CBC:  In the room with centre Jim Slater (video).  Mitch sits down with Jim Slater to talk about the injury to Karlsson, what the Jets need to do to beat the Penguins and his faceoff prowess.

TSN:  Bogosian returns to line-up as Jets host Penguins.  Music to Jets fans ears (or eyes since you are reading the news not listening to it).

Winnipeg Free Press:  Tangradi’s first game as a Jet against old teammates on Pens.  He was already surrounded by media this morning and based on his answers Jets fans are going to be in for quite a treat from their new left winger.

Illegal Curve: Coach Claude Noel pre-game press conference.   Penguins talk.  Switching up lines with hope to get guys going.  Having a healthy defence corps for the first time this season.  Has Burmistrov made an impact and what changes has he seen?  Developing consistency in a shortened season.  Team physicality.  Describes the game  he would like his team to play.  Will they monitor Bogosian?  Will the Jets respect of Pens get the team ready to play?

Video to watch – Manitoba man goes bananas at the rink:

Winnipeg Sun:  Don Cherry says Evander Kane claims are ridiculous.  Cherry has had Kane’s back but now feels the Jets young power forward needs to grow up.  What do you think?

Winnipeg Free Press:  Noel says more ‘A’ games needed from players.  The beauty of Claude Noel is he isn’t afraid to speak in plain terms and he stated today in pretty clear language that he expects improvement in this team.  He feels like he can win with this squad but it will require a better collective effort.

Winnipeg Sun:  Bogo a game time decision.  Coach Noel knows that it won’t be easy to just ease him back into the lineup.  Bogosian hasn’t played a competitive game since the Jets 2011-12 season ended and he will be full throttle when/if he gets the call against the Penguins.

Jets official site:  CBC 60th Anniversary – Don Cherry look-a-like contest.  The Contest began yesterday and ends this Friday at Noon.  To enter visit the Winnipeg Jets Official Facebook Page and post your best Don Cherry Look-a-like photo on the wall.  The winner receives two lower bowl tickets to the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night and a bunch of other prizes.

Illegal Curve:  Coach Noel post-practice presser.  Andrew Ladd had a maintenance day.  Zach Bogosian will be a game time decision but looks ready to go.  Montoya is probably week-to-week.  Miettinen remains week-to-week.  Tangradi addition.  What would keep him from putting Bogosian into the lineup?  If he plays, what would he expect?  Talk about Pasquale.  Evander Kane talk regarding The Hockey News article.  Where does his team stand at the 1/4 pole of the season?  Having patience.  Striving for success.  Playing the right way.  

Illegal Curve:  Player audio from the MTS Centre.  Zach Bogosian addressed his recovery from injury and his eagerness to get back into the lineup.  New call-up Eddie Pasquale spoke about getting ‘the call’, excitement at being in the NHL and his game.

Illegal Curve:  Evander Kane address the racism claims made in The Hockey News article.  Evander Kane addressed the media following the furor that resulted after the release of snippets of his The Hockey News interview in which it was asserted that the colour of his skin causes a fair degree of the criticism he has faced.

Byfuglien is listed on the Jets website at 6’5″ and 265lbs…sounds about right.

Rick Nash traded to Rangers

Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets trade Nash to Rangers.

“In exchange for Nash, the Blue Jackets have acquired forwards Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov, defenseman Tim Erixon and a first-round pick, according to TSN. The Blue Jackets also send a third-round pick and a minor-league defenseman to the Rangers, The Dispatch has confirmed.”

Ranger Rants: Rangers set to acquire Nash– today. The Rangers look like winners in this deal, they acquired the best player in the swap and did not give up Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh or Chris Kreider.

Here’s the Twitterverse reaction to the Nash trade.

Around the NHL

The Hockey News: Doan searches for new team. He’s met with the Flyers and Rangers but it seems that just about everyone is still in the mix.

The Miami Herald: Florida Panthers, Kris Versteeg agree to four-year deal. Hopefully the Jets find a way to contain last seasons “Jet killer”. He recorded 10 points in five games against Winnipeg last season.

New York Post: Visnovsky files grievance to have trade to Islanders voided. If I was traded to the Islanders, I would do the same thing.

Globe & Mail: Nashville signs Sergei Kostitsyn to 2-year, $6-millon deal. Hard for Predators fans to get excited about this after losing Ryan Suter and potentially Shea Weber.

Winnipeg Jets development camp continued today at the MTS Iceplex.

Winnipeg Jets News

It appears that Jets prospect Ivan Telegin (pronounced Tel-ee-gin) is out until September after requiring surgery for a cut on his hand sustained from climbing a fence. Who knew that Telegin participated in parkour?

Winnipeg Sun: Telegin’s hand will keep him out till September.

Telegin spent last season with the Barrie Colts, and will be at Jets training camp in September competing for a roster spot.

Winnipeg Free Press: Jets hope Telegin will be ready by September.

Teemu Selanne re-signs

The Finnish Flash is back for another year. The 42 year-old is showing no signs of slowing down, scoring 66 points in 82 games last year. It’s hard to believe that the Winnipeg Jets 10th overall selection in 1988 will be entering his 20th season next year.

Orange County Register: Selanne back for another tour with the Ducks.

Globe & Mail: Teemu Selanne re-signs for one more year with Anaheim Ducks.

Shane Doan News

The Hockey News: Doan’s new deadline. Doan had originally set a deadline of July 9 to make a decision regarding the Coyotes. But as we have seen with the Coyotes situation over the last few years is that deadlines are meaningless. Doan’s new deadline is July 16 to make a decision. Somebody please put these Coyotes to sleep already.

The Sporting News: Shane Doan gives Coyotes more time as ‘legal wrangling’ looms. I’ll give Doan props to wanting to stay with the only organization he’s ever known, but with the ongoing uncertainty, it is looking like it is time to cut the cord.

USA Today: Agent: 16 teams have inquired about Shane Doan.At least Doan knows that over half the league will welcome him with open arms.

NHL News

The Hockey News: More to CBA negotiations than money. A nice read by Adam Proteau who will be a guest on Saturday’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show airing from 9am to 11am on TSN Radio 1290.

National Post: Toronto Maple Leafs-Red Wings Winter Classic to feature two alumni games. The alumni game has become an event just as great as the actual Winter Classic. The two original six franchises surely have enough alumni to field more than two teams, props to the NHL for giving fans more of a good thing.

The following players have been confirmed to play on December 31st  at Comerica Park. (The Winter Classic is January 1st, 2013 at Michigan Stadium).

Detroit: Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Chris Chelios, Larry Murphy, Mickey Redmond, John Ogrodnick, Luc Robitaille, Dino Ciccarelli, Mark Howe, Chris Osgood, Mike Vernon, Alex Delvecchio, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty, Joe Kocur.

Toronto: Wendel Clark, Darryl Sittler, Doug Gilmour, Rick Vaive, Darcy Tucker, Felix Potvin, Mike Palmateer, Kevin Maguire, Dave Andreychuk, Curtis Joseph, Johnny Bower, Ron Ellis and Jim McKenny.

More players will be confirmed as we get closer to the date of the game.

Sportsnet.ca: Report: Kings’ Bernier asks for trade. He was supposed to be the number one in LA., but Jon Quick rose to the occasion and grabbed the number one spot. With Quick signing a long term deal, hard to fault Bernier for wanting a chance to prove himself. Rumored teams interested are, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Columbus and Chicago.

The Dallas Morning News: D-FW’s best athlete tournament: Ian Kinsler vs. Loui Eriksson. With the slow news week, the Dallas Morning news has created their own tournament to determine the best athlete in the Dallas Fort Worth Area. At the time of this posting, Loui Eriksson is ahead of the Texas Rangers Ian Kinsler 54.73% to 45.27%. The other Dallas Star in the tournament is Jamie Benn who is up against Tony Romo in round two after defeating gymnast Nastia Lukin in round one. Nice to see NHLers getting their props in a saturated sports market.

Sportsnet.ca: Sharks ink Galiardi, McCarthy, McLaren. Congratulations to Winnipeg’s Frazer McLaren on signing a new one year deal with San Jose.

Sakic, Sundin and Oates were locks to get in, Bure was questionable due to his shortened career but definitely deserving as he was one of the top players in the league when he played.

What’s more surprising about this year’s class is who didn’t get in, rather than who did. There’s no question that Sakic, Sundin, Oates and Bure are Hall of Famers, and the same can be said about Brendan Shanahan. I don’t know how someone could argue that he is not a hall of famer.

Hall of Fame Inductees

TSN.ca: Sakic, Sundin, Oates and Bure to be inducted into HHOF. Pavel Bure was my favourite player growing up, I’m happy to see that he gets his due.

Globe and Mail: Joe Sakic headlines 2012 Hall of Fame inductees. One of the great captains of all time. His contributions to the 2002 Olympic team won’t be forgotten. (Hard to believe that was ten years ago)

Toronto Star: Maple Leafs great Mats Sundin elected to hockey hall of fame. But where does he rank among great Toronto Maple Leafs? Interesting to note that he did not win a single NHL award in his nineteen year NHL career. Interesting…yet not that surprising.

Hall of Fame Snubs

The Detroit News: Former Red Wing Brendan Shanahan a surprise omission from Hall of Fame. Hard to believe that the current NHL director of hockey operations and player safety didn’t get in with a resume of 656 goals (2nd most all time by a left wing), 2,000 penalty minutes and three Stanley Cups.

The thing about the voting process, as we’ve seen in baseball as well as hockey throughout the years, is that it doesn’t always make sense. Shanahan will get in eventually.

Hall of Fame Reaction Tweets

Personally, I think it’s ludicrous that Brendan Shanahan wasn’t a first-ballot HHOFer, and that Fred Shero and Pat Burns are still not there

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 26, 2012

Thrilled for Bure and Oates. Their HHOF call was long overdue. Stunned, however, Shanahan wasn’t first ballot. — Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) June 26, 2012

Another year & Pat Burns still isn’t inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. An ongoing & increasingly outrageous disgrace. — Adam Proteau (@Proteautype) June 26, 2012

Shanahan has more goals than every player inducted into the Hall this year… — James Mirtle (@mirtle) June 26, 2012

Breaking news: Brendan Shanahan has suspended the Hockey Hall of Fame 10 games for not inducting him into the 2012 Class. — Ezra Ginsburg (@ICEzzyG) June 26, 2012

Coaching News

Washington Post: Adam Oates named Capitals coach.This will be a day of celebration in the Oates’ household.

Washington Times: Capitals hire Adam Oates as new coach.The question we will be asking throughout the summer is can he get Alex Ovechkin back to his previous 50-goal level?

Vancouver Sun: Scott Arniel named head coach of Canucks AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves. He replaces the departed Craig MacTavish. Arniel previously coached the Canucks AHL affiliate when it was the Manitoba Moose from 2006-10 (remember the Moose?).

Free Agency

National Post: Caution in the air as NHL free agency arrives. Lots of uncertainty at this time of year with CBA negotiations looming. Who will be this year’s James Wisniewski? For all of your free agency news, stay tuned to the Illegal Curve Hockey Show this weekend from 9am-Noon on Saturday and 9am-12:30pm on Sunday LIVE from the Winnipeg Free Press News Cafe.

NHL News

Sergei Bobrovsky traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Dispatch: Bobrovsky dealt to Blue Jackets. The Jackets acquired the Flyers goaltender for a second round pick, and a fourth round pick this season and another fourth round pick next season. Steve Mason has sputtered since winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 2008-09. Bobrovsky was stuck behind Ilya Bryzgalov’s massive contract in Philadelphia and has shown that he has hte ability to start. This is definitely an upgrade over last years Steve Mason/Curtis Sanford tandem.

CSN Philly: Bobrovsky traded to the Blue Jackets for picks. From the Flyers point of view, they only had five picks in the seven rounds of the draft, now they have seven picks this year. They had traded away two second round picks during the season to acquire Niklas Grossman and Pavel Kubina. While the Flyers currently don’t have a backup to Ilya Bryzgalov (we know they’ll need one), CSN’s Tim Pannacio thinks veterans Marty Biron, Scott Clemmensen and Johan Hedberg would be a good fit.

Philly.com: Who will back up Bryz? Frank Servalli thinks the Flyers should acquire Brian Boucher, currently under contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. Flyer fans have to be nervous about their goaltending situation next season.

Rick Nash rumors

Ottawa Citizen: Ottawa Senators still pursuing Nash. The Sens and the Sharks are both making a play for Rick Nash, the Sharks have offered Ryane Clowe, Joe Pavelski, Jason Demers and a first round pick. While the Sens have offered Robin Lehner and last years first round pick Mika Zibanejad. Allen Panzeri also mentions that Nick Foligno and Ben Bishop’s names have been thrown around as well. If I’m Scott Howson, I’d take the deal from the Sharks.

NESN: Rick Nash trade wouldn’t make sense for most teams given risk of such a deal. Ricky Doyle thinks that Nash’s cap hit at $7.8 million is just too much to give away top prospects like Tyler Seguin or Dougie Hamilton in exchange. After seeing how well the Flyers did from trading Jeff Carter and Mike Richards last year (even if they didn’t go as far in the playoffs, they received a nice haul for those to players) teams may be reluctant to give up a huge package for the 28 year old Nash. We had a debate with some friends on twitter last week, if you were the Jets, would you trade Evander Kane for Rick Nash, it took me less than a second to say no.

Tim Thomas waives no-movement clause

Boston Globe: Tim Thomas waives no-movement clause. The clause was set to expire on July 1, this allows the Bruins to trade him earlier. Thomas is due $3 million next season, while at a cap hit of $5 million. Fluto Shinzawa reports that teams near the cap floor are looking to acquire him to boost the cap number. He suggests Colorado, Nashville and Phoenix as potential suitors due to their current salary level. This time last year Thomas was a Conn Smythe winner and at the top of the NHL, now he’s on his way out of Boston. How the mighty have fallen.

NESN: Tim Thomas waives no-trade clause, could give Bruins chance to dump goalies contract.Nick Kypreos reports (@RealKyper) that Thomas still intends to sit out next season. I still don’t think he’ll sit out, it really makes no sense at all. But then again, not visiting the White House didn’t make any sense, so we shouldn’t be surprised.

PK Subban to Oilers Rumors

Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper): “#SNdraft? Sources saying ?#Canadiens? quietly shopping PK Subban. Would PK entice ?#Oilers? for package deal involving 1st ?#NHL? over-all pick?”

Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec): “If Oilers can get Subban, they may have to send a Petry or Smid Montreal’s way, and perhaps 32nd pick as well.”

After hearing through the weekend that it was likely the Oilers would hang on to their number one pick, the rumors heat up with only hours until draft time.

CBA Discussion

The Canadian Press: NHLPA expects to start CBA talks next week. Lets get this done as quick and painlessly as possible, nobody wants next years hockey season to be in peril. (We all know this will be anything but quick and painless)

Here are the last twelve ninth overall picks, quite a wide range of talent has been taken at that slot since the year 2000.

2011. Dougie Hamilton

2010: Mikael Granlund

2009: Jared Cowen

2008: Josh Bailey

2007: Logan Couture

2006: James Sheppard

2005: Brian Lee

2004: Laidlsav Smid

2003: Dion Phaneuf

2002: Petr Taticek

2001: Tuomo Ruutu

2000: Brent Krahn

At least this year’s draft picks will be able to put on an official Winnipeg Jets jersey, rather than a black jersey with the NHL shield.

Winnipeg Jets News

The Hockey News: Busy Canadian teams. Lyle Richardson comments on the Evander Kane rumors that have been swirling since the weekend. At Illegal Curve, we’re not sure how valid they are, yesterday Kane’s agent said that they will be negotiating with the Jets at the draft this weekend.

Welcome to the Barnstormer: Waiting for Morris Lukowich. A fan re-lives his memories of the Winnipeg Jets 1.0 (hat tip @ICDave)

NHL Draft

Illegal Curve: For all your draft preview needs, listen to Saturday’s edition of the Illegal Curve Hockey Show. Our “Draft Preview” episode is a great primer to get you ready for the NHL Draft, our guests, Craig Button (TSN), Grant Sonier (ESPN) and Corey Pronman (Hockey Prospectus) provide great insight on all of the potential draftees.

Empty Netters: Penguins have avoided Europe in the draft under Shero. A very nice table in this article illustrating the frequency of teams selecting European players since 2006. The Blues are first, selecting 17 of 35 players from Europe, the Islanders are second with 17 of 52 picks being European. The Sabres have picked the least European players since 2006 with only 4 of their 43 picks being European. The Thrashers/Jets are near the bottom with 9 of 44.With only one season under his belt, it is difficult to get a read of Jets management’s tendencies but they did not select a European player at last years draft (seven picks).

The Hockey Writers: Latest Mock Draft. For what it’s worth, they have the Jets taking Bendan Gaunce, a centre from Belleville of the OHL.

Sportsnet.ca: Diamonds in the rough: NHL Entry Draft steals. You don’t need a top pick to select a superstar. This is a list full of All-Stars and Hall of Famers who were taken late in the draft. Sometimes the most important picks are made at the end.

Player News

The OC Register: Report: Selanne planning return to Ducks. According to a Finnish publication, Selanne plans to return this season. If the Ducks come to Winnipeg again, will he get a similar ovation? The media surrounding that event was ridiculous, re listen to the pre-game, and post game press conferences. At the level he is playing at, he should give it “one more year”.

Star Tribune: Harding resigned by Wild to three-year $5.7 million deal. A very reasonable deal.

Detroit Free Press: Red Wings sign Darren Helm to four-year deal. He’ll get $8.5 million over the next four years. I must say that I love seeing that sign on the highway “Welcome to St. Andrews, home of Stanley Cup Champion Darren Helm.” My cousin visiting from out of town last month was really impressed. (image courtesy of www.canhighways.com).

Edmonton Journal: Oilers sign Lennart Petrell to one-year extension. In the Cult of Hockey Poll, 78.4% of voters said they were happy with the Oilers bringing back Petrell. The 28 year old had nine points in sixty games last seaosn, two of those coming in the one game the Oilers played against the Jets.

The Hockey News: Analyzing Rick Nash’s six suitors. Ken Campbell has it down to the Rangers, Sharks, Flyers, Bruins, Leafs, and Hurricanes.

The Jets announced their preseason schedule today (barring a lockout). Which game are you most looking forward to?

Winnipeg 2012 NHL Pre-Season Schedule:

September 24, 2012 – @ Edmonton Oilers (Rexall Place)

September 25, 2012 vs. Edmonton Oilers (MTS Centre)

September 29, 2012 – vs. Boston Bruins @ Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, SK

September 30, 2012 – vs. Boston Bruins (MTS Centre)

October 2, 2012 – @ Minnesota Wild (Xcel Energy Center)

October 4, 2012 – vs. Minnesota Wild (MTS Centre)

October 6, 2012 – vs. Ottawa Senators (MTS Centre)

Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation donates $1,050,076 to 44 local children’s charities.

