Jarmo Kekalainen facts; NHL loses brand value; Mikko Koivu, glove thief (Puck Headlines)
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.
• Days of Y'orr gives us three minutes of Jack Edwards jumping, set to Kris Kross's jump, because they're committed to giving the people what they want. [Days of Y'Orr]
• Jarmo Kekalainen's record as a drafter is pretty amazing. In addition to almost the entire Blues core, during his time with the Senators, he pointed them to Jason Spezza, Bryan Berard, Chris Phillips, Marian Hossa, Martin Havlat, Mike Fisher, Chris Kelly, Ray Emery, Chris Neil, Brooks Laich and Sami Salo. [Sportsnet]
• Don't expect Kekalainen to go heavy on the European players just because that's where he's from. "Passport's cover page is not why or how we draft players," he told reporters in Finland. "If anything, I'm going to be even more harder on Finnish prospects. [Blue Jackets Xtra]
• Do expect Kekalainen to utilize advanced analytics to make a lot of his decision. Here's his glowing endorsement of stats from the 2012-13 Hockey Prospectus guide: 'Stats are facts...In the long run they hardly ever lie. Thorough analytical work, like that done by Hockey Prospectus, is needed to make a proper evaluation of them."[Hockey Prospectus]
Austin Krause, the goalie who scored on his own net then flipped off his coaches, via Facebook: "They played this sophomore goalie for the starter, he was terrible, I would try and talk to the coaches about this and tell them I want playing time but they never really listen to me or gave me a chance to show them that I'm a better goalie but still wouldn't trust me so I had it it with I asked a few of my players if they care if I did it and they didn't care they thought it would be funny so at the third period they dumped it in I stopped it put in my net started to skate off then flicked the coaches not the team the coaches then I saluted them then got off. My hockey season is over. I did it for myself. (Like my status) if you think the coaches should quit.” [Farmington Independent]
• There was a fight in the stands of last night's Nashville Predators/San Jose Sharks game. Relive the entire thing here through the magic of social media. [On the Forecheck]
• If you wanted to see the NHL suffer a little, and it's been frustrating to watch everything go back to normal and their ratings skyrocket after the lockout, this will warm your heart: "Consultancy firm Brand Finance, which tracks the clout of brand names in the real world, estimates that the NHL will lose nearly US$328.2 million in brand value in 2013 as fans spend less money on hockey in the coming year." [The Score]
• John Tortorella, on his team taking their NHL-leading sixth too many men penalty: "“Another too-many-men, huh? No, I don’t want to expand on it. It [stinks], what do you want me to say. It’s stupid. It [stinks]. It’s brutal. I can use a lot of different things.” [NY Post]
• Tuesday saw the debuts of Anthony Peluso and Darcy Kuemper, which gave the ECHL over 500 players graduated to the NHL. [ECHL]
• Marc-Andre Fleury has committed $500 every Penguins home game to giving four fans seats at the glass. [TribLive]
• The Ottawa Senators are foolishly attempting to minimize the number of Maple Leafs fans in attendance for their February 23rd game, which pretty much guarantees the place will have more than usual. [Toronto Star]
• The Leafs lose Matt Frattin for a week to a medical procedure related to his knee surgery last summer. [The Globe & Mail]
• Is Ryan O'Reilly really worth what he's asking? [Denver Post]
• The Boston Bruins are 8-1-2, which is even more impressive when you realize they aren't really playing all that well. [Backhand Shelf]
• Could Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson achieve the rare double, winning the Norris and the Vezina in the same season? [Senshot]
• Speaking of Erik Karlsson, he got away with a pretty excellent dive last night. [Frozen Notes]
• Watching two Alberta hockey icons in Ryan Smyth and Jarome Iginla slowing down is all kinds of depressing. [Sportsnet]
• Tye McGinn scores the decisive victory in his first NHL fight. [Broad Street Hockey]
• Mike Eruzione's game-worn jersey from the Miracle On Ice is up for auction. Will it eclipse the $1.2 million of Paul Henderson's Summit Series jersey? [The Spec]
• Hayley Wickenheiser predicts a women's pro hockey league within 10 years. [Y! Daily Brew]
• Mikko Koivu with a little but of subtle trolling here, as he snatches Alex Burrows's glove off during a line change, and then someone throws it onto the ice. Not the first time Koivu's stolen someone's equipment, and not the first time someone's thrown a glove in a Wild/Canucks game. [PITB]