It's a Tuesday edition of Marek vs. Wyshynski beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, and we're talking about the following and more:

Special Guest Stars: Norfolk Admirals and Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Dustin Tokarski joins us to talk about winning the Calder Cup and his NHL future. Charlie Simmer talks LA Kings Cup.

• In which Marek and Wysh break down Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final and the Los Angeles Kings' victory.

• The Zach Parise Derby

• Poor officiating in the playoffs.

• Why we're disappointed in Kings fans.

Question of the Day: What's your favorite memory from the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs?

Email your answers to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or tweet them with the hashtag #MvsW to either @jeffmarek or @wyshynski.

Click here for the Sportsnet live stream or click the play button above! Click here to download podcasts from the show each day Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or Feedburner.

Bob Miller has the been the voice of the Los Angeles Kings since 1973. He's in the Hockey Hall of Famer as a Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winner. The press box inside Staples Center is named after him. He's a broadcasting legend.

So as the Kings were making their run to the 2012 Stanley Cup, many fans wondered how they'd be able to hear Miller's winning call with the NHL's television deal with NBC. As a solution, the Kings decided to have Miller and his partner, Jim Fox, record each of the potential Cup-clinching games for Los Angeles for future use, whether for a special broadcast or as part of the team's DVD.

Via Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles, here is Miller's call from Monday night:

For the video impaired:

"This is for you Kings players and Kings fans wherever you may be. All the frustration, the disappointment of the past is gone. The 45-year drought is over. The Los Angeles Kings are indeed the kings of the National Hockey League, the 2012 Stanley Cup champions."

When Miller was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006, he said at the time, "My greatest fear is that I retire and the Kings win a Stanley Cup the next year."

Congrats Bob. After 39 years, your wait is over.

UPDATE: Just a note, this isn't the actual game call Miller did. He recited it to some media after the game.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

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 first stop for the Los Angeles Kings after winning the Stanley Cup? The North End Bar and Grill in Hermosa Beach, according to TMZ, where MVP Jonathan Quick had the Cup and the Conn. [TMZ]

• Taylor Stevens made a Funny or Die short. Her very existence is NSFW and that's why she's Taylor Stevens. [Funny or Die]

• Fare thee well Ian Laperriere, who finally retired from the Philadelphia Flyers and the NHL. [Broad Street Hockey]

• More famous people at the NHL Awards, via the NHL: "The National Hockey League (NHL) has increased its roster of presenters for the 2012 NHL Awards, the annual celebration of hockey and the 2011-12 NHL season's top performances, by four with the additions of actors Eric Stonestreet ("Modern Family"), Ray Liotta ("Goodfellas"), Adam Pally ("Happy Endings") and professional dancer and TV personality Cheryl Burke ("Dancing with the Stars")."

• Jonathan Quick and the L.A. Kings will be on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tuesday night. [Lepore]

• Interesting news on Tomas Holmstrom and the Detroit Red Wings, and his future may be tied to what happens in free agency with the Winged Wheel. [Malik]

• Norfolk Admirals coach Jon Cooper said if the Washington Capitals call, he'd listen about their vacancy. [Washington Times]

• Was signing Chris Kelly and Gregory Campbell a bad move for the Boston Bruins? [Sporting News]

• Great look at the Zach Parise Sweepstakes, including the case for the Carolina Hurricanes as a favorite. [In Lou We Trust]

• What's the deal with Alex Radulov? [THN]

• Kings surpass Sparks as seventh most popular Los Angeles team after Stanley Cup win. [The Heckler]

• Thanks to the dozens of you who submitted this classic NBC Sports goof, as they send out an email blast for Los Angeles Kings Cup swag with the subject header "Mavs Win!" [Hugging Harold Reynolds]

• Marty Brodeur on his future with the New Jersey Devils: "The Devils are what I am, what I believe in and what I want to be, but circumstances might be out of Lou's hands or my hands." [NY Post]

• What the Washington Capitals can learn from the Los Angeles Kings. [CSN Washington]

• What the New York Islanders can learn from the Los Angeles Kings. [Lighthouse Hockey]

• Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty are the few, the proud, the London area Cup winner. [Metro]

• Yes, that is Zac Efron creeping the Stanley Cup from the Staples Center stands, why do you ask? [Certified Girouxner]

• Eric Cooney talks about the unbelievable Kings run. [Pro Sports Blogging]

• A lapsed Kings fan-turned-Avs fan talks about L.A. fans in a Cup-winning season. [MHH]

• Nice work here from Dan Rosen on Ted Nolan, who was one happy hockey dad after Game 6. [NHL]

• Rudy Kelly with the most heart-warming yet delightfully vulgar Kings tribute we've read. [Battle of Cali]

• More on-ice celebration footage from the Kings. [Inside The Kings]

• In a shocking turn of events, "Some Glendale residents have lashed out at a $325 million, 20-year hockey deal that they see as a taxpayers' burden." [Tucson Citizen]

• Fare thee well, Ryan Porth of RLD hockey. [RLD]

• Finally, here's a grown-ass man crying about the Kings' winning the Stanley Cup.

The New Jersey Devils are facing issues in ownership and debt load, including $77 million due this summer.

While we'd love to say that their run through the Stanley Cup Final was some kind of Frank Capra-esque story in which that debt was eased through their grit and determination, the revenue they generated would only make a dent.

