from Sean McIndoe at Sportsnet,

• Wait for Duchene deal continues
• What will Vegas do with D-man surplus?
• Still no bites for Jagr, Iginla, Doan

The writers in charge of the NHL’s off-season script are struggling.

They spent the last year opening up all sorts of interesting storylines and plot holes, with lots of fun ways they could go. But now the summer is here, the credits are about to roll, and there are still all sorts of loose ends to tie up.

They’ve wrapped up a few. The Dallas Stars finally got that goalie they’ve been hunting for years, the touching Kevin Shattenkirk homecoming played out pretty much like we all expected, and the Connor McDavid contract plotline came together nicely. Some of it feels kind of derivative – haven’t we seen this Blackhawks roster already? – but for the most part it’s been fine.

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Heck, I recall many of the media we depend on telling us the off-season was going to be crazy, oops!