And those were two topics McPhee did not want to address Monday, two days after the Capitals announced the 17-year GM's contract would not be renewed.

"I don't really want to answer questions about individuals. I'm going to duck those," McPhee replied when Ovechkin's name was first brought up.

Pressed to weigh in about the three-time NHL MVP, McPhee replied: "If you're asking me if we can win with him, I believed we could win with him."

As to how Ovechkin could lead the league with 51 goals and be among the worst in the NHL with a minus-36 rating, McPhee said: "Of course I have opinions, but those issues are for the next guy."

Later, McPhee was asked to describe his working relationship with Oates, who was fired Saturday with a season left on his three-year deal.

"Again," McPhee said, "I don't want to talk about individuals."

At another point in the half-hour meeting with the media, though, McPhee did say he "loved working with" Oates' two immediate predecessors as Washington's coach, Bruce Boudreau and Dale Hunter.

The Capitals finished ninth in the Eastern Conference this season, missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007.


DUCHENE BACK WITH AVS


A month after going down with an injured medial collateral ligament in his left knee, center Matt Duchene has returned to the Colorado lineup.

Duchene's status for Game 6 of the first-round series at Minnesota was determined just before faceoff on Monday night.

Coach Patrick Roy said earlier in the day that Duchene would have to be cleared by the team's medical staff after taking part in warmups in order to play.

Duchene was headed for the fourth line, so the Avalanche could ease him back in. The 23-year-old, who was the third overall pick in the 2009 draft, led the team with 70 points in 71 games during the regular season.


TRELIVING BECOMES FLAMES' GM


Brad Treliving helped Don Maloney guide the Phoenix Coyotes through a difficult four-year span without an owner.

The Calgary Flames are hoping he can get them past a playoff-less streak that stretched to five years this season.

Calgary hired Treliving as its next general manager on Monday, finally filling the spot left by the firing of Jay Feaster in early December.

"I think this is a great opportunity, specifically for me but for any young general manager coming into this job," Treliving said. "I had a great opportunity with Don Maloney. I was involved in everything. I was as close to that captain's chair as you can probably be being a No. 2 guy, but I'm not naïve enough to know that there is a difference."

The 44-year-old Treliving spent the past seven seasons as an assistant under Maloney, learning the ropes under the difficult circumstance of playing without an owner for four seasons. He also served as GM for the Coyotes' AHL affiliate in Portland, Maine.

In Calgary, Treliving will work under president of hockey operations Brian Burke. The Flames finished 35-40-7 and were 13th in the Western Conference with 77 points to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season.


FRANCIS NEW GM FOR HURRICANES


Jim Rutherford stepped down as general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, and the team promoted Hall of Fame player Ron Francis to replace him.

In a series of moves, the Hurricanes also hired Mike Vellucci as assistant GM and director of hockey operations and promoted Brian Tatum to assistant general manager.

Rutherford, who also owns part of the team, will remain in an advisory role as team president. He assembled the teams that won one Stanley Cup, played for another and reached the Eastern Conference final in 2009.

The Hurricanes haven't made the playoffs since then, the longest active drought in the East.

"I look at this as a fresh start," Francis said. "I don't want to just kind of build a team that gets into the playoffs for one year. I would like to build it so that it's a very solid franchise and we can do it on a yearly basis."

Francis had long been considered the team's GM-in-waiting. The former team captain holds team records with 382 goals, 793 assists and 1,186 games played. He has been the team's vice president of hockey operations since June 2012.

He took over as the team's director of player development in 2006 and was an assistant coach under Paul Maurice from 2008-11 before returning to the front office that June as director of hockey operations.


NORRIS TROPHY FINALISTS NAMED


Boston's Zdeno Chara, Chicago's Duncan Keith and Nashville's Shea Weber are finalists for the Norris Trophy, given annually to the NHL's best defenseman.

Chara won the award in 2009 and is a finalist for the sixth time. The Bruins' captain had 17 goals and a plus-25 rating this past season.

Keith finished first among defensemen in assists with 55 and second in points with 61. He won the Norris in 2010, the only other time he was a finalist.

Weber had 33 assists and led all blue-liners with 23 goals. The captain of the Predators was a finalist in 2011 and 2012 but has never won the award before.

Contributors: The Associated Press, Jason O. Boyd

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