It seems that Sean Avery just can’t stay out of the hockey headlines. His publicly aired “sloppy seconds” remarks last week, aimed at fellow NHLer Dion Phaneuf and actress Elisha Cuthbert, landed him a six-game ban. Now it seems that his Dallas Stars career has come to a premature end.

Just 23 games into a four-year contract worth $15.5 million, the Stars have decided that they’ve had enough of the combative winger. Avery has completed his NHL ban and is undergoing anger management counselling which was a condition of his suspension. However, once this counselling programme has been completed, rather than returning to his team’s roster, the Stars will look to move him elsewhere.

Avery’s high wage packet and colourful personal history will make such a move unappealing for the 29 other NHL teams, and the 28-year-old now faces an uncertain future.

It’s funny how all the problems seem to mount up on the struggling teams. Dallas’s problems compound their misery as they sit at the foot of the Western Conference, but at the bottom of the Eastern Conference it is the Tampa Bay Lightning who have also been in the news this week.

After a disappointing start to this season, the Lightning released their head coach, Barry Melrose, after winning just five of 16 games. Melrose hit back at his former employers during a radio interview. The former Lightning boss complained of interference from non-coaching staff, saying, “I had guys in Tampa who wanted to run the team and I wouldn't let them… I wasn't playing the right guys. I was playing certain guys too much. I wasn't playing other guys enough. Every day was a constant battle.”

The Tampa Bay hierarchy didn’t take kindly to his criticism and are believed to be considering their legal options. Melrose is never short of a word or two and is set to reprise his role of hockey analyst on ESPN where he’ll be back airing his opinion in the New Year. On the ice, things are no better for the Lightning who, under interim coach Rick Tocchet, have won only two of their last 14 games.

Staying in the South-East Division, this week was one to remember for Brett Leonhardt of the Washington Capitals. Never heard of him? That’s because he’s the organisation’s website producer! However, on Friday night he got to live his dream and dress for an NHL game.

The Capitals’s regular backup goalie was injured on the morning of the game so a new backup goalie was called up. Since the third-choice goalie could not arrive in time for the start of the game, Leonhardt, a goalie in his junior days, signed a temporary amateur contract and took to the ice for the warm-up. He then spent the first 10 minutes of the game sitting on the bench as emergency backup goaltender until his professional replacement arrived.

The Capitals needn’t have worried though as their starting goaltender, Brent Johnson, gave a commanding performance in a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. It was a good week for Washington as they stretched their lead in the South-East Division to eight points after wins over the Montreal Canadiens (2-1) and the Boston Bruins (3-1).

The Bruins’s defeat to the Capitals ended their five-game winning streak, but the Boston outfit still remain on top of the North-East Division. Wins over the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning (5-3) and Atlanta Thrashers (7-3 and 4-2) have helped to build up a seven-point lead over division rivals the Montreal Canadiens. The Bruins have also extended their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to four points over the New York Rangers.

The Rangers had a mixed week, recording an overtime win against the Atlanta Thrashers and a shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, with a wild 8-5 loss to the New Jersey Devils in between. The Rangers had produced an amazing fight back from 5-1 down to level the score at 5-5 with little over eight minutes remaining. However, just moments later Patrik Elias struck to restore New Jersey’s lead before the Devils put the result beyond doubt.

New Jersey also beat division rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins (4-1), but lost out to the Buffalo Sabres (4-2). Pittsburgh had the most convincing win of the week in a 9-2 thrashing of the New York Islanders. The Penguins demonstrated their offensive force with Petr Sykora and Pascal Dupuis notching up hat-tricks.

The Philadelphia Flyers are also experiencing no shortage of goals with a 4-3 win of the Islanders, a shootout victory following a 5-5 tie with the Hurricanes and a 6-3 beating of the Penguins.

In the Western Conference, the San Jose Sharks show no signs of letting up. 13 points clear of the Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific Division, and with a six-point lead in the conference standings, the Sharks have an astounding 24 wins in 29 outings this season. They saw off the Ducks (2-0) and the St Louis Blues (5-4) in their only games this week.

The Detroit Red Wings are at the summit of the Central Division and lie second in the Western Conference after beating the Calgary Flames in overtime (4-3) and the Phoenix Coyotes in a shootout (4-4). They slipped up only once, losing on the road to the last-placed Dallas Stars (3-1).

The North-West Division has a new leader this week as the Vancouver Canucks, still without goalie Roberto Luongo, have replaced the Calgary Flames at the top of the pile. They overcame the Nashville Predators (3-1) and the Florida Panthers (5-3) but were shutout by the Edmonton Oilers (3-0).

Finally, spare a thought this week for Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche. Not only are his team at the bottom of their division, but he broke three fingers in a ‘snow blower accident’ last week. He required surgery which will leave him sidelined for at least three months. Ouch.