacInnis, “is where I reached a dream that every kid who ever pulls on a pair of skates aspires to. I had 13 great years there, 803 games. Made lifetime friendships. Met fantastic people, coaches, people that cared about me like (executives) Cliff Fletcher and Al MacNeil. Had so many great, great teammates, unforgettable memories.

“Doesn’t matter where I live or who I work for, that’s never going to go away. I’ll always be tied to the Flames’ franchise, the city of Calgary.

“That’s how it should be.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

The Calgary Sun takes the angle of the Al MacInnis story that many people may be wondering: Why are the Flames not actually retiring MacInnis's number? It's Al Freaking MacInnis!

The Sun writes that although two Flames have had their numbers retired — Lanny McDonald’s No. 9 and Mike Vernon’s No. 30 — the Flames now see the new program as the highest possible honour moving forward. Several alumni disagree, saying anything less than a number retirement is an insult.

“I think it’s absolute bull----,” spat one former player.

“To me, that’s like being half-pregnant or ‘We’re gonna get engaged but not get married …’ It’s not a commitment at all. I understand a team like Toronto (not retiring numbers) because they’re so rich in history, but you can count on one hand how many guys in this organization deserve to have their number retired here the next 20 years.”

That list should include MacInnis, Joe Nieuwendyk, Theo Fleury, Jarome Iginla and likely Miikka Kiprusoff, although Fleury’s place in the rafters is an uncomfortable topic for the club as it feels betrayed by his criticism over the last few years.

Team president Ken King is fiercely proud of the new program, which has been years in the making.

“The number retirement system works for some teams as their tradition, but there is no longer a universal tradition for honouring players,” King said. “This is a high, high honour not second to anything. We will have many more facets than this. It’s the beginning of a new tradition, and we need to be bold and brave enough to do it for all of the good reasons we have. There can’t be a downside to honouring a player we think so much of.”

Ever the diplomat, McDonald told The Sun he was happy MacInnis will get his long-awaited salute but hinted at more.

“I think it’s great that the Flames are honouring Al, who was an integral part of the Flames only Stanley Cup to this point,” said McDonald of the Norris Trophy winner and Olympic gold medallist.

“Al was the MVP of the Stanley Cup and set a record for the most points by a defenceman. I understand the Flames are following the Maple Leafs honour of honouring jerseys instead of retiring the jersey like the Montreal Canadiens. If anyone deserves to have his jersey retired, it would be Al MacInnis.”

King admits the club should have honoured more players in the past but now has a broader mechanism to do so.

“We think (MacInnis) is the very best person on a long list of people we want to recognize,” King said. “We wanted to begin a Calgary Flames way. Honoured Oilers skate onto the ice with their equipment. Players in Vancouver get their names on the wall. This is what we will do.”

The Boston Herald describes how the Bruins-Canadiens rivalry is one of the fiercest in all of sports.

But every now and then there comes a moment when people take it just a little too far. Last night, that moment came as time was running out in the first period.

Zdeno Chara was holding his left point position when the Habs’ Tomas Plekanec fired a hard clear that caught Chara right in the chin. When the Bruins captain went down in a heap, the Bell Centre crowd erupted in a loud ovation.

Chara took some stitches between periods and had it cleaned up after the game.

“I can’t control what the fans are going to do,” Chara said. “But I’m disappointed.

His teammates were a little more vociferous in their displeasure after their 4-3 shootout win against Montreal.

“That’s embarrassing. It’s very classless,” Brad Marchand said. “It could have been a dangerous situation.”

Benoit Pouliot has played on both sides of the rivalry and felt the reaction was over the top.

“It’s tough. Some guy gets a slapshot in the face. I don’t know if I’d cheer for that,” Pouliot said. “It was pretty bad when it comes down to that. I know they don’t like Z here, but at the same time he’s a hockey player and he just got a slapshot in the face. Don’t go do that.

“It’s a little gutless, but at the same time, Z came back and played great.”

It was a tough night all around for Chara, who had a minus-3 rating and gave the puck away when the Habs scored the tying goal in the third period.

But he was heartened by the fact Plekanec came over to see how he was doing.

“That was a really nice gesture, and he asked me about it afterwards,” Chara said. “At least that’s a really nice sportsman’s gesture.”

The Washington Post believes most associate goalie coaches don’t have the qualifications necessary to comment about the source of the team captain’s struggles or the head coach’s motivations and methods.

