from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

- There can be no more meaningful endorsement of Ilya Kovalchuk than the fact the people who knew him best as a teammate or member of their organizations before he left for the KHL four years ago are interested in acquiring the dynamic 34-year-old winger from the Devils as he prepares to return to the NHL.

Slap Shots has learned the Blues (with assistant general manager Martin Brodeur), Maple Leafs (with general manager Lou Lamoriello) and Sharks (with coach Pete DeBoer and assistant Johan Hedberg) are among more than a half-dozen clubs who have expressed interest in Kovalchuk.

And yes, indeed, the Rangers are one of the those teams, though there are obstacles to work around in order to get the potential game-changer into a Blueshirt....

- What could Nashville coach Peter Laviolette possibly have gained by creating a two-day shroud of mystery surrounding the identity of the Predators’ starting goaltender for Saturday’s Game 3 against the Penguins? What good could it have done estimable franchise netminder Pekka Rinne for Laviolette to state “Next question” when asked following the morning skate who would be in nets hours later?

What good could it have done anyone? Or did Laviolette think that the lack of clarity would keep Sidney Crosby and Evgeni
Malkin up at night?

More broadly, does anyone connected with the league recognize how infantile responses like that — hardly limited to Laviolette — appear? Coaches who, one after another, recite, “I don’t talk about lineup decisions”?

- Finally, for the sake of newly minted Islanders assistant Scott Gomez, let’s hope the players he coaches are more respectful of him than he was of some of his coaches when he played for the Devils and the Rangers.

more on the first two topics plus additional hockey notes...