J.J. Watt: Mighty Ducks fan; Richards on buy out motivation; Stanley Cup trailer (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.
One of the coolest gifts I've ever received. Courtesy of my family. pic.twitter.com/TpHipBKIbx
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) June 3, 2014
• Houston Texans’ defense end J.J. Watt: big Mighty Ducks fan.
• “Start with his hair. Look at it. It’s not a hairstyle; it’s a g——- symphony, every strand in concert with the others, rising and falling.” Bruce Arthur on Henrik Lundqvist. [Toronto Star]
• Don’t hand the Los Angeles Kings the Stanley Cup just yet. [SB Nation]
• Should the Minnesota Wild focus their attention this summer toward Marian Gaborik instead of Thomas Vanek? [Pioneer Press]
• Mats Zuccarello will become the first Norwegian player to play in the Stanley Cup Final. [CBS New York]
• How Brad Richards used talk about him being bought out last summer to develop into the Rangers’ de facto captain. [Yahoo]
• Ales Hemsky is looking for north of $5.5 million per season as a UFA this summer. That likely won’t be coming from the Ottawa Senators. [Ottawa Sun]
• Meanwhile, Hemsky has helped the Czech Republic advance to the quarterfinals in the IIHF World Inline Championships. [IIHF]
• Extensions for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are of the “highest priority” for Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman. [CSN Chicago]
• When do NHL coaches usually get fired and what kind of affect does it lead to? [Five Thirty Eight]
• Marek Zidlicky has re-signed with the New Jersey Devils for one year, $4 million. [Devils]
• An Arizona PR firm, which was hired by the Phoenix Coyotes to help defeat the 2013 referendum, is suing the team for allegedly reneging on the deal. [AZ Republic]
• What should new Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan’s toughest task be? Improving the defense. [Japers’ Rink]
• What 10 players on your fantasy hockey team should you sell high on right now. [Dobber Hockey]
• The AHL’s Calder Cup Final is set and will be contested by the Texas Stars and St. John’s IceCaps. [AHL]
• Please welcome Minnesota Wild blog Wild Puck Banter 2.0 back to the hockey. [Wild Puck Banter 2.0]
• Finally, here’s the NHL.com trailer for the 2014 Stanley Cup Final:
