Around View From My Seats, we enjoy great writing almost as much as we enjoy the sport we cover. Each week, there are excellent writers doing their thing all over the hockey blogosphere—so many, in fact, that it’s easy to miss some of the good stuff that gets published each week. Each week throughout the season, we shoot to bring you some of the best writing from around the web. Some will be from the mainstream media and some will be from talented bloggers doing it for the love of the game. Some entries will come from beat writers around North America and still others will come from national writers bringing a “big picture” perspective. We don’t care. We’re just looking for great hockey writing. Everything else can go to hell.

If you find anything that catches your eye and you think should be included, feel free to contact us and we’ll consider it for next week’s installment!

Without further ado, here is our weekly trip around the hockey blogosphere bringing you some of the best articles that you may have missed.

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“After considering what Nash himself has said, I believe that, for all of his many contributions to the Columbus Blue Jackets and the greater Columbus community, he has turned into a mutinous captain.

What a powerful word that is: Mutinous. Yet this isn’t an expression of enmity – it’s just an interpretation of that which he pushed in front of my eyes.”

via The Power of a Single Word – Dark Blue Jacket

“David and Kathy Kreider, Chris’s parents, declined to comment for this story, but Chris said that the emphasis that they placed on education as he was growing up made the choice to stay at BC for his freshman and sophomore years really no choice at all. He has immersed himself in two pursuits—hockey and schoolwork—since arriving here. He carries a 3.0 grade-point average, has taken summer courses in an attempt to complete his degree as quickly as possible, and rarely attends the sorts of bacchanalian social gatherings so common to the college experience. “It’s been more of a job,” said Kreider, who turns 21 on April 30, and because ice hockey is not necessarily the keynote men’s sport at Boston College, “it’s been very easy to stay off the radar.”

via The Rangers’ Future Is Waiting…and Waiting – WSJ.com
(s/t Kukla’s Korner)

He was an outstanding player in his junior days, but his goal of an NHL career would take a massive set back in 1938. He learned through his coach that Conn Smythe, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team he grew up idolizing and following on the radio, would sign him if someone could turn him white. It was a devastating blow to the young forward.

“It was sickening and heart-breaking because all I wanted was a chance,” Carnegie said years later.

via Even After His Passing, NHL Appears to Turn It’s Back on Herb Carnegie – Habs Eyes On The Prize

Telling Russell was harder. He was nine years older, another jock who loved the sporting arena.
But Russell listened quietly, then asked if it was a phase. “I still love you, I still consider you my best friend,” he said. He jokingly offered a protective brotherly warning if Scott brought home a partner, and he didn’t like him. “I will let you know you have a ‘dick’ of a boyfriend. The same as if you brought home a girl who was a ‘bitch.’ I would tell you straight up.”

via A gay jock takes off the mask – Ottawa Citizen

“I can’t be the only person thinking about the juxtaposition of these two issues though. This is the hot campaign. THE campaign to attach your name to if you want to be considered a stand-up guy in the NHL. But yet women are still being called “puck bunnies” and no one seems to blink an eye. Yes, the slide show was removed. But someone allowed it to be posted in the first place. And someone was ignorant enough to think that term categorized all female fans. Or sadly, they knew exactly what it meant and they just didn’t care.”

via If you can cheer, you can cheer no matter your gender – Cardiac Cane

Right before that stretch of 14 games that he sat out in January and February, Bissonnette sought the help of a psychiatrist to help him cope with the mental tug-of-war he was waging to earn playing time and feel part of the group.

“You take it day to day — you have to take it day to day,” Bissonnette said. “It got to the point where I was getting a lot of anxiety, and I had to go talk to (head athletic trainer Jason Serbus) and I said, ‘Serbs, I need to get on medication or talk to someone.’”

Bissonnette chose the latter, visiting with a psychiatrist for a one-time, hour-and-a-half session.

via Phoenix Coyotes’ Paul Bissonnette’s world is changing – Arizona Republic

What had helped to build this sport so well in the 1990′s wasn’t just the winning ways of the team but how the Stars were able to build the sport itself in Dallas. So many Stars fans from today grew up as kids learning to play hockey around Dallas in one of the many Dr Pepper Starcenters or ice arenas in the area, or even in of the many inline skate leagues that existed at the team. All of this was built around the the Stars ability to connect with the youth in a sport that so many of us loved.

via Dallas Stars Closing The Void Between Fans And Team – Defending Big D

“That’s part of the sport. We get paid huge money to do it and most of the time you get paid big money it comes with a lot of risks involved and we’re compensated. We know that risk when we step on the ice so you go along with it, so everybody just shut up!

“These guys are going overseas spending nine months away from their wives and kids and risk their lives and do it for x amount of dollars, and we’re going to sit here and cry because one guy’s making $5 million and he’s out with a concussion then shame on us,” Barch said. “Shame on us, that’s what I think.”

via Florida Panther Krys Barch: If soldiers risk their lives, highly paid athletes can risk concussions – Sun-Sentinel

There’s no shame in losing games due to having Mikko Koivu injured on the shelf and losing to more talented teams. There is, however, plenty of shame for having a team beating themselves and that is on Mike Yeo. Regardless of how the year has gone or excuses being made there is none for seeing youngsters look like they have been influenced by disinterested veterans and regress in their development.

via The Mike Yeo Conundrum – First Round Bust

I would not expect Shanahan to leave the league office any time soon, not with collective-bargaining negotiations upcoming. He will want to see his player safety department fully developed before he leaves. But he’s a player in his heart, and he undoubtedly misses wins and losses. He won’t take any GM job, but when the right one comes along, it’s my bet that he will take it.

via Count Brendan Shanahan among eventual GM candidates – USA Today

Let’s get a few things straight, SI. First of all, the moniker “puck bunny” has traditionally been reserved for those female fans who go to hockey games (or practices) primarily because they want to sleep with hockey players. In fact, the Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines a puck bunny as “a woman who goes to hockey games for the sole purpose of ‘scoring’ with one of the players afterward”. Puck bunnies are a subculture of the female hockey fan demographic; NOT all female fans are puck bunnies (NOT, by a long shot indeed). Think of puck bunnies as the hockey equivalent of rock groupies; in fact, most female hockey fans regard the label of “puck bunny” as derogatory.

via Dear SI: not all female hockey fans are puck bunnies – Hockey Broad

Around View From My Seats, we enjoy great writing almost as much as we enjoy the sport we cover. Each week, there are excellent writers doing their thing all over the hockey blogosphere—so many, in fact, that it’s easy to miss some of the good stuff that gets published each week. Each week throughout the season, we shoot to bring you some of the best writing from around the web. Some will be from the mainstream media and some will be from talented bloggers doing it for the love of the game. Some entries will come from beat writers around North America and still others will come from national writers bringing a “big picture” perspective. We don’t care. We’re just looking for great hockey writing. Everything else can go to hell.

If you find anything that catches your eye and you think should be included, feel free to contact us and we’ll consider it for next week’s installment!

If you only read one article, read the last one…

Without further ado, here is our weekly trip around the hockey blogosphere bringing you some of the best articles that you may have missed.

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“And I realized, then, why I like Don Cherry: He is the only hockey personality on television who never lies. There is so much hockey on television, so many men in suits trying to tell us what to believe about the game, and they are almost all professionally lying. There’s the carefully colorless color commentators, who work from franchise-provided fact sheets to present canned narratives in the a fresh-sounding way. There’s the game recappers who narrate highlight in lively tones concealing a total lack of opinion or insight. There’s the local media, who invariably play to the team according to the emotional register traditional in their city (fawning sycophancy in some markets, vicious criticism in others). The insiders, with their mysterious sources who allow them to say only certain things on pain of access-death; the sports networks with their ginned-up rumors and pointless teach-the-controversy panel debates. And the worst of the worst are the NHL personalities themselves, the players who’ve been bullied by years of training into bland clichés so blatantly false they can’t even make eye contact while they’re saying them; the GMs with their completely made-up explanations and insincere evasions. Brian Burke, he’s a big personality and he’s got some strong opinions but I very much doubt the man has ever strung together two completely honest words when speaking about hockey in public. Some of them lie by commission, staring you right in the eye and daring you to call them on it; others by omission, with those knowing glances that whisper I cannot speak all that I know. The state of hockey speech on TV is so poor, so riddled with snark and bullshit, that I have given up hope of ever hearing anyone actually tell it like it is. Don Cherry, at least, tells it like he believes it is. In the absence of truth, the best we can hope for is honesty, and Don Cherry may well be the last honest man in television hockey commentary.”

via In Defense of Don Cherry – Backhand Shelf

“The mindset should be different now. It is different, and looking to see failure is the wrong attitude to have heading to the end of 2012. The Islanders are seven points out of the playoffs and still have the potential to go on a winning streak and make a last serious run for the number eight spot. I’ve said a thousand times that I expect the Islanders to finish 10th or 11th and that this season has been a major sign that the rebuild has finally taken a step in the right direction. The mere fact that we are approaching the middle of March and I can type the word “playoffs” into an Islanders blog is a proof that things are changing for this team.”

via Isles should not ‘Fail for Nail’ – The Checking Line

“This uncertainty of future success, even despite great talent, is likely why people attempt to peer beyond a player’s physical talents and define those intangible characteristics we imagine separate winners from losers. Weisbrod calls it internal fortitude. Others call it swagger. Or confidence. Some guys are winners because they hate to lose. Others seem to inspire their teammates with quiet determination. The list of qualities is often vague and shifting, a subjective, gut instinct that varies from observer to observer. A kind of “I know it when I see it” charisma, bestowed upon and exploited by natural leaders but also pick-up artists and con men in equal measure (although for different purposes).

Whatever that something is, be it a single, inscrutable factor of the Winners persona — or an alchemic combination of attitude, perspective and will power — it is often considered a necessary piece of the puzzle when it comes to building a roster.

After all, winners win. The obvious corollary of which is: losers lose.”

via Behind the NHL’s endless search for natural born winners – Puck Daddy

“Like all the standouts competing in the WCHA finals, Drew Shore will face a difficult decision following the season, as the 2009 second round selection of the Florida Panthers mulls his future. With Quentin Shore due to join the Pioneers, Drew Shore’s biggest lure back to DU might be the family legacy. Nick Shore says a day does not go by in which he doesn’t implore his older brother about how special it would be to have three Shore brothers donning DU’s crimson and gold.

“I think if I do come back, which I don’t really know what I’m doing yet, but that would be the biggest reason that I decide to stay,” Drew Shore said. “It would be to play with Quentin and Nick.”

via Denver Hockey: A Shore Thing – DenverPioneers.com

(H/T to Litter Box Cats)

“Was he Sean Avery or “Sean Avery”? He didn’t undo on Runway what he’s accomplished. He can’t. He was part of an important shift in making straight dudes comfortable in a gay cultural neighborhood. It’s possible his comments were edited down to nothing, that being a judge on this show would suck the life out of anybody. But rather than advancing the conversation he helped start, he kept quiet long enough to make you wonder whether all that diplomacy was real. On Runway, he seemed irrelevant.”

via New York Ranger Sean Avery Is No Dennis Rodman – Grantland

“The bottom line is, unless Smith is being personally invited on the ice by Quenneville he shouldn’t be out there. Word is this decision is coming from upstairs. If Bowman and company want Smith running drills then they should change his title and hand him a track suit. In my opinion Management is overstepping their boundaries and disrespecting one of the top coaches in today’s game. It may not be intentional on Smith’s part but as an organization they should be smart enough to make better decisions.”

via Is Bowman Disrespecting Quenneville? – True Hockey

“For starters, she’s from New Zealand. But more important, the typical hockey mom probably hasn’t posed for Playboy or the covers of Sports Illustrated and Cosmopolitan or married a rock star, Rod Stewart, who is 24 years her senior.

None of that means a thing in the egalitarian world of junior hockey, though. So on a recent bone-cold Saturday night Hunter is simply Liam Stewart’s mom as she sits, shivering, among the other hockey moms — and dads and siblings — in cavernous Spokane Arena.”

via He’s Rod Stewart’s son, but don’t treat him like a rock star – LA Times

“A steady hand was needed. A like-minded approach was warranted. And amid all the chaos of a team that still doesn’t have an owner almost three years later, a coach that could keep his cool and a sense of calm in the storm was essential.

“Peter is a great person and he has proven he’s a great NHL coach,” Maloney said. “But the more I got to know Dave and the more time I spent with him, it was clear we had a common philosophy on how to build an organization. It became crystal clear to me that Dave was the guy.”

