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Chris Pronger’s future; NHLPA’s Twitter practice gear; KHL TV talk (Puck Headlines)

Greg Wyshynski

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

• Nice catch from Canes Country on the NHLPA's new practice gear on the Carolina Hurricanes — with their official Twitter hashtag on the front and back. [Canes Country]

• Buffalo Sabres star Ryan Miller on the lockout: "This is the third time and no matter how the NHL spins it, the same story is being told. They claim teams are struggling financially and player salary restriction is the only way to address the inevitable disasters. It is hard to trust the owners when it is the same story after years of documented growth and increasing revenue." [Globe & Mail]

• The Alberta Labour Board hears the players' case on the legality of the NHL lockout. [CTV]

• Great stuff from Jonathan Willis on why the NHLPA fights: "The perception of fairness is a powerful force. Fans may recall that during the last lockout, it was the players that offered a massive rollback — likely in no small part due to the fact that they recognized the NHL was in significant financial trouble. That trouble is far less noticeable now, as the league rakes in record profits, and thus players aren't willing to accept even a far smaller rollback in these negotiations." [Edmonton Journal]

• As expected, the Swedish Elite League has decided to appeal the ruling today that allows their teams to sign NHL talent, even though some of their teams have already done so. [Szemberg]

• Ryan Kesler's agent called the NHL's diving list a "joke." Wait, what? Oh, actually, it was the NHL's latest CBA offer that was the joke. [PHT]

• How much would it cost to insure Sidney Crosby overseas? Oh, about $400,000 per month, and that's only for part of his contract. [SN]

• Sheldon Souray has been reduced to selling his old hockey gear on eBay during the lockout. (Jokes! It's for charity.) [eBay via John Millan]

• Nice work by Frank Seravalli on Chris Pronger's status with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers are required to pay out the contract, but as such a shrewd business operation, you would have to imagine that they protect themselves against injury with insurance. Plus, Pronger doesn't impact their future plans at all by hamming up the salary cap. No one gets hurt any worse, as long as there is a (wink, wink) continued attempt to get back on the ice in the future. We'll all just play along, stop asking, and wish Chris and his family the best. " [Philly.com]

• The KHL could be coming to a TV network in North America: "The UFA Sports agency, which acts as the KHL's marketing service partner in nations outside the League's borders, has announced a surge in interest among North American TV companies seeking to broadcast matches in the KHL Championship. At present, the American media are interested primarily in showing games featuring Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Malkin, Sergei Gonchar and other locked out NHL stars, so current talks are focused on coverage of games featuring Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Dynamo Moscow, CSKA Moscow and SKA Saint Petersburg." [KHL]

• Chris Lund's argument for a cricket-inspired spinoff of the NHL. [Backhand Shelf]

• Lyle "Spector" Richardson on whether the Anaheim Ducks will break up their big three: "It's obvious the futures of Ryan, Getzlaf and Perry depend not only on their performances this season, but also the club's overall performance and the contract negotiations of the latter two." [THN]

• Looking at the expiration dates of the Washington Capitals. [Japers' Rink]

• The highs and lows of Ville Leino in the NHL. [Polished Pucks]

• If you haven't read it, here's the satire/advice/general oddness that was the Globe & Mail's hockey widows during the lockout commentary. Show it to your hubby. [Globe & Mail]

• And here's Ryan Lambert's glorious response to it. [Two Line Pass]

• Huggy Bear joins the Hamilton Bulldogs. [AHL]

• Finally, here is a tussle between Greg Moore of the Dundee Stars and Adam Keefe of the Belfast Giants. Yes, it's been reduced to this. End the lockout! [Hockey Fights]