Kind of a mixed bag of stuff:

• Jerry Sullivan had a nice column exonerating Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff for the Sabres’ troubles. Sullivan points out the coach doesn’t have much input in terms of a GM refusing to sign key players. My pet theory is that GM Darcy Regier has watched and admired Lou Lamoriello of the Devils, a GM who’s let more stars go than he’s re-signed. Of course, the Devils have always re-signed some stars, not no stars, so maybe Regier missed the subtle distinction.
• Alyssa Milano has an NHL clothing line, which means she does read my emails. And letters. And blog posts.
  Thanks to Watchdog for that nugget.
• Congrats to Brian Leetch for having his number two retired by the Rangers. I was just saying to someone yesterday that the amazing thing about Leetch is that you never see clips of him at the blue line. He’s always down low. Yet he was a pretty solid defenseman, too. It’ll be nice to see his sweater up in the rafters, along with everyone else from that 1994 Cup team. The Rangers will probably be out of numbers in the next 10 years. Even sooner if they ever win another Cup.