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.
• From our resident digital mischief-maker John Schultz.
• Apparently it's Andrew Shaw's world and we're all just living in it. In praise of the Chuck Norris/Gary Roberts-esque "Shaw Facts" that took over social media for the Chicago Blackhawks rookie. [Sun Times and Chicago Now]
• Good piece on the "homecoming" for the Florida Panthers players as they head to Chicago this week. Kris Versteeg: "It's something I've been looking forward to. I want to see the banner, one a lot of us didn't get to see get raised. I still haven't seen it. Hopefully we have a big game as well. There's no bitterness. It was business. I'm happy where I'm at." [On Frozen Pond]
• Dennis Veteri, the Winter Classic brawl suspect, posts bail. [AP]
• Who will Zdeno Chara draft first in the NHL All-Star Game fantasy draft? "The Bruins' Chara and Ottawa's Alfredsson were both selected as captains for the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Game, which will be played Jan. 29 at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. Alfredsson has already said he'd pick Senators' teammate Erik Karlsson at the first opportunity. That means Chara will have the chance to select either Bruins goalie Tim Thomas or right wing Tyler Seguin with his first pick." [NHL.com]
• Steve Staios. Healthy scratch. No revenge for you, Flyers. [CSN Philly]
• Kris Letang is finally back for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. [Pens]
• Why were Nicklas Lidstrom and Teemu Selanne not penalized for "skipping" the All-Star Game? The NHL's Rob Blake explains: "There's only a few (players) each year that have earned that right and those two guys have definitely represented the league a number of times and been outstanding players," said Blake. "A lot goes into how they're feeling for their run down the stretch. You obviously want them to be ready for their team especially—a guy like Nick Lidstrom is continuously in conference finals and Stanley Cup finals, the amount of games he plays. ... Those two guys have earned more respect from their years of service in the league." [CP, via Malik]
• Adam Proteau makes the case for combining the Winter Classic and the All-Star Game, and eventually gets to the reason why it's a bad idea for the NHL: "The NHL is fortunate to have stumbled upon another corporate cash cow like the Winter Classic, but it's unlikely to discard the All-Star Game's positive effect on hockey-related revenue simply because the WC has added to the league's bottom line." [THN]
• The future of the ECHL Wheeling Nailers is uncertain as the team is for sale. Man, hoping for the best there. Great little hockey town. [Tribune Democrat]
• The latest USA Today power rankings and awards watch; Jonathan Toews and Evgeni Malkin in a dead heat for the Hart. [USA Today]
• Oh noes! Goaltending controversy for the Boston Bruins? "Tim Thomas allowed four goals to Tampa Bay on Tuesday night, and putting Thomas in net tonight pretty much violates Boston's recent string of "I got next" goaltender selection. But that's not really an issue. What is an issue is that, with the Bruins heading home to face the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers on Saturday, Tuukka Rask suddenly looks like the go-to goalie." [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
• The Los Angeles Kings have found their offensive aggression under Darryl Sutter. [LA Kings Insider]
• Here's the creeptastic Taylor Hall discussing his head injury.
• The Monster is in for James Reimer tonight against the Wild. [QMI]
• Gary Bettman gets the Q&A treatment in Anaheim, saying this about the last lockout: "I'm not sure it's about learning lessons, because the lesson that everybody knows — and it's not one you have to learn — is that you want to not have work stoppages. They're not fun. They're counter productive. But if, if you're in a situation as we were where there were fundamental problems that had to be addressed, you have to address the problems. Because you can't live with a dysfunctional system. And so, it's not that we learned anything, it's that we did what we had to do at the time and obviously, if you look back over the last six and a half seasons, the league is in a stronger position when we started collective bargaining on that agreement." [View From My Seats]
• The Ottawa Senators are winning, so Bryan Murray wants to go shopping. [Silver Seven]
• Quote of the year candidate from Blake Wheeler of the Winnipeg Jets, when asked what taking a slap shot to the throat felt like: "It felt like I got a slap shot in the throat." [Globe & Mail]
• Brandon Yip is claimed on waivers by the Nashville Predators, who do an interesting little thing with their press release: Adding "instant analysis" to it. "The Brandon Yip acquisition is a low-risk, high-reward move for the Preds …" [Predators]
• Finally, we weren't sure about that Tampa mascot vs. Bruins fan thing being legit or a bit; this "streaker" is a bit. And, frankly, something we want to watch after consuming hallucinogens.