The Coyotes needed a foundation of purpose. They needed building blocks of success and the stability of consistency. And the former NHL grinder who enjoys building motorcycles and crafting homes in his spare time was the right guy to take on a hefty rebuilding project in the desert.”

via Honesty, defense help Coyotes succeed for Tippett – NHL.com

“This isn’t a new trend. Coverage of the Blues has been lacking for years. I’ve been under the belief you must earn coverage. The Blues needed to right the ship and win some hockey games in order to deserve their spot in the headlines and their place in talk radio. I think it’s safe to say the Blues have done their part. They have become an elite team in the NHL. Now where’s the coverage?”

via Is Local Media Coverage Keeping Pace with the Blues? – Frozen Notes

Some great writing from last week that deserves your attention

“All Wild fans were doing was sitting around, watching games, amazed by the team’s performance, and hoping it would continue. No one predicted the Wild were going to win the Stanley Cup, no one thought the Wild were sure fire winners in any given game. They were quietly enjoying the fun that is watching your favorite team outperform its expectations.

Out of the blue, the “stat guys’” pit bull broke his leash and went on his little bender. Then, and only then, was there any fight at all. Wild fans, and me, just wanted to be left alone. The “stats guys” couldn’t resist the urge to not only rain on the parade…”

via Cinderella vs The ‘Stats Guys,’ or How We Just Don’t Give a Damn – Hockey Wilderness

“When you’re a parent, you acquire the ability to look at any child and imagine your child in that position — as a disaffected teen, as a kid shunned on the playground, as a kid who stutters, as a kid who is bullied. You learn to shut it out a little, because it is a small way to break your heart.

When Brian or Patrick Burke hear about gay children being bullied, being drummed out of sports, even committing suicide, they can see Brendan.

via Patrick Burke spreads message of inclusion in memory of Brendan Burke – National Post

“Ryan Wood scored a hat trick in the final hockey game of his young life, one in which he had already scored a much bigger goal — beating cancer.”

via Crash victim beat cancer, loved hockey – London Free Press

“Guy Lafleur was one of the greatest players of his generation despite his pack-or-two-a-day habit, say some who played with him. Bowman says that Lafleur regularly smoked a cigarette between periods.

“He’d smoke in the (hotel) room, but always in the bathroom,” says former Colorado Avalanche great Joe Sakic, who shared hotel quarters with Lafleur on the road when the two were teammates on the Quebec Nordiques during the final two seasons (1989-91) of The Flower’s career. “I told him he didn’t have to do that. I mean, I was in awe of him. He could have done whatever he wanted. But he always insisted.”

via Guy Lafleur, Mario Lemieux among NHL, sports stars who smoked – SI.com

“For decades, debates centered on whether hockey could survive without fighting. It is viewed by some as a necessary thermostat regulating the heat of a physical game, and by others as a way to draw bigger audiences.

Now the talk is about how long the sport can live with fighting.

That change has perched hockey at one of the most significant crossroads of its long history, as leaders see an opening to extinguish the game’s tradition of intermittent anarchy, particularly among teenage combatants.”

via Fighting in Amateur Hockey Leagues May Be on Way Out – NY Times

“The scene opens in an airy office with a large wooden table in the middle. Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson sits on one end of the table talking into his cellphone and typing on his laptop. Next to him sits senior advisor Craig Patrick. In front of them sit four other employees of the Columbus Blue Jackets who are watching TSN to see the trades that are going down.

12:00 p.m.

Scott Howson: Dougy, how many times do we need to go over this? If you want Nash you need to give us a good deal. We’re not accepting any deals without getting back … uhh. Howson looks over at Patrick distraught and confused. Patrick points to a name on a piece of paper. Howson, looking relieved, nods.”

via Inside The Rick Nash Negotiations – Blueshirt Banter

“To be frank, I can’t remember a team that recently went “all-in” at the deadline that won the Stanley Cup, which is the ultimate goal (not making the playoffs). Tomas Kaberle helped, minimally, but the Bruins were already pretty good when they got him and safely in playoff contention. Unlike this current model of the Capitals, who are struggling to get in. And judging by how the Bruins didn’t even offer Kaberle a new deal this past offseason, I bet you Peter Chiarelli regrets that deal a little bit, considering what he gave up.

Would you rather McPhee broke the bank and rolled out Dmitry Orlov, Cody Eakin, a first round pick, and maybe more to Buffalo in a run after, say, Derek Roy? I wouldn’t. Roy is small, injury prone, and he hasn’t been consistent this year. Plus his contract is up after this season and there is no guarantee that he will re-sign in Washington.”

via McPhee Stays Smart – Rock The Red

“Three days later, at 6:30 a.m., the phone rang. Bethann checked the caller ID. New Jersey. Ruslan’s agent, Mark Gandler. There’d been a horrific accident.

