from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- After adding Ilya Kovalchuk, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin met with his team, telling them, “I still believe in you.” Since then, they lost to Pittsburgh in overtime, to Winnipeg and Detroit in regulation. All of a sudden, they are seven points out with four clubs between them and second wild-card Philadelphia....

- Detroit would love to add more draft picks and/or prospects. But it’s been such a tough year that few of the players they’d want to move have increased their value.

- St. Louis is on track to be Minnesota’s opponent in the 2021 Winter Classic.

more on the first topic plus other Thoughts...