Puck Headlines: Tim Thomas trade talk; how was Crosby’s injury missed?
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.
• Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings, after his head was shrunken by an Ottawa-based witch doctor.
• Hey, there must be a raging debate about his health and future with the Penguins because Pens TV has footage of Sidney Crosby skating. [PensTV]
• Cam Cole on Crosby's neck injury: "That said, it is beyond comprehension that hockey's No. 1 commodity — with access, one would (perhaps erroneously) assume, to the very best, cutting-edge specialists and medical diagnosticians; the kind that are instantly available, like magic, to professional sports teams — could have gone more than a year with a broken neck before anyone noticed." [National Post]
• Dejan Kovacevic on Sid's injury: "All concerned would benefit from a come-to-Mario moment right about now, and the word Sunday that Lemieux and Crosby watched the All-Star events on TV at Lemieux's place might be an encouraging precursor. If nothing else, it could be a sign that Crosby doesn't blame the Penguins for failing to diagnose a BROKEN NECK." [Tribune]
• In which the debate over global warming is somehow linked to Sidney Crosby's concussion: "With climate, as with hockey, people seem to be waiting for the definitive A-leads-to-B line to be drawn for them. But just as it's impossible to link one hurricane in Florida to climate change, doctors cannot say with absolute certainty that any one hit, or even any one concussion, leads to long-term brain damage and functional decline. In climatology as in medicine, science is rarely an open-and-shut case. Certainties reside in mathematics, not science. And waiting for scientific certainty when lives are on the line almost always has a very high cost." [Climate Central, via Adam Gretz]
• Steven Ovadia with a critical look at where the events-driven NHL is headed under John Collins: "Is Collins creating hockey fans or is he tricking people into watching a few select games, only to return to their non-hockey ways?" [Puck Update]
• The Puck Stops Here adds Tim Thomas to his list of active Hall of Famers. [TPSH]
• Peter Chiarelli puts an end to the Tim Thomas trade rumors. He's not going anywhere. OK, maybe on Glenn Beck TV at some point. [TSN]
• Carey Price, Scott Hartnell and Corey Perry may have washed off the douche at the All-Star Game in the eyes of some fans. [Raw Charge]
• Ellen Etchingham on the NHL All-Star Game, sharing a thought with Mr. Jeff Marek: "Here's a radical, ridiculous idea: the NHL All-Star Game should raise money for hockey causes." [Backhand Shelf]
• The Washington Capitals have signed forward Joel Rechlicz to an entry-level contract and recalled him and forward Cody Eakin from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), vice-president and general manager George McPhee announced today. Rechlicz on a Dale Hunter team? Yes please. [Hockey Fights]
• Nice piece on Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars getting some national love at the All-Star Game. [Defending Big D]
• Great news for the Minnesota Wild: Guillaume Latendresse is back at practice. [Hockey Wilderness]
• Plan the parade: The Flames sent minor-league blueliner John Negrin to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for forward Akim Aliu. [QMI]
• Comparing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Gabriel Landeskog and Sean Couturier: "Landeskog is taking on the toughs with the best the Avs can offer and he's been outstanding. Nugent-Hopkins is taking on third level competition with the best his team has to offer and he's getting owned. Couturier faces the easiest possible competition with the worst possible linemates and keeps his head above water." [Copper & Blue]
• Toronto Maple Leafs center Mikhail Grabovski, Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne and Ottawa Senators right wing Daniel Alfredsson and have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending Jan. 29. [NHL]
• Drake's big score at the All-Star Game? A Geno Malkin stick. [Contact Music]
• Finally, here's Scott Hartnell and Joffrey Lupul with some in-game commentary from the NHL All-Star Game. "Saaaaaave Quicker!":
