• Renaud Lav0ie of RDS tweets Confirmation that their is no deal in place as we speak between Calgary-Boston for Jarome Iginla. No announcement tonight from Bruins.
• David Pagnotta of TheFourthPeriod tweets Hearing there is a possibility (not a guarantee) that BOS could have an announcement after game… Also told Iginla has left Saddledome.
• Joe Haggerty of CSNNE tweets that, Make of this what you will: Bruins scout was overheard at an NHL rink tonight saying Iginla deal is 100 percent done & he’s going to Boston.
• Dan Tencer of Host of Inside Sports tweets that Bobby Mac on TSN says Bartkowski, Khoklachev and 1st for Iginla is imminent according to sources close to the Bruins. Not confirmed, he says
• Gary Lawless of The Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that The Los Angeles Kings are out of the Jarome Iginla sweepstakes.
• Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla has limited his preferred list of teams to four, according to multiple reports. Iginla is believed to be on the verge of being traded prior to the April 3 NHL Trade Deadline. If that is the case, he is reportedly interested in going to the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings or Chicago Blackhawks. Despite the 35-year-old captain playing in the final year of his contract, the Flames are still demanding a high price for his services, which potentially could scare off buyers. In exchange for Iginla, the Flames are requesting a first-round draft selection, a top prospect and a secondary prospect.
• Sources say the Calgary Flames are moving very cautiously in trade talks involving their captain, Jarome Iginla.

  The Boston Bruins have been in constant communication with the Flames and a variety of assets have been considered, however, more work is required for a deal to take shape.

  As keen on Iginla as the Bruins are, Boston is believed to be targeting as many as four other forwards, including San Jose Sharks Ryane Clowe, in the event the Bruins can’t reach an agreement with Calgary.

  Also noteworthy is the fact that three of the five players high on Boston’s list have term remaining on their contracts and are not rentals, as both Iginla and Clowe as pending unrestricted free agents could very well be.

  Clearly, the Bruins are considering other options and undoubtedly Calgary is doing the same with Chicago, Los Angeles and perhaps, Pittsburgh still in the Iginla hunt.

  There are a number of profile names on the “players in play” list, but Jarome Iginla remains at the top because of his status in the game and the attention of a potential trade will draw up to the April 3rd NHL Trade Deadline.

• Jarome Iginla would accept a trade to the Chicago Blackhawks. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times suggests Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman isn’t willing to mess with a winning formula and relinquish the high price rumored to currently be a first-round pick and two prospects the Calgary Flames are asking for in return.

• TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com says it’s possible that with both Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf locked up to long term deals, the Anaheim Ducks could once again look to deal forward Bobby Ryan, as there might not be enough money left to retain Saku Koivu, Teemu Selanne and other members of the club.

• According to Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune, forward Bryan Bickell, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, wants to re-sign with the club.

  “I don’t want to be shipped around the league,” Bickell said. “I want to be with one team.” Chicago Blackhawks 

  General manager Stan Bowman praised Bickell’s play this season.

  “He’s played great this year,” Bowman told the Tribune. “He’s kind of coming into his own. Originally, it was learning what it was like to be just to be in the lineup every night and now it’s more than that. He wants to be a difference-maker. He’s got a role and he’s playing that role. As a result, it’s noticeable how that line in particular seems to be quite effective. Some nights they’re our best line and he’s a big part of it.”

“I’d like to add to the mix as opposed to trade players away,” Bowman told the Tribune. “We would consider anything that would give us an improved chance to win, but we’ve played really well. If we don’t end up making a trade I’d be comfortable with the group we have here.”

The Blackhawks are 2-2-0 since their record-setting 24-game streak of games with a point to open the regular season ended, but still have a five-point lead on the Anaheim Ducks for the top spot in the Western Conference.

If Bowman does make any move, he said finding a center to play on the third or fourth lines might be an option.

“Probably just be depth-type moves,” he said. “We have had a nice, consistent group on defense and up front, we have some different looks. Perhaps some centermen maybe as a depth thing in case you run into injuries. There’s really not one area that’s a glaring area [in need] of improvement.”

“There wasn’t too much to think about really,” said defenseman Oduya, whose new three-year pact will keep him in Chicago through 2015. “I knew I wanted to come back. I felt that Chicago was a good place for me and I’m really happy about this chance.”

“What’s most important to me is knowing that I’ll be back in the city of Chicago and part of the Blackhawks family for another year,” said physical forward Mayers, who agreed to a one-year deal. “I’m excited to get [a deal] done early, and get focus on training and getting ready.”

In Oduya, Blackhawks VP/General Manager Stan Bowman believes he has a player who will complement the team on both ends of the ice. The puck-moving defenseman tallied five points (1G, 4A) to go with his +3 plus/minus rating in the 18 games after he came to Chicago from Winnipeg, then paced team blueliners with three assists in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“We brought Johnny in to solidify things down the stretch, and I think he played a big role in the turnaround of our team. It was pretty evident that his style of hockey complemented our style, and it made our players better,” Bowman said. “I had a good meeting with Johnny at the end of the year and he made it clear that he wanted to be in Chicago. He could have gone anywhere; the fact that he wanted to be back and he helped us made it a simple decision for us.”

