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Puck Headlines: Leopold to Pittsburgh; DiPietro out 'indefinitely'

Sean Leahy
Contributing writer

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.

• The trade madness begins! The Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins kicked things off with defenseman Jordan Leopold(notes) heading to the defending Stanley Cup champions in exchange for a 2010 second-round draft pick. Pittsburgh is likely to make another move before Wednesday's 3 p.m. EST deadline as they now have an excess of defensemen. [On Frozen Pond]

• Penguins GM Ray Shero met with the agent of Sergei Gonchar(notes) in Vancouver last week and received two favorable offers. They'll resume talks about a new deal in the summer. [Tribune-Review]

• According to Jonas Siegel, don't expect Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle(notes) to waive his no-trade clause. [am640]

• Bob McKenzie reports that the Calgary Flames have signed Matt Stajan(notes) to a four-year extension in the neighborhood of $3.5 million per season. [@TSNBobMcKenzie]

• Jonathan Willis looks at 10 players likely to be moving before the trade deadline. [Hockey or Die]

• Mike Heika is reporting that Dallas Stars pest (and Puck Tracks contributor) Steve Ott(notes) has agreed to a four-year contract extension. No dollars amounts were released, but it's expected to be worth around $12 million. [Dallas Morning News]

• Tight against the salary cap, if Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland makes a move before Wednesday don't expect it to be a big splash. [Freep]

• Columbus GM Scott Howson spoke with the agent for Raffi Torres(notes) and were unable to come to an agreement about a contract extension and will likely be dealt. [Puck-Rakers]

• The Olympic trickle down effect begins. Since the Olympics started, the Nashville Predators have experience the biggest jump in ticket sales, up 10.57%. [Fansnap]

• In case you missed it over the weekend, the New York Rangers claimed goaltender Alex Auld(notes) on re-entry waivers from the Dallas Stars. [Sportsnet]

• Frank Seravelli of the Philadelphia Daily News reports that the Flyers have placed tough guy Riley Cote(notes) on waiver, opening the door for a possible move. [Frequent Flyers]

• Here we go again. Newsday's Katie Strang Tweets that New York Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro(notes) is out indefinitely with swelling in his knee. [@KatieStrangNYI]

• With Canada's win Sunday, Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal(notes) became the 23rd member of the exclusive "Triple Gold Club" now that he's added a gold medal to a resume that includes a World Championship and a Stanley Cup. [Canes Country]

• Eric Duhatschek on why Mike Babcock's approach to the overtime period was the key to Canada's victory. [CTV]

• Steven Ovadia on Sunday's gold medal game: "Today you’ll read a lot of stories about how good the Olympics will be for the NHL and how the gold medal game was great because it was played by the NHL’s best players. But the fact of the matter is, the game was great because the NHL’s best players accepted roles and executed those roles perfectly." [Puck Update]

• GOB and Michael Bluth joined Gary Bettman inside the NHL suite during the gold medal game. As soon as this picture was taken, Europe's "Final Countdown" began playing and GOB's first trick was making Bettman disappear. [Getty]

• Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the disappointment of the entire Olympic team: "Those responsible for preparing Russian athletes for the Olympics have to make a brave decision and resign." [Russia Today]

• Alexander Medvedev, the president of the KHL, told Pierre LeBrun that his league would go after Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) once he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer. [ESPN]

• B.D. Gallof asks if Alex Ovechkin(notes) is turning into Sean Penn now that another cameraperson has video of the Washington Capitals star upset that he was being filmed. [Hockey Independent]

• Congrats to Brandon, formerly of Defending Big D, on being hired to run the new hockey blog over at NBC Sports. [ProHockeyTalk]

• Breaking down the stretch run for the Ottawa Senators and asking questions about one of the hotter teams coming out of the Olympic break. [Silver Sevens]

• Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones acknowledged that he's spoken with the NHL about holding a future Winter Classic at the new Cowboys Stadium. [ESPN Dallas]

• Finally, Brian Burke speaking about Team USA's silver medal: