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.
• From Puck Buddy Max M.: "I caught this at the Chicago Blackhawks/Nashville Predators game tonight at the United Center. This poster has to be one of the most bizarre combinations of a team nickname and player for the team. What or who is ‘black toews'? Darren Pang certainly won't be happy."
• Reader Art Contest Winners on Friday morning. Because Leahy and I have to judge them, and the store was out of Smithwick's.
• Here's a fun aspect of the New Jersey Devils changing coaches: Captain Jamie Langenbrunner had well-documented friction with Jacques Lemaire. Said Langenbrunner today: "We'll see. Right? You guys obviously wrote a lot about what that was like last year - some truth, some not. I respect him as a coach. I think he's a very smart hockey man. We'll do what's best for the team. He's a very good hockey guy." [Fire & Ice]
• According to Scott Burnside, John MacLean was an "iffy replacement" for Lemaire, hired because they "rarely jumping outside the box" and instead Lamoriello should have opted for Bob Hartley Ken Hitchcock, or Craig MacTavish. [ESPN]
• Also from the Blame MacLean corner, In Lou We Trust: "Don't blame the players for this season. There was talent on the roster. It just wasn't utilized properly, or it was on injured reserve. MacLean didn't know what he was doing. How else does a two time 50 goal scorer become so bad that he's getting outscored by over 20 defensemen?" [ILWT, and an incredible poll question there as well]
• How many players have skated with both Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin? WE HAVE A RICO FATA SIGHTING! [Pensburgh]
• Alexei Kovalev has become so enigmatic that he's immune to demotions. [Puck Update]
• Fun post by On Goal Analysis: "How well have teams fared since the Lockout when they can smell the Christmas turkey in the oven?" In other words, records on Dec. 23 since the lockout. [OGABlog]
• We know Sidney Crosby is a divisive figure for many hockey fans, so we're hoping we can all come together and agree on one thing: This piece by CBC Sports broadcaster Scott Russell cannot be completed without at least a drop of bile festering in one's mouth. Cut No. 1: "Sidney Crosby glitters like gold because of what he does on the ice. This puckish, Pittsburgh Penguin star is considered to be a Canadian treasure. And in the Christmas celebration of 2010, Crosby's gift to the game still creates a sense of wonder." Cut No. 2: "The gift of Sid is very welcome this Christmas. He is to hockey what spirit is to the season - the essential ingredient." BLEECH! [CBC Sports]
Milan Lucic texted Evander Kane to thank him for knocking out Matt Cooke. Epic. [NESN]
• Gee, thanks for nothing Anton Lander of Team Sweden, for giving the Canadians bulletin board material in world juniors. Signed, the U.S. [TSN]
• The All-Time All-World Juniors team. You know, they might have Gretzky and Forsberg and Roenick and Jagr and Parise and Bure and Lindros ... but with that goaltending, the Puck Daddy street hockey team could take them. [NHL]
• The numbers may tell you that Antero Niittymaki (12-3-3, 2.31 GAA, .910 save percentage) has won the No. 1 goaltending job over Antti Niemi (6-8-2,0) 3.15 GAA, .897 save percentage), but Todd McLellan continues to say that isn’t the case, that he plans on using both goalies, that he needs both to be ready to contribute all season and then some. [Working The Corners]
• Chris Botta of FanHouse on how the salary cap is working: "At a time when the San Diego Padres decide they have to trade a developing star in Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox, the Nashville Predators are flourishing behind a true team concept in the Western Conference. At a time when the Kansas City Royals decide they must trade Zack Greinke before it becomes impossible to re-sign him, the Atlanta Thrashers are winning games with style and flash and could lock down a playoff berth in the East." [FanHouse]
• Hobbit Wizard of the New York Rangers on what he needs to do to stick in the NHL: "Maybe trying to shoot a little bit more, not look for passes all the time ... At the same time, that's part of my game - to pass - so it can't be shooting all the time. A little bit more shooting, that's probably the biggest adjustment." So shoot, but also pass? Got it. [NYDN]
• The Pittsburgh Penguins Winter Classic gear in Pittsburgh, via Schuyler Baehman of the NHL.
• The 10 best coaches in Pittsburgh history, and three from hockey! [YCN]
• The Atlanta Thrashers ownership situation is resolved, as Michael Gearon and Bruce Levenson will serve as managing partners of the Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Thrashers and Philips Arena. "I think if you talk to anyone in either organization, they will tell you that this lawsuit has had zero impact. Zero," Levenson said. "At the end of the day, we had a business partner who we were in a dispute with and we have settled that dispute. It may sound a lot more complicated but that's really what happened." [AJC]
• "The Unlikely Emergence Of Corey Crawford & Sergei Bobrovsky." We can all agree on Bob, but Crawford's been the Chicago Blackhawks' version of Jimmy Howard for the last few years, right? [Houses Of The Hockey]
• "The National Hockey League and NBC Sports today unveiled a unique promotional campaign that integrates Facebook into the New Year's Day broadcast of the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® (1 p.m. ET, NBC). The "Watch And Win" promotion will allow viewers a chance to win great prizes such as a Honda CR-Z sport hybrid coupe, and trips for four to both Universal Orlando Studios and the 2011 NHL® All-Star Game." [NHL]
• Marco Strum has taken another Los Angeles Kings' number. [Jewels From The Crown]
• What Christmas gift would you buy for a really wealthy, famous, doesn't-need-a-damn-thing young professional hockey player? [Fire That Cannon]
• "The Red Wings are on the road today, playing at St. Louis, which means one thing to Chris Osgood: His toothpaste will go missing. It has happened every trip the Wings have been on this season -- and with today being Festivus, the holiday made famous by a 1997 episode of "Seinfeld," Osgood leads the way as several Wings indulge in the traditional 'Airing of Grievances.'" [Freep, stick-tap Jon B.]
• 'Twas a Mark Fistric Christmas, and all through the South/A couple of forwards were running their mouth/No one could stop them from entering our zone/They mocked us with that sarcastic Toronto tone." [Pegasus News]
• Finally, here's Mr. Lamoriello on how the players handled John MacLean's removal as coach of the New Jersey Devils:
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