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Puck Headlines: Winter Classic 2012; Patrick Kane at center

Greg Wyshynski

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.

• Huzzah! The New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers have finally, finally, finally been confirmed for Jan. 2 at Citizens Bank Park. [AP]

• Regarding Winter Classic tickets: Flyers season-ticket holders yet first crack, and the capacity prediction is about 50,000 for hockey. [Broad Street Bull]

• The official release on HBO's "24/7" on the Winter Classic, unofficially titled "The %%@$#% John #@%!% Tortorella @%!#% Show, Brooksie." [NHL]

• Don't worry Barry Melrose fans, just because he's on NHL Network doesn't mean you won't hear his genius on ESPN any longer. [Ken Schott]

• There's still a chance that Marc Staal could play in the New York Rangers' season opener in Stockholm on Oct. 7. Provided his brother doesn't knock him out on the way to the airport, that big jerk. [NYDN]

• David Perron rejoins the St. Louis Blues, and will have a baseline test this week to see if he can start training to a return to the ice. [Morning Skate]

• Coach Joel Quenneville swears that using Patrick Kane at center has nothing to do with the health of Patrick Sharp: "I think we were going to try that anyways going into training camp. That's kind of where we're at with it." [Sun-Times, Blackhawk Up]

• The National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils will honor defenseman Scott Niedermayer by raising No. 27 to Prudential Center's rafters on Friday, Dec. 16, when the club hosts the Dallas Stars. Here's our debate about retiring Niedermayer's number. [Devils]

• Memorial stickers for Derek Boogaard and Pavol Demitra for the Minnesota Wild. [Hockey Wilderness]

• Wade Redden on the death of his former defensive partner Karel Rachunek in that KHL plane crash and going back to the AHL for another season. [Norwalk Plus]

• Is Alex Ovechkin an elite scorer or just a good shooter? [Capitals Insider]

• Cody Franson of the Toronto Maple Leafs: "I want to be the guy the team can count on." Good, because Komisarek has dibs on being "the guy the team is embarrassed makes that much per game." [Toronto Star]

• What shot does Fabian Brunnstrom have to make the Detroit Red Wings? [Nightmare on Helm Street]

• Taking the load off of Nicklas Lidstrom: a great idea in theory, a lot less plausible when you look at the rest of the blue line. [SI]

• Mike Babcock will present the Ace Bailey Award of Courage to the family of Earl Cook. [Kukla]

• Travis Zajac might not be back for the New Jersey Devils until 2012. Good thing they're deep at center. Wait, what? They're thinner there than a runway model in Paris? Oh. [NJ.com]

• Via reader Brad Tribbeck, a person who very much looks like Ron MacLean playing air guitar with a bottle of beer. [imgur]

• Knee surgery for Scott Clemmensen could keep him out for six weeks. Paging Jacob Markstrom … [On Frozen Pond]

• Interesting tidbit on the Winnipeg Jets via Elliotte Friedman's 30 Thoughts: "That Winnipeg ticket lottery is really something. About 600 tickets left per game, to be distributed randomly. And, if you win, the particular credit card can't be used again." [CBC Sports]

• Tyler Dellow on the Canadian dollar's influence on NHL payrolls. [mc79hockey]

• The Cheechoo train stops in Peoria. [PJStar]

• "The 6 Right-Wing Sports Team Owners Bankrolling Their Radical Agenda With Your Tax Dollars." Including Phil Anschutz of the Los Angeles Kings and Ed Snider of the Philadelphia Flyers. [AlterNet]

• If the Columbus Blue Jackets were to move, "it undermines if the building can sustain itself." [Biz Journals]

• Check out the new Florida Panthers podcast by The Rat Trick. [Rat Trick]

• Finally, check out Miller Lite's "Protectors of Hockey" video that praises goaltenders and, one images, watered down American beer.