The problem for Flyers fans, whether they know it or not, will start if and when Philadelphia tries to re-sign MacDonald. At 27 years old, and considering the market for defensemen who play a lot of minutes, block shots and put up decent points totals, he's going to look for gigantic raise — and the Flyers need defensemen enough to overpay him.

What makes MacDonald a pretty strong buyer-beware: brutal puck possession numbers, even for a bad team. The Islanders take just 43.4 percent of all even-strength shot attempts when MacDonald is on the ice, down from 49 percent as a team, the lowest such number of any of their regular defensemen. Only eight defensemen in the league have a worse percentage of Corsi events than MacDonald.

A player's usage can affect those numbers — who he plays against, how often he starts in the offensive zone — and in MacDonald's case, it certainly does. The minutes he plays aren't easy, but his struggles outstrip that, far and away.

So, while he's a guy that could help in a different situation, he's been miscast as a top-four defenseman and expects to be paid as such when he hits the market. The likelihood he turns out to be worth it is small; the odds that the Flyers are the the team that pays him are not.


Oilers' goaltending situation


The Edmonton Oilers are a weird organization that makes weird decisions, but credit where it's due: In 24 hours, they manufactured themselves a pretty decent goaltending situation.

First, they signed Ben Scrivens to a two-year contract worth $2.3 million annually. Scrivens, at minimum, deserves a chance to emerge as a full-time starter; in 58 NHL games, he has a .921 save percentage. In 2013-14, he has a league-best .934 save percentage in 26 games, and a .940 in seven appearances with the Oilers since they acquired him from the Los Angeles Kings.

Then, on Tuesday, they acquired Viktor Fasth from the Anaheim Ducks for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015.

Fasth, who was crowded out in Anaheim by Jonas Hiller, Frederik Andersen and John Gibson, is the exact sort of complement Scrivens needed. He takes the place of Ilya Bryzgalov, who's headed to the Minnesota Wild for a fourth-round pick. (So Minnesota can forget about Jaroslav Halak — and those Martin Brodeur rumors.

This is about Fasth, though. He's been hurt much of the season (.885 save percentage in five appearances), but he was good in 2013, posting a .921 save percentage in 25 games with Anaheim.

Is he a true starter? Probably not, but Edmonton doesn't need him to be; they need someone who can push Scrivens, fill in when necessary and take over if he falls apart. In Fasth, they got that for two midround picks and a reasonable cap hit: He's at 2.9 million through next season.

So, good job, Oilers. Scratch that one off the lengthy, longstanding list.


Pancake Day irony 


Dustin Penner was traded on National Pancake Day, and the universe sometimes has a sense of humor.

The Anahem Ducks sent Penner, who threw out his back eating pancakes (or something) in 2012, to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday for a fourth-round pick.

The Caps' practice rink in Arlington, Va., is walking distance from an IHOP.

As for Penner the hockey player, he's a huge, possession-driving winger who has 13 goals and 19 assists this season playing on a line with stars Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

Anaheim reunited the three in the offseason; they'd won a Cup together in 2007 before Penner signed with the Edmonton Oilers, was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, had his pancake incident and won another Cup in 2012.

Penner should help Washington at 5-on-5, which is good — and the price is negligible enough that Caps fans shouldn't worry that he isn't a defenseman.


Conacher question


It's easy to look at Cory Conacher's name on the waiver wire and conclude that Tampa Bay definitevely won the 2013 trade deadline deal that sent Conacher to Ottawa for goalie Ben Bishop.

That's because it's true; Bishop has emerged as a legitimate starting goaltender and potential Vezina candidate for the Lightning; his .932 save percentage is third in the league, and he generally seems, at 27, to have matured into the guy Steve Yzerman thought he may have been last year.

Conacher, meanwhile, is free for the taking. That doesn't mean he isn't a useful player, though — just not the guy who had 24 points (9G, 15A) in the 34 games before Ottawa acquired him.

Even this season with the Sens, Conacher has 20 points in 59 games at 12:20 per game. He positively drives possession, with Ottawa taking 52.8 percent of all shot attempts when he's on the ice at even strength.

And most relevantly, c/o @JonathanWillis, Conacher's shooting percentage has dipped significantly. With Tampa, he was at 17.0 percent. This season, he's at 5.7 percent. If the former is unsustainably high, the latter is unsustainably low.

Look at one team with the first crack at him on the waiver wire, and another with the last: Conacher went to Canisius in Buffalo. Would the Sabres be interested in seeing if he could be a piece in their rebuild? The Penguins currently playing Brian Gibbons with Sidney Crosby and has a rotating cast on ineffective third-line wingers. Why not see if Conacher could succeed where others haven't?

None of this is to say that Conacher is a world-beater, or that Ottawa GM Bryan Murray didn't lose the Bishop trade. The point is that, with many teams looking to add players on the cheap for the stretch run, there aren't many better options than Conacher. If you opt out of him in the offseason, when he hits restricted free agency, no harm, no foul.

In fact, you could say that the risk is very, very small. (Sorry, Cory.)


Brodeur's future 


Martin Brodeur made a rare home start Tuesday night. A classy send-off by the New Jersey Devils and a prelude to a trade before Wednesday's deadline?

Brodeur and the rest of us will soon find out.

The future Hall of Fame goalie gave nothing away in a postgame interview with MSG Network's Deb Placey, but he did acknowledge that Wednesday will be more than just another day.

"We'll see what's going to happen. It's the first (deadline) that kind of intrigues me," he said with a smile. "I never really had to worry about it too much. But, you know, time will tell, still lots of time before 3 o'clock tomorrow and there's going to be a lot of moves being made, and hopefully our team's going to get better."

The "our team" in that quote is the Devils, of course.

If this was Brodeur's final game in New Jersey, it ended fittingly. He earned the win over the Detroit Red Wings, the team Brodeur and the Devils defeated in 1995 for their first Stanley Cup. He also allowed three goals, a reminder of how his game has slipped.

As reported on Twitter, Brodeur is ready for anything:

"Told Martin Brodeur has submitted a list to Lou Lamoriello of the teams he's willing to waive his NTC to go to. (8-9 teams)...." — Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger)

"Brodeur on no-trade: 'I have the last word. I didn’t give up anything of my status right now and I’m planning on keeping it until I’m asked'" — Tom Gulitti (@TGfireandice)

"Brodeur said even a contract extension with the Devils is not out of the question." — Rich Chere (@Ledger_NJDevils)

Contributors: Sean Gentille, Tom Gatto