Here are your Puck Headlines: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.
• Look, not to pile on the much-maligned Versus studio show, but knowing the slight differences between the cities of Detroit and Buffalo is pretty much a baseline amount of knowledge to be allowed on the air. Especially if you look like a Swedish Muppet. [Buffalo News]
• Tony Granato gets furious super steamed, you guys, when asked if he plans on quitting as Colorado Avalanche head coach following their disastrous season: "Personally, when you're in a position and things aren't going well, if everyone bailed out, you'd have a lot of losers around this world." So not just in Denver, then? [Denver Post]
• Cory Clouston is no longer the interim coach of the Ottawa Senators, having been bumped up to the job officially with a two-year contract. Congratulations, and enjoy working for that model of managerial stability behind the bench. Two years was it? [Senators]
• Officials are worried that if there isn't a designated "party zone" for postgame revelry in Vancouver, there could be "hockey riots" following arena events. Especially when the U.S. wins the gold in men's ice hockey </jingoist>. [Canada.com]
• Ron Wilson joins the thousands of teary-eyed Jersey girls with a crush on Zach Parise. [Sun Media]
Sports
• The race to join the John Tavares Lottery is coming down to the wire. [PPP]
• Alexander Ovechkin is now the spokesperson for Energizer batteries of Canada, because he keeps going and going and going until at least Game 7 of the first round. In a related story, Rick DiPietro is the new spokesman for Two Wires Stuck in a Potato to Power a Digital Clock of Canada. [DC Sports Bog]
• Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks gets a $2,500 fine for reaching over the bench and punching Zack Stortini of the Edmonton Oilers without allowing Stortini the chance to hug him back. [Faceoff]
• Martin Brodeur has gone from the guy who would propel the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup finals to a goalie who needs to start the last two regular season contests just to find his game again. Oy. [Fire & Ice]
• Is Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals the most underrated forward in the NHL? J.P.'s case: "Consider that only eight players in NHL history have amassed more assists in their first two seasons in the League than the Caps' super soph. Four of those players (Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Peter Stastny and Denis Savard) are enshrined in the Hall of Fame, with two more (Sidney Crosby and Peter Forsberg) perhaps on their way." Dang. [Japers' Rink]
• Nice job by Mirtle in an interview with former Detroit Red Wings enforcer Aaron Downey, now playing for Grand Rapids. Downey on fighting in the NHL: "You don't need to change these rules. What we've got to do is just create awareness that this is a heckuva sport we're playing here. You know what, it's the only sport that's left that there's gladiator Roman times still in the sport and bare knuckle fighting and we should be proud of that for crying out loud. We're talking about real men here." [From The Rink]
• The first image on PJ's photos from last night's San Jose Sharks game is a reminder of how ridiculously cool and underused black and white photography is in sports. [Sharkspage]
• From The Hockey News, either a continuation of their fan tattoos series or an image of Don Cherry's upper thigh. [THN]
• Is there any way Mike Babcock won't be coaching Team Canada in 2010, with Steve Yzerman making the call? [Toronto Star]
• The Red Menace lives! The KHL may have lured away Johan Harju, a top European prospect for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Which may say more about the Tampa Bay Lightning than it does the KHL. [Bolts Report]
• The Forechecker wonders where the timeout was when the Nashville Predators' season may have been on the line late in the third period last night. [On The Forecheck]
• Anyone who thinks the NHL is "still smarting from the 'fan bonding' damage of its 2004-05 lockout" is either blind to the facts or a baseball fan. [Newsday]
• Finally, the NHL presents the candidates for best hit of the season. Looooooch!
