Puck Daddy - NHL

Here are your Morning 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.

Sean Avery entered the penalty box twice for the New York Rangers last night at the Carolina Hurricanes, and Canes fans obviously came prepared. Did they have one for a five-minute major ready? [5-Hole; thanks to Bill from Rangerland for the picture.]

• As expected, fighting has emerged as a very hot topic in the GM meetings down in Florida. Bruce Dowbiggin of the Calgary Herald has a really solid piece that focuses on former journeyman pugilist Brantt Myhres, who gives one of those great "darker side of hockey fighting" interviews. From the piece: "(I would) put a whole bunch of Vaseline on my face, and as I was doing that looking at myself in the mirror putting Vaseline on, I'd say 'What the hell am I doing with my life right now?' And then it was time to shut out. I'd usually try to get (the fight) over with my first shift so I could breathe normally the rest of the game." [Calgary Herald]

• The Detroit Red Wings aren't a fighting team per se, but support fighting in the NHL. Fights after clean hits? Not so much. [Windsor Star, via Snapshots]

• Good interview with Scotty Bowman about fighting and other issues. From Scotty: "It's hard to stamp [fighting] out but they can curtail the helmets coming off and stop the stage fighting; the fights that start three or four seconds after the puck is dropped." [Examiner]

• Mike Heika looks the etiquette and honor in fighting, along with the potential injuries. Like when Steve Ott's finger popped so loudly that the guy he was fighting heard it and asked if he was OK. [Dallas Morning News]

• Damien Cox reports that the NHL could have a rule proposed "possibly making it mandatory for helmets to be kept on during fights" before the meetings are out. So no "ban," which is right. As we've said before, there's a difference between the generational filtering of fighting out of the sport, and the NHL attempting to "ban" it. Let the Game decide whether it needs fighting. [Toronto Star]

New Jersey Devils Coach Brent Sutter sounds like a man who won't be the New Jersey Devils' coach next season. [National Post]

• Pension Plan Puppets has some ridiculously thorough coverage of the Jason Spezza illegal stick situation from last night's Leafs game, making some compelling arguments for player accountability. [PPP]

• We're starting to understand why the Canadian media has such a fit about attendance in non-traditional U.S. markets. The Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs stink slightly worse than the economy. They drew 18,898 fans last night, which is impressive but short of a sellout (19,153 capacity, 20,500 standing room). Drawing nearly 19,000 fans on a Monday night is important enough news to warrant placement in a story before the goal-scorers in the Sens' victory. OK. [Sun Media]

Gary Roberts rides off into the sunset officially. [Lightning]

Scott Nichol is scheduled to make his return to the Nashville Predators after a 38-game absence. Awesome. [Tennessean]

• Great analysis piece by Tarik El-Bashir that looks at the Washington Capitals' secondary scoring, or lack there of. [Washington Post]

• The upside: Hilary Duff gets to watch her man play for the Ottawa Senators. The downside: Getting leered at by Frank Mahovlich's dirty uncle. [Sens Town]

• Litter Box Cats looks at the scary prospect of the Miami Herald dropping, or lessening, its hockey coverage. But it also mentions something interesting: The South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach Post which dropped the Florida Panthers beat earlier this year, appears to be back on it in some capacity. Which once again proves that hockey-ignorant newspaper editors only understand two things: attendance and success. [Litter Box Cats]

• No Petr Sykora for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. [Penguins]

• Rev up the bandwagon for the Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup journey. [Sun Media]

• Finally, our photos of Washington Capitals fans celebrating Sidney Crosby's visit to their fair city ended up featured on ESPN's "Rome Is Burning" yesterday (they asked), as Rome spoke about the Crosby/Alexander Ovechkin rivalry:


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  1. Geoffrey S
    1. Posted by Geoffrey S Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:37 pm EDT

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    ...and in other news, Gary Bettman announced that the glass at every NHL arena will be tinted for the rest of the season so he doesn't have to answer any embarrassing questions from his daughter about signs.
  2. Alo
    2. Posted by Alo Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:05 pm EDT

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    What if they impose post-game review system of fights. If the fight resulted from a questionable or dirty hit, no discipline. Fight resulting from dirty actions in previous encounter of two teams (one combatant must be player who did the deed), no discipline. Staged fights immediately after opening faceoff, 1 game suspension. Fight resulting from clean, hard hit, 1 game.
    Obviously, the reviewer must know the recent history between the two team, but that should be hard. The commentators usually have all that info PLUS clips.
  3. BC Caps
    3. Posted by BC Caps Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:30 pm EDT

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    That Avery sign == absolute poetry
  4. R C
    4. Posted by R C Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:57 pm EDT

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    alo, how far back do you go for a history between the teams? does a wings - avs fight get a lifetime free pass?
  5. Josh T
    5. Posted by Josh T Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:43 pm EDT

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    I still wish Chris... I mean Jim Everett would have kicked Rome's a$$... it was funny as it happened, it would have been hilarious seeing Rome get smack around...
    Crosby should have done the jump into the glass... have some fun man! I wonder if Don Cherry is prepping his "Canadian way BS speech for this weeks coach's corner, did you see the shameful, "goofy" way those Penguins celebrated thier victory... it's an outrage!!! Must be the bad influence of those damned visor-wearing metrosexual europeans!!!"
  6. j0ehoe
    6. Posted by j0ehoe Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:26 pm EDT

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    Is it just me, or does anyone else picture picture Laraque explaining the code to the writer of that story while wearing samurai garb and bowing honorably after?
  7. Josh T
    7. Posted by Josh T Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:43 pm EDT

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    PS.... the Avery sign is classic, though I've heard the fan has been suspended indefinately.
  8. J.S.
    8. Posted by J.S. Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:29 pm EDT

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    Avery signage = win. Sign of the year.
  9. Whale4ever
    9. Posted by Whale4ever Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:59 pm EDT

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    Just for clarification, guys...it was the Palm Beach Post that dropped the Panthers late last summer, not the Sentinel.
    Thanks for the shout, tho...
  10. Big Rich
    10. Posted by Big Rich Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:40 pm EDT

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    Hey Wysh, didn't I send you that Sutter article? lol
  11. b_jack_city
    11. Posted by b_jack_city Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:16 pm EDT

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    Which once again proves that hockey-ignorant newspaper editors only understand to things: attendance and success.
    2 = two
  12. Gary D
    12. Posted by Gary D Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:08 pm EDT

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    Avery sign: PASS
    Hopefully Sutter will get a chance to raise the cup before he decides to pack up shop and go back to Alberta.
  13. Big Rich
    13. Posted by Big Rich Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:40 pm EDT

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    @ Alo... I think Colin Campbell deciding what warrants a suspension for fighting would be a disaster. Anyone see his suspensions this year? Garbage... There would be no way to decide whats clean or dirty, or even staged...
  14. Wyshynski
    14. Posted by Wyshynski Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:21 pm EDT

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    @ Whale4ever --
    I'll fix'er up.
  15. N. Y. NIGHTMARE
    15. Posted by N. Y. NIGHTMARE Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:06 pm EDT

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    Hilary Duff is fat. fail
  16. Fin-atic
    16. Posted by Fin-atic Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:25 pm EDT

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    Is Hillary Duff the best celebrity hockey fan you could find Wysh?? I mean seriously? The NBA has Jack Nicholson and Spike Lee, and we get some dopey horse-faced ex-teen queen? WTF?
  17. Big Rich
    17. Posted by Big Rich Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:40 pm EDT

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    @ NY Nightmare, She may have horse teeth but otherwise she's amazing...
  18. Big Rich
    18. Posted by Big Rich Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:40 pm EDT

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    Duff is thinking to herself, "So Spezza has a skinny stick too?"
  19. N. Y. NIGHTMARE
    19. Posted by N. Y. NIGHTMARE Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:06 pm EDT

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    she's snarly, i was at the knicks hawks game last week and you gotta see the tail brandon dubinsky is pinning right now. Had to be about 22 yrs old, USA GRADE A MEAT.
  20. Fin-atic
    20. Posted by Fin-atic Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:25 pm EDT

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    @NY Nightmare: "do you like Flock of Seagulls"? "I see you do". Nice Sandler movie quoting
    Sorry Big Rich, to throw another movie quote in - "Yeah....I"m going to have to go ahead and disagree with you on that one"... Duff is skanky, horse teeth is just one of her problems.
  21. killer wolf
    21. Posted by killer wolf Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:28 pm EDT

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    You need fighting in the game! No other sport is as intense or as physical as hockey. You take fighting out of the game, then you better take hitting out of the game, too. Because if you have players (Ott, Avery, C. Perry, Boll, etc) taking runs at star players, and nobody out there to hold them accountable, things will get ugly! It's funny that they say " The Detroit Red Wings aren't a fighting team per say, but support fighting in the NHL" because I watch Wings almost every game, and when they don't have an enforcer in the line-up -almost every night! - they get pushed around and run at, like they were wearing dresses. But when they had Downey in the line-up, (only four games this season!) there was a lot more respect for the stars. And I know Ken Holland wants to take fighting out of the NHL. And I know Mike Babcock wants to turn the NHL into the euro leagues. So saying the Wings support fighting, is a joke!
    If you don't like fighting - go watch the euro leagues! Or the Red Wings, its the same thing.
    Babcock SUCKS!!!
  22. Sledge Longfellow
    22. Posted by Sledge Longfellow Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:30 pm EDT

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    re: Pension Plan Puppets (a great blog and fabulous blog name for those aware of Make Beliefs ownership problems) and the stick measurement brouhaha.
    Measure the eye-holes on a goalie mask. Particularly measure the hole-size on metal-mesh type masks (the Hasek type ... Osgood may be the only one still using one of these, I'm not sure.). Measure the hole-size on the same types of masks worn by many junior and college players. What is the minimum-sized object that can fit through these openings? Thus the toe-of-the-stick regulated size. These masks are designed to prevent a stick entering through a hole. If players shave down the toe, they are placing players, particularly goalies, at risk of losing an eye. Spezza should be forced to wear a jock for the rest of the season which is so small it only covers one testicle.
  23. Weeverman
    23. Posted by Weeverman Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:42 pm EDT

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    Hey clones.... "Give me back my son"
    Way to go Cap's fans...... yeah, that got'em.
  24. Sledge Longfellow
    24. Posted by Sledge Longfellow Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:30 pm EDT

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    re: Georges Laraque code.
    Totally explains why real hockey fans instinctively found Crosby a punk in his attack on Bret MacLean (I think that was the guy anyway) despite Crosby's attempt to justify it after the fact. Crosby broke two of the four rules of the code, rule 2) don't jump a guy and 3) don't hit a guy when he is down. [I don't expect him to wish his opponent good luck though.]
  25. Patrick
    25. Posted by Patrick Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:28 pm EDT

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    Hillary Duff forgot to implement the ever famous ducking away strategy like Carrie Underwood.

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