from Matt Porter of the Boston Globe,

- In 1974, long before NHL teams scouted internationally and the draft was held via conference call, Sabres GM Punch Imlach got bored. In the 11th round, he said, “From the Tokyo Katanas, Taro Tsujimoto.” That name was fabricated, culled from a list of popular Japanese names, as was the team (a katana is a type of Japanese sword). With reporters asking when the Japanese phenom would finally arrive, Sabres PR staff kept up the bit until training camp. The 183rd selection never made it to the league — again, he didn’t exist — and the pick was later re-registered as invalid.

- Highest recommendation for the new ESPN documentary “Unrivaled,” which recalls the Avalanche-Red Wings battles of the mid-to-late 1990s. Compelling tales of a fantastic rivalry. The footage of Vladimir Konstantinov, both of his all-world playing days and compromised present day, is alone worth the view. Those of us who grew up with newspaper and TV accounts, rather than the information overload of the Internet age, may not have realized just how nasty Claude Lemieux’s hit on Kris Draper was. The reveal at the end — spoiler alert — that Draper still has not forgiven Lemieux was no surprise to former Red Wings GM Ken Holland. “The emotions were real. They were very real,” said Holland, now the Oilers’ GM. “Drapes is really intense. It wasn’t like it was one year, it was six or seven years of that rivalry. His face was rearranged. I don’t blame him.” Holland hasn’t seen the doc itself. “I’ll watch it someday,” he said. “It was pretty epic when we lived it.”

many more notes, a look at Mike Grier and the death stare from Shane Wright are some of the other topics...