from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- Can’t make sense of the Eastern Conference. It’s too close. Who wins between Tampa Bay and Toronto? Who wins Carolina and Boston? Who wins Rangers and Pittsburgh? My only sure thing in the first round is Florida over Washington … In the West, Calgary beats Dallas, Edmonton beats Los Angeles, Colorado takes out Nashville, and Minnesota and St. Louis are going to overtime in Game 7. As a friend pointed out, that series is going to be so tough the reporters covering it will be bruised and battered by the end of it … Teams that can win the Stanley Cup: Tampa Bay, Florida, Toronto, Rangers, Carolina with Freddie Andersen. Teams in the West that can win: Calgary, Colorado, and the survivor of Minnesota-St. Louis. That’s a lot of contenders.

- Kirill Kaprizov was the rookie of the year last year and a longshot Hart Trophy candidate this year. A pretty amazing first two NHL seasons for the 24-year-old in Minnesota. If he played in Canada, everybody would be talking about him.

- The most disappointing teams in hockey this season: 1. Vegas; 2. Montreal; 3. Winnipeg; 4. Philadelphia.

- This is the world in 2022: Al Sobotka, best known for picking up octopus off the ice in Detroit and driving the Zamboni, has been fired for urinating in an apparent public place. Sometimes, when you gotta go, you gotta go.

- Ryan Getzlaf’s retirement got all kinds of play, and deservedly so. Dustin Brown’s retirement — not so much. Getzlaf was central to Anaheim’s Stanley Cup win in 2007. Brown captained two Los Angeles Kings teams to win Cups in 2012 and 2014. Among Brown’s greatest accomplishments: Overcoming his childhood stuttering to become comfortable as a spokesman for a great NHL team.

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