from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

- No decision yet who will be GM of the expansion Seattle franchise. But league-wide rumors have it down to a three-man short list, Mark Hunter, Ron Hextall and Kelly McCrimmon. Hunter, with a sharp eye for draft talent, resigned as assistant GM in Toronto last spring when Kyle Dubas was named GM. Hextall was canned this season as the Flyers GM. McCrimmon, brother of former Bruins defenseman Brad McCrimmon, joined the expansion Vegas franchise as assistant GM after a dozen years of head coach and GM duties with WHL Brandon.

- Bruins short-timer Rick Nash, now retired after his fling spring with the Bruins in 2018, recently moved back to Columbus and soon will begin working in an undefined role with the Blue Jackets front office, headed by GM and former Bruin forward Jarmo Kekalainen. Nash, age 34 and with upward of $100 million in career earnings, called it quits over concerns related to his history of concussions.

- The official start date for the Stanley Cup playoffs is April 10. It presents a conflict for the Bruins if they hold on to the home-ice advantage. The TD Garden calendar has a “Muse” concert listed for 7:30 that night . . . As of Friday morning, the 16 teams in possession of postseason berths all qualified for the playoffs if wins were the sole criterion for making the cut. In other words, the whole “loser point” thing is just smoke and mirrors. Better to dump the scam and rank teams on wins and losses only. Like other adult leagues.

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