Slightly North

Bob Hartley leads the Atlanta Thrashers against his former team for the first time when he returns to Colorado to face the Avalanche tonight at 6:00pm PST.

After the Avalanche got off to a disappointing 10-8-9-4 start this season, Hartley, who guided the team to the 2001 Stanley Cup title, was fired as coach and replaced by Tony Granato. The Avalanche are now only 8 points away from taking the division title for the 9th time in a row.

Joe Sakic is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers.

Sakic has been out since suffering a broken right foot in the second period of a 1-1 tie with the Dallas Stars on January 20.

A team spokesman said today that Sakic has been medically cleared to return.

Finally, Joe Sakic could return to the Colorado Avalanche next week after being sidelined since Jan. 20 with a broken ankle. Sakic has been swimming and riding an exercise bike as part of his rehabilitation. He skated about 25 minutes Sunday and 15 minutes Saturday. His foot was broken when he was hit by a shot from Dallas defenseman Sergei Zubov. Sakic still has trouble making quick stops and turns, but traveled with the team on this week's three-game road trip.

The Avalanche have gone 9-0-1-1 without Sakic, including a 3-2 victory against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Expect them to make a serious run at Vancouver with Sakic back in the lineup.

More big rumors are circulating around the league this week.

First of all, most hockey observers expect Avs GM Pierre Lacroix to pull off a notable deal before next month's trade deadline, but the biggest move may involve the general manager himself. According to reports out of Denver, Lacroix is thinking about retiring from hockey after the season to manage the career of singer Celine Dion. Lacroix is a longtime friend of Dion and her husband, Rene Angelil, and has a home near theirs in Las Vegas.

Also, a number of news sources in Toronto have begun speculating that the ownership changes for the Maple Leafs will force Pat Quinn to soon relinquish either his coaching position or his general manager post.

The Colorado Avalanche won a big game last night. Not only was it a shutout against the Redwings, but it was a SHUTOUT against the Redwings! The Avalanche are now 6-2-2 in their last 10 and are within striking distance of the second spot in the northwest division. They are also only 9 points away from their familiar spot at the top of the division. Seems Roy has found his groove just in the nick of time.

Toronto too are sitting in good shape. With their win last night against Tampa Bay, they bring their last 10 record to 7-3-0. This puts them as second in the northeast division. However, chances are Ottawa is going to win the division title this year. Toronto should have no worry making the playoffs if they keep scoring on the power play and keep Belfour healthy.

Lastly, Montreal. Poor poor Montreal. The are now 1 game below .500 for the season so far. Last night they were smashed 6-3 when they faced Boston and their ex-goalie Hackett. Montreal is just 3-4-3 in their last 10 games. As of today they are only 2 points out of a play-off spot, but the are also 6 teams fighting for the bottom 2 births. Montreal needs to turn their season around real quick or will be facing a long long summer.

Avalanche forward Dan Hinote injured his head and leg in a car accident in Boston and is expected to miss at least two games.

He was treated at a hospital and flew to Denver on Monday, the Avalanche said.

"He'll be OK. We just wanted our team doctors to look at him, to make sure," Avalanche spokesman Jean Martineau said.

Hinote was a passenger during Sunday's accident. Boston police had no details on what happened.

Hinote was not expected to be in lineup Tuesday night against the Bruins in Boston or Thursday night at Detroit.

Brian Willsie was recalled from Hershey of the American Hockey League to take Hinote's roster spot.