From the official press release.

“Today, the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation is proud to announce the donation of $1,050,076 to 44 local children’s charities.

The True North Foundation serves as the entity through which The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club performs its philanthropic responsibilities to the Province of Manitoba. It fulfills this obligation by supporting registered charities within our community who focus on the youth of our province and by developing and operating programs that serve disadvantaged kids.

Money for the foundation is raised through 50/50 sales at all Winnipeg Jets home games, the sale of Jets License Plates, the Mike Keane Celebrity Hockey Classic, the Ranger Golf Tournament, the 2010-11 Gala Dinner along with various donations and third party events.

“To reach over the million dollar mark in monies donated to charities is a great accomplishment for the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation,” stated foundation Executive Director Dwayne Green. “This would not be possible without the generosity of those who support our fundraising activities, our event sponsors, our passionate fans and all our volunteers and our internal staff and management who get behind all of our events. They are the reason we are able to help so many children in need around the province.”

The Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation operates under the direction of Dwayne Green, Julie Chartier, and Murray Cobb in partnership with a dedicated volunteer Board of Directors who include Mark Chipman, Patti Chipman, Robert Thorsten, John Olfert, Norva Riddell, Blake Fitzpatrick, Brian Lerner, George Sigurdson, Gerry Price, Kevin Chief and Kevin Neiles.”

It’s truly remarkable how much money the return of the Jets has brought to almost fifty different charities. In comparison, the Manitoba Moose Yearling Foundation raised about $2.5 million in fifteen years.

National Post: Two weeks to fix a franchise: Winnipeg Jets. Noah Love doesn’t offer many suggestions on how to fix it, but to simply stay the course and be patient. Jets fans, all you need, is just a little patience, ooooohhhh yeahhhhh, just a little patience, yeahhhhhh, yeahhhh.

Star Tribune: Housley to coach U.S. junior national team. Housley appeared on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show last year and indicated that he wanted to get back into coaching. He had been coaching Stillwater High School boys team for the past eight seasons. Congratulations to Phil Housley on his new position.

NHL Draft

Globe & Mail: Profiling the NHL’s 2012 draft class: The Top 10. James Mirtle takes the rankings from Craig Button, Corey Pronman and McKeen’s Hockey to create an aggregate of the top ten. Mikhail Grigorenko ends up at number nine.

NHL News

SI.com: Free agency, trade rumors heating up. It’s that time of year and the Red Light blog has a nice roundup of the rumor mill.

The Hockey News: Rick Nash talks heat up. Is Rick Nash the new Tomas Kaberle? I hope not, we’ll have to endure another two years of Rick Nash rumors for that to happen.

CSN Philly: Holmgren: 50/50 chance Jagr returns to Flyers. Jagr seemed like a perfect fit in Philadelphia, it would be hard to leave the wing of Claude Giroux. Sarah Baicker cites Montreal as a possible destination to play with fellow Czech Tomas Plekanec.

CSN Bay Area: Report: Sharks sign Stuart. Three years at $3.6 million per season. The Sharks had acquired the rights to Brad Stuart from Detroit for Andrew Murray and a conditional 7th round pick after Stuart stated he would like to play in California to be closer to his family.

Sportsnet.ca: Predators’ Radulov heading back to KHL. Don’t let the door kick you in the rear on the way out.

MLive.com: Will Red Wings’ Jiri Hudler have surprising appeal if he hits the free agent market next month? Earlier today Ezra Ginsburg put Hudler on his list of players the Jets could target. My worry is that the David Jones contract (4 years, $16 million total) might have set the market too high for that calibre of player.

Vancouver Sun: Sammy Pahlsson returns home to Sweden, signs with Modo. The 34 year old returns home after eleven NHL seasons. A Stanley Cup winner with Anaheim in 2007, Pahlsson made a name for himself that season on the checking line with Rob Niedermayer and Travis Moen. Additionally, he was a part of Swedens gold medal winning hockey team at the ’06 Olympics in Turin.

Ottawa Citizen: For NHL GMs, finding work-life balance the toughest task of all. These guys work around the clock ensuring they are putting contenders on the ice.

With the NHL Entry Draft one week away, tomorrow’s edition of the Illegal Curve Hockey Show will be an NHL Draft Preview Show. Drew, Richard and Ezra will provide their insight, analysis and opinion on the NHL Draft.

Several guests are booked for the show and each will provide their unique input:

-Craig Button of TSN

-Corey Pronman of Hockey Prospectus and ESPN

-Patrick Burke, son of Brian Burke, Philadelphia Flyers Scout and part of the You Can Play Project

-Grant Sonier of ESPN

Other topics on the show will include the week in Winnipeg Jets news, NHL News and a recap of the Stanley Cup Final.

Can’t listen live? The show will be available to download here at IllegalCurve.com, or subscribe on iTunes to have the podcast automatically downloaded as it comes available. For a list of previous shows, visit IllegalCurve.com/Radio

Now it’s time for the news!

Winnipeg Jets News

Jim Slater: “Just wanna say thanks to everyone for the support. I’m looking forward to 3 great more years in Winnipeg.” from his twitter account @SlaterJim. The response from Winnipeggers about the Jim Slater signing has been overwhelmingly positive. Slater uses his twitter account to send back the love to the Winnipeg fans. He also inquired about Rob Lowe tweeting yesterday “#TrappedInAHellHole”. Good to see that even when he is surfing in San Diego, Slater is curious about the goings on of Winnipeg.

NHL News

Sportsnet.ca: Brophy on NHL: Important Questions to Ask. Brophy attempts to answer all of the pressing questions around the league, including; Will Roberto Luongo, the number one overall pick Jarome Iginla or Jordan Staal be traded. Brophy also answers this question about Winnipeg:

“Will the love affair between the Winnipeg Jets and their fans continue?”

After going for so many years without NHL hockey, it is hard to imagine Jets fans turning on their beloved team. However, Winnipeg fans can be as demanding as any in the world and they expect to be treated to a winner. The Jets had a decent season upon their return to the Great White North, but finishing 11th in the East is not good enough. The simple fact is this franchise, which had been based in Atlanta, has made the playoffs just once in its 12 seasons of existence. I can see the fans in Winnipeg getting a little restless if the club doesn’t qualify for the post-season next year.”

I think it is too early to tell what will happen but I don’t think there will be any dip in excitement for next season. By all accounts this is a promising team and fans here are looking forward to the draft and free agency to see how this team will look for the 2012-13 season.

USA Today: Lightning acquire goalie Lindback from Predators. GM Steve Yzerman makes a shrewd move trading two second round picks this year and a third round pick next year for goaltender Anders Lindback. Jets fans may remember the 6’7″ goaltender from the preseason when he stopped 35 of 37 shots plus three more stops in the shootout to lead the Preds to a 3-2 win in Winnipeg. The Swedish goaltender goes into the offseason as an RFA and is due to the raise. After giving Pekka Rinne his massive contract, Lindback became expendable. If (when) Yzerman can reach a deal with his new netminder, this looks like a fair deal for both sides. On last weeks Illegal Curve Hockey Show with Gabe Desjardins, one of the discussions revolved on not giving goaltenders premium contracts, it appears that Yzerman is subscribing to the same theory.

Detroit Free Press: Social Media: Red Wings fans pay tribute to Niklas Lidstrom with sidewalk chalk. Looks like a bunch of Red Wings fans went on twitter and made a joint effort to draw a tribute to Nik Lidstrom in sidewalk chalk and tweet about it. There are some pretty sweet drawings done in chalk. This makes me want to see some Jets drawings done now, if only I could draw, I can barely draw stick figures.

SI.com: Dater & Muir. Adrian Dater and colleague Allan Muir have their weekly discussion of the NHL’s hot topics on “Insights & Insults”.

Sportsnet.ca: Flyers: Van Riemsdyk doesn’t need surgery. He will be treated with alternative therapies. Van Riemsdyk has been rumored to be traded in the past, this could make him more attractive to teams looking to acquire him…or it means he will have surgery later rather than sooner.

Vancouver Province: Canucks bring Volpatti back for a year. The former Manitoba Moose signs a one year deal with the pro club.

Miami Herald: Lightning re-sign Hall, Wyman. A couple depth signings by GM Steve Yzerman.

Yesterday was a big day for Jets fans as they completed their first signing of the offseason. Jim Slater who became a fan favourite last season for being the centre of the “GST Line”, not to mention his hard nosed play and work in the community. His take Jim Slater to work videos were entertaining and showed that he cares about the community. Here’s my favourite Jim Slater highlight of the season.

Jim Slater is listed as 6’0″ and Tyler Myers is listed at 6’8″ and Slater lays the cleanest his you could possibly do to put the much larger defensemen on his back. It really sums up how Jim Slater plays the game of hockey.

It was announced this afternoon that the Winnipeg Jets have hired Perry Pearn as Assistant Coach.

From the official Winnipeg Jets Press Release:

“The Winnipeg Jets are pleased to announce today the hiring of Perry Pearn as Assistant Coach.

Pearn will join Head Coach Claude Noel and the rest of the Jets coaching staff which includes Charlie Huddy, Pascal Vincent, Wade Flaherty and Tony Borgford.

Pearn, 61, has been an Assistant Coach in the National Hockey League for the past 16 seasons with the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens. Most recently, Pearn spent the last three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens coaching alongside Jacques Martin. Prior to that, he spent five seasons as an Assistant Coach with the New York Rangers. He also worked as an assistant to Jacques Martin with the Ottawa Senators from 1996-2004. His NHL career got underway in 1995-96 as an assistant to Terry Simpson with the Winnipeg Jets, after serving in various capacities for almost two decades at the university level, in the Western Hockey League and with Hockey Canada.

He began his international coaching career in 1986 when he was named an Assistant Coach for Team Canada’s Under-18 team. He served as an Assistant Coach for the Canadian National Junior Team that captured gold at the 1990 and 1991 World Junior Championships. In 1993 he earned the position of Head Coach leading Canada to another gold medal at the World Junior Championships.

From 1978 to 1993, Pearn served as the Head Coach of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) of the Canadian College Athletic Association. Under his guidance, NAIT won six CCHA National Championships. Pearn was voted as CCHA Coach of the Year in 1983-84 and earned provincial Coach of the Year credits on five occasions. Before climbing to the NHL, Pearn held the head coaching position of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers during the 1993-94 season.”

Stanley Cup Parade

ESPN: What’s next for the Los Angeles Kings. What’s next? See below.

TMZ: Boozing with Little People…and Chuck Liddell. If you enjoy watching celebrities and little people party with the Cup…these pictures are must see. This is why the Stanley Cup is the number one trophy in sports, it is gigantic, it is one hundred years old, it has everyone’s name who has ever won it on the trophy, not to mention you can drink out of itthe other trophies in professional sports pale in comparison.

As far as I know, a new World Series Trophy, NBA Finals trophy and Superbowl Trophy are given to each team, there isn’t the aura around them that there is with the cup. Even non-hockey fans understand the significance of the cup (see Chuck Lidell drinking out of it, or Jay Glazer tweeting a photo last night.)

I look at the World Series trophy, it’s too delicate, the NBA and NFL trophies, too small and too bleh. I couldn’t even tell you the names of those trophies, I had to look them up! (World Series: Commissioner’s Trophy, NBA Finals: Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, Super Bowl: Vince Lombardi Trophy). (Vince Lombardi I should have known, but was too busy typing than thinking).

Player News

Montreal Gazette: Alex Kovalev would love to wear a Canadiens jersey again. I’m sure he’d love to wear any NHL jersey again. The 39 year old spent last season playing with Atlant Moscow Oblast of the KHL. This guy is the Terrell Owens of the NHL, I don’t think anyone will be offering him a contract anytime soon. Kovalev last played in the NHL during the 2010-11 season with Pittsburgh and Ottawa he scored 34 points in 74 games. I’ll always remember him for this play.

Jeremy Rutherford @JPRutherford: “The #stlblues have re-signed forward Chris Stewart to a one-year contract extension worth $3 million. Club will announce shortly.” A modest one year deal to the power forward coming off a disappointing year. A low risk deal for the Blues who hope that Stewart can return to the form he showed with Colorado in 2009-10 when he scored 64 points in 77 games.

Coaching News:

Calgary Herald: Flames to introduce Gelinas as assistant coach. The Flames coaching staff is now complete with Bob Hartley, Jacques Cloutier and Martin Gelinas. Clint Malarchuk remains as goalie coach. Gelinas previously played for the Flames from 2002-04 and played a big part in their Stanley Cup run, here’s some of Gelinas’ finest work in a Flames uniform.

The Washington Post: George McPhee; Likely no Capitals coaching announcement before draft. Hopefully their new coach can motivate Ovie back to the 50 goals per year level he was at from 2005-10 and push this team to a Stanley Cup.

 Draft News

TSN: 50 years of the NHL Draft – not every top pick is the best bet. On the list of fewest games played by a first overall pick, I found it surprising that Eric Lindros ranks 9th with 760 games, he is a borderline Hall of Famer! Says alot about the quality of the number one overall picks. Patrick Stefan has played the second fewest games of any number one overall pick. He was selected by the Thrashers in 1999, which was the beginning of the end to their franchise. Type in Patrick Stefan on YouTube, and this is the first result…ouch. (To be fair, the 1999 NHL Entry Draft was a very weak draft, I always enjoy going on Wikipedia and looking at old NHL Drafts, a very fun activity if you have some time on your hands.)

Sportsnet.ca: Blue Jackets GM willing to move No. 2 pick. Scott Howson is on the hot seat this season to get the Blue Jackets into the playoffs, if someone is going to make you an offer, might as well give them the time of day…unless it’s that person in your fantasy league who keeps offering two bad players for an All-Star, then you ignore that guy.

Coyotes Saga

Arizona Republic: Goldwater Institute files lawsuit in Glendale’s Phoenix Coyotes deal. Goldwater is stepping in and not allowing the city to hand money over to Greg Jamison. Can someone put this franchise out of it’s misery already?