But it's still a nice chunk of change for a team that probably wasn't counting on such a windfall this spring. From the Star Ledger:

A Star-Ledger analysis culled from 2011 audit figures combined with recent projections from published reports show the cash-strapped hockey team has taken in close to $32.3 million during their extended 2012 playoff run.

The biggest chunk of playoff money came from $26.2 million in postseason ticket sales, according to the newspaper's review. Concessions brought in another big piece with the Devils selling $3.75 million worth of hot dogs, soda and beer during playoffs. Sponsors kicked in $1.1 million to the Devils' bottom line during playoffs. Devils merchandise also gave the team an influx of about $1 million worth of jerseys, T-shirts, and hats.

This has been your occasional reminder that hockey is in fact a business and not just a competition for shiny trophies. Our next scheduled reminder will be in October ... when there is no hockey.

Being captain of a Stanley Cup winning team has its perks. For Dustin Brown, he got to be the first Los Angeles King to raise it on Monday night after they defeated the New Jersey Devils in six games. He'll also end up spending the most time with the Cup as each player and staff member gets a day to celebrate.

On Tuesday morning, the Cup was in Brown's backyard and it was his kid's turn to take a drink out of the bowl. No, there weren't any alcohol beverages. Instead, Brown's two boys, Jake and Mason, took the opportunity to do what we all did as kids: blow bubbles while drinking chocolate milk. Via the LA Times:

(CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO WATCH THE VIDEO)

The matching Spider-Man pajamas really is a nice touch.

The Stanley Cup will be busy this week as it will be appearing on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Tuesday with Brown and then later on "Jimmy Kimmel Live". The summer of celebration continues for the Kings on Thursday as the city of Los Angeles will hold a parade ending with a championship rally at Staples Center.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• Jay Hart: After 8,200-mile trek, 'Keepers of the Cup' hand it off to the Kings
• Video: Kings' Drew Doughty on L.A.'s first Cup: 'I think we've made it Hockeytown'
• Thunder rally past Heat to win Game 1
• Tim Brown: Baseball is relevant again in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Kings' Stanley Cup celebration began on Tuesday as the greatest trophy in sports spent the morning at the home of captain Dustin Brown and the night on the Hollywood talk show circuit.

First, Brown and the Cup appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," where the host wasn't sure of his guests' final statistics and later explained his mocking of Brown's water bottle mishap earlier this season was inspiration for the Kings' title run:

We're gonna miss that glorious beard, Dustin.

The busy day didn't end there as Brown and his teammates made their way to "Jimmy Kimmel Live," where Black Ace Kevin Westgarth offered the host a sip from the Cup with an assist from Willie Mitchell:

Related Stanley Cup Final coverage on Yahoo! Sports:

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• Johnny Ludden: Heat need Dwyane Wade at his best after Game 1 loss to Thunder
• Golfer Rory McIlroy fares well in first-pitch duties for Giants
• Michael Vick hints at Super Bowl berth for the Eagles

New Jersey Devils President/GM/Ruler of All He Surveys Lou Lamoriello is a contradiction of predictability. There are traditions from which he'll never deviate when it comes to his managerial style or the direction of the franchise; yet there are always decisions he makes that require of a big swig of Lou's Kool-Aid for Devils fans to swallow them.

Like, for example, the seemingly illogical choice to keep the team's 2012 first-round draft pick, No. 29 overall, rather than fulfill the forfeiture required by the NHL after the Devils lost the Ilya Kovalchuk salary cap circumvention dispute.

Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record had this last night:

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed via e-mail that the deadline was today and it passed without the Devils informing the league it intended to give up the pick. That means they either intend to use it or trade it.

I spoke with Devils GM Lou Lamoriello at approximately 6 p.m. today and he declined to discuss whether the team would give up its 2012 first-round pick. He said the deadline was not at 5 p.m. today.

Is it possible that Lou didn't realize the deadline was Tuesday, and just had his Dale Tallon/FAX machine moment? Whatever the case, the Devils appear to be holding onto the second-lowest pick in the first round. So the question becomes "why"?

A couple of theories:

1. Lamoriello simply believes it's more important to build a foundation of prospects now than to give up a first-round pick in either of the next two years. This could simply be a philosophical thing. Or an example of his unique brand of stubbornness over the NHL's penalty against the team.

2. The Devils scouts see someone in the first round they've targeted. Let's say, for argument's sake, that player is Malcom Subban of the Bellville Bulls, a goalie and PK's little brother. Oh, hey, look at that: NHL Mock Draft has the Devils taking him at No. 29. If they have to trade up to get him, then they'll need a 2012 first-round pick to do so.

3. The Devils need the first-rounder for another transaction in the works.

4. Lamoriello forgot there was a deadline because of that whole Cup Final thing. It's all a big misunderstanding, the Devils will give up the pick and everyone will have a laugh about it.

5. Lamoriello never wanted the Kovalchuk contract, and will stick it to owner Jeff Vanderbeek in 2014 by leaving him with a forfeited first-round pick after Lou's already walked away from the team. (tin foil hat, off).

Again, at face, it's a really odd, unexpected move from the Devils. Or in Lamoriello's world, "the norm."