“I was right back in that same attorney’s office going over what we had just done two months before, the will, all that stuff,” Bethann says now. “It didn’t even seem real. It still doesn’t seem real. It seems too perfect, you know, how everything unfolded? It’s like we planned on him dying.”

via Bethann Salei: Her heart goes on – OC Register

“I Might Just Be A Hockey Fan In California” is a feature that is posted every Saturday here at the View From My Seats. There are plenty of things going on in the hockey world (and even the sports world); and you know everyone has an opinion. This is a place for some quick hits of the week that was.

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I might just be a hockey fan in California, but:

- Crosby Crosby Crosby Crosby Crosby Crosby OH MY GOD… *deep breath* Crosby Crosby Crosby Crosby Crosby Crosby!!!

- The “If you can play, you can play” campaign makes me proud to be associated with the NHL, its players, and hockey in general.

- For all the offseason changes in Buffalo, some things don’t change. Pegula and Company beat out a handful of teams on July 1 to land Ville Leino and they dropped a massive 10-year contract to secure Christian Ehrhoff, but the story is still the same in upstate New York. So goes Ryan Miller, so go the Buffalo Sabres playoff chances.

- It’s interesting that Mathieu Garon and Tuukka Rask were the ones that went down with groin injuries this week. Interesting because Tim Thomas and Dwayne Roloson are a combined 217 years old.

- One of the best stories of the week came from the OHL when forward-turned-emergency-goalie Connor Crisp took one for the team and played between the pipes for the Erie Otters. Actually, he took 13 for the team. After the game, Maple Leafs goaltender James Reimer said he wanted to call Crisp and congratulate him—not for being a great teammate, but because he showed he’s good enough to play goaltender for the Leafs.

A better blogger would have Photoshopped a Predators jersey here. Sorry Alex...

- You have to wonder if the NHLPA would approve Alex Radulov’s playoff eligibility. I understand that he’s been property of the Predators since he left for the KHL, but the spirit of the rule has always been to avoid “ringers” coming in at the end of the season. I love watching the guy play, but would have a hard time digesting the NHLPA’s decision. The guy bails on his team—only to be willing to come back at the very end of a season (to fulfill the last year of an entry-level deal) to a team that has enough talent to make a playoff run? From the team’s perspective (and Nashville fans), it would be great to see Radulov join the team for the Predators playoff run. But from an individual standpoint, a selfish individual would be getting what he wants. Again.

- Very early returns are showing that Jack Johnson is thriving as “the man” in Columbus. We’ll see how he handles the two-way responsibilities that come with playing 27 minutes per game, but here’s to hoping Johnson thrives with his new team. He was always a gracious interview in all the times I dealt with him in LA—best of luck to a true pro.

- Speaking of the Jeff Carter/Jack Johnson trade, huge props to the person in the Blue Jackets marketing department who came up with the idea to swap out the nameplate on any Jeff Carter sweater for a Johnson nameplate. They surely lost money in potential jersey sales, but the promotion was a great way to turn a huge negative into a positive. Whoever came up with the idea needs a promotion.

- And speaking of being a professional, I’m convinced that things like “pace of the game” and the size of the opponents are overrated adjustments. The most important part? Learning to dodge questions from the media. Just ask Cody Hodgson.

- Brendan Smith is going to be a good one for the Red Wings. Probably sooner than later.

- I know the trade deadline is like mid-season Christmas and is supposed to be overanalyzed—but I hope people are starting to realize that Zack Kassian won’t make or break the Canucks season. Guys like Luongo, Kesler, Edler, and the Sedins will do that.

- If you earn a hat trick by scoring two empty netters, then take it. There are plenty of times a guy deserves a 3rd goal and can’t capitalize—so take ‘em when you can get ‘em. Right Milan Michalek?

- Just a quick correction. Mike Green wasn’t given a 3-game suspension for elbowing an opponent. He was given three games for actually playing defense. As clearly stated in Rule 48.52: “Mike Green is only allowed to play the 100 feet of ice furthest away from his own netminder.”

- Under Davis Payne, the St. Louis Blues were out of the playoff picture. Under Ken Hitchcock, they’re on top of the entire NHL. No disrespect to any of the other 29 coaches, but they should be content with 2nd place and a trip to Las Vegas. The Jack Adams race is over.

- Is there anything more infuriating than watching a team play to the level of their opponents at this point in the season?

- Dear Nicklas Grossman(n): once you’ve played four seasons in the NHL, you don’t get to change the spelling of your name. You’ve had plenty of time to straighten that out sir.

