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.
• And you thought the nun on the Zamboni was nutty. Here's Captain Morgan, celebrating Valentine's Day at the Phoenix Coyotes game, where he hung out with Tyson Nash, rode the Zamboni and collected Poses throughout the Arena. From the Captain's PR team: "The Captain was in town as part of his One Million Poses challenge, which donates $1 to the First Mate Fund for every Pose received. Poses collected at the game will benefit Coyotes Charities -- up to $10,000."
• Martin Brodeur was both placed on the IR Tuesday and began skating again for the New Jersey Devils. [Fire & Ice]
• Should there be a "Rooney Rule" in the NHL that mandates teams interview ex-goalies for coaching jobs? Who else but Razor could make this point and make you believe it? [Razor With an Edge]
• This isn't Alex Kovalev's first trade deadline rodeo: "I've been around for a long time, I've been traded a few times, so it's not new for me. ... The job is still the same, to be a hockey player and help whatever team (you're) playing for." [Ottawa Citizen]
• Patrick Sharp moves to wing, and Joel Quenneville puts together a Marian Hossa, Dave Bolland and Michael Frolik line, as Bolland has 12 points in 13 games. [ESPN Chicago]
• On Bruce Boudreau's job security with the Washington Capitals. [Baltimore Sports Report]
• Want to see Marty McSorley putt a ball across Staples Center ice to raise $5,000 for the KingCare Foundation? [Life In Hockeywood]
• Down Goes Brown offers "a brief history of hockey brawls," including: "March 4, 2003 -- An enraged Darcy Tucker dives into the Ottawa bench and remains there for several seconds, inadvertently becoming the third longest serving coach in Senators' history." [DGB]
• Matthew Barnaby says "his Habs sources tell him Subban is respected by his teammates and that's all that matters. He adds it doesn't matter if Mike Richards of the Flyers hates Subban; what's important is how the Habs feel about him." [CJAD]
• Really insightful take on P.K. Subban from Four Habs Fans, in which they suggest how the Montreal Canadiens and their rookie should handle criticism: "The challenge for Canadiens fans is to not take any criticism of PK's attitude as a personal affront. People didn't like Patrick Roy's attitude either, you know. A guy named Chris Chelios didn't win a lot of friends his rookie year. Ask Mike Milbury what he thought of Guy Lafleur. Even that Rocket fellow ran afoul of his colleagues once or twice. PK will learn, or not. If he does, the Canadiens and the league will benefit." [4HF]
• Nothing new on Sidney, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are getting healthier. [Pensburgh]
• Stevie Y on his conversations with Ken Holland this season, as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings prepare to face off on Thursday night: "It's really not much different. We're fighting for the same players and fighting for two points. But I was at a college game recently and talked to (Wings assistant GM) Jimmy Nill. It's different when you're with the same organization, you can talk about specific players, but in general our conversations never change. I still seek out (Holland's) advice on some of the decisions I've made throughout the course of the season." [NHL]
• Cory Clouston goes from the "alternating keepers" thing to the "win and you're in" thing for the Ottawa Senators. [Slam]
• In the fire Joe Sacco debate, Mile High Hockey comes down on the side of "don't" for the Colorado Avalanche. [MHH]
• Dmitry Kulikov appears out for at least a week for the Florida Panthers with a bum ankle, but it's not a break. [On Frozen Pond]
• Great interview with Steve Ott of the Dallas Stars. [Vancouver Sun]
• Good take on the Kris Versteeg trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs' perspective via Pension Plan Puppets: "Is he a good player? Absolutely. But he's a valuable complementary forward, not someone who can carry the mail night after night as a key player on a winning team. Could he get better? Of course, any 24 year old player can get better. But Versteeg's age and experience level is often when top NHL players take that step forward. Versteeg hasn't, and there's a very real chance that he'll never be much better than he is right now." [PPP]
• "At 8:30 this morning he was still puking." [Lightning Strikes]
• The top-10 goals from last week, via the NHL.
• Is this really happening in Buffalo? "A local radio station ran a poll on its website yesterday asking Sabres fans whether or not new ownership should move forward with Miller as their goaltender. Pundits are enlightening us with the notion that non-elites like Antti Niemi, Marc-Andre Fleury and Chris Osgood winning Stanley Cups somehow translates to Miller being expendable." [Dave Davis]
• Marek Zidlicky is nearly back for the Minnesota Wild. [Star Tribune]
• Years from now, they'll be calling this The Voros Trade. [HockeyFights]
• Dominik has had about enough of the criticism being sent the New York Islanders' way: "I've seen the Islanders abused for years (including by the Penguins) with no one expressing outrage on their behalf nor rushing to their defense. For me, fandom here is an Island. Outsiders can take their cheap shots, can express ignorant and disproportionate outrage at them (and this site. This site? Really?) on Twitter and via their own dick-joke-dependent Pens blog sites, but it's neither here nor there to me. The Islanders are our team, and we're here to watch them play hockey, with all the highs and lows that entails." [Lighthouse Hockey]
• "Comments Send Super Mario's Credibility down a Warp Pipe." [Satirical Justice]
• "Overlooked" aspects of the Pens/Islanders brawls. [The Confluence]
• Chris Jiuliante with this take on The Pensblog: "Thanks to at best a horrible act of stupidity and at worst a premeditated disregard for the rules of the league, the NHL now found itself faced with an opportunity to make a defined statement. The spirit of their rule already in place had been challenged. Some members of the media even said via Twitter and other outlets that it was time for the NHL to tighten its stance." [Pensblog]
• Always appreciate Tom Benjamin's take, and here he is on hockey violence: "The fastest growing sport in North America is probably Mixed Martial Arts and most fans are with Mike Milbury. Still, what might be good for the NHL wallet in the short run can't be good for hockey in the long run. If the league seriously wants to grow the game, they can't drive it in the direction of an extreme sport. How many mothers want her son to become an MMA fighter? How many discourage hockey today?" [Canucks Corner]
• Cool bit about Steve Sullivan's "fairy tale" debut with the Nashville Predators back in 2004. [Nashville City Paper]
• The odd journey of Yann Sauve to the Vancouver Canucks. [Pass It To Bulis]
• Interesting stuff from San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellan on why '3' is the magic number for his team; as in "the number of goals the Sharks need to score or the number they need to keep their opponent under if they want to improve their chances of winning a game." [Working The Corners]
• Among Elliotte Friedman's 30 thoughts: "Doesn't sound like the Kings will trade Brayden Schenn unless it's total panic. They really like him. Sounds like Edmonton asked about him when LA poked around on Ales Hemsky, and were rebuffed." [CBC Sports]
• Finally, click the image below to see Ryan Boulding's side-by-side of Bertuzzi and Martin sucker-punches, which Pizzo on PD Radio somehow thought were similar.
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