Getty ImagesBrenden Morrow has six goals in 28 games, and was demoted to the Dallas Stars’ fourth line during this season. He’s the kind of player who carries the weight of every one of his 834 career games when he walks around the bowels of an arena after a game, looking older than his 34 years.

Yet he could be one of the most sought after players at the NHL trade deadline.

Morrow’s physical, gritty style makes him the quintessential “last piece” veteran player. The Mark Recchi type that still can find the back of the net, but really excels at leaving everything he has on the ice when it matters most.

Brenden Morrow: Playoff Warrior is an indelible memory from his last trip to the postseason in 2008. He had 15 points in 18 games, carrying the Stars into the conference finals with one of the most stirring individual efforts of the last decade.

If he gives a team an iota of that effort in the postseason, he’s an asset. So will he move?

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Maybe the absolute worst thing about the NHL is how hypocritical it is about nearly everything it does.

It wants to protect players, but not really and certainly not if guys are playing Honest Hockey and happen to give them a concussion as a consequence. It's a game rooted in tradition, going all the way back to when people played on a pond, but there's a two-minute minor for putting the puck over the glass and also the definitions of what constitutes a stick infraction seems to change on a yearly basis on the whims of the league's decision-makers. That kind of thing.

And every year, we seem to get the most vibrant display of this wild disparity between what makes sense for the NHL to adopt, and the things it will actually do at the annual general managers' meetings.

This year, there are a number of things up for discussion that seem to have a little more traction than they did in 2012, most notably grandfathering in mandatory visors. And it probably wouldn't be that way except for Marc Staal catching a puck in the eye a few weeks back. But the fact remains that they're actually talking about this like it's a thing that might happen.

It makes perfect sense, so of course the NHL is taking the path of most resistance to the process.

Alex Tanguay offers "human toboggan" rides during a game between the Flames and Predators.

No. 1 Star: Kari Lehtonen, Dallas Stars

The Stars were outplayed bigtime in this one, outshot 2-1 by the Los Angeles Kings, with Lehtonen facing 40 shots while Jonathan Quick only faced 21. Fortunately for the Stars, Lehtonen was unbeatable, stopping all 40 for the shutout in a 2-0 win.

No. 2 Star: Nazem Kadri, Toronto Maple Leafs

Kadri continued his incredible tear, scoring his 12th and 13th goals -- the second of which was the game-tying goal -- in the Leafs' 5-4 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

He added an assist for his ninth multi-point game of the year and his second three-point night in a row.

Alex Edler is typically a pretty sleepy defender. The big Swede can be an incredible hitter when the mood strikes, but he doesn't engage this part of his game all that often, and he's never been the type to put the body into a goalie.

That is, until Thursday. Chasing a puck behind the Phoenix Coyotes goal, Edler came up against netminder Mike Smith. Then he bowled him the heck over.

Smith finished the period, but he wasn't back in the Coyotes' net for the third period. Jason LaBarbera took over for the rest of the game.

As for Edler, since you're not allowed to do this, he was handed a five-minute major for charging. But will that be all, or will the Department of Player Safety tack on a little more?

Rick Nash didn't see a penalty for this elbow to the head of Tomas Kopecky in the New York Rangers' 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, but don't think he's out of the woods yet. Chances are the Department of Player Safety is going to have another look at this, and I'd be surprised if Nash escapes the long arm of the law the second time around.

What the Hell, Rick Nash.

As we said earlier today, when the Department of Player Safety catches you going the extra mile to turn your legal hit into an illegal headshot, you're in trouble, and Nash really gave this one some additional oomph.

Aftr Kopecky finds himself alone right in the slot, Nash races to knock the Panther forward off the puck. But he gets a tad overzealous. Not only does he leap to make head contact, but when he appears on the verge of overshooting Kopecky entirely -- Rick Nash has some serious vert, apparently -- he lowers his arms in order to connect.

