Matthews returns to Arizona; Shero rips Devils; Jagr on his future (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.
• Happy Festivus to you and yours from your friends at Puck Daddy!
• Auston Matthews returns to Arizona tonight as member of the Toronto Maple Leafs marking a huge milestone in the growth of hockey in the desert. [AZ Sports]
• A look at the rink behind a Walmart in Arizona where Matthews developed. [Sportsnet]
• The New Jersey Devils react to GM Ray Shero’s forceful comments that the team needs to “play [expletive] harder” and his backing of coach John Hynes. [Fire & Ice]
• Jaromir Jagr talks about his career thus far, what keeps him going and if the end is in sight. [TSN]
• Bruce Boudreau says Jared Spurgeon is proving him “100 percent wrong.” [Star Tribune]
• The Ottawa Senators revamped defensive structure have made the team a force to be reckoned with. [National Post]
• Q&A with Nashville Predators center Ryan Johansen. [THW]
• With Patrick Roy gone, Joe Sakic and the rest of the Colorado Avalanche executives should be the next out the door. [Denver Post]
• Chronicling women’s hockey superstar Amanda Kessel’s long road back to the national team after a concussion took her off the ice. [FanRag Sports]
• John Tortorella has turned around the Columbus Blue Jackets. Is it business as usual or defying expectations? [The Cannon]
• Jiri Hudler and Radek Faksa weigh in on countryman Jaromir Jagr’s record setting career. [The Hockey Writers]
• Breaking down the race for the Calder Trophy. [Vice Sports]
• Looking back at all the times the Boston Bruins DIDN’T fire Claude Julien. [WEEI]
• Evaluating the market for oft-rumored trade bait James van Riemsdyk. [The Bloggers’ Tribune]
• To beat the Arizona Coyotes, the Edmonton Oilers relied on depth in their lineup; something they haven’t done in a while. [Oilers Nation]
• Might the Coyotes rebuild be behind schedule? [FanRag Sports]
• The Knoxville Ice Bears played the Sled Bears in an exhibition game and got smoked. The event was to raise awareness for sled hockey. [WBIR]
• Fantasy hockey: Get Rickard Rakell on your team ASAP. [Dobber]
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest now]
• Happy holidays from the 1992 Los Angeles Kings. [Puck Junk]
• Finally, take a trip down memory lane with some of the NHL’s best – past and present – reading lines from ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. [Robert Söderlind]
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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!
