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.
• Two things about this Alex Ovechkin photo. First, Utro.ru reports that Ovechkin, spotted at a golf club party for a radio station in Nakhabino, Russia, is "one of the most eligible bachelors in Russia seems desperate to find love. Before the show started on the stage, set on the picturesque shore of the pond, somber Ovechkin left the event." So sad. Also, he clearly hasn't been reading the blogs that are calling him fat, what with the non-diet Pepsi and all. [Alex Ovetjkin]
• Sean Avery makes what you'd call a classic mistake: Asking the same cops he allegedly called "fat little pigs" to allow him to exit the precinct through the back door. Guess what didn't happen? [TMZ]
• Coach Randy Carlyle of the Anaheim Ducks gets a new three-year contract that effectively "tears up" the last year of his current deal and "will put him among the NHL's highest-paid coaches," according to a team spokesman. And yet he'll inevitably end up on a "coaches' hot seat" list by December. [Ducks Blog]
• The Tampa Bay Lightning have doubled their season ticket sales from last season, selling more than 10,000. Which means they had 5,000 season-ticket holders last season. Which makes us sort of sad. [Lightning Strikes]
• Is Marty St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning primed for a decline next s eason because of his age? [The Good Point]
• Scotty Hockey and the saddest hockey card of all-time. [Scotty Hockey]
• An attempt to justify the San Jose Sharks' trade for James Sheppard: "This isn't a trade that rocks the foundation of the Sharks, but if all Sheppard needed was a change of scenery, it may prove to be a shrewd move." [Fear The Fin]
• Whatever happened to … Mike Legg, of the famous lacrosse-style goal? "As of last year, Legg was a firefighter in the Vancouver area - maybe the 2011 Stanley Cup Riot brought him back into the hockey foray for a night?" [Dirty Dangle, via PPP]
• Patrick Kane on attending a hockey camp in South Jersey: "I'm kind of afraid to say hi to a Philly fan, they might punch me in the face," Kane said with a smile, "But seriously, everyone here has been so nice, it's been such a good experience and it's something I definitely want to do again." [Patch.com, via reader Andrew Jones]
• A lengthy review of "Youngblood," the Rob Lowe hockey opus that gave us skull masks and Patrick Swayze on ice. [Pass It To Bulis]
• Words of praise for Dallas Stars goalie of the future Jack Campbell. [Stars]
• In Defense of Jay Bouwmeester: "I understand the vitriol aimed at Bouwmeester`s contract and the fact the Flames aren't getting true value for the money they`ve spent, but blindly stating that J-Bo is categorically worse than 30-40 defensemen in the league without looking at the role he plays or the talents of the players in a more fact-based manner is the equivalent of just using points to measure every player in the league`s contribution to their team's success." [Matchsticks and Gasoline]
• Over 7,000 fans chanted Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' name during the national junior team intra-squad game. Yeah, it was in Edmonton. [Sun]
• St. Louis Blues Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced Monday the club has signed defenseman Danny Syvret to a one-year contract. [Blues]
• The New York Islanders are so proud of Kevin Allen for calling them "the sleeper team of the Eastern Conference" that they've gone and republished the article on their website, like a proud parent tacking up their child's drawing on the refrigerator. [Islanders]
• Previewing the Atlantic Division. [RLD Hockey]
• Despite chatter he would join the New York Rangers this season, defenseman Mikhail Pashnin has signed a 2-year deal with in KHL. [Blueshirt Banter]
• ConkBlock leads the list of bad-ass fantasy hockey backups. [Dobber]
• Ravi on the Alex Kovalev interview we shared this morning: "Saying that the Ottawa journalists don't watch gives more insight to AK27's character and the level of insight he brings to game. Don't forget that this is the player that was SENT HOME for a few days with the Canadiens. Think about it. Sent. Home. Yet he seems like he was more preoccupied with what the reporters were doing instead of playing the game." [KK]
• How the U.S. credit downgrade could lead to NHL contraction. Oh joy. [Raw Charge]
• Finally, the headline reads: "man wacks stanley cup with stick and ruins parade." The description readers: "never say box it will cry you." You figure it out …