from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- Before we get back to more deadline considerations, wanted to address a continuing story. On Wednesday, Diamond Sports Group announced it would skip a $140-million payment, thereby entering a 30-day grace period that most likely leads to a bankruptcy filing. It’s not the most front-facing sports story, but it is a monumental business development.

Many of our great U.S.-based fans watch regional NHL games on Bally’s, which is owned by Diamond. This collapse is being felt across hockey, MLB and the NBA with more than 40 teams and almost $1.8 billion in rights fees at risk. The NHL had a Board of Governors meeting hours after the announcement. Best I can gather, there is still no absolute clarity where this is going. The good news is teams are expecting to be paid for the time being, the bad news is, apparently, some teams have been warned it will not be the full amount....

- Spent a lot of time watching Patrick Kane the last few games. There’s a few things I think here. First and foremost, I think reality setting in has been an enormous shock. No matter what was pitched to him, or what he was told, it sure seems like there was hope/desire to stay at least another season. Barring that, the Rangers were his first choice. Now, we’re not looking at either option, so he’s stunned.

People who know Kane are convinced he’s still got plenty to offer and badly desires to show it somewhere else. Wednesday in Toronto was a perfect opportunity to make a splash on a massive stage, but it was an ugly 5-2 loss. I understand how much losing sucks, and he’s reeling from what’s happening. But he’s got to do two things: let everyone know where he’s willing to go (if anywhere) and put on a show in the meantime. Kane clearly is annoyed about the speculation surrounding his hip, but he’s got to show it’s not an issue....

- Holland has said he’s wary of players who tend to have injury issues, which is why I think he’d hesitate on Joel Edmundson. No doubt Edmundson would cherish that kind of a playoff opportunity, though.

Same goes for Tyler Bertuzzi, who Holland drafted in Detroit. As Jeff Marek reported, Dallas and Tampa Bay are there, as well. The Stars are searching for another scorer.

more on the first two topics plus other notes...