from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- The market’s cracking open, though. There was a shortage of scoring touch with Vegas’s success, but now there’s Pacioretty, there’s Evander Kane, there’s Mike Hoffman. What’s most interesting is that all three have different term remaining on their contracts. Kane’s unrestricted, Pacioretty’s got one year and Hoffman two. Curious to see how that affects each player’s value.

- Quote of the Week, from an anonymous GM: “God, I hope no one helps Pittsburgh get better.” I think he’s tired of seeing them win.

- Florida’s Bob Boughner didn’t like Tuesday’s blowout in Minnesota, but, generally, the Panthers are improving, with a five-game win streak beforehand. There was a mini-breakthrough last Thursday as Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau combined for 12 shots in a 3-2 win over Philadelphia. Boughner’s been on them to fire it.

“Oh my God, every day. They are both high-end players, but their identity is pass-first, shoot second. We want to change their mentality.” Which one is worse? “Barkov,” Boughner laughed. “He does everything so well, but we need him to be more selfish. There was a recent game where he had an empty net and was looking around. Drives me crazy.”

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