But Olie Kolzig does. Alex Ovechkin and Dale Hunter were Washington Capitals teammates of his. They shared a dressing room and, on occasion, a dinner table. So on Wednesday, when a briefing on goaltenders shifted to a conversation about Ovechkin and Hunter, those listening leaned a little closer. And in typical Kolzig fashion, he didn’t pull any punches.

“For Alex, it’s a work ethic,” Kolzig said. “He just has to get back to being the way he was in his younger days and maybe not get wrapped up too much in the rock-star status that comes with being Alex Ovechkin.”

It’s not like Kolzig is the first person around the Capitals’ dressing room to think something like that. He’s just the first to say it publicly.

“I think a lot is frustration,” Kolzig continued. “Obviously he’s not scoring at the clip he’s accustomed to. Part of that is not having Nicky Backstrom in the lineup [because of a concussion]. Alex — and I think I’m seeing it a little more with Dale behind the bench — Alex was getting away from playing the hard, no-nonsense, honest type of hockey, exuberant hockey that he displayed the first three years that he was in the league.

“I think that’s what endeared him to everybody. Then, all of a sudden — he was the same Alex — he was celebrating certain ways, and what endeared him to everybody now made him look like a villain,” added Kolzig, likely referencing Ovechkin’s infamous “hot stick” routine at Tampa Bay to celebrate his 50th goal in March 2009. “So, I think part of it is he’s feeling a little not as loved as he used to be; he brings that on himself sometimes.”

Kolzig witnessed Ovechkin’s meteoric rise when the two were teammates from 2005-06, the Russian’s rookie season, to 2007-08. He also has seen, from afar, Ovechkin’s precipitous decline in point production. With 23 goals and 21 assists this season, he is on pace for a career-low 65 points.

“Teams have kind of got a handle on him, maybe how to close the gap on him and not allow him to score those fantastic one-on-one goals that he used to score,” Kolzig said.

The New York Post recalls that Henrik Lundqvist is a three-time finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie. There were no questions or prodding necessary coming into this season to determine whether he was elite.

As Lundqvist’s spectacular seventh season for the Rangers continues — his latest gem an NHL-leading seventh shutout with 42 saves in Tuesday’s 3-0 win at Boston — teammate Brad Richards has come to a conclusion.

“He’s the best goalie in the world right now in my opinion,” Richards said after yesterday’s practice. “We feed off Hank. Some of the big saves he makes, some of the saves, just night in and night out, we’re probably getting a little spoiled.”

The modest Lundqvist wouldn’t say it. There’s no need to. His play is making more of a statement than any words could.

Over his past eight games, Lundqvist is 7-1 with three shutouts, having not allowed more than two goals in any game during that span. He leads all starting goalies with a 1.77 goals against average and a .941 save percentage.

“He’s a competitor. I think we compete hard as a hockey club and it starts there,” coach John Tortorella said. “It just oozes out of him, and always has since I’ve known him. [On Tuesday], Hank just looked big. There was no net. ... He just doesn’t give. I think that’s a very important thing for your goalie to have in what we want our team to be.”

"There's a moment every day that we remind each other we're teammates, we're friends, we're family and we're going to pull through it together," Jonathan Toews told The Chicago Tribune of his team's current nine-game losing streak. "We're not holding any of this bad luck or discouraging things against each other.

"The biggest thing is something has to give, something has to go our way eventually. As they say, if you keep doing the right things, the hockey gods will reward you. We're just hoping it's going to happen soon."

A back injury to goaltender Curtis Sanford has opened the door for Steve Mason to reclaim his No.1 job with the Blue Jackets, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Nobody can say what the future holds for Mason — he’s under contract through 2012-13 at $3.2 million a season — but it’s never too late for him to start playing well.

“I think (Mason) has put together nine good periods of pretty good hockey now,” interim coach Todd Richards said after the 2-1 win on Tuesday over the St. Louis Blues. “I know we gave up five goals versus Anaheim, three of them on the power play. Other than that, he’s been terrific.”

Richards did not appear to have much confidence in Mason when he took over for Scott Arniel on Jan. 8. In the first 13 games under Richards, Mason drew only three starts, two of them during back-to-backs. But with Sanford injured, Mason has started the past three games.

Mason will likely start on Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks in Nationwide Arena, matching his longest streak of starts since Dec. 26-31.

Over the past three games, he is 2-1 with a 2.33 goals-against average and .931 save percentage, both far above his season averages.

“He has elevated his game,” Richards said. “It’s a credit to him because he has worked extremely hard. It’s been a real difficult year for him. I’m happy for him that he’s starting to have some success.”

Sanford was hoping to skate earlier this week, but his back still hurts. He could test it later this week, but there’s no timetable. With rookie Allen York the current No. 2 on the roster, Mason could be in line for steady work at least through the weekend — the Jackets also play at the New York Rangers on Sunday.

The Philadelphia Inquirer points out that when the Flyers face struggling Ville Leino and the offensively challenged Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, they still will be without James van Riemsdyk.

But the 22-year-old Flyers left winger appears to be making strides in his comeback from a concussion.

Sidelined for more than a month, van Riemsdyk wore a regular jersey - meaning he was able to absorb contact - and spent time on the top line during Wednesday's practice in Voorhees. He replaced the flu-ridden Jaromir Jagr on a line with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell.

"It seemed like he had lots of pop, so hopefully he keeps moving in the right direction," center Danny Briere said.

After practice, van Riemsdyk said through a team spokesman that he felt "the same as last week," and that he would address reporters in a few days.

Last week, van Riemsdyk said he sometimes felt as if he was in a fog because of the concussion. He was in a non-contact jersey on Tuesday, so he was upgraded for Wednesday.

"It was nice to have him doing drills and be a part of activities out there, and be able to cross-check him a little bit in practice," center Max Talbot said with a smile. "It was fun."

"He looks good," Hartnell said. "I don't know how he's feeling or whatever. It's tough to ask a guy with a head injury, 'How you doing? How you doing? How you doing?' He's probably sick of those questions. But he's skating well and looks strong on his skates and has pretty nice hands, so hopefully he'll be able to be symptom-free for a while and have the confidence to get out there and get some hits and take some hits and get back in the game."

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that on Wednesday, Blues winger Chris Stewart found himself practicing on the team's fourth line. He's expected to remain there tonight when the Blues host the New York Islanders at Scottrade Center.

After averaging 28 goals and 58 points the past two years, he has produced just 11 goals and 22 points in 53 games this season.

"Before you can think about scoring goals, you've got to start to work," head coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Does this get his attention and do all that stuff? We'll see, but we need him to have way more impact on the game. He's too good a player to just go quietly by the night.

"It's not a boiling point. It's just a matter-of-fact point."

Stewart, who skated Wednesday with center Scott Nichol and left winger Chris Porter, responded to the assignment with one of his best practices of the season.

"It's obviously a message — message loud and clear," Stewart, 24, said. "I've been in this position before, just got to get back to work. I'm obviously not contributing offensively and something had to be done. They feel like that's the right approach and I'll just go from there."

Stewart, who is in the final year of a two-year, $5.75 million deal and will be a restricted free agent this summer, believes that he has been working hard.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm obviously out there trying, giving it my all every night," he said. "But at the end of the day, if they don't feel that's good enough, then I've got to show more. It's up to them to give me the job description and up to me to do it."

Hitchcock hopes the work ethic of Stewart's new linemates will rub off.

"You couldn't get a better worker than Scott Nichol," Hitchcock said. "I know playing with Scott, and whether it's with (Ryan) Reaves or Porter, they'll work. We'll see where it goes. Whether it's for one period, one shift, one game, 10 games ... who knows? ... You have to base your team on work ethic and we need more (from Stewart)."

If the work comes first, the goals will follow, Hitchcock said. After being given many chances to straighten out his game this season, Stewart is now learning the hard way.

"It is what it is," Stewart said. "I can't really do anything about it now. Come out (Thursday) and put together a good first period and hopefully get back up there. That's been my whole career. I feel like I hold my own cards in my own hand. It's up to me to do it."

Grapes in the Sunny Okanagan: "Chris,

My 1st year in a keeper league. Made a bad decision to buy rather than sell as we neared the trade deadline. Now I'm not happy with my team and have poor picks for next year. I'd like to decide on my keepers (8) and then place the rest up for better picks.

It's a points only, wins=2pts, s/o=3pts extra. We start 4C, 4R, 4L, 8D, 2G monthly on a 30 player roster. No waivers. Next year we change to 6D & weekly roster changes. Blinded by home town team choices. Here's the lot:

H.Sedin, D.Sedin, Grabovski, Kesler, Hodgson, Kunitz, Burrows, Erat, Eberle, Jagr, Okposo, Sullivan, Paajarvi, Bickell, Scheifele, Hemsky, J.Staal. Edler, Bieksa, Quincey, Visnovsky, Tyutin, E.Johnson, Martin, Giordano, R.Ellis. Luongo, Hiller, Nabokov, Schneider

Would really appreciate the help & direction. cheers"

Chris: The good news is that aside from the potential issue with losing picks for next season, your core group of keepers should be pretty strong and you can revamp things on the fly.

It's a little early to definitively name your top eight guys, but certainly you can count on the Sedins, Eberle and Luongo being in that group. Edler and Visnovsky could easily fill two spots.

With no PIM, I don't think I'd put Burrows in the mix even though you have the Sedins. Kesler could probably make the cut, even though he's a stronger standard league asset. Still, his points-only value is higher than it currently looks right now with weaker overall totals. Will Schneider get dealt? That'll impact his status for you. Hiller would be fine as a keeper behind Luongo.

I think you have some leeway in terms of who might be the last guy and it may depend on which players you can deal away to this year's contenders in exchange for either picks or potential keeper upgrades. Erat's line has been hot and his value might be good now. Jagr too. Nabokov might help someone down the stretch. Hemsky's value might increase either by the trade deadline or over the summer, which may even prompt him to be a keeper for you. Depends on where he ends up, including maybe being back in Edmonton.

You have some options here, so continue shopping guys around and see what's available.

John: "Hi Chris, Enjoyed your column since the slam sports days, first time writer. Points only league (with 1 pt for Goalie win, 2 for SOs). 9 forwards, 2 d-men, 1 goalie. The ten man pool is down to me and the guy in first place (about 20 pts ahead). There is a trade pending. 1st place team would receive Henrik Sedin and Visnovsky. He would give up Milan Michalek and Byfuglien. I think the fix is in. Sedin is a top ten forward. In our league, Michalek is no better than waiver wire material.

Although Visnovsky has had a poor year (as a lot of Ducks), he still is a top D-man. I think this trade is terribly one-sided. Only problem is trades are to be cancelled by votes, and a lot of the teams are no longer logging in (very few moves, all used up for most teams). Can you evaluate this trade (and maybe suggest mechanisms to avoid this)? Thanks."

Chris: Thanks for reading all of these years John.

In terms of mechanisms to avoid it, it really just comes down to the leagues in which we as poolies choose to play. Public leagues generally have some sort of protest system in place to prevent collusion. Ideally only one vote would be needed to actually trigger a review, which would then prevent the malaise that creeps over virtually every league by this time of year for the teams who are no longer in the race and who could care less about the standings or the trades.

Then it depends on the standards used by any fantasy service when it comes to what is acceptable and what is not.

Years ago I spent several seasons as the anonymous trade reviewer for one of the biggest services out there. And I'll tell you from experience that what might not seem fair one month could drastically change the next month. It happens. Regularly.

All reviewers can do is try to ensure that the spirit of the trade is fair, which is no easy task.

In terms of this specific trade, I definitely get where you're coming from. Visnovsky and Byfuglien are pretty similar overall in value and Sedin is clearly better and more consistent than Michalek. On the face of it, there doesn't seem to much point for the team lower in the standings to make the deal.

Are there other variables in the league of which I don't know? Maybe. It doesn't seem like C vs. W matters, but wingers can have enhanced value in some cases. There are also variations on points-only leagues that often aren't noted by people writing in. Some people say points-only, but neglect to mention that goals are weighted more than assists or that a few other categories also count. Only the former would really matter in this case, since Michalek has potted 25 goals this season. Never mind that only six have come since mid-December.

Again... looking at it generally, who would give up Sedin for Michalek when the defencemen are pretty comparable? But welcome to the world of fantasy sports trading. Very few trades are what the majority of people would deem dead-even, so it's just a matter of how much slack is considered acceptable in each league.

Michalek does play with Jason Spezza, who is second in the Art Ross race. Michalek has had a strong season and aside from a relatively minor slump, has produced pretty well all season. Enough to warrant netting a Sedin? Not for me personally were I to own Sedin, but to a certain extent you have to have an expectation of letting people manage or mismanage their own team.

Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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­Chris Nichols is Sportsnet.ca's fantasy hockey writer.