I missed this last night...

from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- Word is that Quenneville felt life was “too comfortable” for the group, which had a lot to do with Vincent Trocheck’s trade. I’ve heard he’s worked hard with the Aleksander Barkovs, Aaron Ekblads and Jonathan Huberdeaus to detail what he thinks is necessary to improve the team, but the loss to the Islanders indicates there is much work to be done.

I think Chris Drury is high on Florida’s list, but I’m not convinced it’s a fit. You’re also going to hear Scott Mellanby, Laurence Gilman, Michael Futa and more. (Mellanby’s history there is not insignificant.) Those names have something in common: They’ve been around and want the opportunity. The Panthers spent a ton in free agency last summer and want to get away from that. Identifying players before you have to throw barrels of cash at them is key, and they are going to look at organizations that do it well.

- Watching the Phase 2 draft lottery, I think the NHL should do it right in front of the cameras from here on in. Every year, Chris Johnston tweets out the winning four-digit combination after its completion, solely (I think) to torture the fanbases that just miss.

Why not publish all the combinations on the NHL website, then reveal each number in front of the cameras live like it did on Monday? That way, everyone can follow along in real time as the suspense builds. It’s slightly counter-intuitive, because you’d be revealing No. 1 at the beginning, going the opposite of what we are used to. But it’s different and fresh.

Bonus: No one locked in a room for two hours, especially those who are furious they lost. No amount of wine and party sandwiches is going to sate that anger.

- That the Rangers were — by points percentage — a non-playoff team when the pause hit saved the NHL from a major outcry. Fans might have hated Edmonton or Toronto getting No. 1, but if Pittsburgh (seventh overall) got it, teams would have gone insane.

The lottery win is huge for New York, which was greatly disappointed by how it performed against Carolina. All of a sudden, they’ve gone from rebuilding to rising with extra assets.

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