On the eve of April Fools' Day, New York Rangers coach John Tortorella is making a case that bad-boy-turned-role-model Sean Avery is being unfairly abused by opponents.

New York Rangers coach John Tortorella is making a case that bad-boy-turned-role-model Sean Avery is being unfairly abused by opponents and that referees are overlooking the fact.

Normally I dismiss these complaints as coaches who have ulterior motives. Some, usually weaker ones, are trying to garner favour with a player who can be useful to him in regards to wins or even with player relations in the room. Some do it to gain a competitive edge, perhaps by influencing referees to balance out what can sometimes be an a distraction to the other players on the team and therefore a problem for the coach.

But sometimes coaches do it because they think they are right and there is a certain amount of injustice in the execution of the rules toward a player who has a reputation for bending them. I tend to side with Tortorella doing the right thing this time around. There are players who get singled out by officials and, quite frankly, that's human nature. There may be a push from above to "watch this guy" and referees, by nature and training, will do that. There may also be a guilt by reputation where officials just assume that a player like Avery might be being abused by others because of his past abuses toward them and that it's just "fair" because, well, live by the sword, die by the same.

That happens. By any standard of justice, there should have been a major penalty assessed to Montreal's Maxim Lapierre for his from-behind hit on Buffalo forward Patrick Kaleta in Saturday night's game at the Bell Centre. One could also argue that there should have been some supplemental discipline on Lapierre because of the supposed crackdown on hits from behind and because it did appear to be a blatant attempt to injure.

There was neither and one might assume that was, in part, because Kaleta has often been accused of running other team's players, sometimes from behind and that in the "code" of the NHL someone was going to execute a little "payback" someday.

Did that happen Saturday night? No one can answer that with any certainty, but one would have to at least think that if that hit was on a Tim Connolly or Thomas Vanek or some other player who doesn't play that style there might have been a more punishing call and even some supplemental discipline given the supposed crackdown.

Tortorella made his case for Avery being abused and it was a fair one. What remains to be seen is whether or not it will have any impact. People in the NHL have long memories and few have forgotten what kind of player Avery used to be.

Trotz working miracles, again

I know that I've beaten the Barry Trotz drum before, but it never ceases to amaze me what this guy can do year after year despite huge disruptions (largely from budget issues) in his lineup.

Maybe wholesale turnover is a good thing for Nashville or maybe Trotz is once again a legitimate candidate for coach of the year consideration for having a team that virtually everyone in hockey thought had no chance of making the playoffs in the mix for a postseason berth with just two weeks remaining in the season.

Clinging to seventh place in the ultra-competitive west, the Preds have gone 11-2-4 since Feb. 21 and have the best record in hockey (18-7-5) since the All-Star break despite losing players like Jason Arnott and David Legwand and now Martin Erat to long-term injuries. Good goaltending from yet another emerging star, Pekka Rinne, is a part of the reason the team has done well. You can say the same about a defence that plays a stunningly good overall game, but coaching has to matter.

In a recent win over Detroit the Preds were running on fumes in the third period, but they hung tough, kept the vaunted Detroit offence in check and got a timely goal set up by Steve Sullivan, a possible Masterton Trophy candidate, to win a game 4-3 that logic says it should have lost. Trotz was masterful in his match ups in that game and it showed in the final outcome.

Maple Leafs future

Somewhere in the next 24-48 hours, possibly as early as this evening should Montreal beat Chicago or at least gain a loser point, the Toronto Maple Leafs will officially be eliminated from playoff contention.

No shock there, this is the fourth time in as many seasons the Leafs will have missed the post-season. Surely the locals in Toronto will be distressed by that especially in light of the fact that there is a new coach in Ron Wilson and a new general manager in Brian Burke.

But here's the truth that often gets overlooked when fans are looking for salvation from a savior hire: Getting Wilson and Burke was just the first step in righting a whole host of wrongs and the idea that the turnaround can be immediate just because some experienced people have arrived on the scene is a figment of wishful thinking. Wilson did a pretty good job of developing some of the precious little young talent on the team this season and Burke likely will attempt some major reconstruction in the offseason. But fans (and Leaf haters as well) should know that's just a first step and that there are no guarantees. The Leafs as an organization have taken just two steps down a very long road to respectability and even if they get back to that point they are not a lock to win a Stanley Cup. Look at the Buffalo Sabres. They've had both continuity and universal respect regards their long-serving tandem of head coach Lindy Ruff and general manager Darcy Regier and they haven't won a Cup despite being universally praised (outside of Buffalo anyway) for 12 seasons. In addition, what's perceived to be a well-run organization didn't make the playoffs last season and may not do it this season either.

It's difficult to be an elite franchise in the NHL. The idea that the Leafs could go from being a laughing stock to a Cup winner in one or even a few years because they are under new management is something you see and hear only in a city that is so self-absorbed with its own greatness it can't separate reality from myth.

The Leafs have been mismanaged for decades. Finally getting around to hiring people with some reputation for success doesn't make them winners; it just gives them a chance to get better.

The lethargic Flames

I can live with the fact that the Calgary offence has suddenly grown colder than a stockbroker's bonus check. That happens from time to time even with the best of teams. What I can't comprehend is why the Flames seem so lost at doing the little things that could turn their fortunes around. Where's the shot blocking that's so necessary in support of a goalie who appears fatigued and, at times in recent games, fighting the puck?

Where's the "must win" attitude so necessary to win a road game every now and then? It's supposed to be easier -- at least easier then there are sky-high expectations at home -- for a team to come together and turn in a workman-like road effort to get a win now and then. The Flames were lethargic and seemingly outclassed in a recent 2-0 loss at Pittsburgh. That happens and the Pens are on a roll of late, but where was the rebound effort in a subsequent 5-0 loss at Columbus? And did you happen to notice that a tired and somewhat beat-up St. Louis team handled them in come-from-behind fashion as the Flames blew a third-period lead in a game they should have won?

Here's a comment from coach Mike Keenan after that St. Louis game that says a lot: "I think that probably the most telling stat -- and is a compliment of the effort of all the players on St. Louis' side -- is they had 24 blocked shots to our six. If you look at that statistic, it's pretty telling about: a) Effort; and b) Desperation to win a game.

A lot of writers and broadcasters were willing to crown the Flames kings after the trade-deadline day wheeling and dealing, but it was shortly after that the wheels started to come off and they haven't found a way to fix that.

I wasn't a believer in the Flames then and I'm not one now. They've had its injury problems, but so have a lot of teams and many of them are still winning. There is something dreadfully wrong with the Flames and they need to stop looking to their coach or general manager to fix it. Unless they come together and play for themselves, they look very much like that same old Calgary tease we've seen so many times before.

The race for last

The worst team since the break -- and this should come as no surprise -- has been the Phoenix Coyotes (who look for all the world like a team that is both being coached and managed to win the top spot in the upcoming lottery). It may not get there due to the due diligence of the New York Islanders but they've made a mess, I mean a race, of it.

Phoenix was 7-18-2 in post all-star play. Its 16 points are almost half as many as the slowly improving Islanders have garnered in the same time. New York went 12-12-4 good for 28 points since the break and could also lose out to Colorado for worst overall. The Avs saw the bottom fall out with an 8-20-1 mark since the break.

The most overlooked team in the league this season might well be the St. Louis Blues. Given up for dead before the season even started, it got worse for the Blues when they lost veteran goalie Manny Legace and some of its young kids to injury, but they've been competitive since the break going 18-7-5 for 41 points in 30 games and have climbed back into a playoff position (for now).

The Blues got good goaltending from Chris Mason who stepped in for Legace and has been a difference maker much the way he was when he replaced Tomas Vokoun in Nashville two years back, but another huge factor has been the coaching of Andy Murray.

Murray has had his team playing in playoff mode since January and they've responded (what's your problem, Edmonton?). The Blues have a killer closing schedule, including five of six on the road so they may not get there, but they have been difference makers with a light and oft-times injured lineup and they should be recognized for their success.