- The Stars battling for a playoff spot really shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Whether they made the cut or not, most agreed that Dallas would be in the conversation for one of the last spots. But battling (and threatening to runaway with) the Pacific Division crown? That wasn’t as predictable—and they’re only going to get stronger with captain Brendan Morrow returning to the lineup.

- Great job by the Flyers to pay tribute to Mark Howe. It may have taken over twenty years, but between the Hall of Fame induction and having his number retired, it looks like he’s starting to get the credit he’s deserved for such a long time.

"Tim, can you loan me five bucks? Why? Oh, no reason..."

- Boston GM Peter Chiarelli said he thought there was about a 50/50 shot that Marty Turco would clear waivers and make it to the Bruins’ roster. Now that he’s here, it’ll be interesting to see how many games Tim Thomas plays down the stretch. Either way, I have a 5 dollar bill that says Turco will get into a game this month.

- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan wants an NHL team now? Really? So does Grand Rapids, South Dakota…

- So Marcel Dionne compared Anze Kopitar to Mats Sundin and it wasn’t a compliment? I’m sure the Kings would be happy if he was a point-per-game player in Los Angeles for over 1300+ games.

- One of the big questions surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs was whether GM Brian Burke would ever pull the trigger on firing head coach Ron Wilson. Well, he finally did—but not after he gave him a golden parachute (read: contract extension) to fall back on. If it weren’t for the fact that Rogers and Bell own the majority of the Maple Leafs, I might actually feel sorry for ownership.

- As happy as Leafs fans were to see a new coach for the stretch run, the happiest people on the planet must have been the owners in Anaheim. That’s right, with Randy Carlyle taking the job in Toronto, the Ducks no long have to pay two coaches for their 13th place finish.

- Is it really this simple? When Mike Smith is hot, the Coyotes win. When he’s not, they don’t. There has to more to it, right? Please tell me there’s more to it.

- So Jonathan Toews has a concussion and is embarrassed that he got into a car accident. Let’s just hope someone has checked his L1 vertebrae before he misses too much time.

- The Penguins erected a Mario Lemieux statue in Pittsburgh, because a lottery drum just looked weird, right?

- On behalf of all fans around the world, can we please try to avoid another lockout? What’s the old saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me…

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Click here for our archive of past editions of our “I Might Just Be A Hockey Fan In California” feature.

Around View From My Seats, we enjoy great writing almost as much as we enjoy the sport we cover. Each week, there are excellent writers doing their thing all over the hockey blogosphere—so many, in fact, that it’s easy to miss some of the good stuff that gets published each week. Each week throughout the season, we shoot to bring you some of the best writing from around the web. Some will be from the mainstream media and some will be from talented bloggers doing it for the love of the game. Some entries will come from beat writers around North America and still others will come from national writers bringing a “big picture” perspective. We don’t care. We’re just looking for great hockey writing. Everything else can go to hell.

If you find anything that catches your eye and you think should be included, feel free to contact us and we’ll consider it for next week’s installment!

Without further ado, here is our weekly trip around the hockey blogosphere bringing you some of the best articles that you may have missed.

____________________________

“American born hockey player Even Kaufmann is showing that it is. The great-grandson of two people who were killed at the hands of the Nazis, Evan is trying to carry on his grandfather’s dream of forgiveness by playing on the German national team as well as the DEG Metro Stars of the German professional league. Not quite elite enough for American professional hockey, Kaufmann went where he needed to go to live his dream, and it happened to be a place where the dreams of millions died.”

via The amazing power of forgiveness and hockey – Puck Drunk Love

“Now I know what you’re thinking: “this sounds like a good racket, how do I get in on this?” Lucky for you, I’ve studied these “insiders” on twitter for months, learned their ways, and am now ready to release my findings to you, the trusting hockey public. Below is my step-by-step guide to becoming an NHL insider. Follow my E.K.L.U.N.D. system closely and you’ll be swimming in Twitter followers in no time.”

via How to Make Yourself an NHL Twitter “Insider”: the E.K.L.U.N.D. System – On the Forecheck

“Imagine that you have come up in an organization and grown into a role where you are a regular contributor for your team. You love the city that you are in, and you love your teammates. As a group, you’ve worked hard to put yourself in a position where this year might be “the” year. You couldn’t be more invested in YOUR team and now you have a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup.

