Ken Hitchcock will bring a great deal of skill and experience to his role as the Dallas Stars’ head coach next season. At 65, he’ll probably also bring more than his share of (possibly specious) concern about his health and ability to bear the load of an already pretty stressful job.

That’s where an old friend comes in. J.J. McQueen came in as strength and conditioning coach during Hitch’s first tenure with the Stars, and he’s coming back to help the coach keep fit, as well:

The returning Stars coach isn't 44 like he was when he first took over the team in 1996. He's 65, so his tendency to yo-yo with his weight brings more concern. The job of an NHL coach is stressful, and Hitchcock said he's well aware of the challenges. But he added that having people such as McQueen around will be wonderful. "Me and J.J., we've known each other forever, so he will help me and he will push me," Hitchcock said of the longtime conditioning coach with whom he worked when Hitchcock was head coach of the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League from 1984-90.

McQueen says he’s here to help Hitch transition back into the team – including helping him stick to a fitness program the coach set aside for several months:

"He loves to talk, and he has a lot of his own ideas on how to do things," McQueen said. "He's been on his own for five or six months, so he's shaping his program every day. I'm just here to help give him what he needs."

There’s more at Mike’s place. [SportsDayDFW]

The 2017 NHL Expansion Draft will be here before you know it, and Vegas Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant has ideas about what the team’s identity should be.

The NHL Expansion Draft is less than two months away.@GoldenKnights head coach Gerard Gallant is pumped. https://t.co/n2yNBIo7YJ — NHL (@NHL) April 23, 2017

Also at NHL.com: The league has announced the 2016-17 Vezina Trophy candidates.

Last night, as the last throes of the first round began:

Here’s what the Stanley Cup playoffs look like as the first round continues (and possibly concludes) with today’s potential elimination games between OTT-BOS and WSH-TOR:

Four of the top seven teams from the regular season are now done & the No. 1 team is in a dogfight #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/aH9y10TcB3 — Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 23, 2017

The lashing out starts here: Bruce Boudreau is smarting over his team’s early exit.

Bruce Boudreau says the Blues 'weren't the better team' after St. Louis dispatched Minnesota in 5 games: https://t.co/0hAZG7WVvT pic.twitter.com/USgP3tarHo — Yahoo Sports NHL (@YahooSportsNHL) April 23, 2017

Patrick Kane has a sad because getting swept by the Nashville Predators gave him an owie. DBD’s blog-sibling On the Forecheck helps him sort out his fee-fees.

Patrick Kane: "A team like that, you kind of hope they don't win. I don't know if that's necessarily the best way to watch hockey games." — Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 22, 2017

And a Sharks fan gave the Oilers bench an impromptu popcorn bath after a Connor McDavid empty-netter sealed the game. [FOX Sports]

Sharks fans dumped popcorn on the Oilers bench after the empty-netter sealed it pic.twitter.com/eyZ536FmmU — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 23, 2017

From the Makes Ya Think, Don’t It? department: Adam Gretz says the Habs neglected their speed and skill in favor of size and “toughness” and that’s why they’re going home instead of to Round 2.

Canadiens spent too much time getting tougher, not enough time getting better https://t.co/kv4WF9KWk1 — NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 23, 2017

The Los Angeles Kings aren’t wasting time as they move on from Darryl Sutter: They plan to name John Stevens as their next head coach tomorrow. [Sportsnet]

The Stars’ ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads, ended their season with a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Eagles (Colorado Avalanche) and a first-round exit in the 2017 Kelly Cup playoffs.

A little closer to DFW, the Allen Americans (San Jose Sharks) moved on to the second round with a 4-0 shutout of the Utah Grizzlies (Anaheim Ducks) and a 4-1 series win.

Finally: Even after a disappointing season and early tee-times all around, there’s still awesome Stars stuff just lying around, if you know where to look. Dallas Stars photographer Sean Berry shares one of his favorite pregame moments. Enjoy.