TIDBITS

The Montreal Canadiens are zeroing in on their general manager hire, with the second round of interviews underway and the list pared to a handful of names … Daniel Brière and agent Kent Hughes remain in the mix for the job … Expect Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake to sign an extension soon … More than half of the NHL’s goaltending coaches are believed to be working on expiring contracts this season …

While the dreams of seeing an NHL team return to Quebec City might be a long-shot, it’s notable that NHL leadership and provincial officials came away from a meeting last week vowing to keep the lines of communication open … The Arizona Coyotes still don’t have an arena to play in next season … The Canadiens (.264) now have a worse points percentage than the Coyotes (.278) and they’re scheduled to host the entry draft in July …

Hockey Canada is planning to name the men’s Olympic team on Jan. 24 … There’s talk of the cancelled 2022 world junior tournament being revived in August … Auston Matthews missed three games to injury this season and is still on pace to score 60 goals … The Leafs’ franchise record is 54 by Rick Vaive in 1981-82 … Eric Staal has two goals in two games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild … Carter Verhaeghe was drafted 82nd by the Leafs in 2013, spent time in the ECHL and AHL, and took six years to make his NHL debut. He has 13 goals and 31 points in 37 games for the Florida Panthers this season. Great story of perseverance.