Advertisement

Puck Headlines: Mayor talks losing Thrashers; Red Wings’ D options

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.

• The puck bunny equivalent of writing your name on the tag of your underwear in case you get lost in the desert with amnesia. Because one must always be prepared for such things. Perhaps the first instance of hockey body art being inspired by a Standells song. [Boston Globe, via Puck Daddy reader The Great One]

• With the pending retirement of Brian Rafalski, what are the next steps for the Detroit Red Wings and their blue line ... well, besides getting Lidstrom back? Well, they start with the hope that blue-chip prospect Brendan Smith makes the team. After that, according to Ansur Khan, are the top UFAs on the blue line: "Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff and Sami Salo of Vancouver; James Wisniewski, Andrei Markov and Roman Hamrlik of Montreal; Ed Jovanovski of Phoenix; Eric Brewer of Tampa Bay; Tomas Kaberle of Boston; Joni Pitkanen of Carolina; Scott Hannan of Washington; Shane O'Brien of Nashville and Bryan McCabe of the Rangers." [MLive]

• Pour some out for the legendary Guy Dupuis, the Fort Wayne Komets legend who is retiring after 21 years of pro hockey. [NewsCenter]

• The Philadelphia Flyers vs. the Detroit Red Wings in London … Ontario? [CSN Philly]

• Why the San Jose Sharks expect Joe Thornton to be a force in Game 5 against the Canucks, even with his injury. [Mercury News]

• Why the Sharks are bleeding but not dead yet. [Battle of Cali]

• Good stuff from Dave Lozo on the Seven Simple Steps for the Sharks to rally from their 3-1 deficit. [NHL.com]

• The Kurtenbloggers try to make sense of a world in which the Vancouver Canucks are heavily favored to win the Stanley Cup. [KB]

• Really, any chance to bring up the fact that "Sami Salo's Ruptured Testicle" had its own Facebook page makes this a worthwhile story. [Sportsnet]

• Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed on the Atlanta Thrashers and the possibility of finding a local buyer: "We have not yet had any of the individuals in our community prepared to take that on, but it's not for a lack of trying." He also added: "Anytime we lose a major sports franchise, it's tough. … It's going to hurt the city, but we'll withstand it and get through it." [11Alive]

• From Elliotte Friedman's 30 Thoughts "Is it just me, or does it look like teams are trying not to hit Milan Lucic so he doesn't get angry? Certainly happened with Montreal and Philadelphia. Haven't seen the Tampa series as closely, but still get that impression." [CBC Sports]

• Closing the book on Jordan Leopold's first season with the Buffalo Sabres. [Die By The Blade]

• The Wild ink Johan Larsson to an entry level deal. [Gone Puck Wild]

• In-depth look at whether former Minnesota Wild coach Todd Richards would be a fit for the Columbus Blue Jackets' bench. (Spoiler: No.) [Dark Blue Jacket]

• This is no laughing matter, but file it under "hockey shows up in the oddest places": Reader Charles B. sends over this footage of a fire-fight in Libya in which one of the combatants is inexplicably wearing a Michael Cammalleri T-shirt. We'll leave this softball punchline to Charles: "I knew Cammalleri was a sniper but..." [YouTube]

• Has Liam Reddox's time with the Edmonton Oilers come to an end? Reports are that he's Sweden-bound. [Copper & Blue]

• Atlanta Thrashers goalie Chris Mason on not knowing where the team will play in 2011-12: "It's unnerving. You don't know what's going on and you can only wait and see how it all plays out. … You've got guys sitting here not know what is going on. The people getting shafted are the fans. No matter how much they want to keep the team, they don't have a say in it." [AJC]

• Alex Steen of the St. Louis Blues, on the return of the NHL to Winnipeg, where his father was a standout for the Jets: "If I was a fan in Winnipeg I'd be going nuts," [QMI]

• Meanwhile, as the Atlanta Thrashers look to be having a yard sale, the Phoenix Coyotes are having an open house. Get'cher $10 season tickets! [AZ Central]

• George Maloof didn't anticipate how many hockey fans would make the trek to Vegas to see the NHL Awards. [Casino City Times]

• The Down Goes Brown guide to diving and/or penalties. [DGB]

• Finally, not sure if we ever posted this here. This is a nine-minute TSN package on the relocation of Winnipeg to Phoenix back in 1995, and it's entirely compelling given recent news … and also a reminder to never say "forever" in news coverage. [Via AJC]