from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- This has been a rather dreadful season for the Los Angeles Kings. They signed Ilya Kovalchuk to a large waste of a contract. They fired head coach John Stevens and replaced him with the unimpressive Willie Desjardins. But it could have been worse. Imagine how bad this season would really be had their deal with Montreal for Max Pacioretty gone through. The Kings were offering a first-round pick for Pacioretty, which would have been trading away a lottery choice if the deal was made … And to think, some people keep throwing former GM Dean Lombardi’s name around as a future president of NHL teams. You hear the same with Mike Gillis, the former Canucks boss. I wouldn’t consider either of them for those kind of major promotions.

- So what is Jeff Skinner worth in free agency? He scored 20 goals in his first 27 games in Buffalo. He has one goal in his past 20 games … Can’t imagine Phil Housley will last beyond next week as coach of the Buffalo Sabres. This team just isn’t getting any better. There will be new coaches next season in Ottawa, Buffalo, Anaheim, Los Angeles and possibly changes in Minnesota, Edmonton, Philadelphia and Florida. Which means somebody will be calling the Leafs and asking about Sheldon Keefe, whose new contract will enable him to talk to suitors.

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