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.
• That right there is a thing of beauty. [@NHLJets]
• The Los Angeles Kings buried three pennies under their ice for good luck. What else should they have buried with them? [The Royal Half]
• Interesting bit of controversy out of Detroit, as the Detroit Red Wings have inked a big-money deal that makes Amway the "presenting sponsor" for the team, i.e. "The Detroit Red Wings, Brought To You By Amway." Gordon Fall of Hockey Independent goes in-depth in this relationship and why he feels it's a terrible move for the franchise: "Truly disgusting. In every sense of the word, this is a shot at the Red Wings' fanbase. If you're reading this, and care about the Red Wings, you should be outraged. If you don't care about the Red Wings but still root for another team, you too should be outraged. Or if you merely care about morality in business, and where to draw the proverbial line, you must care about this story." [Hockey Indie]
• Why would the Wings "sully their brand with Amway's dubious reputation?" Crains is thinking it has something to do with their desire for a new arena in Detroit. [Crains]
• Vancouver Police chief on riots: "The number of officers that could have plausibly been deployed that night wouldn't have made a difference with a crowd of 155,000 of that demographic, young hooligans who were drinking all day." [Global]
• An open letter to Ted Leonsis about the abuse Alex Semin is taking, and Ted Leonsis' response: "Alex Semin is a highly valued player on our team; he gets to play lots of minutes; he is one of our highest paid players— he is highly regarded; his numbers in the playoffs are quite strong; if someone would bother to check." [Make Lemons]
• Any money Wade Belak was going to win on "Battle of the Blades" was going to be donated to Tourette's Syndrome Clinic at Toronto Western Hospital. A charity drive in his memory is underway to raise money for that cause. [Wade Belak Memorial Charity Drive]
• Belak's mother confirms her son battled depression and "the only thing I can tell you is he did not die of natural causes. But other than that, they are still investigating, and I don't know anything more than that. I guess, in the next few days, things will come out — but right now, that's all I can tell you." [National Post via CBC Sports]
• Meanwhile, Mark Seidel, a chief scout for North American Central Scouting and columnist for The Hockey News, has written the following on Twitter: "Wade Belak did not kill himself and any suggestion to the contrary is simply wrong. As time passes, the truth will emerge. RIP my friend. Can't say much about Wades death but when it is all said and done, I believe that this will be ruled a horrible accident. Sorry 4 vagueness."
• Funeral arrangements for Belak in Tennessee. [Tennessean]
• Very nice remembrance of Belak. [NHL Hot Stove]
• After signing a big deal with Nike, Alex Ovechkin arrives in D.C. using every piece of a equipment Bauer makes. Whatever could that announcement be next week?! [Capitals Insider]
• Examining fighting in the CHL, and the debate raging over it. [Buzzing The Net]
• Quite a way for Vancouver to Begin the season. [Canucks Army]
• Hockey Canada explains its rules changes for the coming season with music from a Michael Bay film, apparently.
• Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning on head shots: "I just don't think it should matter whether a guy gets hurt or not. If it's a shot to the head, it shouldn't depend on if a guy is out with a concussion and misses a year or if he's out for that shift. It should be standard. You get hit in the head, it's a head shot and you have to deal with it." [Lightning Strikes]
• With regard to Dustin Byfuglien's boating arrest, Deadspin believes making light of the drunken operation of a vehicle is no laughing matter. Seriously, it never is. Except maybe here. [Deadspin]
• Dustin Byfuglien could have trouble getting through the Canadian border unless they widen the doors. [Winnipeg Free Press]
• Stat Nerd-Gasm: Dave takes on Neil Greenberg over zone starts. May require a protractor. [Japers' Rink]
• The top 10 reasons Lubomir Visnovsky of the Anaheim Ducks was dissed for the Norri, including how "rotten" the Ducks were defensively: "How can an outstanding defenseman play for a team that gets outshot by 314 shots over the course of a season? The Ducks had tons of rotten outings in the shot department, and Lubo was dressed for all of them. You might use the term "stingy" for Detroit, Nashville, or Boston, but not Anaheim -- even though it was other defensemen who were doing the shot bleeding, Lubo suffers by association." [BoC]
• The top goal-scoring seasons for players over 40 … and one over 50. [Eye On Hockey]
• After seeing these Dallas Stars mock-up jerseys, we're not sure we want that dude from the Texas Rangers buying them after all. [Razor]
• We salute these young hockey heroes for the NCAA. [Journal]
• Finally, here's Trevor Gillies discussing how his MMA training prepares him for the season. What does he experience at the gym? "Straight insanity." Well that explains it.