from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- John Tortorella has had decent results in the NHL when he has had decent teams to coach. When he didn’t, his teams failed as most lousy teams fail. Tortorella’s caustic personality may be the perfect fit in Philadelphia, but his problem is the team. It’s just not very good or very deep in a very strong and very deep conference.

- Why are the Florida Panthers screwing around with interim coach Andrew Brunette? If you don’t want him, say you don’t him. If you want him to return, give him a contract. Leaving him dangling while the Panthers interview coaching candidates is a terrible way to treat a man who bailed the franchise out from the Joel Quenneville mess and somehow got the Panthers to first overall in the NHL.

- There must be a part of Steve Yzerman, knowing how uber-competitive he is, knowing the kind of pride he takes in his work, that he looks at the two-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and takes some private ownership of their remarkable run of success.

Especially at a time when his Detroit Red Wings are moving up, but battling to return to relevance in the NHL....

more on the last topic plus a few more hockey notes, including Toronto's goaltending situation...