The Calgary Flames should be sellers before the trade deadline, and Jiri Hudler is one of their most intriguing assets.

The 32-year-old forward can play both center and right wing, and while his production has dropped off significantly following a career-best 76-point season in 2014-15, he's still a solid playmaker with occasional scoring touch.

Hudler is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $4-million cap hit, and while he has only nine goals and 24 assists in 51 games, he's elevating his trade value at the right time with nine points in his last 10 contests.

Here are three teams that should pursue Hudler:

St. Louis Blues

Alex Steen won't be ready to return from his injury for at least a month, and there's no guarantee he won't need more time to recover, making his playoff availability uncertain.

Either way, the Blues need to fill the void created by Steen's absence in the short term and cement their forward depth for the postseason even when he returns.

St. Louis will have less than $1 million in cap space on deadline day, but if the Blues can find a taker for veteran forward Troy Brouwer - a pending UFA with a cap hit of $3.66 million - that could facilitate a Hudler deal.

The Blues haven't advanced past the second round in nearly 15 years, but a move like this would help that cause.

New York Rangers

The Rangers could use an injection of offense with Rick Nash on the shelf due to a bone bruise that's escalated from a day-to-day concern to a month-long ailment.

Hudler's 2015-16 production has mirrored Nash's output in a number of ways:

They're not the same player by any means, but Hudler could help kick-start a floundering Rangers power play and give New York an uptick in offensive skill up front. They'll have about $4.85 million in cap flexibility on deadline day, so adding his $4-million hit wouldn't be an issue.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers will need help on the left wing if Jonathan Huberdeau is forced to miss significant time, and Hudler can play on that side, too.

Even if Huberdeau makes a rapid return from his injury, Florida would benefit from Hudler's versatility, and they'll have plenty of cap space ($27 million) to do it.

The question for the Panthers is how much ownership is willing to spend to improve on a core group that's already shown plenty of promise.

(Analytics courtesy: War-On-Ice, cap figures courtesy: General Fanager)

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The Detroit Red Wings have activated defenseman Niklas Kronwall off injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday. He is expected to be in the lineup against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Kronwall has missed the last 15 games with a knee injury that required surgery.

The 35-year-old has three goals and 14 assists in 45 games this season.

Jakub Kindl has been assigned to the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins to coincide with Kronwall's return.

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New York Rangers defenseman Keith Yandle has been mired in trade speculation for most of the season, but that might be far from the case heading into the trade deadline on Feb. 29.

The Rangers are "no longer signaling Yandle's availability," reports Larry Brooks of the New York Post, citing league sources.

Yandle - a pending unrestricted free agent - is in the final year of a five-year, $26.25-million deal, and carries a very team-friendly $2.625-million cap hit this season after the Arizona Coyotes retained half his salary when he was traded to New York last year. He would certainly be a very valuable trade chip on the open market.

"Multiple sources report keen interest in the 29-year-old, much of it coming from the Western Conference," Brooks writes. "Dallas has been dogging the Rangers for weeks. The Blueshirts perhaps would be able to get the Stars' immensely talented 20-year-old winger Valeri Nichushkin as part of the return package. Such a possibility would surely tempt Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton."

The Rangers are 7-1-1 in their last nine games despite an injury to captain Ryan McDonagh. Yandle has averaged 24:03 minutes of ice time per game in McDonagh's absence, and his recent play may be among the prime causes of the team's apparent shift in intentions ahead of the deadline.

The 29-year-old admittedly has no problem with remaining in New York.

"Anyone who knows me, anyone who sees me, they can see how happy I am playing in New York and with this group," Yandle said. "I even got a text from my mom the other day saying that she has never seen me look so happy. That should tell you everything."

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With just over a quarter of the 2015-16 NHL season remaining, trade deadline moves and playoff races aren't the only things left to be decided.

A number of participants from January's All-Star Game still have plenty to fight for as the NHL Awards races heat up over the next couple months.

Here are the favorites for five major awards if the season ended today:

Hart Trophy: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

Kane has led the league in scoring by a sizable margin (now 17 points) for some time, and if anyone could afford to see their production dip and still remain an award contender, it would be him.

But he isn't slowing down.

The 27-year-old passed his previous high of 30 goals on Feb. 4, and needs just four more points to match his career-best 88-point campaign from 2009-10 with 20 games remaining.

The Blackhawks still (barely) sit atop the Western Conference standings, but with Kane's continuous production (nine points in his last five games), it would take a monumental collapse from both player and team for him to lose his firm hold on the Hart.

Honorable Mentions: Outside the next two award favorites, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have the Stars sitting one point behind the Blackhawks with two games in hand, but it's be difficult to say which forward has been more valuable to the team.

Calder Trophy: Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers

This season has seen one of the most impressive crops of rookie forwards in recent memory, but it's becoming impossible to ignore Flyers' defenseman Gostisbehere - now on a 15-game point streak.

The 22-year-old is on pace for 54 points, which would be the highest total for a rookie defensemen since seven-time Norris winner Nicklas Lidstrom recorded 60 in 1992. It's incredible to consider that Gostisbehere was in the AHL for the Flyers' first 16 games.

Related: Gostisbehere strengthens Calder case, gives Flyers hope with latest heroics

On top of the historic scoring pace, his 3-on-3 heroics (four overtime game-winning goals) are keeping the Flyers in the playoff hunt, and making him a serious contender for the Calder.

Honorable Mentions: Artemi Panarin, Max Domi, Jack Eichel, and Dylan Larkin are the only rookies with more points than "Ghost" while Connor McDavid has thrilled with 15 points since returning from injury. John Gibson has been great in net for the Ducks, who might be the NHL's hottest team.

Vezina Trophy: Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

While his performance has slipped slightly since his outstanding first three months of the season, it appears nothing can slow Holtby's potential record-setting wins pace.

The 26-year-old has backstopped the Capitals to the best 58-game record (44-10-4) in NHL history, and needs just 12 wins in the next 24 games to become the first goalie to record 50 wins in a season.

Despite having only two shutouts, he's one of just two goalies to be among the top 10 in wins, goals-against average, and save percentage.

Honorable Mentions: The other goalie in the top 10 of those three categories - Cory Schneider of the New Jersey Devils. Corey Crawford, Henrik Lundqvist, and Petr Mrazek could also be considered.

Norris Trophy: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators

While his defensive play will always be scrutinized, there's no defenseman close to as impactful on the offensive end than Karlsson.

The Swede sits tied for third in NHL scoring with 65 points in 60 games in a league starved for goals. It's startling to see how often Karlsson is involved in his team's goals compared to the best seasons from other legendary blue-liners.

The 25-year-old is in a league of his own this season, and if his Senators have another late-season run that ends in a playoff spot - this award is a lock.

Honorable Mentions: Drew Doughty's pursuit of his first Norris win will pose the biggest threat for Karlsson's third. Other candidates include John Klingberg, Aaron Ekblad, and P.K. Subban.

Jack Adams Trophy: Bruce Boudreau, Anaheim Ducks

Speaking of the Ducks, it wasn't all that long ago that Boudreau's firing seemed inevitable, but now his team is a mere two points behind the Pacific Division-leading Kings.

The Ducks had a horrendous first month of the season, going 1-7-2, but have turned things around to save their coach. After handing the goaltending reins to Gibson in late November, Boudreau won back the dressing room en route to an NHL-best 8-1-1 record in February.

A division title seemed like a fantasy for the Ducks 20 games into the season, but now, with 24 games to go, it could become a reality, and Boudreau deserves credit.

Honorable Mentions: Barry Trotz would be a very deserving winner with the league-best Capitals. Panthers coach Gerard Gallant and Stars coach Lindy Ruff are also in the mix.

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Superstar treatment in the NHL?

Arizona Coyotes second-year starter Louis Domingue accused the officials of such partiality Monday night, more specifically their inability to give him "the whistle" in a loss to Braden Holtby and the NHL-best Washington Capitals.

"I'm expecting that they treat every guy the same way, and I felt like because I don't have many games in this league I'm being treated differently," he said, according to Sarah McLellan of azcentral sports. "I think that if Holtby would have covered the puck this way, they would have blew the whistle right away.

"All game it was the same thing. I didn't have the whistle."

He added: "It's just unacceptable that they don't treat us the same way."

Domingue's beef was engendered in the third, when he stopped a slap shot from Tom Wilson and appeared to cover up the puck. However, it was dug out from under his glove and jammed in by Mike Richards - a goal that proved to be the eventual game-winner.

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The Montreal Canadiens announced Monday that defenseman Tom Gilbert will undergo surgery on his left knee and miss the remainder of the season.

The 33-year-old left Friday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers after blocking a shot during the second period.

Gilbert had one goal, one assist, and a plus-3 rating in 45 games for the Canadiens this season.

With Gilbert heading to injured reserve, the team has recalled defenseman Victor Bartley from the AHL's St. John's IceCaps.

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Forty-four, the fastest.

A 3-2 Washington Capitals win over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday saw Mike Richards score his first with the club, Alex Ovechkin notch his league-best 39th goal, and the team become the fastest in NHL history to hit 44 wins, needing only 58 games.

The Capitals bumped their point total to 92 in the process, pushing their lead atop the Metropolitan Division to 18 points, and moving 11 clear of the Chicago Blackhawks in the race for the President's Trophy.

Braden Holtby backstopped the noteworthy - albeit slightly trivial - win, inching closer to a milestone of far greater significance in the process. The Vezina Trophy frontrunner is now just 10 wins shy of Martin Brodeur's single-season record with 24 games left on the schedule.

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It appears Craig Smith's greatest enemy is an empty net.

The Nashville Predators forward had a wide-open net in the final minute of overtime Monday against the Montreal Canadiens, but somehow managed to block his own one-timer attempt with his follow-through.

The blooper reminded many of a similar situation in 2011 when he skated alone towards an empty net against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and proceeded to shoot the puck over the glass in his attempt to roof an easy goal.

Thankfully for Smith, he redeemed himself in the shootout by scoring the game-deciding goal to give the Predators their third win in five games.

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Mike Richards can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Held without a point through his first 14 games with Washington, the veteran forward gave his new team a 3-1 lead Monday by drilling home his first goal as a member of the Capitals after Tom Wilson knocked the puck loose out from under the glove of Arizona Coyotes goalie Louis Domingue.

"With my luck, I thought it'd be disallowed," Richards quipped after the game. A scrum ensued shortly after he scored, but his goal was met with a great reception from the Verizon Center fans who gave the 31-year-old a lengthy standing ovation.

The goal would stand as the game-winner with the Capitals hanging on to win 3-2. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin scored the other two Washington goals with the captain netting his league-leading 39th of the season, while Braden Holtby earned his NHL-best 38th win.

The Capitals have now own nine of their last 10 games and sit atop the Eastern Conference standings by a whopping 17 points ahead of their nearest competitors, the Florida Panthers.

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Jake Allen might be returning to a starter's role after all.

The league's hottest goaltender, Brian Elliott, exited with a lower-body injury Monday versus the San Jose Sharks after awkwardly twisting to the ice in an attempt to reach back and prevent a puck from trickling into the net.

He tested the injury, performing some movements in the crease, but had to make way for Allen, who was thrust into goal a day after being activated from injured reserve. He missed 17 games with a lower-body injury himself.

Elliott won 12 games in his counterpart's absence, and in the process shot to the league lead among active goaltenders in both save percentage (.932) and goals-against average (2.06) heading into Monday's contest.

A significant injury would render the Blues once again thin in goal, of course, but they remain in good hands. Allen's .924 clip before his setback represents a top-10 rate among goaltenders with at least 30 appearances.

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