Two struggling NHL teams today opted to swap once highly-touted now under-achieving forwards, as the Montreal Canadiens shipped winger Guillaume Latendresse to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Benoit Pouliot. 

Latendresse, 22, was a second round pick of the Canadiens in the 2005 entry draft who failed to play up to expectations as a power forward for the Habs. In three seasons in Montreal he managed 29, 27 and 26 points respectively and this season had only two goals and three points in 23 games. 

Pouliot, 23, went in the same draft as Latendresse but considerably higher as the Wild took him fourth overall.

His performance however has been scarcely better than Latendresse; in fact, it's been worse, as he's split much of the past three seasons bouncing between the Wild and their farm club in Houston. This season Pouliot has four points in 14 games. 

Clearly the Canadiens and Wild are hoping a change of scenery will work in their favor regarding the players they're swapping. Latendresse and Pouliot are roughly the same height (the latter at 6-3 an inch taller than the former) although Latendresse has 30 lbs on the 200 pound Pouliot. 

Both were earning just over $800K this season and are eligible to become restricted free agents in July so this move clearly wasn't done for cap purposes. 

It'll be interesting to see if this trade helps either player overcome the disappointing start to their respective NHL careers. 

- NHL center Andrew Ebbett is on the move again. 

Just over a month after being claimed off waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks from the Anaheim Ducks Ebbett has been claimed again, this time by the Minnesota Wild. 

Ebbett, 26, was placed on waivers by the Blackhawks after only ten games for two reasons; to make room on the roster for winger Marian Hossa's long-awaited debut as a Blackhawk, and to allow the club to free up some much-needed cap space. 

OK, there's also a third reason: he wasn't as good a fit as hoped when the Blackhawks claimed him earlier in the season in hopes he'd provide depth at center. 

After having a strong debut performance last season with the Ducks (32 points in 48 games) Ebbett did not have a good training camp this season and saw action in only two games before the Ducks placed him on waivers. 

His play with the Blackhawks failed to improve, potting only one goal in ten games. 

The Wild however are struggling big time this season due in part to injuries to key forwards so they're willing to take the chance on Ebbett in hopes he might regain his form with them. 

This could however be his last best chance to stick with an NHL club this season because if he fails to perform well in Minnesota he likely won't be claimed again should he go on waivers a third time. 

- Journeyman forward Matt Pettinger signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Vancouver Canucks earlier this month as injuries took a bite out of their forward lines, but as the club gets healthier Pettinger lost his spot on the roster. 

He cleared waivers on Saturday and was demoted to their AHL affiliate in Manitoba. 

In seven games with the Canucks Pettinger had 2 points in 7 games playing on their fourth line. Unless the injury bug strikes again he's likely to remain in the AHL for the remainder of this season. 

NHL fans and in particular those in Chicago and Toronto should keep an eye on the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs as there could be some changes coming to their respective rosters albeit for vastly different reasons. 

The Blackhawks are believed poised to announce the re-signings of forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews along with defenseman Duncan Keith but owing to a rule in the NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) they might have to dump some salary first. 

Kane, Toews and Keith are eligible for restricted free agent status (RFA) in July so in order to prevent rival teams from trying to sign them away via offer sheets the Blackhawks have reportedly negotiated new long-term contracts for the three, which would take effect in 2010-11. 

The problem however is that the rumored combined salaries of those new deals would push the Blackhawks payroll for next season to over $60 million committed to 16 players. 

That violates what's known in the CBA as the "tagging rule", which in a nutshell means a team cannot commit more to next season's payroll than this season's current cap limit, which is $56.8 million. 

To make the re-signings of Kane, Toews and Keith official the Blackhawks will have to dump around $4 million in salary either via trade or demotions to get under $56.8 million. 

As for the Maple Leafs, reports out of Toronto claim GM Brian Burke has run out of patience with his struggling roster, which finds itself mired dead last in the league's overall standings following Thursday's 6-5 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Burke admitted he's considering some trade options and wasn't ruling out the possibility of demoting some players on one-way NHL contracts to the minors. 

He didn't single anyone out but it's believed Jason Blake, Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, Garnet Exelby and Luke Schenn could be among the potential candidates for demotion. 

