from Elliotte Friedman of CBC,

- The Ryan Miller trade didn't work out for the St. Louis Blues, but another exec had a pretty interesting take on it. He said that if the current playoff setup stays in place, he's glad he's not in Chicago's division (everyone assumes Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will be signing lengthy extensions). If you know you've still got multiple years of Kane, Toews, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, etc., will you have to judge the years where you think you really have a shot and really go for it?

- I'm not sure if the Penguins have asked for permission to speak to the Rangers' Jeff Gorton, but the answer could reveal a few things. Whenever Glen Sather decides it is time, the belief is his replacement as Rangers GM will come from within (though Sather has denied on at least two occasions that he's stepping down after the season). The three possibilities are Gorton, Doug Risebrough and Jim Schoenfeld.

- Other openings? For Florida, I'm hearing people with lengthy resumes -- Marc Crawford, Tom Renney, maybe Ron Wilson. The question is if the Panthers widen the search if they run out of what they consider to be experienced options. For the Carolina Hurricanes, a wait to at least talk to Ulf Samuelsson. I'm not saying he gets it, but he's in the picture.

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