At noon on deadline day, you get a call from your GM telling you that you’ve been traded away in exchange for what he hopes is the “missing piece.”

via The Player: For NHLers, trade deadline is nothing but stress, tension and awkward goodbyes – Puck Daddy

“The thing that got me more than anything else is that College Hockey Inc. is funded by the NHL via USA Hockey. I wish somebody would explain to me how the NHL on one hand is funding College Hockey, Inc. while suggesting to its own draft picks that their development would be better helped by playing in the juniors than going to school.”

via Pointing the finger in the wrong direction – The Prospect Park

“The Stars once operated a really nice franchise, the bellwether for the so-called non-traditional market teams. They were more than hardy playoff perennials. They were champions, in 1999, and they were Western Conference cornerstones, with Detroit and Colorado, at a time when the East sometimes seemed like it was the junior varsity. Now, just as the organization badly stubs its toe by missing the playoffs since a run to the 2008 conference final, the Texas Rangers keep playing into October — “I honestly didn’t know what the Texas Rangers were until three years ago,” Stars pot-stirrer Steve Ott says — and Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks win the NBA championship, taking some of the money off of the table and sucking most of the oxygen out of the room.”

via Dallas Stars have sunk into NHL anonymity – SI.com
(h/t to Defending Big D)

“The point isn’t that we dislike Bryzgalov or anything, or even that all the team’s struggles over the last month have been on Bryz. They haven’t been. The defense has been bad, the PK has been bad, the team on the whole has been average-at-best, Sergei Bobrovsky has been bad. It’s not all on Bryzgalov, but he’s a big piece of the puzzle — and most importantly, the most expensive piece of it.

Of course we want him to play better hockey, but in booing his poor play, it’s letting him know that we’re unhappy in the only way we know how to let that be known. And it’s letting it be known that hey, that contract sucks, Paul and Ed. You shouldn’t have signed it.”

via On booing Ilya Bryzgalov – Broad Street Hockey

“And with that, the crack at the heart of all this was revealed. That the criticism of Ovechkin came from within the organization seems like a turning point; when he ran short of options then-coach Bruce Boudreau tried benching Ovechkin for a critical shift towards the end of his tenure, but it was too little, too late. Now a McPhee-sanctioned slap on his star player’s attitude, and perhaps even his lifestyle … well, that sounds a lot like an emergency brake being pulled to try to keep the train on the tracks.”

via Washington Capitals’ empire crumbles around them – National Post

“If you’re a forward, you never want to see a defenseman from your team get traded for a forward from another team. Immediately, the new forward is going to be ahead of you on the depth chart. And if you’re the 13th forward, don’t forget to pack your track suit because you’re heading back to the minors.

If you’re a forward, you never want to see draft picks or minor-league players from your team get traded for an NHL forward. Again, that player is now playing ahead of you. Just hope it’s a direct flight to Binghamton.”

via The Journeyman: Deadline from player’s viewpoint – NHL.com

Around View From My Seats, we enjoy great writing almost as much as we enjoy the sport we cover. Each week, there are excellent writers doing their thing all over the hockey blogosphere—so many, in fact, that it’s easy to miss some of the good stuff that gets published each week. Each week throughout the season, we shoot to bring you some of the best writing from around the web. Some will be from the mainstream media and some will be from talented bloggers doing it for the love of the game. Some entries will come from beat writers around North America and still others will come from national writers bringing a “big picture” perspective. We don’t care. We’re just looking for great hockey writing. Everything else can go to hell.

If you find anything that catches your eye and you think should be included, feel free to contact us and we’ll consider it for next week’s installment!

Without further ado, here is our weekly trip around the hockey blogosphere bringing you some of the best articles that you may have missed.

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“Let me get into the numbers a little bit. The industry in terms of hockey-related revenue was at right about $2 billion before the lockout and the first year after the lockout. We expect it to be a little over $3 billion this year. I’ve heard rumors, of course, that the owners are going to be asking for significant concessions or major concessions or enormous concessions, and whether that will prove to be true remains to be seen. I’ve been in this business long enough to be satisfied that their positions will become clear when the time comes, and we don’t need to invent imaginary horribles until we get there.”

via Proteau: One-on-one with NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr – The Hockey News

“When it comes to collective bargaining, Fehr doesn’t want only the executive board or the negotiating committee involved. He wants the rank-and-file involved, too. Each team will have its own mini negotiating committee – “four or five guys getting all the information, reading it, talking about it,” according to Schultz. Fehr will make a point to schedule bargaining sessions with the league so players can attend. If a session is held during the season, he wants it in a place where teams will be, at a time when players from both teams can attend.”

via Don Fehr’s union sounds ready to take on NHL – Yahoo! Sports

“Bottom line, the Penguins desperately needed a player like Neal and they knew how to get the most out of him. That’s huge for them, because the guess is that Neal couldn’t produce those power play minutes or numbers in Dallas. It just wasn’t possible this season. Conversely, the Stars are still learning how to use Goligoski.

