from Jack Todd at the Montreal Gazette

- Too bad that two teams with the best stories in the league are going head to head in the battle between the Winnipeg Jets and the Las Vegas Golden Knights. I’m still a little uncomfortable with the breaks the NHL gave Vegas in exchange for a cool $500 million but there’s no denying the job done by Gallant and GM George McPhee. That Winnipeg team, on the other hand, is so solidly built that the Jets could dominate for years. …

- Jets’ GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was ripped for avoiding free agency but he clearly knew what he was doing. Now that Connor Hellebuyck has emerged as a star goaltender, the Jets are solid from front to back in the way great teams used to be. Remember the 1970s Habs, anyone? …

If Winnipeg’s success cools the free agency market, it’s the best thing that could happen to hockey. The money is corrosive, solid teams are broken up through the combination of free agency and the salary cap and players (although they will never admit it) often end up in organizations where they’re outside their comfort zone and asked to play a role they’re not comfortable in. Above all, any contract over five years is absurd: with most players, you don’t know where they’ll be in two years, much less eight. Don’t believe me? Check Carey Price, whose slump kicked in before the big contract even took effect.

- The approach taken by all four semifinals coaches this year should be a repudiation of all the confrontational and abusive tactics in a coach’s arsenal. Paul Maurice, Barry Trotz, Jon Cooper and Gallant all believe in handling players with tact and respect. Ridicule and humiliation need not be part of the process. Apply that thought to whom you please.

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