Mayers says that he had personal, as well as professional reasons for his wanting to remain in Chicago. The 37-year-old forward, who led the team with 11 fighting majors and 91 penalty minutes to go with his six goals and nine assists, said that being able to stay put with his family was a major incentive to stay.

“I have a young family, and now we can sort out a lot of the logistical concerns that come up. Chicago has been great for us,” he said. “If you take a look back at the whole year, it was a good fit for me and the Hawks. When you look at the whole season and not just at the way things ended, I still come away with the belief that I have a lot to give and it’s a good fit. I’m excited for next year.”

With two members of this year’s team back in the fold, Bowman said that the next step this offseason is meeting with his staff and setting priorities for the draft, July’s free agent market and beyond, looking to find the next group of players to fit into the Blackhawks’ system. Whether that group comes from outside the organization or from within, however, is still to be decided.

“It’s the same we do each year; take a look at the players who are available in July, and there’s always some activity around the draft. I think you have to be open to trying to improve your team,” he said. “We’re not even at July yet; we’re going to look at making additional changes to our team. We’re always looking for players who are coming back to take steps forward… and grow their games, as well.”

“Norm has proven to be a valuable asset to our hockey operations over the past five years, so we are excited to be able to elevate him to this role,” Blackhawks General Manager Stan Bowman said in a statement. “He has an excellent handle on the players within our organization, from recent draft picks to veterans, and a great eye for talent evaluating.

“Promoting within our organization is something we take great pride in and we are very confident in what he will contribute on a daily basis as we strive to hire the best possible candidate at every position.”

Maciver just completed his fifth season with the Blackhawks, his first as director of player personnel after previously serving as the club’s director of player development. He replaces Marc Bergevin, who left to become the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens.

• Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin will apparently have to look outside of Chicago to find a new head coach, as speculation about current Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville possibly being available don’t look to be true. Blackhawks General Manager Stan Bowman told the Chicago Tribune on Monday that while he doesn’t like to address rumors, Quenneville who is under contract through the 2013-14 seaosn would be returning to the club next season.
• Mike Haviland was fired Tuesday as an assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks after coach Joel Quenneville determined there was some “dysfunction” on the staff last season. ”I felt a change was necessary going forward, not an easy decision,” Quenneville said. “It was tough on Mike. It’s not the blame game here.” Haviland has spent the last four seasons as an assistant, joining the staff in July 2008, a little more than two months before Quenneville became head coach. Haviland also coached the team’s American Hockey League affiliates in Norfolk, Va., from 2005-07 and Rockford from 2007-08.

“Absolutely not,” McDonough told the Chicago Tribune. “Absolutely not. We have great confidence in Joel.”

“He has won two Stanley Cups, one as an assistant coach and one as a head coach. Those of us who have been in sports I’ve been in sports 32 years we’ve seen these losing streaks and they’re not a lot of fun to go through. Good teams figure a way to come out of them, which we did.”

Along with General Manager Stan Bowman, the head coach shouldn’t worry about being dismissed when the season is over. Even if the Blackhawks are bounced in the first round of the playoffs.

“We’re not anticipating any changes,” McDonough said. “We extended both Joel and Stan not too long ago. When we won the Stanley Cup we had 112 points and then last year needing to dismantle the team with 10 players (departing) we actually finished with 97 points, which was a pretty good year by everybody’s estimation.”

“Oh yeah, there would be no reason [not to retain him],” Wirtz said during a phone interview. “He’s signed, they’re playing for him. He’s not a players’ coach, which is good, but he’s good with younger players. St. Louis is a prime example. They changed coaches and there was nothing wrong, he just wasn’t good with younger players …

“You have to have coaches willing to adapt. Mike Keenan is terrific if you have an older team, but you don’t expect him to be around for four years.”

Wirtz had only one question for General Manager Stan Bowman. ”The only thing I had to ask was ‘Did the players quit on the coach?’ ” Wirtz said. “It’s the only thing I asked Stan and Stan said ‘No, they haven’t quit on him.’ So you wait for another day and it works itself out.”

Quenneville guided the Hawks to the 2010 Stanley Cup title, snapping a 49-year drought. But they didn’t qualify for the playoffs the following year until the final day of the season, and they were bounced from the first round by the Vancouver Canucks.

“Everyone is working hard to tweak the system,” Wirtz said. “The trade deadline came and we were not going to [trade] our blue-chip players. How many times have we seen it where people let emotions dictate their decisions, and short-term thinking decide long-term problems?

“When you do that, you take a half-step forward and three back and that’s not the way I want to go. I understand that fans think short-term and there’s nothing wrong with that. You live or you die in the short term. But I believe in our system and when you do that, you don’t make knee-jerk decisions.”