So, in retrospect, both sides have reasons to have made the trade, both sides seem happy with what they got, and that should be enough, right?”

via What better time to re-examine the James Neal trade than today? – Dallas Morning News

“Is the game better off with Ovechkin involved? Absolutely but why should he go when he’s on the suspended list? If he can’t play in a regular game should he even be allowed to play in the ASG? I’m curious what Brendan Shanahan would have done if he was still an active player?”

via Ovechkin says No Thanks – True Hockey

“The added aggravation of a concussion is that it’s impossible to project how long a player will be out.

“I’ve stopped asking the doctor and trainer,” Burke said. “I just wait until I get a report that he is riding the bike.”

via Costly concussions – USA Today

“In the same way that pitchers in baseball have the Cy Young Award, goalies have the Vezina Trophy that is awarded annually, and since there is already recognition given to the best goalie for every season, goalies normally get excluded from consideration for the Hart Trophy. However, Lundqvist’s season puts him into consideration for the Hart Trophy. Entering the all-star break, he is the only goaltender to be in the top 5 in the league in wins, goals against average, save percentage, and shutouts. More importantly, although the Rangers are 2nd in the NHL in points, they are only 11th in the league in goals, which reflects how important Lundqvist’s play has been to his team’s success.”

via Henrik Lundqvist Is the Heart of the Rangers, But is He Also the Hart of the NHL? – The Hockey Writers

“Two team sources think Thomas’s decision won’t have a negative effect inside the dressing room because it reflects no deviation from his character. Separately, the sources both said Thomas’s actions merely revealed what his teammates have known since 2006-07, his first full season with the Bruins: that he is a solitary, me-against-the-world figure who often puts himself in front of the team.”

via Team is used to Thomas’s ways – Boston Globe

“While my father knew enough people for me to get to a lot of Washington Capitals games, the minor league experience started for me when Baltimore got hockey back in the form of the Baltimore Bandits, in which we were season ticket holders for their first season. It was closer to home, easier to get to, and a chance to see different players than what I’ve been seeing at the old Capital Centre. Sad to say, that didn’t last long as the Bandits only stayed two season before departing to Cincinnati because the city didn’t support the team, thanks to lack of advertising about the team.”

Via Baltimore, bandits, and life in the locker room – Shooting for the Show (guest post by Scotty Wazz)

“Personally, I was optimistic that the NHL had thought this through, and could make good on its promise to make the schedule more efficient. Gone would be the days of an East Coast team flying out to California for two games against the Ducks and Kings, only to return later in the season to play the Sharks and the Stars. Not to mention a third trip out west to swing through Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. Not to mention those Western teams coming East.

Players around the league shake their heads at this type of thing every year.

Maybe, we thought, the new travel schedule wouldn’t be that bad if we could have fewer, longer, better organized road trips. I assumed, also, that the travel burden would be eased on teams such as the Wild, the Red Wings, the Jets and the Stars.

After all, wasn’t that what prompted the realignment discussion to begin with?”

via The Player: Why NHL players rejected realignment, and why the backlash was worth it – Puck Daddy

“The corner of Portage Avenue and Main Street is known to be the coldest spot in North America,” says native son Monty Hall. (Yes, that Monty Hall.) It’s an oft-repeated claim, but there is something almost supernaturally frigid about the iconic downtown intersection a few blocks from the Jets’ home ice at the MTS Centre. Former Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice remembers his first visit. He called a friend on a pay phone from the corner but had to hang up early. “My hand was freezing to the phone,” he says.

via Everybody loves Winnipeg – SI.com

“I think sometimes our league forgets about people like that,” Tortorella said. “That restores a little faith for me, that the league stepped up and when it was clear it was deserved, and gave it to him. It’s not just pedigree, it’s what he’s done on the ice. I couldn’t be happier.”

“He’s a big reason why I’m here and can talk with you today,” Tortorella said of Girardi. “That’s the highest compliment you can give him. He has turned himself into a pro.”

via Rangers’ Girardi Rises From Free Agent to All-Star – Slap Shot blog