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.
• Well that number certainly explains Nicklas Backstrom's playoff underachievement … [via Japers]
• Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger held a conference call Thursday in which he was unsure about being ready for the start of next season and talked about Mike Richards and the captaincy: "People can say whatever they want about Richie, but at the end of the day you have to realize it's a team sport. Actually I did see one, is Sam Donnellon on the call? He's not? I saw one headline 'Should Mike Richards step away for a year from the C?' What good does that do? That is the most ridiculous thought I have heard yet. This is on the job training for Mike." [Broad Street Hockey]
• After 19 NHL seasons, Doug Weight officially calls it quits and becomes both an assistant coach and special assistant general manager … (Garth Snow clears throat, straightens tie) … sorry, make that special assistant TO the general manager. [NYI Point Blank]
• Houses of the Hockey presents its tribute to Weight. [HOTH]
• The death of former NHLer Barry Potomski has left friends and family stunned. [Windsor Star]
• Nasty hits and "cowardly" acts in the Memorial Cup. [Buzzing the Net]
• Good stuff by Ryan Dixon on the NHL's concussion protocol, in which the chair of the concussion group admits that the 15-minute stint in the "quiet room" is a fallacy. [THN]
• Dr. David Dodick, a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic and the president of the American Headache Association, wants fighting eliminated from hockey: "How can I say that when you elbow me in the head you're going to be suspended for 10 games with a $100,000 fine, yet I can drop the gloves and you can drop the gloves and I can punch you 10 times in the head? There's an incongruence there. It's mutually contradictory that you can eliminate head hits, but you can implicitly condone fighting." [Star Phoenix]
• Kotaku on the death of the NHL 2K series. We'll have more on this on Friday. [Kotaku]
• Oh, look, Ilya Kovalchuk killed another coach. [CBC Sports]
• The Ottawa Senators coaching derby has begun! [Citizen]
• Good piece by Proteau on the Detroit Red Wings post-Brian Rafalski. [THN]
• Jon Jordan believes this picture of Marty St. Louis tells the story of what kind of player he is for the Tampa Bay Lightning. [Beasts of the Southeast]
• Nice story about the NHL sleeper cell … er, hockey fans inside the Texas Rangers locker room. [Stars]
• Hilary Duff believes Pittsburgh Penguins fans are the best in the NHL, completing her heel turn against the Islanders. [Busted Coverage]
• Kesler? Sedin? Luongo? Hacks. Everyone knows the real MVP for the Vancouver Canucks is the Rogers Arena stanchion. [Kurtenblog]
• Looking at the Sedins as potential Hall of Famers. Would they share the same plaque? [Sports Caddy]
• Thrashers fans have turned to the NHL's own bylaws to wonder if they would prevent the franchise from relocating to Winnipeg as early as next week. [SB Nation Atlanta]
• Anson Carter talks about how his bid for the Thrashers wasn't taken seriously by Atlanta Spirit. [11Alive]
• In a breakthrough of mathematical science, it appears the more the Atlanta Thrashers would win the more fans would attend their games! [Bird Watchers]
• "Completely Unfair Kessel Comparison that is Nonetheless Fun." [Lighthouse Hockey]
• "The Colorado Eagles, along with Altitude Sports & Entertainment announced [Thursday] that Game 7 of the Central Hockey League's Ray Miron Presidents' Cup Finals will be broadcast live from the Budweiser Events Center Friday night, starting at 7 p.m. (MST). The Eagles will be looking to win their third league championship in their eight seasons of existence as the take on the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in a winner-takes-all contest."
• Finally, and we've been waiting years for this, the marriage between slot hockey and hip hop: