from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- There should be a long lineup of those interested in the general manager’s job with the Anaheim Ducks. Bob Murray is out in Anaheim, but he left behind a stacked roster of players 23-and-under that few NHL teams can match. Among them: Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras and teenaged defenceman Jamie Drysdale.

- The best NHL player nobody seems to pay attention to — Jesper Bratt of the New Jersey Devils. He’s one point ahead of Brad Marchand in scoring and one point behind Jake Guentzel. Bratt is the seventh leading scorer from the Auston Matthews draft of 2016, even though he was selected 162nd by Jersey.

- The coach of the year candidates in the NHL: You start with Mike Sullivan in Pittsburgh and work backward from there. The list should include Bruce Boudreau in Vancouver; Andrew Brunette in Florida; Rod Brind’Amour in Carolina; John Hynes in Nashville; Darryl Sutter in Calgary; Dallas Eakins in Anaheim; Sheldon Keefe in Toronto; and Dean Evason in Minnesota.

- Boudreau was hired on Dec. 6. Since then, the Canucks have 17 points in nine games. Winnipeg has nine points in its past nine games and the Edmonton Oilers have just six points in their past 11 games. This season could wind up with three Canadian teams fighting for one or maybe two playoff spots in the West.

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