Again: If not for two two adjustments made prior to the hit, he doesn't make contact ith the head. That seems... punishable.

He's not a repeat offender and Kopecky finished the contest on the bench, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Nash sit a game or two for this.

After a two-point night in his first outing with the Florida Panthers, Alex Kovalev was confident about his NHL comeback.

"I know I can match anyone in this locker room," he said. "I can still play this game.

But a month later, two days before his 40th birthday, he played his final game with the club on February 22.

Now he's gone.

Kovalev has since made the end of his Kardashian-length marriage to the Panthers official, quietly signing his retirement papers this week and calling it a career, according George Richards.

He deserved a better ending, something more akin to a victory lap than whatever the weird thing in Florida was. Even if his self-assessment turned out to be a little off, when he was at his best, he was one of hockey's best. Kovalev's incredible career was a large part of the reason the Panthers opted not to waive him back in February.

From the Miami Herald:

A Hall of Famer? Perhaps. Based on his playing days in Russia and with the NHL, he most definitely has a case.

That's a big reason why the Panthers didn't force him out by putting him on waivers and making him refuse an assignment to San Antonio.

"He's a classy guy who has had a great career," Tallon said last week.

For all of the knocks against Kovalev, especially later in his career, he remains one of the most skilful players the game has ever seen. In 1,316 NHL games, Kovalev finishes with 430 goals and 599 assists for 1029 points.

He was one of the first four Russians to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup as a member of the 1994 New York Rangers.

It may have ended strangely, but I don't think theres any doubt that Alex Kovalev's had a Hall of Fame career.

Here's his final NHL goal:

When Zach Parise left New Jersey to return home to Minnesota, it left us all wondering how the Devils were going to replace his offence. David Clarkson? Ilya Kovalchuk? Oh, how about Martin Brodeur.

You think I'm kidding. I'm totally not kidding. In his first game back after missing a month with a back injury, Brodeur made an immediate impact, scoring the opening goal Thursday night in the Devils' tilt with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Martin Brodeur now has one more goal than season than Alex Goligoski and Ryane Clowe, and you can understand why he might be compelled to score. After all, Teemu Selanne and Jaromir Jagr have been hogging all the 40-year-old love this season while Brodeur's been stuck on the sidelines with back issues. He's got a lot of ground to make up.

Granted, he didn't exactly go end-to-end, but still. As the last Devil to touch the puck when Jordan Staal's errant pass banked off the boards and into the Carolina goal, the tally went to Brodeur, whose incredible career numbers now include two regular-season NHL goals and three total in his career.

To make it even more amusing: while the Devils were about to be whistled for a penalty, they were on the powerplay at the time. That's right: Martin Brodeur scored a powerplay goal. The last goalie to do that: Evgeni Nobokov in 2002.

The score at the time of this writing: 1-0 New Jersey. We can only pray to the hockey gods that it stays that way.

Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

• Sergei Gonchar, keeping it real.

Preview: Boston Bruins at Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m. ET

The Bruins have lost 4 of their last 5 games away from home, but this one just might be the cure for their road woes. Boston has won 18 of their last 19 versus teams from Ontario, and they've won 10 straight in Ottawa. Unfortunately for Boston, the Senators just got a power boost by losing Marc Methot to an injury. They gain a level every time someone gets hurt, as you know.

Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET

The Maple Leafs will be without Joffrey Lupul, who's serving a two-game suspension. That's a big loss, but Toronto can't complain -- not when Buffalo looks to be without Thomas Vanek. They've won 3 straight and 10 of 11 at home versus Toronto, but a Vanekless Buffalo isn't quite the same club.

Preview: Washington Capitals at Winnipeg Jets, 8 p.m. ET

The Capitals come into Winnipeg 9 points back for first place in the Southeast division, but with two games in two nights versus the Jets, they could trim that lead to just 5 points by the weekend. It won't be easy: Winnipeg is 6-1-1 in their last 8 and they've won 3 straight.