from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- Bruce Boudreau’s in a tough spot in Anaheim. For one thing, I think he’s the only head man in the league who didn’t hire any of his assistants. But, it sounds like GM Bob Murray feels strongly his coach deserves more of an opportunity to straighten this out.

The Ducks begin a five-game road trip Thursday in Nashville, and, according to a couple of sources, Murray wants to see how things go. I do remember a conversation I had with the GM well after he fired Randy Carlyle. He said he believes a firing is the last resort, because teams should be forced to try and work through their problems. So, his modus operandi is to be as patient as he can.

- Things can change, but by signing Tomas Plekanec, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin can be free of major contract decisions until Alex Galchenyuk in 2017 and Price in 2018.

Plekanec wanted to stay in Montreal and Bergevin could make sure it was on the organization’s terms. Although, you wonder if, from Plekanec’s perspective, last summer’s market squeeze played into his decision.

Bergevin has compared Plekanec and Andrei Markov to St. Louis’s Al MacInnis and Scott Mellanby (now with him in Montreal), as veterans who could take things easy. Instead, they show younger players how much work it takes and how hard you have to prepare.

- Apparently, teams are accusing each other of wiring video review capability into places where it’s not supposed to go. It allows more team executives (GMs, etc) to decide whether or not to go for a coach’s challenge. If there’s a loophole (or someone thinks there a loophole), God knows they’re going to find it.

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