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Puck Headlines: ESPN realigns NHL; Crosby evokes Kanye

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.

• Plenty more on the Gretzky resignation later in the day. Dobber's fantasy column is up next. (UPDATE:TSN's Bob McKenzie tweets that Dave Tippett will be named new Phoenix Coyotes head coach later today.)

• ESPN's four hockey guys (sans EJ Hradek) offer their plans for NHL realignment. Pierre LeBrun has offered a moral quandary: Get the Patrick Division back, but contract the Devils and Islanders. No truth to the rumor that Melrose wants to relocate the Pacific Division to the back of a pub. [ESPN]

• Please keep Ron Wilson's clear, on the record criticism of fights after clean hits in mind as he coaches the truculent Toronto Maple Leafs this season. [Toronto Star]

• Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby(notes) is asked yet again about the handshake snub in the Stanley Cup finals against the Detroit Red Wings, and evokes both Serena Williams and Kanye West in defending his actions. "Yo, Lidstrom, I'm really happy for you, I'ma let you finish but ..." [Snapshots (Ed. Note: Just realized the Sid quote at the heart of this is from last week, but the Wings/Pens handshake analysis is from today.)]

• Omsk is talking contract extension with Jaromir Jagr(notes), according to a report in Sport Express. [iDNES.cz with translation. Thanks to Puck Buddy Scott Brown]

• New York Islanders owner Charles Wang has set an Oct. 4 deadline on the Lighthouse Project's approval and that he would entertain other options for the team if it's ignored. Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray: "We don't give Mr. Wang deadlines on bringing the Stanley Cup back to Long Island, and we don't respond to developers' timetables for zoning decisions." Is that why it's been 26 years? There's been no deadline set? [Newsday]

• The Vancouver Canucks extend coach Alain Vigneault through the 2012-2013 season. [Vancouver Sun]

• Former Columbus Blue Jackets center Manny Malholtra took a deep discount (one-year, $700,000) to sign with the San Jose Sharks. We said it on Twitter last night, and repeat it here: You have to love the small, character additions the Sharks are making at the bottom of their lineup. It's been obscured by the Heatley headlines, but Manny, Scott Nichol(notes), Jed Ortmeyer(notes) ...these are unsung players that bring a hunger to the team. [Fear The Fin]

• Who will wear the 'C' for the San Jose Sharks? Could be down to Rob Blake(notes) vs. Dan Boyle(notes). [Mercury News]

• The good news for Tampa Bay Lightning fans: a second line of Martin St. Louis(notes), Steven Stamkos(notes) and Ryan Malone(notes) that could be quite good. The bad news: This means a Marty-less, Prospal-less Vincent Lecavalier(notes) could be skating with Alex Tanguay(notes) and ... Steve Downie(notes)? Is it too late to convert any of their 10,000 defensemen to right wing? [Lightning Strikes]

• Come to think of it, Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) could probably replace the offense that left with Phil Kessel(notes) for the Boston Bruins. You know, in theory. [WEEI]

• Memo to Boston Globe headline writers: Don't you dare publish "Julien has split personality" and have the article be about an intra-squad practice instead of a schizophrenic condition that has a little girl named Martha coaching the Bruins half the time. [Boston Globe]

• Los Angeles Kings defenseman Sean O'Donnell(notes) becomes the latest player suspended in the preseason, with the punishment carrying over to the regular season. Not for nothing, but a "five-game suspension" that includes three glorified scrimmages is a two-game suspension. [Y! Sports]

• The preseason's also a good time to work on your whining, as Patrick O'Sullivan(notes) of the Edmonton Oilers reminds us in a loss to the Calgary Flames: "Obviously the referees are trying to work through some stuff, too ... I'm not going to question any calls, but we certainly got more than they did." [Sun Media]

• St. Louis Blues Coach Andy Murray and Patrik Berglund(notes) discuss opening the season in Sweden. [Blues]

• The Phoenix Coyotes lost $4,284,195 during a two-month period this summer. This article on the team's operating losses doesn't mention Jim Balsillie conspiring to bankrupt the team in order to purchase it. Huh. [National Post]

• Look, not to read too much into Balsillie's recent tweaks to his bid to buy the Coyotes, but playing this kind of ball with Glendale and the NHL smacks of desperation, no? [Toronto Star]

• It's always sunny in Philadelphia. And sometimes wet. [Getty]

• The Philadelphia Flyers trade Patrick Hersley to the Nashville Predators, and Broad Street Hockey sees this as a precursor for signing former New York Rangers winger Blair Betts(notes). As if the Flyers PK wasn't already pretty damn good. [BSH]

• Randy Jones(notes) is giving someone a headache again, and this time it's the Philadelphia Flyers' salary cap. [Courier Post]

• The Vancouver Giants will wear pink laces and use pink tape next week in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure. Which is to say that they're much less comfortable in their sexuality than these guys. [Canwest]

• Behind the scenes of the St. Louis Blues' Jumbotron video, which appears to have been filmed on stage at an erotic men's revue. [St. Louis Today, and St. Louis Game Time offers photo analysis]

• We're almost out of season preview hell here, and thank the hockey gods for it. The fruits of both our labor and that of NHL editor Ross McKeon can be found on the Y! Sports 2009-10 season preview page. [Y! Sports]

• Rich Hammond, one of our favorite hockey journalists, is leaving Inside The Kings on the LA Daily News's Web site to actually work for the Los Angeles Kings. We'll have some thoughts from Rich either today or Friday on what is a pretty interesting moment for mainstream hockey writers. [Kings]

• Eighteen-year NHL veteran and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Patrice Brisebois(notes) will give it up tonight at Bell Centre. Not the puck, as usual, but his career for the comforts of retirement. [Habs Inside/Out]

• Finally, Evander Kane(notes) met his namesake, Evander Holyfield, at Atlanta Thrashers' camp. Loved the former champ talking a little about hockey fights.