from Elliotte Friedman of CBC,

- If Cody Franson is serious about Europe, he loses control over his potential destination. If he plays any games in another league after the NHL season begins, he must clear waivers. Seems unlikely.

- There is a conspiracy theory that the "jersey tuck" crackdown is simply setting the table for ads on sweaters. There's no way Oswald acted alone, but I generally hate conspiracies. Anyway, I did look into it and was told "not imminent" aside from what already exists with the current sponsor, Reebok. Another good point: if the NHL was to sell these ads, they probably wouldn't be located along the bottom, which is where tucking occurs.

- That's not to say the idea hasn't been discussed. At a sales conference a couple of years ago, Brian Burke (then Toronto's GM) said the Maple Leafs were dead-set against the idea because of the iconic nature of their logo and jersey. A one-time Canadiens employee said the same thing in a different conversation.

- A lot of debate about Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' extension (seven years, $42 million). Here is why Edmonton did it: the Oilers believe in their young core as players and people. They believe that if you do this instead of the bridge contract, you save money -- because the cost of the next one only goes up, never down. It sounds like the biggest initial issue in these discussions was term; at one point, Rick Valette, Nugent-Hopkins' agent, wanted shorter, but the team liked this idea instead.

more thoughts including Leafs/Sabres...