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.
• This is the de-Slugging of the Buffalo Sabres arena, as the First Niagara Center expunges the last vestiges of the regrettable angry cashew. Sept. 19 is "Slug Appreciation Day," as fans that wear their slug gear to that night's preseason game get 41-percent on new merch. [JeremyWGR, via Alexander Szczesny]
• Milan Lucic's marketing rep, Cleon Daskalakis, tells the Boston Globe that a report in a competing paper was inaccurate about what he said to police after a dispute with his girlfriend. "What he was saying was, 'Do you know who I am? I would never do something like that. … If anything, he lacks the idea that he's special or gifted." [Boston.com]
• Brad Marchand's contract talks are "day by day" with the Boston Bruins as he starts informal skates without a deal. [The Bruins Blog]
• Remember: Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey is open and ready to help you win money. [Y! Fantasy]
• Adam Proteau on the vindication of Eric Lindros, thanks to the NHL's current debate over player safety issues. Perhaps there's still a chance to have Eric achieve his dream of an NHL were you never have to look up while you're skating. [THN]
• Holy cow: How police found Alex Galimov alive after the KHL plane crash. [Alex Ovetjkin]
• Jes Golbez, an old blogging buddy from the FanHouse days, was arguably Pavol Demitra's biggest fan. Here's his tribute to the hockey great. [Hockey Rants]
• There's a memorial planned for the Lokomotiv plane crash victims at the Florida Panthers' arena. [Facebook]
• "ESPN Disrespectfully Minimizes Coverage Of Lokomotiv Plane Crash." [Thrashing The Blues]
• The AHL is coming to Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall for their All-Star Game, ensuring this will be the most well-covered all-star game by the media in the League's history. Our only question: What's the AHL's take-home after Nucky Thompson's cut? [AHL]
Really nice work here from JJ in Kansas on "Mourning a Tragedy, Grieving for an Individual." [Winging It in Motown]
• Brilliance from The Pensblog: Rejected NHL 12 features, including Max Talbot mode — "NHL 12 takes you inside the mind of Max Talbot in this mode. Skate around aimlessly and look for women in the stands to flirt with instead of playing hard. If you score a couple big playoff goals, you can ride that for the remainder of your contract." [tPb]
• Wait, for all the political strife over the issue, Karl Alzner of the Washington Capitals might take the visor off? [Capitals Insider]
• Looking back at a lesser-know aviation tragedy that hit the hockey world. [Pelletier]
• A final goodbye to those who died in the plane crash. [Blueline Station]
• Darren Eliot's heartfelt farewell to Brad McCrimmon. [SI.com]
• The Lokomotiv will not be derailed by tragedy. [From Russia With Glove]
• From The New Yorker: "Hockey's summer had turned hellish—this time, at least, through no fault of its own." [New Yorker]
• In remembrance of Boogaard, Rypien and Belak. [Ovechtrick]
• Victor Oreskovich is back with the Vancouver Canucks on a 1-year, 2-way deal for $605,000. (That's a lot of oreos.) [Nucks Misconduct]
• The Pittsburgh Penguins sign Richard Park in an aggressive move to prepare star players for 2018 Winter Games. [Penguins]
• BREAKING: Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced today that the Coyotes have acquired goaltender Marc Cheverie from the Florida Panthers in exchange for center Justin Bernhardt.
• Evander Kane and Blake Wheeler arrive in Winnipeg flying on the back of Dustin Byfuglien, [QMI]
• Clearly, this is a Jaromir Jagr superfan that's just gone out of his mind. [Sean's Ramblings]
• Finally, darn good to see Captain Serious back on the ice and showing young whippersnappers a thing or two about a thing or two.