Seeing Roberto Luongo as the center of controversy and the scapegoat for playoff failure for the Vancouver Canucks is like comfort food at this point in the season.

Alas, it appears the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs will be the last time the netminder wears the whale (barring expansion to Hartford).

Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reported Thursday morning that Luongo asked the Canucks for a trade in his exit meeting, without the team even asking him to waive his no-trade clause. This comes after Luongo told the media, after Vancouver's 5-game defeat to the Los Angeles Kings, that he wouldn't stand in the way of a deal should the Canucks decide to move forward with Cory Schneider as their goalie.

Luongo holds the cards here, and can veto a trade to Edmonton control where he's traded.

According to reports, the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the destinations he'd approve.

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The National Hockey League suspended Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres for 25 games for his hit to the head of Marian Hossa in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. It's the third-longest suspension in NHL history as far as games lost, tied with two others and ranking behind a lifetime ban for Billy Coutu in 1927 and 30 games for Chris Simon in 2007.

From the NHL:

Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres has been suspended for 25 games for launching himself to deliver a late hit to the head of Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa during Game 3 of the teams' Western Conference Quarterfinal playoff series in Chicago on Tuesday, April 17, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

Should the 25 games not be served by the conclusion of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the remaining games of the suspension will carry over into the following regular season. Torres will be prohibited from playing in any preseason games until he has served this 25-game suspension (playoff and regular-season games).

Should the suspension carry over to next season, because he is classified as a repeat offender under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Torres will forfeit $21,341.46 in salary for every regular-season game in which he is ineligible to play.

(An aside: Let's hope the next CBA builds in some sort of financial penalties for players who are suspended in the postseason, because that's an embarrassing loophole in the process.)

The incident occurred at 11:42 of the first period. Hossa suffered an injury as a result of the hit. Torres already has served one game of this suspension, Game 4 of the series in Chicago on Thursday, April 19.

Why? Because he's Raffi Torres, because he injured Marian Hossa significantly and because he violated multiple rules on the same infraction, which is a very intriguing and unprecedented idea offered in this lengthy suspension video by NHL head disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan:

It ranks among the longest suspensions in NHL history, equaling Chris Simon's cross-check to the face of Ryan Hollweg in 2007 and Jesse Boulerice's cross-check to the face of Ryan Kesler, also in 2007. It's 13 games longer than the previous largest suspension handed down by Shanahan and the Department of Player Safety, which was given to James Wisniewski for a hit to the head on Cal Clutterbuck in the preseason.

[ Also: Nicholas J. Cotsonika: Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury pulls out all the stops in Game 5 ]

None of those players lost out on playoff games. That Torres did makes this one of the most gargantuan suspensions in hockey history: Essentially, he'll miss the rest of the playoffs if the Coyotes go seven games in each round.

What this suspension isn't, and what it shouldn't be seen as, is any type of benchmark by which previous or subsequent suspensions should be judged.

This is about Raffi Torres, the dullest tool in the shed when it comes to reeducating big hitters in the NHL about player safety.

Was it too much, the right call, or not enough?

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Raffi Torres of the Phoenix Coyotes had his hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety on Friday. The arguments having been made, the punitive stage will wait until Saturday according to the NHL:

National Hockey League Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey Operations Brendan Shanahan will announce Saturday whether the NHL Department of Player Safety will assess further supplemental discipline to suspended Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres.

Torres was suspended indefinitely Wednesday, pending an in-person hearing held today at the NHL's New York Office, for a hit on Chicago forward Marian Hossa 11:42 into the first period of Game 3 of the teams' Western Conference Quarterfinal series in Chicago on Tuesday, April 17.

Hossa did not travel with the Chicago Blackhawks to Glendale for Game 5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals, scheduled for Saturday. Torres didn't offer a statement after his hearing.

The care taken on this one is understandable, given the stakes.

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Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

Uh, can we get a blade measurement?

• Jonathan Toews kinda, sorta calls out the NHL before the Shaw suspension: "In a situation like that with Weber, more than anything you should make an example of it, regardless of whether he's a star player," said Toews, who missed 22 games due to a concussion. "They have been trying to make an example of things like that so they don't happen again and all of a sudden you let one slide like that. Everyone must feel like they're back to square one. So it is frustrating." [Chicago Tribune]

• Henrik Zetterberg believes the non-suspension of Shea Weber set the bar for the rest of the postseason chaos: "I think the league had a pretty good opportunity to set the bar, and I guess they did." [WXYZ]

• Hal Gill will miss Game 4 of the Red Wings/Predators series. [Predators Insider]

• Daniel Alfredsson has a concussion setback for the Ottawa Senators; the outlook is bleak for the rest of the series. [NYDN]

• Boston College recruit Austin Cangelosi scores crazy 'chip and flip' overtime winner in USHL [Buzzing The Net]

• The Phoenix Coyotes might seek some retribution for Andrew Shaw running Mike Smith, unless a three-game suspension is enough. "If I was to do it to (Chicago goalie Corey Crawford I'm sure there would be the exact same feelings towards me. There's no doubt that it's not something we appreciate and we're too happy about." [QMI]

• Jaromir Jagr on Sidney Crosby: "There is a lot of talk now about Sidney Crosby and what he's been doing on the ice. Some give it a lot of thought, others less. And I am a guy who does not care at all, I take no notice. He does harm only to himself. But every man is different, perhaps this helps him get into the game and play better." [Broad Street Hockey]

• Awesome news: "Jack Jablonski — the paralyzed high school hockey player will be leaving Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute. Jablonski is scheduled to leave Wednesday." [CBS Minny]

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The 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs are upon us, and by the end of it you'll feel like The Walking Dead. Hence, zombie motif!

It was an historic season for the Phoenix Coyotes in two ways. To start, they won the first division title in franchise history, edging out the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings. Second, they'll finally have a new first-round opponent after facing the Detroit Red Wings the past two springs.

There will once again be a whiteout in Phoenix; will there be one next season? That's still to be determined. But any off-ice distractions haven't found their way into the Coyotes' room and it's shown of late. They head into the first round on a 5-game winning streak and goaltender Mike Smith recording shutouts in three of those victories.

The Chicago Blackhawks had quite the rollercoaster season. There were high expectations heading into the year, but a midseason swoon, coupled with captain Jonathan Toews being sidelined with a concussion almost derailed things. Head coach Joel Quenneville spent a little time on the hot seat, but the Blackhawks settled in right behind the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings in the Central Division.

Now with spectre of Toews coming back for Game 1, does put Chicago over in this series?

Here is your Coyotes vs. Blackhawks preview, complete with Zombified observations …

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Sometime over the next few days, you'll be sitting down for a playoff pool draft. Generally that means printing up a list of final scoring stats a minute or two beforehand, and slinking into the boardroom (or the pub, or your buddy's living room) three minutes late, sheepishly grinning as your competition boorishly complain about how you are holding up the draft.

Do something different this year. At the cost of an extra 10 minutes. Pick up a nice playoff draft list, such as the one I'm selling over at DobberHockey (I'm also running a free playoff pool there, to get you in the mindset). Then do a bit of research on dark horses and recent trends.

Better yet, let me do that for you. Here is my take on the Western Conference playoff outlook:

Vancouver Canucks (1)

The obvious: Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Ryan Kesler,  Alex Burrows, Alex Edler, Kevin Bieksa.

Dark horses: Corey Schneider will get the call faster than he did last year, if Roberto Luongo has similar struggles. ... Assuming Zack Kassian recovers from his upper body injury, he will get an opportunity to use his big frame to really make a splash. ... Max Lapierre would make a decent final round pick on your team if you are building around Vancouver as one of your four teams (I generally draft players from four teams, depending on the size of the pool). He could be a sleeper if the team goes deep. He had six points in his last seven games after just 13 in his first 75.

Could let you down: Ryan Kesler, with two points in his last 12 games, has had a tough time offensively this season. The slow start could be attributed to his missing training camp recovering from hip surgery, but what about the slow finish?

Keep in mind: Whenever the Canucks are in the postseason, Burrows occasionally gets moved off of the Sedin line. Generally, this means he'll slip from being a 60-point player to being a 40-point player, so he does carry some risk… Daniel Sedin is skating on his own. Or not. Another confusing concussion situation. I wouldn't be drafting him in the first several rounds, those picks are too important.

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On the last day of the NHL regular season, the Canucks won the President's Trophy, the Red Wings got the friendly travel schedule they wanted, the Coyotes got their first division title ever and the Sharks got an overtime victory over the Kings to earn the No. 7 sed.

Here's a glance at the Western Conference Playoffs and some quickie analysis …

Vancouver Canucks (1) vs. Los Angeles Kings (8)

Nov. 10: Canucks 3, Kings 2
Dec. 31: Kings 4, Canucks 1
Jan. 17: Kings 3, Canucks 2 (SO)
March 26: Canucks 1, Kings 0

Quick Take: The Kings team that lost to the Sharks on Saturday night can't hang with the Canucks, with or without Daniel Sedin. The one that has a healthy Jeff Carter can, so his reentry into the lineup is essential. This was a six-game series back in 2009-10; whether it is again will depend on the Kings finding a scintilla of offensive consistency from game to game and Jonathan Quick putting on a Vezina highlight reel. Leaning: Canucks.

[ Related: A look at all the playoff matchups ]

St. Louis Blues (2) vs. San Jose Sharks (7)

Oct. 15: Blues 4, Sharks 2
Dec. 10: Blues 1, Sharks 0
Feb. 12: Blues 3, Sharks 0
March 3: Blues 3, Sharks 1

Quick Take: Congratulations, San Jose! You've earned the right to play a team that completely owned you in the regular-season! There are some reasons to like this matchup for the Sharks, like their top six forwards facing a Blues defense that lacks significant postseason experience. But this is still a Sharks team that makes a ton of mistakes facing a team that feeds off them like Nosferatu does plasma; and a Sharks team that goes into this series with a significant disadvantage in goal. Leaning: Blues (David Perron will have his revenge on Joe Thornton!).