Don't expect Burke to find many takers for most of those aforementioned via trade and while Schenn is struggling big time in his sophomore season the Leafs GM isn't going to shop him, preferring instead to send down to the minors in hopes it'll help the 19-year-old blueliner regain his confidence. 

Columbus Blue Jackets winger Nikita Filatov is returning home to Russia. 

It was reported Tuesday Filatov, 19, has signed a contract with CSKA Moscow of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, with the blessing of the Blue Jackets. 

The deal allows the young winger, who struggled to adjust to head coach Ken Hitch**** demanding two-way style, to play the season in Russia, with the understanding he can return to the Jackets next season. 

Filatov's handling by Hitchcock has according to the Columbus Dispatch been an area of contention between the coach and GM Scott Howson, who selected Filatov sixth overall in the 2008 entry draft.

Expectations were high for Filatov to crack the Blue Jackets lineup this season and he was even touted as a potential rookie of the year candidate but his inability to play a responsible defensive game irked Hitchcock, who earlier this season compared the youngster to former Blue Jacket forward Nik Zherdev, another skilled offensive player who chafed playing Hitch**** two-way game. 

It's been suggested Filatov could return to the Jackets a more mature player next season but Chris Botta of AOL Fanhouse suggested the possibility he could become trade bait at some point this season or possibly in the off-season. 

That remains to be seen but if he once again struggles to adapt next season it's possible Howson might have to entertain offers. 

One of the top power forwards in NHL history has called it a career as Brendan Shanahan today officially announced his retirement. 

This announcement has been expected for several weeks in the wake of the New Jersey Devils reaching an agreement with Shanahan releasing him from his contract with the club during pre-season. 

Shanahan retires with an impressive resume of statistics which will one day see him enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

As per the NHL press release:

Shanahan finishes his career in 11th place on the NHL’s all-time goal scoring list with 656 goals. He stands 11th in games played with 1,524, 22nd in penalty minutes with 2,489, 23rd in points with 1,354 and 49th in assists with 698. He is the only player in NHL history to amass more than 2,000 penalty minutes and 600 goals and leads all NHL players with 17 “Gordie Howe” hat tricks. One of the game’s all-time clutch performers, Shanahan ranks fifth all-time with 109 game-winning goals. He tallied 237 goals on the power play, also fifth in NHL history, including a League-leading and career-best 20 in 1996-97.

        The eight-time NHL All-Star recorded at least 40 goals in six of his 21 seasons and is one of only 11 players in NHL history to have 12 seasons of at least 30 goals. Shanahan’s 19 consecutive 20-goal seasons rank second to only Gordie Howe’s 21. He eclipsed the 50-goal mark on two occasions, tallying 51 in 71 games with St. Louis in 1992-93 and then reached a career high with 52 in 1993-94, when he also led the League with seven shorthanded tallies. Shanahan was voted to the NHL First All-Star Team twice (1994, 2000) and the NHL Second All-Star Team once (2002). Throughout his career, Shanahan was always one of the League’s top ambassadors. He was awarded the King Clancy Trophy in 2003 for his exemplary work in the community. Shanahan enjoyed his finest offensive season in 1993-94, when he established career-highs in goals (52), assists (50), points (102), penalty minutes (211) and shots (397).

        Appearing in the post-season in 19 of his 21 seasons, Shanahan ranks 35th on the NHL’s playoff scoring list with 134 points in 184 games. He ranks seventh with a plus 31 rating, tied for 19th with 12 game-winning goals and is tied for 27th with 60 goals. In 1997, Shanahan placed second on the Red Wings in playoff scoring with 9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points, while helping lead Detroit to their first Stanley Cup in 42 years. In 2002, he ranked second on the team and tied for third in the NHL with 19 points in 23 games, helping lead the Red Wings to their third Stanley Cup in six seasons. 

Shanahan was also, as Toronto Globe and Mail hockey columnist Eric Duhatschek points out, "an innovator off the ice, an articulate well-spoken voice of his generation". 

It was "The Shanahan Summit", convened during the lockout season of 2004-05, which resulted in several rules changes that have improved the league's on-ice product, reducing uncalled obstruction and bringing more speed back to the game. 

Don't be surprised if Shanahan plays some sort of role in rebuilding the shattered leadership of the troubled NHL Players Association. 

His playing days may be done but it's likely the hockey world hasn't seen or heard the last of Brendan Shanahan.