from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo,

— At the GMs’ meeting, NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan showed clips of lopsided fights. No one made a peep about suspensions in those cases. So why should Emery be suspended? Because he and Holtby are goalies? Because Holtby didn’t want to fight at first? Holtby did engage; he just got his butt kicked. There have been several examples of what the league considers reluctant combatants, not unwilling combatants, and when there is a fight, someone might lose. That’s the reality under the current rules.

— Nail Yakupov is 20 years old. He has played 66 NHL games – not yet a full season. He is a Russian adjusting to his second NHL coach already, and this one (Dallas Eakins) doesn’t have the European background of the previous one (Ralph Krueger). The Edmonton Oilers should not trade a kid who was talented enough to be the first overall pick in last year’s draft unless they receive an incredible return. That said, they should not ignore Igor Larionov’s concerns. Larionov is Yakupov’s agent, yes, but he’s also a Hall of Famer who knows a thing or two about playmaking and how Russians adjust to North America. The way the Oilers have started, they should have invited Larionov to visit Edmonton.

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