Tales from the draft; trade speculation ramps up; 70’s Blackhawks vs. Big Bird (Puck Headlines)
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. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at [email protected].
• What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. This now includes Jiri Hudler’s shoes. [AP]
• The Top 10 prospects in the NHL draft are outstanding. The rest of the bunch are, well, average, according to a poll of NHL scouts. [Buzzing the Net]
• David Quinn, head coach at Boston University, believes Jack Eichel is ready for prime time. He knows his former player will make the big team right out of camp and have an immediate impact. [Today’s Slapshot]
• This is incredible: “It Came From the Draft: tales of follies and gollies at the NHL draft.” Just one of the questions asked and answered: Did the Calgary Flames draft a dead player? [NHL History Girl]
• “So, let us pretend that we could re-do the first round of the 1990 NHL Draft, hindsight being 20/20 and knowing what we know now. Imagine we get a copy of Grays Sports Almanac, a la ‘Back to the Future: Part II,’ photocopy it 21 times, go back in time (the hard part of this scenario), and give a copy to each NHL GM in 1990. Here is how the first round of that draft probably would have looked.” [Puck Junk]
• Mirtle: Toronto cannot afford to ‘sell low’ on Phil Kessel deal. Despite the negative media attention Kessel might garner, he’s still a really, really good hockey player. [Globe & Mail]
• Brian Burke just can’t quit the Leafs. He thinks Kessel ‘might’ get moved sometime today. [National Post]
• Mike Green and Eric Fehr will decide their future with the Capitals. Both are said to be testing the free agent waters before making a choice whether or not to return to Washington. [CSN Washington]
• Update on the Devan Dubnyk contract situation with the Wild. GM Chuck Fletcher is confident the two sides will get a deal done. They’re not too far off, money-wise. [Star Tribune]
• Former Columbus property Mike Reilly decided not to join the Blue Jackets and instead will sign with Minnesota. What does this loss mean for CBJ? [Along the Boards]
• According to Darren Dreger, it’s a foregone conclusion Rangers backup Cam Talbot will be traded. What’s an acceptable return for the promising young netminder? [Sather on Waivers]
• One day after being traded from Boston to Colorado, Carl Soderberg signed a five-year deal with the Avs for an AAV of $4.75-million. [Mile High Hockey]
• Mike Fisher (and his famous wife, Carrie Fisher, not of Star Wars fame) will return to Nashville. The two-year deal is worth $8.8-million in total. [Predators]
• Buyer beware: the worst contracts on all 30 NHL teams. [The Hockey Writers]
• The Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) is looking to expand its territory into the mid-west and select Canadian markets. Chicago and St. Paul are U.S. names being offered as possible locations. [The Pink Puck]
• Fantasy hockey’s ‘Frozen Forensics’ profile of Thomas Vanek. [Dobber Hockey]
• One city that hasn’t received the hype as a potential expansion target: Houston, Texas. Here are the pros and cons of bringing a second team to the Lone Star State. [Houston Chronicle]
• Congrats to the first hockey playing graduates of Sport University in Harbin. Where is Harbin, you ask? That would be CHINA. The photo alone is fantastic. [IIHF]
• In 1970, the Chicago Blackhawks played a game against…the gang from Sesame Street. TRUE STORY WITH PICTURES AND VIDEO! [AV Club]
• Remember when Jonathan Bernier’s wife sent out an Instagram pick of their baby in a onesie that didn’t have a Leafs logo on it and everyone went insane over it? She explains why there was no Maple Leaf on the outfit. [Sportsnet]
• Finally, the always hilarious Steve ‘Dangle’ Glynn was in Vegas for the NHL Awards. Somehow he either paid off the NHL or tricked them into allowing him to be the only reporter asking P.K. Subban questions at a presser:
– – – – – – –
Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter!
