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 Nijuuni at Deviant Art comes the cast of Kingdom Hearts II re-imagined as Canucks fans. The Green Men are Donald and Goofy, I say. Also, just out of frame, a Hot Rod has been flipped over and set on fire. [Deviant Art]
• Good news for Canuck fans: Daniel Sedin took part in practice this morning, skating hard and driving to the net. [The Province]
• Jarome Iginla on his future with the Flames: "Do I want to rebuild? Do I want to be on a team if we're going to fully rebuild? I don't know if I do." [Sportsnet]
• Marty St. Louis gets some much-deserved love for his role in helping Steven Stamkos reach the 60-goal plateau. [Tampa Bay Tribune]
• Assistant coach Tom Rowe of the Carolina Hurricanes has taken on the tough job of coaching Lokomotiv Yaroslavl's return to the KHL following last summer's tragic plane crash. [Ria Novosti]
• Eric Duhatschek on Nashville, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia: "All four teams had successful years. All were comfortably over the 100-point threshold. If any of them won the Cup, it wouldn't be a head-scratching result. And yet, two of the four will be one-and-done, eliminated two weeks in, and forced to the accept the bittersweet reality that they played only four to seven more games than the Toronto Maple Leafs or Columbus Blue Jackets. Talk about a kick in the pants." [The Globe & Mail]
• According to a report, Serge Savard is about to be named senior vice-president of hockey operations in Montreal. [Montreal Gazette]
• This is from Sunday, but it's still worth your time, especially since it marks the rare occasion Larry Brooks and John Tortorella are on the same page. "The 'arrogance' of the Pittsburgh ownership to which Tortorella referred is a sense of entitlement bestowed upon it by a league that appears more invested in protecting the Penguins than opponents who might be injured as a result of reckless plays that somehow always are deemed accidental or not worthy of NHL sanction." [NY Post]
• Here's a photo of the ice crew laying the playoff logo at Joe Louis Arena. Oh man. It feels like Christmas Eve Eve today.
• Saying goodbye to the Dallas Stars, who have reasons for optimism next season. [Defending Big D]
• Tim Thomas ended a media session Monday after being asked a question about the White House. I'm confident that will be the last we hear of this storyline. [SB Nation]
• Comparing the Thrashers to the Jets. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
• 5 reasons the Washington Capitals should be optimistic about their series with the Boston Bruins. [Washington Post]
• Johnny Oduya is playing for his brother, Fredrik, who died in a motorcycle accident last summer in Austria. [Windsor Star]
• Claude Noel feels that, if Green Bay can attract talent, then so can Winnipeg. "Green Bay (Packers) wins. What the hell's in Green Bay? You been to Green Bay? I mean, I've been to Green Bay. It's a nice town, but... Winnipeg's going to be a good place to play. I think players really like it and the response we get from our players is they love playing here. It won't be for everybody. So be it. Some guys might want to golf all year round. Go ahead." [Winnipeg Free Press]
• The Florida Panthers organization may have missed the playoffs for a decade, but there's a lot of postseason experience on the roster. [CBC]
• On Rangers' captain Ryan Callahan, who manages to fly under the radar in New York, an accomplishment that's almost as impressive as what he brings to the team. [Cave Magazine]
• Good stuff from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, who surprised Forrest Walton, a local teen with muscular dystrophy, by giving him and his family a new minivan before their game Saturday. Team officials came up with the idea after seeing a Youtube video about Walton. [WNBC]
• I'm not sure why I find this video so funny, but here's two boys raving about how many hockey pucks they stacked into a sculpture of some kind. "So we used 3 whole buckets. *claps* Woo!"