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.
• Tyler Ennis of the Buffalo Sabres wears a sticker on his helmet honoring former Sabres player Rick Martin before their game against the Ottawa Senators. Martin passed away, suddenly, hours before the game. Jerry Sullivan remembers former Buffalo Sabres star Rick Martin, who died of heart disease on Sunday. [Buffalo News]
• Don't worry everybody: Gary Bettman has a 5-point plan for dealing with concussions: Brendan Shanahan on equipment; benching players who appear to have concussion-like symptoms; targeting a team and a coach for repeat offenders on the Wheel of Justice; "a safety engineering firm will be used to evaluate all 30 arenas and determine what changes, if any, can and should be made to to enhance the safety of the environment"; and a blue-ribbon panel! More on this later. [NHL]
• Meanwhile, something tangible from the GM meetings: a new concussion protocol. "Under the new protocol, every player showing symptoms of a concussion must go to the dressing room and be examined by a doctor." [CP]
• Sidney Crosby, skating again, on a head-shot ban: "Banning them would be the easiest, I guess, and the safest route. But at the same time, there are times when there is going to be accidental contact and how do you deal with that. That's something that they have to work out. But as far as targeting the head, yeah. No matter if it's from the blindside or straight on, if someone targets the head, then yeah, I think that should be banned." [Penguins]
• How the NFL lockout could affect the NHL next season: "Pardon the Interruption will now go from having 1% of their program about hockey to 2%." [Dirty Dangle]
• Darren Dreger on what to expect at the GM meetings: "A two minute head-checking penalty is expected to be tabled for consideration among the breakout group discussions. This penalty would be called for any shoulder to the head contact and those who support the additional rule believe it will provide a constant reminder to players that headchecking, for safety reasons can no longer be tolerated." [TSN]
• Is 'finishing the check' necessary to the flow of the game? [Houses of the Hockey]
• Good point by Ken Campbell on the NHL's decision not to suspend Zdeno Chara: "With that, the league should have said it would immediately rescind the major penalty and game misconduct Chara received for hitting Pacioretty. If it was a hockey play, as Murphy said it was, then why exactly was interference the correct call and why would it have merited a major penalty?" [THN]
• Hey, wait a second: We've all been excited about a return of the Winnipeg Jets and they're not going to be called the Winnipeg Jets?! [Winnipeg Sun]
• If you were expecting Bob Hartley to come back to the NHL in order to tell Ilya Kovalchuk he's a good boy as New Jersey Devils coach next season, the Zurich Lions have other plans. [Puck Worlds]
• Teemu Hartikainen is up for the Edmonton Oilers. [Lowetide]
• Jody Shelley of the Philadelphia Flyers on fighting: "The meaning of a fight is to remind your teammates that 'hey, we need more energy and emotion in the game and we're not here to just surf around'." [Broad Street Hockey]
• Peter Laviolette on the Flyers' 'worst third-period choke job since 1987' against Atlanta: "The result is nauseating, but I think our guys competed in the third period." [Philly.com]
• Underestimate the Atlanta Thrashers at your own peril. [Thrasher Backer]
• Heck of a scrap between Jordin Tootoo and Ryan Wilson from over the weekend. An 8.1 via HockeyFights.com.
• The Royal Half's NHL.com "Pundays" are getting better and better. [TRH]
• The Toronto Maple Leafs put Matt Lashoff on waivers. [PPP]
• Dangerous Hockey catches up with cancer survivor Eric Naughton at Pittsburgh Penguins fantasy camp. [DH]
• Parody: Gary Bettman's response to sponsors. [Senshot]
• Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, Vancouver Canucks left wing Daniel Sedin and Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending Mar. 13. The Capitals have some goaltending questions to answer before the postseason.
• Can Pekka Rinne catch Tim Thomas in the Vezina race? [On The Forecheck]
• Ray Emery on getting back into NHL action after Dan Ellis was yanked: "Definitely, I wanted to come back and play in the NHL but I felt good enough to go for a little bit now. … It might lack the oomph. But I'm glad to get back. I wish it was under a good circumstance." [Ducks Blog]
• This kid's San Jose Sharks game reviews rule. VERSUS, HIRE THIS MAN. [Gunaxin]
• In case you missed it, here's the historic meeting between Alex Ovechkin and Pauly D from "Jersey Shore" in the Washington Capitals' dressing room on Sunday, via Homer McFanboy. Dan Steinberg has a complete rundown of the man behind "Beat Dat Beat Up" taking over Verizon Center. So, if you're keeping score: Number of Caps games Pauly D has attended: 1. Number of Caps games Obama has attended: 0.