If you have $250,000 burning a hole in your bank account, then "snmontana" has an item you might be interested in on eBay: Original documents, allegedly signed by Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall and Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington, that officially traded Wayne Gretzky to LA in August 1988:

Yes. This is on eBay. To quote the great Henry Jones, Jr.: This belongs in a museum!

Oh, but it's not just the trade agreement.

It's a "one of a kind package" regarding the "Trade of the Century":

1. Original signed trade agreement between the Kings and Oilers documenting the "Trade of the Century", signed by Bruce McNall and Peter Pocklington.
2. Original signed contract with Bruce McNall. Signed by Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall.
3. Original and ONLY copy of audio taped conversations between Bruce McNall and Peter Pocklington and Glen Sather negotiating the "Trade of the Century"
4. Several additional important documents and correspondence related to the trade including the "lien release" of Pocklington's pledge of Wayne Gretzky to the "Province of Alberta Treasury Branches"

You can buy it now for $250,000 or bid for the next six days beginning at $125,000.

Now, having this pop up on eBay rather than, say, Sotheby's begs the question of authenticity. Like, for example, the fact that this agreement was signed two days after (Aug. 11) the Gretzky trade was announced on August 9, 1988. (Although the press conference was Aug. 11.)

McNall's signature, for example, is similar but not dead-on consistent with his other autographs. (Would the owners have been the ones to sign the document?) The audio tape, from a dictation-specific series of Maxell cassettes, is dated July 1988. Shoot, if this is authentic, the tapes alone might be worth the price.

On the "this is legit" side ... who would go through the trouble to forge a "lien release?"

So there you go. Make your bid. Or just ask McNall how much he wants for it.

s/t Félix Lévesque

Huzzah! The rumors chat returns after the playoffs are done, as we look at the remaining coaching vacancies, the free agency of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, and the future of Roberto Luongo!

Please join us beginning at NOON ET/9 a.m. PT today for our weekly chat that includes a revolving door of panelists like Lyle (Spector) Richardson of Spector's Hockey and Katie Baker of Grantland; as well as your friendly neighborhood knuckleheads from Yahoo! Sports, Puck Daddy and Buzzing The Net.

You bring the funny; we bring the abrupt changes in tone and Hamburger Women. That's how it works:

(Ed. Note: As the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue, we're bound to lose some friends along the journey. We've asked for these losers, gone but not forgotten, to be eulogized by the people who knew the teams best: The bloggers who hated them the most. Here is New York Rangers blogger Scotty Hockey, fondly recalling the 2011-12 New Jersey Devils. Again, this was not written by us ... OK, by all of us. Also: This is a roast and you will be offended by it, so don't take it so seriously.)

By Scotty Hockey

The New Jersey Devils, the team that did the impossible and made Newark an attractive destination for a few brief weeks, passed away into the footnotes of history on Monday night.

They were dispatched by the Los Angeles Kings, as unlikely a juggernaut as there could be in the playoffs this postseason. The Devils themselves were unlikely finalists, as their run to the Cup was more like an easy amble. Or in their goaltender's case, waddle.

[Nicholas J. Cotsonika: Kings unleash '45 years of frustration' with unlikely Stanley Cup]

First they defeated the mighty, mighty Panthers! Still made up of has-beens, never weres and nobodies 18 years after their expansion, the Frankenstein's monster that is the Florida franchise took Marty and his minions to double overtime in Game 7.

Then it was on to Philadelphia for some cheesesteaks. The hungry, hungry hippo and his bloat took on an exhausted Philly team that clearly had run out of gas winning their own Cup by beating the Penguins. And yet they still needed two-time Devil Brendan Shanahan to kick out Giroux so they could advance to the conference finals.

That, of course, brings us to the Blueshirts and I really have no singular explanation for the Rangers choke-job to the Devils. Tortorella's refusal to use his whole roster, Gaborik's bad shoulder, Boyle's concussion, Carl Hagelin's unearned bad reputation, Sean Avery's ostracization, Michael Del Zotto's Del Zastrous defensive play … New York lost this series, New Jersey hardly won it. 'Blah blah, bitter Ranger fan, blah blah.' I know. Whatever. Bite me. Move along.

New York's loss was New Jersey's gain as they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. What a stage for Lou's stooges. They were four wins away from their fourth Cup, the one to match the mark held by the Rangers and the Islanders, their metro rivals.

But they didn't get it.

Instead Devils slink back to their swamp state empty handed, while their few fans raise the ever classic 'ref screwed us' flag. But, alas, it wasn't the officials who critically wounded Jersey's chances at the Cup but a sequence of stupidity.

The latest and greatest instance of idiocy being, of course, Steve Bernier's boarding in the first period of Game 6. An utterly inexcusable hit that could have easily been avoided, the check was a prime example of what the NHL has been trying to remove from the game this season. And the fourth liner, a failed first round pick (one spot ahead of Parise!), was sent to the dressing room while Los Angeles undressed his teammates.

Whoops.

But it was not Bernier who put his team in a 0-3 hole. That honor largely goes to Pete DeBoer for making Petr Sykora a healthy scratch. Sykora sat on the bench for the first three games - a guy who had 73 points in 130 career playoff games, a span that included five previous trips to the Cup final. Because why would DeBoer play him when Josef Jacobson was available? Jacobson, with his 69 prior NHL regular season games and three playoff matches (against the Rangers in the previous round), contributed absolutely nothing to New Jersey and Sykora sat while his team lost by the narrowest of margins the first two games.

But to ask for logic and reason from a man who was somehow able to ignore bodacious tatas and call it focus? That's to ask too much.

[Video: Did one penalty decide Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final?]

And too much was asked of Ilya Kovalchuk, with his bad back. Apparently carrying the load for the likes of Alexei Ponikarovsky, Travis Zajac and Diving Dainus Zubrus was too much for the former Thrasher to take. His slipped disc certainly screwed up the power play plans of Adam Oates as the man advantage went 1-19 including that five-on-three in Game 3. The Devils have to be happy that they will have the one-way ice hog for 13 more seasons.

And that helps bring us to the architect of the team, Lou Lamoriello.

Right now, old Lou is sitting in the Sopranos diner with his head in his hands. "If only I had kept Scott Gomez. If I had Gomez then I coulda had Ryan McDonagh!"

But alas Lou, you did not keep Gomez, and you did not get Ryan McDonagh. There is no Scott Neidermayer, no Scott Stevens, no Brian Rafalski, no Ken Daneyko … hell, no Paul Martin — although I'm sure the Pens will gladly give him back.

Instead of those former stalwarts, the current unit included Peter Harrold, Mark Fayne, Henrik Tallinder and Andy Greene on the blueline. Uberkind Adam Larsson proved unready for regular duty with the big boys and had to watch. Because there is no way a super young Swede could possible supplant any of the aforementioned 'stars,' right?

Oh, and how could anyone forget Anton Volchenkov? Anton Volchenkov, who was — in the words of Devil fan Puck Daddy himself — "completely terrible." Good thing he has a no trade clause and is signed through 2015, making more than four mil a year …

Meanwhile Zach Parise is set to do what all intelligent people do — get the hell out of Newark.

[Related: Zach Parise faces uncertain future after Devils' Cup loss]

The Devils awarded Parise's years of service with a hollow captaincy, an empty attempt to make up for giving Kovalchuk more money than the Jersey Shore's GTL budget. But Parise soldiered on - at least until the finals, where he had all of one point in the seven games.

He may go but the identity of the Devils, the very heart, soul and rotund gut of the franchise is expected to remain Marty Brodeur. It's easy to go heavy on Marty because he is a big target - puns entirely intended - and not just for his mockery of the institution of marriage.

You have to imagine little Marty — if you can imagine Marty little — dreaming of winning Stanley Cups like the Montreal teams his dad photographed. And he did win three. While he was foiled from winning his fourth, he did secure redemption for "Matteau!" and 1994 when the current Ranger team laid down before him like they were a member of his extended family.

And yet he still refuses to just retire back to his pizza place with pride intact. He could spend his summer telling women to get back to cooking, offering up more recipes through his website. But no, Brodeur says he will be back. When you think about it, his return was a certainty — those alimony payments last until 2020.

So we will have at least one more season of the flopping and flailing in front of referees that somehow still works. Diving Plongeon Canada would be wise to use him over in London, if the platforms prove able to hold his weight. But come the fall he should be back to the Rock, where a shockingly stable franchise will greet him.

Even before the shocking revenue numbers came out, the Devils' "highfalutin, high-class huckster and hustler" of an owner was able to find an anonymous benefactor willing to lend his money to the team, if not his name.

Now all New Jersey will have to do is pray that Lou can replace Parise and poor DeBoer can somehow get David Clarkson to put up another 30 goal season. Plus someone needs to help Adam Henrique avoid a sophomore slump and Bryce Salvador has to find more soul to sell to keep that playoff magic going.

But that is for the months to come. Right now the Devils' Army has been defeated and their season is done. New Jersey will go back to being the ignored bratty brother of the Blueshirts and their bandwagon fans will go back to their Jersey shore bars and clubs.

The 2011-12 Devils team will rest in ignominy where they belong, soon to be an afterthought, an answer to the trivia question: 'Who handed the Kings their first Cup?'

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
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After shutting down questions about this future following a Game 6 loss ing the Stanley Cup Final against the Los Angeles Kings, potential unrestricted free agent Zach Parise addressed where he's headed during the New Jersey Devils' "clean out" day on Wednesday.

Or, more specifically, where he's not headed: Parise said there was "no way" he would sign with the New York Rangers this summer.

This comes after that infamous moment in the Eastern Conference Final when his father, former NHLer J.P. Parise, appeared to play matchmaker between the Devils captain and John Tortorella's team.

As for his future in New Jersey, Parise was all about the optimism. From Fire & Ice:

"I like the people here," he said of his remaining a Devil. "I like the staff, my teammates. I like the area. There's a lot of good things about this place."

Parise was asked twice about the idea of signing with the Rangers and shot it down both times. "Don't try to get a headline out of it," he warned.

... "I've always like playing here," he said. "That's never changed. We'll see where this takes us right now, but this is a great place to play and I love playing here. I love being here."

The vibe from his media availability was that Parise wanted to return to New Jersey -- reporter Tom Gulitti noted, "Parise repeatedly talked about next season as if he'd be here" -- but his agents haven't had any talks with Lamoriello during the season.

