Puck Headlines: Gauthier firing fallout; Hobey Baker finalists announced; Eric Lindros skates with Flyers

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.

(Ed. note: No Marek vs. Wyshynski radio show today. It will be back on Friday)

• On Saturday night, the Grand Rapids Griffins will be giving out these awesome statues featuring bobblefists in honor of defenseman Greg Amadio. Funny thing is that Amadio was traded to Springfield two months ago. [MLive]

• Canadiens owner Geoff Molson met the media after firing GM Pierre Gauthier and announced that former GM Bob Gainey will not be back as an advisor for the club. Serge Savard will be the advisor for Molson as the team searches for its new GM. [Canadiens]

• Savard tells RDS' Renaud Lavoie the new GM "will speak French". [@renhockey]

• Bruce Peter on Pierre Gauthier's dismissal: "His trade deadline deals as a seller were alright, but the team is definitely worse today than it was a year ago. And it is because of Gauthier's colossal failures in judgement that this is so. While a lot of GM's get more than two years on the job, Gauthier's third year was by far his worst on record, and gave no indications that his previous decisions were made using methodology that was either innovative or logical." [Habs Eyes on the Prize]

• Good news for the Blackhawks: Captain Jonathan Toews is expected to be cleared for contact as early as today. [Sun-Times]

• The Hockey News is holding a Name Tournament featuring players from around the world. We'd be remiss if we didn't promote this and throw our full support behind No. 1 seed TORE VIKINGSTAD! [THN]

• If you missed it last night, the New York Islanders signed John Grahame with Evgeni Nabokov day-to-day with a groin injury and the organization wanting Kevin Poulin to remain with Bridgeport as they head toward the AHL playoffs. [Newsday]

• Brad Marchand singing Wham!? Yup, Brad Marchand singing Wham! [Days of Y'Orr]

• Spencer Abbott (Maine), Jack Connolly (Minnesota-Duluth) and Austin Smith (Colgate) have been announced as the three finalists for the 2012 Hobey Baker Award. [Hobey Baker]

• The Washington Capitals have five games left and are two points out of the eighth seed. They'll attempt to find their way into the playoffs with a three-headed monster in net. [Washington Post]

• Congrats to the Norfolk Admirals as they extended their winning streak to a record 21 games with a 2-0 win over the St. John's IceCaps last night. [Admirals]

• In Toronto for tonight's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Eric Lindros joined the Philadelphia Flyers for today's morning skate. [@NHLFlyers]

• Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said he wanted to see the team go 10-0. Five games after he said that the Sabres are 5-0 and control their destiny. [Buffalo News]

• After deciding to leave the University of Denver earlier this week, Jason Zucker will be the 45th player to dress for the Minnesota Wild this season. [Star Tribune]

• Over 30 Minnesota North Stars alumni will be in attendance tonight at Xcel Energy Center when the Wild host the Florida Panthers. What, no Cesare Maniago? [Wild]

• So who does Ken Hitchcock choose as his starting goaltender for the playoffs: Jaroslav Halak or Brian Elliott? [Post-Dispatch]

• Meanwhile, Jerry Halak? [St. Louis Gametime]

• Hockey Calgary announced today that body checking will delayed until the bantam level beginning next season. "The findings of a five year study make it very clear that children who body check at the Pee Wee level are three times more likely to suffer from a concussion or major injury. We want the game to be fun and children to be put in a safe environment where they can develop their skills," said Todd Millar, president, Hockey Calgary. [Hockey Calgary]

• Finally, this Igor Makarov elbow to the head of Marek Kvapil the KHL semifinals yesterday stung a little bit: