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 Bleacher Creatures dolls for Vancouver Canucks stars Daniel and Henrik Sedin. As Capitals Outsider said: "Bleacher Creatures really going out of their way to distinguish the Henrik doll from the Daniel."
• S.O.B. Graham James pleads guilty to sexual assault charges involving two former players, including Theo Fleury. [CP]
• Looking back at "a budding coach and a predatory pedophile." [Winnipeg Free Press]
• Goalie controversy brewing in Chicago? Ray Emery gets his third straight appearance at the Islanders on Thursday night over starter Corey Crawford. Said Coach Q: "If you look at all the teams in the league, every goalie that wasn't a starter gets a chance to get a couple of games in a row and sometimes even more. In the course of the season you're going to see some things where the other guy gets multiple starts." [Tribune]
• Really interesting move by the Columbus Blue Jackets: "The Columbus Blue Jackets have named Craig Patrick, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and two-time Stanley Cup champion, as senior advisor, hockey operations for the National Hockey League club, Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Scott Howson announced today." [Jackets]
• Pierre LeBrun gazes at the navel-gazing GM award for the NHL, and somehow puts Chuck Fletcher ahead of Dale "Jigsaw Puzzle" Tallon. [ESPN]
• From The Royal Half: "New LA Kings Sideline Reporter Knows Nothing About Hockey" [TRH]
• How the Detroit Red Wings could have ended up with a Pavel Bure, Wayne Gretzky and Sergei Fedorov line. [Nightmare on Helm Street]
• According to this entry on Craigslist, Kevin Bieksa's tooth can be yours for $500: "This is Bieksa's missing tooth from the Canucks vs. Avalanche game December 6, 2011. My uncle is one of the zamboni technicians at the pepsi centre over in colorado and one of the junior ice resurfacers found the tooth while doing their thing this evening and put it in his coffee as a joke not realizing what it was or the potential value it may carry. As my uncle could care less about hockey and the Canucks (he likes to keep work at work) he is sending me this priceless piece of memorabilia. With Christmas just around the corner, make that special Canucks fan happy by giving them this tooth commemorating Bieksa's stellar performance tonight, with the epic win of 6-0 over the avalanche on their own ice." Slight problem: The game was in Vancouver. [Craigslist]
• One of our favorite reads of the day: One fan's experiences at a Swiss A League game, and some differences between fans there and in Canada. [Fictionalized Truth in Motion]
• The top 20 jerseys in Shop.NHL.com sales for Nov. 2011. One player from the Pacific Time Zone. Many Bruins. [The Big Lead]
• Roman Hamrlik of the Washington Capitals is a game-time decision for the Capitals. [Capitals Insider]
• Defenseman Michael Sauer is day-to-day with a concussion for the New York Rangers, which is the last thing the Sauer family probably wanted to hear given his brother's status. [Blueshirts Blog]
• Filip Kuba will be on the shelf for up to a month for the Ottawa Senators with a shoulder injury. [Slam]
• The NHL Situation Room has some spiffy new bells and whistles. Not pictured: Mike Murphy's inherent bias against the Canucks.
• Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis announced today that the Canucks have recalled left wing Bill Sweatt from the Chicago Wolves on emergency recall. Victor Oreskovich has been re-assigned to Chicago. [Canucks]
• The news that Bernie Parent will play for the Flyers alumni team is just awesome. Wear. The. Mask. [NHL]
• JVR is back for the Flyers. [Frequent Flyers]
• Kristian Huselius will miss "weeks" with a groin injury. [Portzline]
• Nerd Alert: Mirtle uses advance stars to evaluate the Toronto Maple Leafs' start. [Globe & Mail]
• A Dallas Stars perspective on the Krys Barch trade: "The guess is that this is more about freeing up roster spots for when Adam Burish comes back soon, and allowing Krys Barch the opportunity to get NHL minutes. For the trouble the Stars get their 6th round pick upgraded to a 5th rounder, basically. (The Stars have done quite well in that 5th round in recent years)." [Defending Big D]
• No time for politics on world juniors rosters. [THN]
• How realignment leveled the playing field in the NHL. [Edmonton Journal]
• How the Rangers, Islanders and Devils were screwed by realignment. [NY Post]
• If you'd like to read more about the Ryan Lambert vs. John Steigerwald showdown from Tuesday, check out Awful Announcing and Get To Our Game, which wasn't exactly a fan of Lambert's.
• Finally, it's Episode 6 of Fake Henrik Zetterberg, featuring a wonderful stock music track: