Western Conference Teams Assess Needs As Trade Deadline Looms Part 1

Yesterday was the East’s turn. Today we go West and peer into the fortunes of the fine fifteen in the NHL’s Western Conference. There’s a greater separation from the bottom three to the pack, with a dozen points from the staggered Wild to the Ducks who this season invented the staggered and flailing look. And it's another eleven points down from the 13th place Ducks to the cellar-dwelling Blue Jackets. In between sits Edmonton, thankful that they can joke that Taylor Hall is the boy who lived. But for the dozen who are fifteen or fewer points behind the Red Wings, it’s time to decide on their course of action and February will prove to be clarifying. Teams like the Stars who have games in hand on the teams they are chasing though they are outside the playoffs now can control their own destiny to a degree. Below the fold we’ll take a look at what the top eight contenders in the NHL’s Western Conference need to do during the month of February. Tomorrow morning we’ll wrap up the...