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 Elliotte Friedman's 30 Thoughts: "Sounds like Mikhail Grabovski, agent Gary Greenstin and the Toronto Maple Leafs are playing a game of contract chicken. The Maple Leafs don't want to go above $5 million, but it appears as if the player/agent equate value with the team's highest-paid forward, Phil Kessel ($5.4 million). Who's going to blink first?" [CBC]
• New York Rangers forward Ruslan Fedotenko on the Dominic Moore hit that earned him a fine but no suspension: "Intent was there. The puck was not near me. We're trying to eliminate those plays from the game." [ESPN NY]
• In defense of Joel Quenneville: "Forced to choose, a bigger onus for the Blackhawks' ineptitude of late falls on Bowman than Quenneville. The defensively deficient roster Bowman put together created this problem more than anything Quenneville has or hasn't done." [Tribune]
• Lindy Ruff returns to the Buffalo Sabres bench tonight wearing a "flak jacket-type of design" to protect his ribs from further injury and in case a columnist from the Buffalo News tries to rhetorically shank him after another loss. [Sabres Edge]
• Interim coach Todd Richards on the Rick Nash speculation: "It doesn't matter if you're in our position or you're the (first-place) New York Rangers. Every team is trying to improve their team this time of year. I don't spend enough time in the (dressing) room to pick up vibes, but at this stage it seems it's hard on everyone." [Puck-Rakers]
• Dellow explains why the Andy Sutton deal by the Edmonton Oilers is yet another Steve Tambellini mistake. [mchockey79]
• Scott Gomez and assistant coach Randy Ladouceur get into a long and intense shouting match during Montreal Canadiens practice. Gomez said he "simply messed up an exercise" which led to the spat. Boy, score one goal and it all goes to your head … [CP]
• Pizzo looks at the other two teams tied with the Detroit Red Wings in winning 20 straight games on home ice. "Take this into consideration, the year the Bruins set their record: The ice surface was expanded to 200 feet x 65 feet, Off-side was implemented, and players were now allowed forward passing in the offensive zone (lucky them!)" [Backhand Shelf]
• The Bruins and defenseman Johnny Boychuk have agreed on a three-year contract extension, according to sources. The annual cap hit is $3.36 million, a source told ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun. [ESPN Boston]
• Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins gets the Michael Farber treatment in SI: "[After the Cup, linemate Tyler Seguin] and I went on a bit of a tear, partying pretty much every night for a while. I went home and kinda continued it. I thought [winning a championship] was something that might never happen, so I was trying to take it all in, enjoy it.... My dad sat me down and sorta gave me a lashing. He told me if we win two of the next three years, he'd leave me alone." [SI]
• Good ratings news for NBC: "600k viewers was NBC Sports Network's most-watched Sunday night NHL game ever, and the second most-watched hockey game on NBC Sports Network since opening night (Blackhawks-Penguins on 12/20/11 delivered 634,000 viewers).The viewership for Flyers-Red Wings is up 38 percent compared to the 2010/11 exclusive time period NHL game average on NBC Sports Network." [Puck The Media]
• Mike Keenan wants a coaching job, and takes a stand for old guys behind the bench: "I would venture a guess that the New Jersey Devils would have made the playoffs if Jacques was there all season. That's not a negative comment on John (MacLean); he was just very inexperienced. And I have no idea why they got rid of Hitchcock in Columbus." [NHL.com]
• Tampa Bay Lightning founder Phil Esposito on Tuesday said an autopsy showed his daughter, Carrie, died of an abdominal aneurysm. [Lightning Strikes]
• On the Cup-or-bust Vancouver Canucks. [White Cover Magazine]
• Kevin Bieska apparently has an irresistible tush. [PITB]
• Nice piece by Gary Lawless on Evander Kane's maturity this season, and the lessons the Winnipeg Jets star is learning. [Free Press]
• Larry Brooks confirms the New York Rangers have spoken to the Columbus Blue Jackets about Nash, wonders about the team hurting its chemistry with a big trade and speculates that Derek Stepan and/or Ryan McDonagh would have to be part of a package the other way. [NY Post]
• The Cannon on what the Jackets should want out of a Nash trade: "So it makes the most sense to find a goalie by trade, and who would command a better return than Rick Nash? Of teams rumored to have interest in Nash, the Kings could offer Jonathan Bernier and the Canucks could pick their future with Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider. Both teams also have some defensemen that would interest the Jackets and could certainly include a pick or prospect as both teams have their eyes on the Stanley Cup." [The Cannon]
• Days of Y'Orr offers some funny NHL V-Day cards. [DoY'Orr]
• Dirty Dangle gets its V-Day on as well; love the Cheechoo card. [Dirty Dangle]
• National Geographic Channel has a new web series premiering this Thursday, February 16th, called "Beyond the Puck," which "offers a rare glimpse into the life of Andrew Ference, NHL hockey player for the Boston Bruins and his eco-friendly way of life at home and on the road." They settled on "Beyond the Puck" after debating "S—t Tim Thomas Flips Past on the Way To Watch FOX News" for weeks. Check out the trailer.
• Finally, this is the first sled hockey checking highlight reel we've ever run or knew existed:
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