As Thursday draws ever nearer, Saturday night's eleven NHL games saw a few teams getting closer to a decision on whether to buy or sell at the trade deadline, depending on their abilities to make the playoffs.

In the Eastern Conference, the Canadiens won again, keeping their distance from the pack of hungry clubs looking for their spot in eighth. 10th place Boston and 11th place Toronto both lost, putting them six and seven points behind Montreal, respectively. The Thrashers, however, defeated the Capitals to keep pace with the Habs, and it looks like GM Don Waddell might still be able to keep his promise that Atlanta will make it to the dance. The latest rumour here is that playmaking centre Marc Savard will be shipped to Calgary for young defenceman Jordan Leopold, a deal that would likely benefit both teams.

Toronto has been at the centre of many trade rumours, with just about every player being named by some talking head, no matter how far-fetched the claim. The latest is that Ed Belfour might waive his no-trade clause for a move to any contender who would pick up his option for next year, paying him more than $4M in salary. Things could look very different in Hogtown by the time the 2006-07 season rolls around, and that might not be a bad thing. John Ferguson was looking ahead a little bit last summer by mostly signing players to one-year deals, so he could evaluate how things worked out under the cap system, and what changes have to be made. The Leafs should look to make changes at every position - four rookie defencemen got NHL experience this season (Wozniewski, Colaiacovo, Kronwall, and Harrison), and didn't look bad. The forward lines don't look terrible on paper, but the on-ice product is something else, especially when Pat Quinn insists on keeping potential big lines apart (Sundin only sees Jason Allison in the locker room and on the power play, and just played half a game with Eric Lindros on his wing before Lindros' wrist injury; Mats has also gushed about how much he loved playing with Wellwood after one game, and they were promptly separated). Not to flog a dead horse, but the Leafs need to acquire someone who can play wing with Sundin and bury the puck when he gets his chances. Meanwhile, Tellqvist is likely to take the reins in the nets, unless JFJ goes after another goalie; Ed Belfour probably won't come back - and rightly so, as he just doesn't play like Ed Belfour any more.

In the West, the Ducks trail the Oilers by just three points for the last playoff spot, while the Sharks missed a great opportunity to move four points back when they were shut out by the Calgary Flames on Hockey Night In Canada. The race here is a bit closer than the one in the Eastern Conference, but not much; it does, however, fly a bit under the radar as the team rankings between second and eighth seem to change hourly. Neither Anaheim or San Jose have been connected to many trade murmurings (the biggest news from the Pond is that centre Tyler Wright cleared waivers and is considering retirement). This could be because they plan on sticking with the players who got them this far, or simply due to Californians' hockey apathy keeping reporters away - there can't be any trade rumours if nobody hears them, can there? Besides, everyone with a voice recorder in California is too busy working out at the gym to prepare for the media scrum on Oscar night.