Playoff storylines; Holland staying in Detroit; Desjardins to Switzerland? (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. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com.
• Clearly the mother in this picture is shielding her child from the jersey foul that is putting the sacred name of Mario Lemieux on an Seattle Thunderbirds jersey; a team for which Lemieux never played, even in junior. [@jerseyfouls]
• Detroit Red Wings owner Chris Ilitch says Ken Holland is staying with the team as general manager. [Detroit Free Press]
• Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper will lead the Canadian men’s team at Worlds. [Hockey Canada]
• Davis Payne, who was an assistant under Darryl Sutter, was also dismissed in the organization shakeup. Payne has been on the radar as a possible future NHL coach for years. [LA Kings Insider]
• An investor for the Seattle NHL project teams up with mega-arena management company (and owner of the LA Kings) AEG to work on the KeyArena renovation project. [King 5]
• Michal Rozsival under went surgery to repair facial fractures as a result of being sucker punched by Nick Ritchie. Ritchie was suspended two games for the encounter. [Second City Hockey]
• Hey, if no one in the NHL wants to hire Willie Dejardins for a coaching job, he has the opportunity to join Genève-Servette HC in Switzerland. Mike Gillis happens to sit on the board with the club. [Swiss Hockey News]
• Michal Neuvirth says he experienced a concussion when he collapsed on the ice. [Philly.com]
[Follow Puck Daddy on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr]
• Mike Babcock’s message to his young Toronto Maple Leafs: seize the moment. [TSN]
• Marc Methot’s status for Game 1 is unknown. Methot was slashed by Sidney Crosby leading to an ugly finger injury. [Ottawa Citizen]
• The Columbus Blue Jackets plan for the Pittsburgh Penguins? Inflict pain and avoid penalties. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Preview of the much hyped match up between Brandon Dubinsky and Sidney Crosby. [Buckeye State Hockey]
• Time for Max Pacioretty to prove himself in the playoffs. [Sportsnet]
• Mike Yeo isn’t focused on revenge over his former team in the playoffs. [STL Today]
• The Edmonton Oilers sum up their feelings about the playoffs in one word. Bet you can guess what it is. [Edmonton Sun]
• Kevin Hayes writes he and the rest of the New York Rangers to ‘make the Garden jump.’ [The Players’ Tribune]
• How Tuukka Rask performs in the playoffs means more than just winning and losing. [Boston Sports Desk]
• Quebec legend Ginette Reno will sing the national anthem before Game 1 between the Habs and the Rangers. [Montreal Gazette]
• A beginner’s guide for bandwagon San Jose Sharks fans. [Fear the Fin]
• On exit interview day, Roberto Luongo talks of his offseason plans to rehab his surgically repaired hip and the desire to bring the Florida Panthers a Stanley Cup. [Sun Sentinel]
• How different would the current playoff format look if the NHL revamped their point system? [PPP]
• The NWHL announces dates for free agency, the draft and hint at ‘neutral site games’ next season. [The Ice Garden]
• Amanda Kessel’s strong first year in the NWHL gave her the confidence to be successful in Women’s Worlds. [NWHL]
• Dean Lombardi’s legacy in Los Angeles should include the the footnote that he was ‘full of s—.’ [Vice Sports]
• A 22-year-old Edmonton Oilers fan ran a 10K to raise money that low income kids could attend playoffs games. He wants to give them the same experience he had. [Metro News]
• Anaheim Ducks center Nate Thompson hails from the great state of Alaska. He goes into his experience growing up there, especially the fishing, and how it helped shape him into a professional hockey player. [AK Sporting Journal]
• Fantasy hockey cage match: Keith Yandle vs. Gustav Nyquist vs. Jaden Schwartz. [Dobber]
• Finally, gets excited. It all starts tonight.
– – – – – – –
Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter!
