CBA optimism; someone is winning Google; new Glendale mayor means business (Puck Headlines)
• I'm not sure how this happened or who's behind it, but this is what Google displays when you Google George Parros.
• Michael Grange on Donald Fehr steering the players' ship home: "Even in a best-case scenario it seems like the players are going to see their share of HRR fall from 57 percent to about 50 percent, which is a cut of about 13 percent. That's been conceded. Now the goal is simply to make sure the owners honour existing contracts, which is hardly radical. But the fact that having it be the NHLPA's line in the sand tells you just how little real leverage the players have had." [Sportsnet]
• Are the recent CBA talks the first sign of real negotiations? [ESPN]
• Bobby Ryan understands the plight of the very old. "We can't afford to lose the year. Because the sport can't. Guys can't. There's guys that are 36 and 37 years old. Teemu's 42. This has got to be painful for them. I know how bad it is at 25." [OC Register]
• Ray Ratto on what the new CBA will look like: "It will be a cobbled-together settlement that makes both sides throw up in their mouths." [CSN Bay Area]
• Benjamin Wendorf looks for an answer to the question: Who is the NHL's biggest puck hog? [NHL Numbers]
• Glendale has a new mayor. His incoming message to the Phoenix Coyotes and the other sports teams bleeding the community dry. "Glendale is not your cash register." [AZ Central]
• Not a huge shocker, but evidence of how badly CBC is hurting during the lockout. Viewership on Saturday nights -- i.e., "Hockey Night in Canada" -- is down by as much as 85 percent. [CBC]
• Helmet wars: Reebok-CCM takes issue with Bauer's claims that its new helmet is the only one that reduces rotational acceleration. Phil Dube, the general manager of Reebok-CCM hockey: "When I visit retailers, the first thing I hear is about the RE-AKT helmet doing something no other helmet does. Some of our helmets are better and superior to that helmet designed for that particular kind of protection. The advertising is misleading consumers and retail customers. The best helmet is the one that fits the best." [Forbes]
• Bruce Boudreau is the victim of another strange Google return. Someone explain this to me:
• 10 ways hockey fans can spend New Year's Day, now that there's no Winter Classic to keep them occupied. [Clattertron]
• Neat story about a 94-year-old World War II veteran that dropped the puck at a recent Halifax Mooseheads game. [CBC]
• Daniel Sedin on Kevin Bieksa's workout regimen: "He does a lot of bicep curls. For an hour, he'll be on biceps." [The Province]
• You knew this one was coming: How the success of Nate Silver applies to data-driven hockey writing. [Edmonton Journal]
• Hey, remember the guy looking for proof of a goalie's historic two-goal game? He's still looking, and how he's even willing to accept an oral history. Someone help this man! [Cottage Country]
• It sounds like Max Talbot will be heading to Tampere to play for Ilves of the Finnish Elite League. [PHT]
• And finally, massive hit by University of Michigan defenseman Jacob Trouba. Like, massive.
