from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- So let’s see if we have this straight. The Maple Leafs had David Bolland, Carl Gunnarsson, Nik Kulemin. Mason Raymond, Jay McClement, Paul Ranger and Tim Gleason when the season ended. And now they have Petri Kontiola, Roman Polak, Mike Santorelli, Leo Komarov, Stephane Robidas and Matt Frattin. And I wonder, is this a hockey club or a remake of The Producers?

- When Jim Nill took over the Dallas Stars, his centres were Mike Ribeiro and Steve Ott. One July later, his centres are Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza. The best free agent last summer: Jim Nill.

- Those who promote advanced stats in hockey must have cringed when Garth Snow signed Mikhail Grabovski. They want acceptance, but not necessarily from the Islanders general manager.

- Is there still time for the Washington Capitals to buy out Brooks Orpik?

a few more hockey notes, mostly Leafs related...