Here are your Morning Puck Headlines (OK, at least on the West Coast): A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• "Finally, after all these years, a legitimate connection between the Hurricanes and NASCAR, which should be wonderful news for hundreds of lazy Canadian journalists and radio hosts." Plus-1 to you, Luke DeCock. [News & Observer, H/T to reader Mike Foley]

• Terrific breakdown of NHL average ticket prices that reveals that the average Vancouver Canucks ticket is worth 9.12 Phoenix Coyotes tickets. Ah, remember those halcyon days when Canucks tickets were $8.99? [Globe & Mail]

• Daniel Tolensky discovers that "Boots" Del Biaggio was an investor in Jeremy Roenick's T-shirt company and wonders if the NHL should be concerned that an owner was investing in a player's business. Well, if they weren't concerned about two other owners investing in an owner that had no money, so he could buy into the Nashville Predators ... [Tolensky]

• The Ottawa Senators want you to know that they have a Swedish guy in their team and have talked with Mats Sundin. [Sun Media]

• Craig Rivet hearts Buffalo, and Buffalo Sabres fans heart their new captain. [Sabretooth's House]

• Joe Sakic reveals his World Series fantasy, involving the painful defeat of the Boston Red Sox. On a Manny Ramirez grand slam no less. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]

• A loving valentine to Tomas Kaberle, as one Toronto Maple Leafs fan celebrates 10 years for the defenseman. [Sports and the City]

• The pros and cons of the New York Rangers' decision about Brendan Shanahan. "The NHL doesn't have player/coaches anymore and that would be a perfect role for him to step into, especially on a team in transition like the Rangers." [Scotty Hockey]

• Battle of California sums up Kings defenseman Tom Preissing's blog for the team. [BoC]

• Bold prediction from San Jose Sharks broadcaster Randy Hahn: "The Sharks will meet Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs, Anaheim in the second round and Detroit in the Conference Final." Uh, homer much? [Seagate Blog]

• Nikolai Khabibulin finally speaks to the media about still being with the Chicago Blackhawks; successfully avoids expletives in either English or Russian. [Third Man In]

• Dustin Penner is goofy: "Penner waited till it was dark on Tuesday night, dressed up in a mask from the movie Saw, and began scaring the daylights out of his teammates at the Jasper Park Lodge." Oren Koules would like his royalties. [Sun Media]

• The Montreal Canadiens are asking Andrei Markov to shoot more. That's sort of mandatory for a power-play point man, isn't it? [Gazette]

• Finally, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins went Off the Record on TSN, and took part in the usual fun of the "next question" segment:

Related: Hockey Fans, When Hockey and Hollywood Collide, Puck Videos, Rumors, scuttlebutt, innuendo, Crosby vs. Ovechkin vs. Malkin