Gulitti of the Bergen Record had more on Parise's future on Wednesday:

If Parise, who turns 28 on July 28, gets to the open market, he will be the most sought-after forward available. Lamoriello has said many times that re-signing Parise is his biggest priority, but he did not conduct contract negotiations during the season. Although Parise has said many times he wants to return, he's only 2½ weeks away from fielding offers from other teams. Despite the doom-and-gloom financial reports from elsewhere, expect the Devils to make a competitive offer to keep their most important player.

It'll come down to whether Parise wants to stay with this franchise for the long term vs. the palpable financial (and in Minnesota's case, geographic) temptations headed his way this summer.

It's a Wednesday edition of Marek vs. Wyshynski beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, and we're talking about the following and more:

Special Guest Stars: Ian Laperriere talks retirement and his inspiring career.

• In which Marek and Wysh discuss Zach Parise's future with the Devils and his "no Rangers" vow.

• Lamoirello's somewhat baffling draft pick move.

• The LA Kings' afterglow.

Question of the Day: Who will be the three most interesting teams in the offseason?

Email your answers to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or tweet them with the hashtag #MvsW to either @jeffmarek or @wyshynski.

Click here for the Sportsnet live stream or click the play button above! Click here to download podcasts from the show each day Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or Feedburner.

The Norfolk Admirals won the AHL's Calder Cup on Saturday, completing their sweep of the Toronto Marlies with a 6-1 win. It was a fitting end to an astounding run to close the 2011-12 season, during which the Admirals won 43 of their final 46 games. Insane.

No doubt it takes a lot of discipline to go on such a run -- a lot of denying oneself, going to bed early, and staying focused.

And thus, it takes a lot of alcohol and greasy food to unwind when all is said and done. It was a tall task, but the Admirals' $10,000 bar tab at Madison Avenue Pub in Toronto is evidence that they unwound successfully.

Since the Admirals won the Calder Cup on the road, the team booked space at the Madison so the team could celebrate with the friends, family, and staff that had made the trip to Toronto from Norfolk (12 hours by car) and all over the world (several hours by train, plane, or jetski).

Now, when you're looking at a tab of this magnitude, the only reasonable thing to do is compare it to the Boston Bruins' tab from last year. Of course, the Bruins tore the roof off the sucker by ordering a bottle of 100k champagne, so it's tough to juxtapose the two nights out.

Plus, using Gabe Desdardins' NHL equivalency statistic, a $10,000 AHL bar tab only translates to a $4400 bar tab at the NHL level. Weak.

There's nothing too controversial here, but when we spoke to Admirals' VP Joe Gregory about this receipt, he asked if the $400 tip was visible on our photo (it's not), and informed us that was above and beyond the tip that was already included. (It's always important to protect one's reputation as a good tipper.)

Gregory also let us know that everybody got home in one piece.

You can check out a few more photos here, and if you happened to party with the Admirals and have any good stories, we'd love to hear them.

Finally, if you're in the Norfolk area and you want to party with the Admirals, their Calder Cup parade is Wednesday afternoon at 4:30, beginning at Plume and Granby streets and heading towards a celebration -- and ceremonial shaving of their legendary beards -- at Scope Plaza around 5 p.m.

s/t to @nastyknate.

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.

• Same as it ever was.

• Celebuzz introduces you to the Stanley Cup champion Kings by way of their playoff beards. [Go Fug Yourself]

• Great story here of a 19-year-old bottle of Budweiser that was finally opened and consumed -- from the Stanley Cup, no less -- by Kings' head athletic trainer Pete Demers. [Winnipeg Free Press]

• The Devils went clubbing after their Stanley Cup loss and, since it happened in LA, paparazzi followed them everywhere. [Deadspin]

• Speaking of the Devils, they still have to surrender a first-round pick for circumventing the salary cap with the original Kovalchuk contract, but they'll be keeping their 1st rounder this year. [Fire & Ice]

• Jo Innes breaks down what happened to Anton Volchenkov's face. Um. Yikes. [Backhand Shelf]

• A community in Falmouth, Massachusetts. spent $6 million on a solar-powered ice rink for its youth hockey league for some reason. [Fuel Fix]

• It sounds like the Edmonton Oilers are shopping their first overall pick at the draft. [Oilers Nation]

• Meanwhile, Igor Larionov thinks the Oilers will regret it if they don't pick Nail Yakupov. [NHL]

• Defence is the strongest position in this year's NHL draft. [USA Today]

• Sure, it's a Jersey Foul, but it looks like this guy will finally get to retire it. Did it just get a little dusty in here? [Reddit Hockey]

• Donald Fehr sees the opportunity to grow the game internationally. "There is an enormous opportunity in this sport internationally that doesn't exist in other sports. The NFL is primarily watched in the U.S. Basketball has made tremendous inroads abroad but is still primarily U.S. Major League Baseball is American except for some presence in Japan. Hockey is different. It has an audience in North America and across Europe. There is an opportunity to create cross-Atlantic events of various sorts that could create audiences on both sides. I don't know of another sport that can do that. That's pretty exciting to me." [IIHF]

• The Goldwater Institute has filed a lawsuit to block the arena lease agreement between would-be Coyotes' owner Greg Jamison and the City of Glendale. [The Globe & Mail]

• Columnist Robert Robb thinks the deal to keep the Coyotes in Glendale is terrible, but the city should just let it happen. It sounds like Arizonans are beginning to reach the fourth stage of grief: depression. [AZ Central]

• Alex Radulov's KHL rights have been bought from Salavat Yulaev by CSKA Moscow. [RIA Novosti]

• Which Dallas Stars' players are the most likely trade pieces? [Defending Big D]

• Joe Sakic could be named to the Hockey Hall of Fame on June 26. [Denver Post]

• Great stuff from Thomas Drance on that suspected Roberto Luongo Twitter account and what it tells us about the Canucks' netminder. [Canucks Army]

• Dustin Penner will be shaving his beard, but not entirely, unless that's what you want. He's a man of the people, and it's up to you to decide what he does with that sweet face forest. Best line from the video below: "Let me know if you think I should keep a moustache, maybe this beard, some chops, or just shave it right down to the wood." [LA Times]

• 

Last week, our Dmitry Chesnokov reported that it looked likely former Nashville Predators forward Alex Radulov would return to the KHL next season and suit up for CSKA and general manager Sergei Fedorov, who said:

"Of course we would be happy to see Alexander Radulov on our team. If this player signs with our club we will be happy to share this great news on our official website."

Well, CSKA's web site shared some happy news about Radulov on Wednesday: They acquired his rights from Salavat Yulaev; so if Radulov does return to Russia in 2012-13 it will be with them.

Dmitry's on the road, but was able to pass along a few notes:

• They only acquired his rights, they didn't sign him. Radulov, an NHL RFA, has one year left on his KHL contract, and those rights only last another year even if he doesn't return to the KHL. He could modify the contract if he does agree to join CSKA.

• The transaction fee for Radulov between the KHL teams: around $8 million for his services, according to Chesnokov. Money's no object, as Russian oil company Rosneft owns the team and targeted a big name player as a priority for CSKA this offseason.

• Radulov might have preferred to skate for Salavat Yulaev again; as a result, CSKA decided to bait the trap by signing his brother Igor Radulov in late May.

Again, nothing set in stone yet; but this was a significant step towards Radulov's return to the KHL, where he's been an MVP player.

(What, you thought the champs get off easy? Before the postseason, we assign 16 eulogies. As in the past, the winning team's eulogy becomes ahem, a "tribute" by the fans who hated them the most. Here is Cam Charron, a blogger for Yahoo! Canada and Canucks Army, celebrating the 2011-12 Los Angeles Kings. Again, this was not written by us. Also: This is a roast and you will be offended by it, so don't take it so seriously.)

By Cam Charron

A team from Southern California won a championship. It doesn't matter which one, in which league, in which sport. Every celebrity, from the most famous A-lister to the local Santa Ana weather guy, wanted in.

The Staples Center prominently features three teams in the four major sports. Two of those didn't win a championship this year, leaving celebrity fans like Jack Nicholson and Ice Cube and Selena Gomez in bitter disrepair. With the Boston Celtics losing in Game 7 to the Miami Heat, the Red Sox missing the playoffs and the Patriots losing in the Super Bowl, even Bill Simmons was going to have to admit that a team he casually follows wasn't going to win anything.

But along came hope. A team generally known for a few C-listers. Wil Wheaton, a man known to many of us only because we were unfortunate enough to be caught watching TV with nothing but reruns of "The Big Bang Theory" on the dial. The guy who played Chandler in the most unfortunate, overrated sitcom in the history of television was also prominently on display all season.

At this point, you're asking yourself "Greg, why the hell aren't you actually talking about the Kings?" Well, for one I'm not Greg, and for two, I'm actually quite tired of talking about the Kings. I like the Kings, don't get me wrong. They're an excellent hockey team with a real shrewd management group who put together a team with 20 good pieces, signing or trading for their best players far below retail value.

There are the obvious Kings jokes: Two thirds of their second line are drunken party boys who were never supposed to successfully deal with the temptations they'd face in Los Angeles. The other member of their second line is fat, lazy and loves pancakes. Their coach resembles "Sloth" from "the Goonies" and nobody can actually find the country of origin of their star player on a map. The other is that their captain is statistically the best diver in the National Hockey League.

Career-altering addictions and geography aside, the Kings were relentless. The team was known for its star power in the past, featuring guys like Marcel Dionne, Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robitaille; but those three were all famous for not bringing the Stanley Cup to Los Angeles. Ironically, in the land of stardom and glamorized excess, the most successful team the Kings had ever was also its most economical and its most boring.

Frankly, I don't necessarily look at things like "boring" when I judge whether a team is good or not, or interesting to watch. There were lots of interesting characteristics about the Los Angeles Kings this season: their unflappable goaltending, their propensity to trade for any superstar on the market, their play-driving, high-scoring No. 1 centerman and their puck-moving defense.

Evidently, people covering the team didn't find as many fun things about this team as I did. One night, after writing a post about the post-Jeff Carter trade dominance of the Kings, I did a search on Getty Images for an appropriate picture about the Kings. My search for "Los Angeles Kings" yielded thus:

Mainly, pictures about celebrities, like the guy who played Chandler in "Friends," who was such a B-lister he was only the second-most famous person in the '90s to hook up with a girl named "Monica."

I hope the Kings become a dynasty. I really do. I like watching Jeff Carter and Mike Richards and Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. I like how good they are, I like that a team found success after acquiring players without regard for their past or their character, just what they can do on the ice.

[Related: Video: Kings' Stanley Cup win may boost hockey's popularity in Southern California]

More importantly, I like how easy it is to make fun of the people who cover them. We all remember when the local NBC affiliate threw up a logo of the Sacramento Kings accidentally when discussing the major events at the Staples Center one glorious weekend in May:

The error wasn't the only one made among with many others in the Los Angeles media, bandwagoning to earn the respect of a few passionate, hardcore, longtime Kings fans after the Clippers and Lakers met their fates in the NBA's second round.

I think the best part of this clip is not that the attractive (probably) failed actress Liz Habib makes a number of different mistakes in her likely first go-round with hockey highlights but that she began her clip by showcasing Alyssa Milano in the crowd at the Staples Center.

That's not all the mistakes that were made by a bunch of media folks pretending to be versed in hockey. Jonathan Swift is a good example, but my favorite may have been Mike Dunsmore getting all this great, pro-American, anti-Canuck tirade from whom he thought was Ryan Kesler, but turned out to be Kevin Bieksa.

So when an obvious Photoshop pops up (courtesy of The Royal Half, I believe is where I first saw it), people think it's real:

Eric Gagne, of course, set a consecutive save record with the L.A. Dodgers back in the early 2000s.

We remember Jack Johnson, the former third overall draft pick, a man Rudy Kelly described as a player who "doesn't do anything to positively affect a play when he's on defense; he's generally in the right place but he's not actively doing the things he needs to do to end that offensive possession. He's a buck-toothed pylon, basically."

[Related: Jay Hart: After 8,200-mile trek, 'Keepers of the Cup' hand it off to the Kings]

This is a player whose own GM called him a star athlete but "awful as a hockey player" two years before he traded him away for one of the better players in the league. "You had no idea what position he was playing. But he had always been the star and he always got his numbers."

We remember Jack Johnson because Jack Johnson was the final piece of the Kings' puzzle. The removal of Johnson and subsequent addition of Jeff Carter, done a couple of months before the Los Angeles local media realized that Jack Johnson was more than a singer-songwriter, set this team on an unstoppable course going forward. Despite being an eighth-seed, the team was never an underdog.

We remember Ryan Smyth, the well-coiffed poster boy for rhinoplasty, who decided last offseason that "maybe I don't want to play in Los Angeles" and accommodated a trade off the Kings. The removal of Smyth's 23 goals and $6.25M cap hit allowed for general manager Dean Lombardi to make a trade for Richards the next time that Philadelphia's Paul Holmgren drunk dialed him.

We remember Smyth because he was so much of a detriment to the Kings' cap situation that they had to trade him not once, but twice, for players that the Edmonton Oilers didn't really want. Smyth, the grizzled veteran, is still without a Stanley Cup while, like Johnson, his exit paved the way for the Kings to win.

And thank God they did, because there are a bunch of Kings fans who needed a Stanley Cup after 44 years.

There are some great Kings fans out there; one a Toronto lawyer I watched three of the games with. Despite the Kings' looking at every instance like they'd win the series, she was still beset by bitter memories of Zigmund Palffy at one time being the star player on the strip. This is a team that was so bad through their history that they don't even have memorable playoff chokes or disappointments.

In the 2000s, the Kings goalie with the most wins and shutouts was Felix Potvin. The most goals and points belonged to Alex Frolov. Nothing against Potvin and Frolov personally, but they the hockey equivalents to Chandler Bing in how good of a character he was on TV, except they played for a lot less money.

So Congratulations to the Kings.

[Related: LAPD: Kings fans 'well-behaved' outside Staples Center after team's Stanley Cup Final win]

Congratulations to a fantastic cast of players brought aboard, and a systematic coaching staff that kept them in check. Congratulations to Darryl Sutter for winning a Stanley Cup-clinching game on his fifth try.

Congratulations to the bandwagoning local media who found the next trendy event to hijack.

Congratulations to Jack Johnson and Ryan Smyth, who were key players in reverse to one of the more impressive Stanley Cup teams in years. Congratulations to the players who were brought aboard this club after some other team decided that they weren't good enough to win anymore.

More importantly, congratulations to the passionate L.A. fans that supported the team despite being so bad for so long whom finally have a reason to cheer. I'm more than willing to do a few shots with you should our paths cross.

Congratulations to Will Ferrell, who memorized the entire "Los Angeles Kings#History" page in one of "Hockey Night in Canada's" most awkward interviews ever. With any luck, you'll be recognized as Geoff Cartier or Miles Richards, players on the only line in hockey that require a designated skater.

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On Wednesday morning, impending unrestricted free agent Zach Parise made his interest in the New York Rangers exceptionally clear, saying there was "no way" he'd sign in New York.

But if Minnesota hockey icon and former Minnesota North Stars' GM Lou Nanne is to be believed, the Minnesota Wild have a plan to ensure that Parise is much more amenable to a return to his hometown state.

That plan? Offer him money -- nay, the most money.

Nanne appeared on Minnesota's KFAN Sports Radio Wednesday to discuss what players the Wild might target this offseason, and Parise came up in a big way. "I really don't think they're gonna get him signed," Nanne said of the Devils, before explaining the Wild's plans, should Parise hit the open market:

"I had dinner with Craig Leipold on Wednesday night. I know Chuck Fletcher and Craig Leipold really want Parise, and what Craig told me is how hard he's going to go after him, and the kind of money he's going after him, I don't see how Parise's not coming here.

"I can tell you this: No one is going to outbid the Wild. So if Parise goes somewhere else, you can bet he's going for less money. [...] I'm not going to say the figure, but it's going to be plenty. It's gonna be a lot more than I ever expected. It's gonna be so substantial that I cannot see Zach Parise turning it down."

It's worth noting that Nanne doesn't work for the team at all, and he may not be speaking on behalf of anyone that does. This is an important distinction to make, because it's how you get around the tampering accusations.

Now, I'm not saying Nanne's doing the Wild a sly favor here. But I'm also not not saying it.

Parise's other comments Wednesday indicated that he might be leaning towards re-signing in New Jersey, and after such a close brush with Cup glory, it has to be even more tempting for him to forego free agency and re-up with the Devils before the month is up.

Lou Lamoriello still has two weeks of exclusive negotiating rights; that could be enough time to appeal to his head and his heart.

That's a scary notion if you're a team like the Wild that covets Parise, especially since you're not allowed to muddy the waters with any grand romantic gestures until July 1. No doubt Parise knows he's a hot commodity, but that alone might not be enough for him to put off signing until they can talk to him.

This is when it's helpful to plant a bug in his ear that the prize behind door number two is pretty damn spiffy. After all, Nanne didn't just say the Wild would be suitors. He effectively said that they're planning to make Parise a tantalizingly shocking offer that even he was like whaaaaaat when he heard.

If the goal is to catch Parise's ear and ensure he puts off signing a contract until you can slide yours across the table, this might do it.

There was no better playoff beard this season than the facial foliage that grew on Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Penner's face during their run to the 2012 Stanley Cup. Teammate Rob Scuderi was quoted as saying he'd never seen someone able to grow a beard around their eyes. That's how unique it was.

Now that the season is over and the mass of hair needed to be shaved, Penner teamed up with Philips Norelco to allow fans to vote for his new look on their Facebook page. Voters decided that Penner trim it down into a handlebar mustache.

Appearing at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night with his teammates to help throw out the first pitch before a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Penner showed off the new facial hair for the first time.

Via John Hoven at MayorsManor.com, here's the new-look Penner:

So, so glorious.

It doesn't appear to be something one can twirl, like say John Axford's handlebar mustache (RIP), but considering it's made up of two months of growth, it still looks spectacular and we hope Penner decides to keep this long-term.

Check out Hoven's Twitter page and LA Kings Insider for more photos of the Kings at Dodger Stadium, including Matt Greene in a full baseball uniform.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

It's parade day for the Los Angeles Kings, three days after they captured the first Stanley Cup in team history. It's going to be an epic celebration; but it may not move you like the small-scale celebration in Port McNeill, British Columbia.

That's the hometown of Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell, name-checked by the veteran after hoisting the Cup: "Port McNeill, it's coming." That's the town featured in this heartwarming CTV clip that really brings home the local heroism of a Stanley Cup championship:

"We're not talking about Tinsletown but Port McNeil as well."

Seriously: Little kids at a viewing party at the local movie theater, watching with homemade Stanley Cups? Local businesses already putting up congratulatory signs the night of the victory? Some Irish dude humoring the media when asked about a player he's never heard of? What's not to love?

From the Times Colonist:

The Stanley Cup is returning to the Island with a winning player for the first time since 5,000 people turned out in 2006 to see Carolina Hurricanes captain and local hero Rod Brind'Amour parade it through the streets of Campbell River.

"I'm absolutely delighted. Tonight was just a great night for everybody in the community," said Port McNeill mayor Gerry Furney. "It is so heartwarming. The Cup belongs here."

Meanwhile, here's how media in Slovenia handled the victory, as native son Anze Kopitar is crowned (literally) a champion.

Did we just hear "KopiStar, KopiCrown?" Brilliant.

We knew that if a team from Hollywood won the Stanley Cup, the aftermath would feature some … well, odd sights from around town. The Los Angeles Kings are champions, and are on TMZ's radar. Which means a party featuring the Chalice, UFC legend Chuck Liddell and jersey-clad Oompa Loompas:

Taylor Stevens, eat your heart out.

From TMZ:

The Stanley Cup was a whore last night ... because it let all sorts of strangers rub their mouths and butts all over it for hours ... and TMZ has the pics.

The enablers were several members of the world champion L.A. Kings -- who treated Stanley to a night of mayhem at Beacher's Madhouse at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.  During the show, the Kings were entertained by The Little Kings -- a band of little people dressed up like their NHL counterparts ... who used the cup as a chair when their tiny feet got tired.

We're told the Kings arrived to the party with David Beckham ... and were met at the venue by UFC legend Chuck Liddell ... who filled the cup with beer and had the Kings hoist it up so he could chug with the champs.

The Kings in attendance were Trevor Lewis, Jarret Stoll, Alec Martinez, Willie Mitchell and Jordan Nolan. Sadly, no Dustin Penner, which means no uncomfortable conversations about getting him a day in the candy room at the Wonka factory.

Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll go back to imagining what a game between the Little Kings and the Montreal Canadiens would look like.