Krejci criticizes Czechs; Broken hand for Martin; Olympic fatigue? (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.
• Team Finland is all Olli, all the time, in the most terrifying photo you'll see today. [@maximustacitus]
• Zach Parise criticized the USA's play versus Canada, and it was interpreted as a shot at coach Dan Bylsma. So Parise clarified: “I never took a shot at Dan and I never would. I said we were passive as a team, not playing a passive system. We seemed slow as a group that particular game [against Finland]. Dan did a great job coaching us and preparing us for all of the games, along with the other coaches. They put in a lot of work." [Star Tribune]
• David Krejci is less reticent about criticizing the Czech preparation: "We didn't even know what we were doing at some points," he said. [Milford Daily]
• Paul Martin broke his hand in Sochi. He's out 4-6 weeks. [NHL]
• Hockey's "code" is crumbling. Is it time to let it go? [Pittsburgh Magazine]
• A 2012 study found that "for every player an N.H.L. club sent to the Olympics, the club’s goal differential dropped by 0.088 of a goal per game compared with its performance before the Games." Not good for the teams that sent seven or more players. [NY Times]
• Unsurprisingly, ice hockey was the most tweeted-about sport of the Winter Olympics. Two-man bobsled was robbed. [SF Gate]
• If the Rangers have to choose between retaining Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi, both unrestricted free agents, they should keep Girardi. [North Jersey]
• Steve Moore was entitled to $220,000 in disability from the NHL, but only if he dropped his lawsuit. He asked the NHL to waive that clause in the CBA. They said no. [CBC]
• No surprise here: Edmonton would like to have Shea Weber. I think it's because he's good, and none of their current defensemen really are. [On the Forecheck]
• Handing out a few more medals to the hockey players in Sochi. [Grantland]
• Jamie Benn returns to the Dallas Stars an Olympic gold medallist. But it's one thing to win with Team Canada, when you're a role player on the deepest team around. In Dallas, he's the guy. Can he lead his team into the playoffs? [Defending Big D]
• Will David Legwand be traded? It's sort of up to him since he has a no-trade, but no one's talking to him right now. [Nashville Post]
• Justin Trudeau, who could be Canada's next prime minister, is in trouble for a joke he made about Ukraine. He joked that Russia could channel its disappointment over how they did in men's hockey by intervening. [CTV News]
• The LA Kings watched Canada vs. the USA. It was filmed. Here are the top 5 GIFs. [The Royal Half]
• Senators fan Gary has an awesome customer service experience, and writes about it. [The 6th Sens]
• Wherein John Tortorella and Mike Sullivan give Dan Hamhuis the nastiest staredown of all time. [PITB]
• Goaltender Jared Rutledge of the USHL was the last one to touch the puck before his opponents screwed up a pass and saw it go the length of the ice and into the empty net. In other words: he scored, thanks to one of hockey's dumbest, most inflexible rules. [Buzzing the Net]
• Hockey by Design, one of our favourite hockey design blogs, has a store now. Get cool-looking stuff from a guy that knows cool-looking stuff. [HBD]
• Nashville Predators announcer Pete Weber talks about his heart attack. [Predators]
• Finally, here's yet another story on David Backes' two new Russian dogs.
