Quick surprises fan; Tennessee jock tax to go; Vokoun to AHL for conditioning (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.
• Here's Jonathan Quick surprising a young piano prodigy and LA Kings fan on the Ellen show. [Ellen]
• The Tennessee jock tax, which sees NHL players pay $2,500 up to $7,500 when they play a game in the state, is a signature from the governor away from being abolished. Under this recent NHL CBA, owners have been picking up the tab. [Tennessean]
• Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart top NHL Central Scouting's list of draft-eligible North American skaters. [NHL.com]
• Legendary photographer Bruce Bennett will work his 5,000th NHL game tonight. [Getty]
• Jason Chimera on the recent fortunes of the Washington Capitals: "If you had told me then that two, three or four years down the road we wouldn’t have a Stanley Cup by know I would have said, ‘You’re [bleeping] kidding me.’ That’s how good those teams were." [Capitals]
• Lambert on why any talk of trading Alexander Ovechkin is silly. [Backhand Shelf]
• Why the Vancouver Canucks should hire Mark Messier as team president instead of Trevor Linden. Why sully a legend? [Pass it to Bulis]
• After their brawl Sunday afternoon, no members of the NYPD of FDNY will be disciplined. [NY Daily News]
• Down Goes Brown took a closer look at all 11 shootout losses by the New Jersey Devils. Pray for him. [Grantland]
• Great read from David Pollak on San Jose Sharks forward Matt Nieto and his mom's fight with breast cancer. [Mercury News]
• Brooks Orpik on his return from a concussion: "I think in hindsight, I probably came back way too quick from it. I felt a lot of pressure because of the Olympics coming up. Looking back on it, it was probably not the smartest thing with a brain injury." [Empty Netters]
• Evgeni Malkin has been cleared to skate, while Tomas Vokoun has been sent to Wilkes-Barre for a conditioning assignment. [Tribune-Review]
• Sam Gagner's days in Edmonton seem numbered. What would a deal involving him potentially look like? [Oilers Nation]
• How big is football at the University of Alabama? Their annual revenue surpasses that of every single NHL team. [CBS Sports]
• Josh Ho-Sang was suspended 15 games by the OHL for a shoving that led to a broken leg for Zach Bell. [Buzzing the Net]
• Jaro Spacek has joined the staff of the Czech national team. [IIHF]
• Finally, here's some of the NHL's best hair on display:
