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.
• Remember Leahy's The 7 on Thursday, with the All-Star campaign videos? Via reader Heinz: "Did you recognize how funny Ottawa is spelled in the Lightning video?"
• Brendan Shanahan paid a visit to the Philadelphia Flyers practice facility today to swing his Shanahammer like the mighty Thor speak with them about the right and wrong way to hit opponents. Said Braydon Coburn: "Obviously they deal with a lot of hits every night. I think he just wanted to show us some examples. So far, I think at the quarter-point of the year, some of the bad ones and why they were bad and some examples of good hits." [Philly Sports Daily]
• Paul Holmgren on the Chris Pronger concussion vs. the mystery virus: "We didn't know what we were dealing with then, and I'm not sure we do now. But concussion-like symptoms continue to persist and we're going to get him checked." [Broad Street Bull]
• Brian Burke things everyone in the media is a moron. Which is problematic when your team is now owned by the media. [QMI]
• Does the Bell/Rogers ownership of the Toronto Maple Leafs mean the end of HNIC on CBC? "Part of me is saddened that Saturday night hockey on CBC may be no more. It's a Canadian institution and their production values are second to none. That said, the program has stagnated for years, the on-air "talent" is an embarrassment, and more often than not I watch the games on mute so I don't have to hear Jim Hughson's affectations and Glen Healy's horrific combination of smug, snark and stupid." [Bitter Leaf Fan]
• After a strong game against the Ottawa Senators, it's sink or spear … er, swim for Alex Ovechkin. [Capitals Insider]
• U.S. hockey ratings news; the VERSUS pre and postgame shows aren't exactly drawing eyes quite yet. [Puck The Media]
• Give yourself some time to read this Sportsnet Magazine remembrance of the Lokomotiv tragedy. [Sportsnet]
• New York Rangers forwards Artem Anisimov was remorseful the day after his gun taunt of the Tampa Bay Lightning: "I never do this celebration again, it's a good lesson for me. I do some different stuff I have in my pocket, no more shooting. I grow up in Yaroslavl, one guy, he score goals, he's a defenseman, and every goal he celebrates like this. I watch him and I like it and I tell myself when I'm going to play in the NHL and I score a goal I do the same thing." If only he had played the Yaroslavl tribute card last night … [Rangers Rants]
• Michael Sauer will not be traveling with the New York Rangers to Buffalo due to his concussion. [Blueshirt Banter]
• The Los Angeles Kings place Ethan Moreau on waivers to make room for Willie Mitchell and also because he's Ethan Moreau. [LA Kings Insider]
• Sad times for the Kings. [Royal Half]
• Teemu Selanne's latest blog (check the first comment here): "I need to tell one funny about the super fans. After a practice we went to have a lunch to a local restaurant. After the lunch the waiter came to tell me that those 2 young girls in the corner asked if they could get the bones from the chicken. I looked at the waiter for a while stunned and said "Okey"" On their way out, the girls came to say thanks for the bones and were very excited. I wonder if the bones are still storaged somewhere, hahahaha.'" [Battle of California]
• Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Beau Bennett is out six weeks with a wrist injury at Denver University. [CHN]
• Big pickups for the Canada WJC team. [Buzzing The Net]
• Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings has a lower body injury. [Malik]
• So good to have Eric Duhatschek back: "Arguably, no team makes more news than the Anaheim Ducks who this week, on the heels of a coaching change, took it on the chin from goaltender Jonas Hiller, who hasn't exactly been setting the world afire with his play either. Hiller blasted his teammates for their mediocre play and while he was pretty much spot on in his comments, he didn't include himself in the assessment." [Globe & Mail]
• NBC believes it's going to be a long road to challenging ESPN's supremacy. [AdAge]
• Pretty cool news about the NHL All-Star Weekend: "All the NHL Trophies including the Stanley Cup, the Hart Memorial Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Vezina Trophy will travel down the Rideau Canal Skateway to officially commence the All-Star festivities. The Trophies begin the procession at Waverly St. and will exit the Skateway on Daly Ave. to enter the Ottawa Convention Centre marking the opening of the Scotiabank NHL Fan Fair. Fans of all ages are encouraged to line the Skateway between Waverly St. and Daly Ave. to watch as these historic trophies make their way down the Rideau Canal Skateway." [Senators]
• Nik Antropov and Randy Jones are back for the Jets. [QMI]
• The best part about the Rogers/Bell deal, of course, is that they're proud Canadians corporations. [Toronto Sun]
• Longshot candidate to be the next president of MLSE? Tim Leiweke, who runs the Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the Anschutz empire. [Globe & Mail]
• The Puck Stops Here didn't consider Daniel Alfredsson a Hall of Famer. Now he does. What happened? "Daniel Alfredsson is the face of the Ottawa Senator franchise. He has moved beyond 1000 career points in a situation where he would likely have had more points were it not for playing in a low scoring era. A lockout occurred in the prime of his career. He was a late starter in his NHL career and took several years to be healthy enough to regularly play a full season. That makes him a Hall of Fame player. It would be a very nice story if he is voted a starter in the 2012 All Star Game, but with or without that honor he should make the Hall of Fame. The fact that a compelling nostalgia case for Alfredsson can be made shows how valuable he has been to the Ottawa Senator franchise and that is evidence of a Hall of Fame career." [TPSH]
• Finally, Zac Rinaldo had an eventful night for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and then including a headshot on Robert Bortuzzo that concussed him and this hit to the back of Simon Despres [Pensblog]