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.
• As tweeted by Alex Ovechkin. Rumors of his scoring issues this year have been greatly exaggerated. [For more on Ovechkin and Maria Kirilenko, head here]
• Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman has agreed to a new contract that begins next season and runs through 2017, with an average hit of $4 million. [TBO]
• Forbes released its annual franchise valuations for the NHL: "The league's most valuable team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, is now worth $521 million and generated $81.8 million in operating income last season. The New York Rangers, who are enjoying the benefits of playing in a refurbished Madison Square Garden, earned $41.4 million last year and are the NHL's second-most valuable team, worth $507 million. And the Montreal Canadiens, placing third with a $445 million valuation, earned $47.7 million. Thus the top three teams posted an aggregate operating profit greater than the rest of the league combined." Also: "The average NHL team is worth 47% more than it was before the lockout that cancelled the 2004-05 season." [Forbes]
• Would Teemu Selanne seek a trade from the Anaheim Ducks? [OC Register]
• Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres on whether he "wouldn't mind" a trade, as was reported by the Edmonton Journal: "That implies somebody's asked me and I've never made a comment about my status with the team. My comment about my status with the team now is I'm proud to be a Sabre, I'm excited for what we can accomplish moving forward and I want to be a part of it. There's no reason for me to want to leave the situation. We have great new ownership who's excited to put a winner on the ice and I want to be a part of it. For me to want to change that situation and get out, I think the grass doesn't get much greener than it is here." [Sabres Edge]
• Spector on the Bobby Ryan trade rumors: "If the Ducks deal Ryan, or another notable player, it will only be for a return that can help them now and in the future. They won't make a trade just for the sake of doing so." [THN]
• Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Derek Joslin will have a disciplinary hearing for that questionable hit on Kris Versteeg. [NHL]
• Pierre LeBrun believes Claude Giroux is your Hart Trophy winner through the first 20 games. [ESPN]
• Mike Green on the firing of Bruce Boudreau: "It's a new chapter now, but obviously he was a great coach. Unfortunately we weren't responding here in the last couple months. I think it (Boudreau's firing) was a necessary thing, but we're definitely happy to have Dale here. He seems like an honest guy, a strict guy. That seems to be maybe what we need for guys to respond properly." [NHL]
• The latest on the "Fire Carlyle" movement for the Anaheim Ducks. [Anaheim Calling]
• A brief history of violence between Sean Avery and Tyler Kennedy. [Empty Netters]
• Controversial post from Russian Machine Never Breaks, and a bit of a heel turn against some of the fan "traditions" at Washington Capitals games. [RMNB]
• Jason Spezza appreciates your ballot box stuffing, Ottawa Senators fans. [Sens]
• Paul Maurice's message for Kirk Muller. [PHT]
• Dustin Penner is not ready to play for the Los Angeles Kings. But you already knew this. [LA Kings Insider]
• Emily Hall's heartfelt tribute to San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton, using (irony) a Boston song.
• Brenden Morrow and Trevor Daley are both still on the shelf for the Dallas Stars. [Defending Big D]
• The VERSUS numbers from last week. Not so good, but again keep in mind the loss of local numbers for the Crosby game. [Puck The Media]
• Very nice work by Kerry Fraser explaining why Matt Cooke's goal Tuesday night for the Pittsburgh Penguins was disallowed. [TSN]
• An attempt to quantify how good the Minnesota Wild are this season. [Copper & Blue]
• Setting up Wednesday night's intriguing Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs grudge match. [PPP]
• Roberto Luongo quote via Jason Botchford, on fellow Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider: "We're both No. 1s." [@BotchonCanucks]
• Here's why "Cory Schneider's hockey future has more potential twists and turns than a David Baldacci novel." [The Province]
• Igloo roof ornaments are pretty much the coolest hockey holiday idea in 2011. [Penguins]
• Ryan Kennedy of THN breaks down the World Junior roster. [THN]
• Chemmy and Lambert are ready to root root root for the USA in world juniors. [Sleeping Giant]
• The latest episode of Fake Henrik Zetterberg is up and running. Special effects wizardry this time! [FHZ]
• Finally, here are the top 10 mini-hockey plays of November. Shanahan's going to have to look at some of these hits. (BTW, this video might be our favorite thing of the week.)