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.
• Nashville, we miss you already …
• Well-written cynical piece by Michael Grange on the Greg Jamison ownership bid for Phoenix: "According to long-time Glendale city councilor Phil Lieberman, the terms of the deal being given to Jamison -- who has partners, apparently, but wouldn't name them -- basically see him guaranteed $306 million in management fees for Jobing.com Arena over the next 21 years, or an average of $14.6 million a year. A large chunk of that money is front-end loaded, with Glendale on the hook for $92 million over the next five years." [Sportsnet]
• Claude Giroux expects the Philadelphia Flyers to thrive without him in Game 5: "The whole season, we've been playing a team game. Everybody's been playing well together. The energy that we have in the room today, it's great. I'm pretty excited to see the guys play tonight." [CSN Philly]
• How the Devils were able to neutralize Giroux. [ILWT]
• The Flyers will get a boost from the return of Andrej Meszaros. [Broad Street Bull]
• Bourne says it's time for Ilya Bryzgalov to steal a game against the New Jersey Devils, even after he sorta almost did in Game 4. [Backhand Shelf]
• Mirtle on why the regular season matters: "Even with all the parity and overtime games, a top two team in the conference is still by far the most likely to get to the final four and eventually win. And part of what makes it look like so many upsets are happening every year is the way the NHL standings are structured, with teams being rewarded with undeserved No. 3 seeds struggling to get out of the first or second round." [Globe & Mail]
• The whole "NHL owns the Coyotes and the Coyotes can win the Cup so Bettman will give the Cup to himself" thing is pretty funny … until you realize there are non-hockey people who think this is actually going to happen. [SBN]
• More ESPN disrespect of the NHL. [Sherman Report]
• Here's a handy way to piss off fans of eliminated teams, courtesy of the NHL: Send them advertisements for golf gear on the day they're eliminated: "Didn't someone on the marketing team over at the NHL stop and think that they might be making a PR blunder? Didn't someone catch the fact that the joke of a team hitting the links isn't one the league should be making, especially when trying to peddle off some merch?" [Puck Drunk Love]
• "Kurt Kleinendorst, who led the club's AHL affiliate to a Calder Cup championship in June, 2011, told Joy Lindsay of the Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin on Tuesday he won't be back behind the bench next season." [Sun]
• Ryan Kennedy profiles Seth Jones. [THN]
• Becca from Japers' rink refuses to give up on the Washington Capitals: "After seeing what we've seen, does winning two games feel impossible? Does rebounding from a loss like last night's seem out of reach? It shouldn't. Whatever happens, win or lose, it's been a hell of a ride... and I choose to believe it's not over just yet." [Japers' Rink]
• Five reasons the Nashville Predators failed in the postseason. [NHL.com]
• Here's Frank Seravelli on the Flyers fan lawsuit over the team's Winter Classic ticket policy. We'll have more in this on Wednesday. [Philly.com]
• "Jinx vs. Hockey Gods — The Definitive Article Of Faith" … an exploration of faith during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Or something like that. [Surly and Scribe]
• Great news from George Malik on former Detroit Red Wings player Shawn Burr. [Malik]
• Can Brian Burke and Mike Gillis play nice? [Globe & Mail]
• Finally, Shea Weber and Carey Price are the latest to join the You Can Play project.