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 Stanley Cup at Caesars Atlantic City, where Dennis Seidenberg of the Boston Bruins brought the Chalice this week and subsequently lost it at the craps table.
• Swedish G Gustav Wesslau on playing in the AHL last year: "We had about 2,000 people at our games and it felt like the most were there to eat sausages and drink beer." Incredibly, he's talking about Springfield and not Milwaukee. [HockeyExpressen]
• Ten players that NHL.com believes are due for a bounce back season. Wouldn't Mark Streit have a bounce-back season by simply skating a shift? [NHL.com]
• Jeff Marek, who will be our Hockey Guilty Pleasures victim later today, on the Los Angeles Kings vs. Drew Doughty contract standoff: "Things should be resolved soon because as much as Lombardi may not like the situation, he's too smart to go to war with his franchise player." [The Sheet]
• Quisp on Doughty: "Most people thought this would be over by now. I predicted September 2 myself, but if I were making a prediction today, I would go with something closer to November. AEG might blink, or Doughty might, but I don't think Lombardi or Meehan are going to." [Jewels From The Crown]
• Remember when the San Jose Sharks acquired Ian White to replace the retiring Rob Blake as a top four defenseman, and then didn't bring White back? Not it's the Detroit Red Wings' turn. [Freep]
• An update on Tom Gaglardi and his bid for the Dallas Stars: "Several people I have talked to said he is in New York trying to push through all of the paperwork that needs to be pushed through, and this is a difficult time to do that. In addition to lawyers, there also are financial people involved in drawing up loans, and this is a volatile time in the financial market." [Dallas Stars Blog]
• Interesting stuff from David Shoalts on the NHL teams for sale and the fact that selling them is a bitch in this economy: "According to the anonymous investment banker, is that there are two serious bidders for the St. Louis Blues at best and neither is willing to put up enough cash to even cover the $120-million (all currency U.S.) bank debt the current owners have on the team." [Globe & Mail]
• It's 20 completely fictional, misinformed quotes from Dan Carcillo of the Chicago Blackhawks. "What I hate most is when I'm under a blanket, but my arms are pinned so I can't reach the remote or phone. Someone should invent a blanket with sleeves." [Pass It To Bulis]
• Is this a breakout year for Martin Erat on the Nashville Predators? "Most, if not all, of the aforementioned issues with Erat all boil down to one thing: Injuries. Nagging and ill-timed injuries have often dropped Erat multiple times in a season, usually when he is beginning to heat up on the stat sheet." [The Predatorial]
• Via Dmitry, a bit on Nikita Filatov: "Nikita Filatov tells SovSport he was promised a 1st or a 2nd line spot as well as PP time after a talk with" Bryan Murray. Good luck with that. [@dchesnokov]
• Cool look at the politics of retiring numbers. [Wizard of Os]
• NOT HOCKEY NO. 1: The 10 most popular McDonald's menu items ever. Arch Deluxe wuz robbed. [Vancouver Sun]
• Janne Pesonen has been invited to Winnipeg Jets camp. Can we FINALLY let the man's theme song be his goal song? [Jets Nation]
• The latest wrinkle from the ongoing Phoenix Coyotes ownership muddle? Out clauses. From Five For Howling: "Is there an end in sight? Not really. Even if the City of Glendale approves both proposed offers and can finally settle on terms with one, it's a long process towards it actually going anywhere, as we've learned the hard way too many times already. But there are reasons for some level of optimism and we can only hope that the Glendale City Council finds a way not to completely screw the pooch this time." [Five For Howling]
• In which we pretend that attendance at an exhibition game is somehow a predictor of how an NHL team would fare in Kansas City. [Slam]
• The rise and fall of the Pacific Division. [Pegasus News]
• What the New York Islanders can expect from Nino Niederreiter this season. [The Isle Informer]
• Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke on long-term contracts: "I am not opposed to long term contracts. I am opposed to contracts that don't reflect proper valuations in each year. My objection is to the back diving contracts… The contracts that back dive and falsify the cap hit; I have a problem with those and that's why we won't do them …. I would consider a long term contract for a player as long as the salary was legitimate each year of the contract. However, I think real long term contracts put too much risk on the team." [Maple Leafs Hot Stove]
• Derek Zona and the alleged "injury epidemic" that's the catalyst for further NHL rules changes. [SB Nation]
• Great stuff on the offseason for Brooks Laich of the Washington Capitals, which surprisingly offers little roadside assistance for stranded motorists. [OFB]
• NOT HOCKEY NO. 2: The worst summer movie sequels of all-time. "Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin" both make the cut. [IGN]
• Finally, the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup. MY GAWD THAT'S EDGE'S MUSIC! SPEAR SPEAR SPEAR!