from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- Why won’t Utah have a name and logo for its first season? It’s April. The season starts in October. Surely, a name, a logo and a jersey is more than possible by then. The best thing about the Seattle Kraken through three NHL seasons: Their jersey.

- There are 16 teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs, three of them are starting Canadians in goal — Edmonton, Los Angeles and Vegas. Of the other 13 starters, six are Russians and five are Americans.

- Hoping to see Derek Lalonde back on Sportsnet this playoff season. The Red Wings coach was a breath of fresh air on television last playoff season.

- The Ottawa Senators, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres all desperately need a head coach. Will any of them have the stones or the money to hire the best coach available, Joel Quenneville?

- Got thinking about this when former NHL referee Wally Harris passed away the other day. Time was, I knew just about every NHL ref by name and face. So many of us did. We used to travel with them. We used to eat in the same coffee shops or have the occasional drink in a lobby bar. I knew Bryan Lewis and Andy van Hellemond; Denis Morel, Kerry Fraser and Dave Newell; Bruce Hood, Bill McCreary, Wally and a whole slew of linesmen. Yesterday, the NHL put out its list of 22 playoff referees. I kind of knew two of them. The rest: Mystery names to me. I miss the days when NHL refs were allowed to have personalities and when they occasionally socialized with those who wrote about the game.

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