from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

- The Jets’ asking price remains at a premium for unsigned restricted free agent Jacob Trouba, and why wouldn’t it for a 22-year-old righty defenseman with top-pair ability who has yet to grow into it? There is no reason to expect it to drop as the Dec. 1 deadline for signing restricted free agents approaches.

- So Las Vegas GM George McPhee has solicited Laurence Gilman, who helped draft NHL Expansion Draft rules for the league after he was dismissed as Vancouver assistant GM, to run a mock expansion draft for his team. Could be considered insider trading, except that the Devils had one-time NHL cap expert Stephen Pellegrini handling cap compliance when they were cited twice within two months for circumvention on Ilya Kovalchuk.

- Finally, watching the Rangers you realize that faceoffs are a lot like car rental reservations. Anyone can take them, but can they win them?

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