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For over 20 years the EA Sports NHL series has dominated the hockey video game world with its realistic and fun gameplay coupled with year-by-year innovation.

The annual announcement of who will be that year's cover boy for the game has always been a fun debate for fans as NHL enters its 22nd season. For NHL 13, EA Sports is changing the way its cover athlete is chosen. Instead of being selected in-house, fans will have the opportunity to decide who gets the honor.

Beginning today and ending June 4, puckheads will be able to vote from a list of 60 players leading up to the announcement of the cover winner on June 20 during the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas.

Here's how the three rounds of voting will break down:

• March 29 — April 11: Round of 60: Two players from each team have been chosen and will go head-to-head to determine one representative from all 30 clubs. Two wild cards*, plus the 30 winners will advance. (*wild card selections made by EA)

• April 12 — April 22: Round of 32: Of the 32 survivors, voting will go leaderboard style with the top 16 overall vote getters moving on.

• April 24 — June 4: Round of 16: Here we move into a round-by-round bracket-style tournament until two remain and the winner is announced at the NHL Awards show.

Voting will take place at NHL.com/CoverVote and fans can do so an unlimited number of times. A Twitter hashtag, #NHL13Cover, will also track the cover athlete tournament discussion. Updates and other content will also show up on the EA SPORTS NHL Facebook page.

So which 60 players made the cut? Join us after the jump.

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Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.

It should of course be noted that "blowing it up" isn't always the answer to a team's problems. For every Pittsburgh Penguins success story, there is also an Edmonton Oilers and Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets tragedy.

But what you don't hear very much is the story of teams that got mediocre and stayed that way for years at a time: Your Minnesota Wilds, your Florida Panthers, your Calgary Flames.

The problem with being a team like that is management seems very eager indeed to enter every season looking to compete very legitimately for a playoff spot (as opposed to those like Edmonton and the Islanders who pay lip service to competing but actually have no shot of doing so). Most spend middling amounts of money and seem somehow shocked when they receive middling results.

But at least they're not the Flames. Calgary, having missed the playoffs two years running after spending a few post-lockout seasons at the top of the Northwest Division, entered the season with one of the largest payrolls in the NHL and have never once looked especially like a team that had real playoff aspirations. The big-name, big-money players are there, of course. Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, and Jay Bouwmeester are all booking north of $5.8 million against the cap, and there was once again very little roster turnover under new GM Jay Feaster.

That was interesting. You can see Darryl Sutter's point in not flipping a what portions of the roster he could in the wake of that first missed postseason, because it may have been an aberration. After two such seasons, there weren't really any signs that the organization saw reasons for concern: several players from that group, in fact, were given multi-year extensions (the most egregious and baffling of which was Anton Babchuk's, which pays him $2.5 million for each of the next two years and comes with a no-trade clause).

After Feaster traded for Mike Cammalleri — a mildly prudent move, given how bad Rene Bourque has been in Montreal — he flatly told ESPN that the Flames were "going for it." And then came a flood of derision. At the time, Calgary was 12th in the West, and though Feaster wisely stood pat at the deadline, the team has done little to improve its position.

Calgary currently sits 11th, three points back of that big jumble of teams jockeying for the final two playoff spots, despite earlier this month putting together a five-game winning streak and climbing as high as a tie for ninth two points back of the final playoff spot. But since then, they've been dragged mercilessly back into the muck and mire that better fits their actual quality as a team.

(Coming Up: Teemu teases another season; Nassau Coliseum might be dangerous to your lungs; Blues chase NHL defense record; Toews inching back; Radulov's Nashville return; sick feed from Kyle Brodziak; Travis Zajac is lucky; a winning team in Toronto; Matt Cooke's argument against the red line; the joys of NCAA hockey; Quebec City gets a minus; John Tavares to the Rangers [yup]; and Henrik Sedin offers a little hypocrisy on player safety.)

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On Friday afternoon, Brendan Shanahan and the Shanavengers handed Duncan Keith a five-game Shana-ban for his concussion-causing elbow to the head of Daniel Sedin. A day later, the Chicago Blackhawks fielded questions about the suspension following their Saturday afternoon practice.

Captain Jonathan Toews, who has missed two weeks with a concussion but was skating for the fifth straight day, weighed in on the suspension.

From CSN Chicago:

"You've seen the history between these two teams, how things are going both ways in that game. Again, you don't go into a situation like that intentionally trying to hurt the guy, knowing concussions and head injuries have become a big problem. But the reality is, those things happen when you're playing with an edge. Guys aren't going to say they're trying to hurt someone but when you're trying to hit someone really hard, especially against a team you have a history with like Vancouver, you're not going to let up. Unfortunately Duncs may have gone a little overboard there. It's a tough suspension, we all feel for him, but it is what it is and it happens."

Toews' perspective is an interesting one.

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