Sidney Crosby talks NHLPA proposal; grading Brian Burke; NHL ’13 sales (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 Duhaime went to see Carrie Underwood. Carrie Underwood saw this sign. [Jake Duhaime]

• Here's Sidney Crosby on the CBA talks, via 97.3 The Fan: "I like our proposal. I really do. When you hear what the league's issues are, I think we clearly tried to address that in our proposal. And the game is healthy. For sure there are some teams and franchises that need some help and we've made it pretty clear we're willing to work with the league and work with everyone to help those teams. That being said, it doesn't really seem like the proposal we got in return is really clearly addressing those needs. They're addressing some needs of maybe some other owners, too, and it's pretty flat-line there." [Sports Radio Interviews]

• Explaining why the NHL players will have to accept a smaller percentage of revenue than the owners. [Forbes]

• Here is a pledge to not watch the NHL for a full season if any regular-season game is lost during the lockout. [Change.org]

• If Buffalo Sabres fans are pissed off at Terry Pegula and NHL owners, should they boycott the Pegula-owned Rochester Americans? [Sabres Edge]

• An ESPN columnist is tired of hearing about the lockout, which means she must watch only Minute No. 43 of the 60-minute SportsCenter every night. [ESPN.com]

• That said: Was ESPN right about the interest in hockey just not being high enough? [Sherman Report]

• "According to EA, NHL '13's sales are up 9% compared to NHL 12, and more than 3.7 million online games were played in the first week since the game's release." [Gamenguide]

• Chris Pronger is showing some improvement, but a comeback with the Philadelphia Flyers is still not in the cards. [Broad Street Bull]

• Tyler Seguin chooses the women of Switzerland over the women of Russia. [Bruins Blog]

• Here's a wild tale: "Michigan State University student Brandon Carmack was arraigned Wednesday after claiming he was beat up by members of the MSU hockey team. Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III says Carmack was lying. Wednesday he was charged with one count of domestic assault and battery, one count of filing a false police report of a felony and one count of stalking." [WXYZ, via Mike Mathews]

• What grade would you give Brian Burke as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs? According to Pension Plan Puppets readers, it's a 'C'. [PPP]

• Reading this latest from Elliotte Friedman will educate you about Hockey Related Revenue and then depress the crap out of you about how long this lockout could become. [CBC]

• Jesse Spector talks with Keith Primeau about how concussions suffered during his career linger today. [Sporting News]

• How might the new CBA deal with the sins of contracts past, i.e. the "back diving" ones that circumvent the cap? Pierre LeBrun opines: "If contracts are recalculated leaving teams with front-loaded or back-diving contracts way over the salary cap, allow those teams to stay over the cap, however tax them for each dollar they're over the cap. Then, put that money into the revenue-sharing system. This could entice the NHLPA, which is espousing more meaningful revenue sharing among the 30 teams, to perhaps come on board with the recalculation of contracts and the cap." [ESPN]

• Did the previous CBA kill the Elite Team? "I think the biggest failing of the expired CBA has been its failure to allow for elite teams to exist. It has produced an increasingly weak level of top team. The Stanley Cup winner gets increasingly worse. I see no reason to expect a new CBA will fix the problem. If anything it may make it worse. The fan and fan's interests are left out of the CBA negotiation process and as a result the fan's point of view is not seen. The fan's interests are rarely even thought about and discussed except at the most basic level. The NHL's current business model hurts the fan and nothing is likely to change it." [The Puck Stops Here]

• The New Jersey Devils offer their lockout ticket policy, which features full refunds and the option to "keep your money on account with the team and receive two percent interest." Or as Lou Lamoriello calls it, "the vig." [Fire & Ice]

• The Detroit Red Wings reach out to fans with free skates at the Joe. [Malik]

• Via Leahy, Bernie Parent's Winter Classic gear is up for auction. [Goldin Auctions]

• Watch Jim Fox and Bob Miller call some of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final for the Los Angeles Kings. [LA Kings Insider]

• Finally, wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater will ruin your life and have you praying for a swarm of moths to eat it. Or so we've been told by this film.