Puck Headlines: Why Ron Wilson is safe; calls for suspensions (PuckDaddy)

[rinkrat]

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.

• The Ari Gold Jersey Foul? Llllllllloyd! At least now he'll have something to wear when E rocks his Tavares jersey. [NHL]

• In Year 2 of a four-year contract and being the coach of Brian Burke's U.S. Olympic hockey team, Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Ron Wilson could be spared the axe despite presiding over the biggest disaster in the NHL this season; and, after last night's loss, the worst team in the League. [Sportsnet]

• The Vancouver Canucks are the latest team to fight allegations that they jumped the line for H1N1 vaccine. No word if they attempted to pass Kyle Wellwood(notes) off as pregnant to do so. [Fox Sports]

• Making the case for Ryan Wilson(notes) of the Colorado Avalanche to be suspended for his hit on Ethan Moreau(notes) of the Edmonton Oilers. The "driving upward into the hit" argument is a pretty good one. [Jibblescribbits]

• Meanwhile, James Neal's(notes) hit on Derek Dorsett(notes) of the Columbus Blue Jackets last night (hearing at noon EST) may earn the Dallas Stars winger a suspension; Brandon suggests it has everything to do with bad timing and the current media climate. [Defending Big D]

• How nice of Marty Havlat to wait until after his free-agent contract to begin getting injured again. [@russostrib]

• A rather mind-blowing blog about UFC replacing the NHL in some pubs on a Saturday night in Canada, and whether that speaks to the "de-masculinizing and feminizing" of hockey. Mike Milbury already has this article memorized. [Vancouver Observer]

• Really quality piece by Stu Hackel on Twitter and sports journalism today, looking at the Alan Walsh/Montreal Canadiens dust-up and the recent Dion Phaneuf(notes) screaming match tweet controversy. [Slap Shot]

• The Phoenix Coyotes lost $5 million in October alone, but the Globe & Mail offers some really fun financial news later in this story: "The court filings also revealed that the club had some unusual expenditures in October. It spent $3,500 on Hockey Hall of Fame 'induction tickets', $970 on the Boy Scouts of America 'scout night patches', and $332.67 on 'tattoos' from California Tattoos Inc. New head coach Dave Tippett, who took over after Wayne Gretzky quit, received $31,000 in October." Tattoos? [G&M]

• Looking at a potential Anaheim Ducks sell-off, and wondering if James Wisniewski(notes) and Joffrey Lupul(notes) will be part of the shopping spree. [Anaheim Calling]

• Really interesting editorial in the Ottawa Citizen about girls hockey, and it's current growth in Canada: "A new policy is expected to take effect next year that would reserve prime ice time for minor hockey and allocate it based on registration, not history. That means girls' associations would have equal access to that limited ice time, something that -- more than a century after the first women's game was played in this city -- is long overdue." [Ottawa Citizen]

• Why did Nikita Filatov(notes) go to Russia? Why, obviously as Ken Hitchcock's secret Trojan horse to shed more salary cap space, of course. [MYFO]

• A plethora of interesting numbers at the quarter pole for the NHL. [NHL.com]

• Can softer shoulder pads cut down on concussion-like injuries in the NHL? [Dreger]

• The notion of Finland as an Olympic dark horse is an interesting one. Miikka Kiprusoff(notes), Niklas Backstrom(notes) and Antero Niittymaki(notes) in a tournament format ... hmmmmm. [THN]

• "Cyclone spin kick. That's how we do this [expletive] in Sweden, yo." [Getty]

• For the first time, the Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia Sixers are teaming up on a ticket deal in which you get two tickets for each team for $100. (Note: When we visited Philly.com for the story, an auto-play ad for Tampax Pearl started blaring. Adjust speakers accordingly.) [Philly.com]

• Stephen Pepper looks at the various reclamation projects for the Washington Capitals while introducing the poetic headline: "Finding That Dahlen In the Rough." [Japers Rink]

• Inside the numbers for why the Ottawa Senators are seeing empty seats in their arena this season. [Off The Posts]

• Uh, awesome: Milwaukee- Milwaukee Admirals President Jon Greenberg announced today that the Dropkick Murphys will perform in a post-game concert, courtesy of Time Warner Cable and Miller Lite, on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 following the team's 7:30 p.m. game versus the Chicago Wolves. [Admirals]

• Try as they might, the New Jersey Devils couldn't steal another point in the shootout against Nashville. [Fire & Ice]

• Shean Donovan(notes) may have suffered a season-ending injury for the Sens. [Sportsnet]

• Maxim Afinogenov(notes) has 17 points in 17 games for the Atlanta Thrashers. Buffalo just threw up a little. [Bird Watchers Anonymous]

• Did you know David Booth's(notes) offensive is ice cold right now? You know, what with him being concussed and not playing for the Panthers? Boy, that sure makes him streaky. (Kukla nails another one.) [KK]

• Finally, Erik Cole(notes) and Ian White(notes) both had fairly eventful nights for the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs; check out this wicked hip check and a fight:


Of course, Cole and the Canes eventually had the last laugh. Well, those two and the officials.


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