from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- The 2008 NHL draft was supposed to have four elite defenceman in it. Drew Doughty and Alex Pietrangelo have turned out rather brilliantly. Zach Bogosian and Luke Schenn, the third and fifth pick of that draft, not so much. Schenn has been reduced to a spare part in and around Tampa Bay. Bogosian has cleared waivers in Buffalo. Schenn is just 30. Bogosian turns 30 in the summer. Both were rushed to the NHL as teenagers on terrible teams.

- Weird part about the Bruce Boudreau firing: The rather ordinary Minnesota Wild were 6-3-1 in the last 10 games under Boudreau. That should be reason to celebrate in the Twin Cities. If I’m Ron Francis in Seattle, I’d hire Boudreau tomorrow as my first coach. His folksy, funny, honest charm would fit an expansion team in a non-traditional hockey market perfectly.

- This is not, in any way, a defence of Jeremy Roenick. But the cautionary tale from his NBC firing is this: You have to be careful on podcasts. I know. I’ve been on them. It’s very easy to get conversation flowing and then say something you’ll later regret. Maybe it’s relating a story. Maybe it’s going just a touch too far. The more comfortable the environment, the more you can easily lose your way.

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