New Red Wings arena plan; U.S. world junior roster; Bettman and Southern expansion (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.

• Jake Gardiner and the Cup. OK, the Grey Cup. But still a Cup. Please savor this image, as the next time you see it he'll be wearing a Canucks jersey (thanks Luongo trade!). [Blue Toro]

• In a feat of incredible timing, "officials from Mike Ilitch's Olympia Development Company are today outlining to state lawmakers plans for a $650 million-dollar mixed use development in downtown, anchored by a new, state of the art, multi-purpose events center." Otherwise known as an arena for the Detroit Red Wings in a public/private financing partnership. [Freep]

• Scott Burnside thinks the right players are in the room for that meeting with the owners. [ESPN]

• Meanwhile, if it comes to this, Jesse Spector wonders if the players are really ready for the decertification process: "The NHLPA has expressed a willingness to do what NFL players did from the end of the 1987 strike through the 1992 season, and play without a CBA, but since a lockout is imposed by owners, would hockey players be able to wait long enough for lawsuits that may not work out in their favor? And are the risks worth that gamble?" [Sporting News]

• Really not-at-all-stunning PR news here: "Data released by Moneris Solutions, Canada's largest credit and debit card processor, showed that merchants at fast food businesses, restaurants and drinking establishments near NHL hockey arenas in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Toronto, Montréal and Calgary have experienced a sharp overall decrease of -11.23 per cent in spending in 2012, compared to a game day in 2011." [Sacbee]

• Why Gary Bettman's role in the Sun Belt expansion is exaggerated. "Bettman shoulders a lot of blame for the missteps that have occurred during his tenure as NHL commissioner. Three lockouts, a concussion epidemic and the lack of a meaningful television deal south of the border are just some of the issues for which he is responsible. But over-expansion to weak markets in the southern United States is a problem he inherited -- not one he created." [Leader Post]

• Nice work by SB Nation, which has a series of "open letters" to various NHL owners from their team-specific blogs. Stanley Cup of Chowder's is the best and Totally NSFW. [SB Nation]

• Another day, another Gordie Howe Hat Trick for Andrei Markov. Wait, WHAT THE WHAT? [Gazette]

• Check out this awesome animated graphic that tracks public vs. private funding for arenas and stadiums. [Deadspin]

• Here's the U.S. National Junior Team preliminary camp roster. [USA Hockey]

• Chris Peters didn't see many surprises: "Aside from Rocco Grimaldi who was injured and Riley Barber, every player on this roster was at the summer camp in Lake Placid. Barber and Grimaldi were always on the radar anyway, so it's not a shock to see them here." [US of Hockey]

• The Nuge is still deciding whether he wants to lose to the Americans in the World Junior final or rehab his injured shoulder. [TSN]

• Bob Hartley knows what's up: "Personally I never go on blogs, not a big computer guy." [Dome Beers]

• Five Reasons Why We Can Trust Steve Burton and His Report That the Lockout is Over. [BoC]

• How far do the sanctions against the Portland WinterHawks go? So far that they could affect the team's arena renovation. [Buzzing The Net]

• The latest on the beleaguered Alabama-Huntsville hockey program. [USCHO]

• Great news from the NCAA: "The America East has become the first NCAA conference to enter into an official partnership with the You Can Play project. The partnership is designed to end homophobia in the locker rooms of the conference's athletic departments. The universities currently in the America East are: Albany, Binghamton, Boston University, Hartford, Maine, Maryland-Baltimore County, New Hampshire, Stony Brook and Vermont." [Outsports]

• Finally, while many of their peers work to try and get the lockout resolved, Joe Thornton is setting up Rick Nash on the power play: