Ducks and RFAs; Vegas breaks ground (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 puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com.

• Check out the groundbreaking from the Las Vegas NHL team’s practice facility. [Vegas is Hockey]

• Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm still have not signed with the Anaheim Ducks. Where are both restricted free agents in their negotiations with the team? [Orange County Register]

• Buffalo Sabres netminder Robin Lehner on goaltender pads: “A guy that’s 175 shouldn’t have a chest protector where he looks like he’s a 350-pound guy.” [New York Times]

• It was never a question of if Connor McDavid would be named captain of the Edmonton Oilers. Only when. [Edmonton Journal]

• More details on the new Las Vegas practice facility. [SinBin Vegas]

• Here are five players who are next in line to be their team’s captain. [The Hockey News]

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• Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving went to New York to speak with Johnny Gaudreau and his agent face-to-face. [Calgary Sun]

• Thomas Vanek hopes he can rediscover his scoring touch with the Detroit Red Wings this season. Detroit signed Vanek last summer after the sniper was bought out by the Minnesota Wild. [Detroit News]

• Jakob Chychrun may very well join the likes of Noah Hanifin, Aaron Ekblad, and Seth Jones in the ranks of young defensemen heading straight from the draft to the NHL. [Five for Howling]

• The early schedule for the Boston Bruins presents immediate challenges for the group. [Bruins Daily]

• If there’s one team hoping for a bit more shooting luck this season, it’s the Toronto Maple Leafs. [TSN]

• The Devils announced that both defenseman Jon Merrill (broken index finger) and forward Luke Gadzic (broken left foot) will be sidelined for four weeks after both were injured blocking shots in preseason games. [Fire and Ice]

• The Vancouver Canucks view Jannik Hansen as an incredibly valuable forward. And he is. He’s just not valuable enough to play on the Canucks’ top line. Not yet, anyway. [The Province]

• Can the Boston Pride repeat as Isobel Cup champions? What should we expect out of the team in the coming NWHL season. [Ice Garden]

• A look at Dana Trivigno and Haley Skarupa and how they will fit in with the Connecticut Whale. [Today’s Slapshot]

• A bunch of injured players are getting healthy. Where are they fitting in their lineups and what does that mean for your fantasy team? [Dobber Hockey]

• Why wait for a summer camp to practice skills when you can train any time you want in your basement or backyard? A growing solution to the problem of limited rink availability is synthetic ice. [Pro Hockey News]

• Minnesota Wild forward Marco Scandella opens up about the death of his father. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

Finally, Check out these fist bumps.