from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- Five coaching changes this year. NHL record: 11 in 2002-03. That seems absurd.

If Peter DeBoer wants to coach again this season, he will have the opportunity. But the situation has to make sense.

- Sportsnet’s draft guru, Sam Cosentino, said this year’s Canadian World Junior training camp was, by far, the most heavily scouted he’s seen from an NHL perspective. The reason: This one featured eight first-year draft eligibles; the last five camps had a combined six. That doesn’t include OHL Guelph’s Nico Daws, who was passed over in 2019 and is taking out his anger on the rest of the league. Daws lost 25 pounds last summer, and Sam’s sources indicate he could go in the second round of the 2020 draft. By the way, Cosentino is the smartest person on the planet, because he’s not on social media.

23. The NHL is down six officials with long-term injuries. Tim Peel suffered a fractured tibia last week, putting him out three months. He joins fellow referees Jon McIsaac and Eric Furlatt, and linesmen Michel Cormier, Steve Miller and Vaughan Rody. Peel was injured during an Arizona/Chicago game, and Coyotes players were amazed at how he got up, limped to the bench, casually hopped over the boards and exited down the tunnel. They were talking about it after the game, saying they couldn’t remember seeing a referee exit as play continued.

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