Shea Weber’s agent speaks; Shane Doan’s waiting game; LA ice girls taunt (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.
• After seeing the New York Rangers' 2012 Eastern Conference champs gear from this morning, Ben Levasseur sent this over from a Portland, ME store. Man, that's a riot. Oh dear poor choice of words ...
• Shea Weber's agent believes the Philadelphia Flyers are a "destination place" but "wouldn't be surprised 1 way or the other" who gets him. [@BroadStBull]
• Now that Shea Weber's been offer-sheeted, who are the other potential targets? Oh, hi PK Subban and John Carlson … [NHL.com]
• The Puck Stops Here on Shea Weber: "Nashville has a week to match the deal. I expect they probably will. If they do not they will have clearly declared themselves to being a small market that is producing talent for the bigger markets and has little chance of winning longterm" [TPSH]
• Put up or shut up time for the Predators. [On The Forecheck]
• What are the Predators' options for Shea Weber? [Sporting News]
• Shane Doan update: He's waiting to see if Greg Jamison can actually buy the Phoenix Coyotes. Said agent Terry Bross: "We're waiting to see what Mr. Jamison is going to do, now that it seems like the path has cleared to take ownership of the team… It's been a little quiet from that camp." [Arizona Republic]
• This may or may not be worth your time, but some guy named Lenny Palumbo from the Niagara Falls Reporter is a raging homophobe: "The league is determined to reduce fighting as much as possible. Meanwhile, the NHL's abominable, 'You Can Play' promotion, which all but endorses homosexuality in hockey, is among its top priorities. Thanks to Gary Bettman and his ilk, enforcers are out, but gays are in. So why don't they just hire Elton John as commissioner and be done with it?" [NFR]
• Pension Plan Puppets vs. Palumbo. [PPP]
• Battle of California vs. Palumbo. [BoC]
• Jeff Gordon on the CBA talks: "The incongruity between the owners' hard negotiating line and their spendthift approach to free agency is epic. Either the NHL faces serious financial challenges or it doesn't. If it does, then owners can meet those challenges by simply demonstrating a little fiscal discipline. Why should the players help the owners control ownership spending?" [STL Today]
• The Tampa Bay Lightning announce a big social media effort for their 20th anniversary season. [TBL]
• This might sound nutty, but Adam Oates wants to work well with his assistant coaches. [Capitals Insider]
• Aaron Rome's very excited to be a Dallas Stars defenseman. [Dallas Stars Blog]
"Who Are the Winnipeg Jets' Top 10 Players Under 25 Years Old?" [Arctic Ice Hockey]
• The Minnesota Wild ink Mathew Dumba to a $98 million just kidding it's an entry level contract. [Hockey Wilderness]
• Finally, the ladies from the Los Angeles Kings Ice Crew auditions have a message for the teams that were thwarted on the way to the Cup: