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.
• Alex Ovechkin begins his glorious summer of fun in North America at Sequoia in D.C., at a party that featured, oh, one or two (dozen) attractive women. [DC Sports Bog, @Matt_Leighton]
• How tracking Alex Ovechkin is like tracking Santa Claus. No, not in the sense that they both disappear after the season. How rude of you to say such a thing. [Alex Ovejtkin]
• Avoiding arbitration, the Winnipeg Jets sign captain Andrew Ladd to a five-year deal; "TSN is reporting the deal covers five years and is worth $22 million, including $5 million in 2011-12 and $4.5 million in the remaining four years." [Winnipeg Free Press]
• Interesting bit from Steven Ovadia on the big changes for the Philadelphia Flyers and San Jose Sharks: "In essence, Philadelphia GM Paul Holmgren and San Jose GM Doug Wilson each said that winning doesn't mean anything if it doesn't result in a Cup. So each GM reworked their winning-yet-Cupless teams." [Puck Update]
• Jannik Hansen has filed for salary arbitration; how much is the Vancouver Canucks forward really worth? [Kurtenblog]
• Asking for calm during the Steven Stamkos Contract Negotiation Non-Crisis. [Raw Charge]
• Remember that preseason game that was scheduled between the Dallas Stars and the Phoenix Coyotes at Reliant Stadium in Houston? Cancelled! No reason given. [Andrew's Stars Page]
• The Upper Canadien explains why we're all wrong on Erik Cole's signing with the Montreal Canadiens. [TUC]
• My old FanHouse buddy Tom Luongo takes me to the woodshed over long-term contracts. Two bones to pick: I never said long-term deals weren't good for fans and teams, because they are. But to argue that Ehrhoff took "the trade-off of a guaranteed lower salary, potentially much lower salary, at ages 37 to 39" assumes he would ever make the wage, and I will eat a pile of AOL dial-up discs if he plays those three seasons at $1 million per. [Luongo]
• Check out the new AHL realignment and Calder Cup playoff format; three division winners from each conference, best-of-five series in the first round. [AHL]
• The awkward embrace of Chicago Blackhawks fans and Danny Carcillo. [Second City Hockey]
• The Dallas Stars are about done with free agency, which means that Jamie Langenbrunner is going to be an ex-Dallas Star. [Stars Blog]
• In praise of the post-Richards Stars. [Defending Big D]
• Nice move by the Houston Aeros to bring in John Torchetti as their new head coach. [Wild]
• Scott Nichol, another San Jose Sharks grunt, leaves for the St. Louis Blues. [Working The Corners]
• Speaking of faceoff specialists who can knuckle up, the Ottawa Senators make a nice little signing with Zenon Konopka from the Islanders. [Silver Sevens]
• Here is Bobby Orr's bit about the revival of fan interest in the Boston Bruins during their run to the Stanley Cup. This is from the forthcoming Bruins Stanley Cup DVD, which is available now but ships later this month.
• Interesting bit about Clarke MacArthur finding an "identity" through the arbitration process. [Houses of the Hockey]
• The Phoenix Coyotes have signed defenseman Tyler Eckford and goalie Curtis McElhinney to one-year contracts. [AP]
• Restricted free agent Darroll Powe has agreed to terms on a three-year, $3.2 million contract ($1.067 AAV). Contract is not signed or filed yet. Powe could have filed for arbitration later Tuesday. [Russo]
• The Detroit Red Wings announced Tuesday that defensemen Logan Pyett and Garnet Exelby have both signed one-year contracts with the team. [KK]
• How Roman Hamrlik fits into the Washington Capitals' crowded defense. [Japers' Rink]
• Dale Tallon's problem with the Florida Panthers? A lack of imagination. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
• St. Louis Blues executive vice president and general manager Doug Armstrong announced Tuesday the club has signed goaltender Ben Bishop to a one-year, two-way contract. [Blues]
• Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, a Dallas Stars draft pick with dual citizenship, will try out for Canada's World Junior Championship team this year, not the American squad. In a related story, Jamie Oleksiak considers Coors Light an import. [THN]
• Finally, we'd hire Tihamer Becze in a second if we owned a hockey team. Alas …
Tihamer Becze promotional hockey video from TixarSztyúdióz on Vimeo.