Globe & Mail: Goldwater Institute files lawsuit to block Coyotes arena lease agreement. More of the same here. If we didn’t have the Jets, this would be excruciating. The Thrashers moved to Winnipeg with the quickness of taking off off a band-aid, in one motion “right off”. The Coyotes have been the exact opposite. I’m so glad I don’t have the emotional investment in this that I would have had a year and a half ago.

http://youtu.be/zAZ8xwXE5UY

Stanley Cup Parade

SI.com: Kings will bring Stanley Cup to Wednesday’s Dodgers game. It is always interesting where the Cup goes. Apparently Dustin Brown drank chocolate milk out of it the other day. As Dave Chappelle once said while playing Rick James “it’s a celebration”.

NHL.com: Dustin Brown appears with Stanley Cup on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Not really a Leno guy, or even a late night talk show guy, but you knew one LA King would appear on Jay Leno, they gave it to the captain. Here’s the link in case you forgot to PVR it. Oh wait, you didn’t forget, because nobody PVR’s Leno.

Toronto Star: Former LA Kings Trainer drinks from 19-year-old beer saved from last finals appearance. Well the guy who drank it is still alive, that is good news for all of us who are saving our cans of “Jets Fan Brew” for when the Jets win the cup. (I still have one in the back of the fridge).

LA Times: Drinking chocolate milk out of the Stanley Cup. Here’s the video you all have been waiting for, Dustin Brown’s sons drinking chocolate milk out of the Stanley Cup. Don’t worry they are using straws. No word if they are the bendy ones or not. After reviewing the video it appears that they are bendy straws.

Player News

Fire & Ice: Parise wants to remain a Devil “no way” he’ll sign with Rangers. It appears negotiations haven’t started with the Devils. Let the Parise sweepstakes begin! I wouldn’t put much stock into what he says here, if they offer him a fat contract, it would be hard to say no. I mean, what is the guy supposed to say, he’s in the Devils building, cleaning out his locker after losing in the Cup Final. Is he really going to say, “oh hey reporters, it was a fun year, but by the way, I’m going to be taking the biggest contract offer I can get in two weeks and it’s going to be from our number one rival the New York Rangers…see ya!.”

Denver Post: Joe Sakic could be a Hall of Famer June 26. He becomes eligible along with Brendan Shanahan for induction this year. Both will surely get in. Other first year eligible players are Mats Sundin (yes), Claude Lemieux (maybe), Curtis Joseph (no) and former Winnipeg Jets Teppo Numminen. See the full list of first year eligible players. My favourite Joe Sakic moment was in the 2002 Olympics, I’ll never forget the Bob Cole call, “Joee Sakic….SCORES!”

The Hockey News: Is Luke Schenn on the block? Who cares, I’m sick of Brian Burke and the Leafs.

Management News

Sportsnet.ca: How the Devils made $32.3 million this post-season. For a franchise that is on the edge of bankruptcy, this is a nice cash injection. Today’s trivia question, how many hot dogs were sold at the Prudential Center since the beginning of the playoffs? The answer……22,925. Not even Kobayashi could eat that many.

Everyone has their favourite parts, whether it’s when Gary Bettman gets booed, the Conn Smythe Trophy gets handed out, or when the champions pass the cup around. It’s a scene like no other watching grown men cry, hug each other and drop f-bombs. It’s a celebration of hockey and the long road playing as a child, to becoming a professional athlete. Family, friends, ex-coaches all helped each player along the way to get there and are given their due in each post game interview.

Other tidbits worth noting.

-When they introduce each cup winner at the end, it is always interesting to see who was each players’ favourite player growing up. There were lots of Gretzky and Yzerman’s, but someone always has a player that you wouldn’t expect to be there. I forget who, but someone selected Bob Rouse who amassed 1559 penalty minutes in 1061 games from 1983 to 2000. If I were ever to win the Stanley Cup, my pick would be Pavel Bure.

-A personal favourite part of the Stanley Cup post game celebration is when the healthy scratches go on the ice and get their turn to lift the cup. Kyle Clifford, Andrei Loktionov, Scott Parse, Brad Richardson, Kevin Westgarth, Davis Drewiskie among others may not have played in the final game, but were certainly part of the team throughout the season and got their chance to lift the cup. My question is, at what point are these guys getting ready to put their equipment on in the dressing room?

-For all the coverage Tay Stevens and other celebrities got, I don’t think CBC paid enough attention to LA Kings anthem singer Pia Toscano, who was referred to by Luc Robataille as the Kings “lucky charm” and did an exceptional job game after game.

-Every time they showed Matthew Perry, he looked completely out of it. When Scott Oake was set to interview him, I thought that it was going to be a disaster. But Perry was surprisingly coherent and gave an entertaining interview that showed the comedic talent that he brought to his Chandler Bing character on Friends.

And now it’s time for the news.

Stanley Cup Finals

New York Times: The Honest Devils Fan Knows the Truth. Nobody would have predicted that cup final, let alone the Devils finishing ahead of the Rangers, Penguins and Flyers. While New Jersey deserved a better fate than they got last night, their fans should be proud of what they were able to accomplish this season.

The Sporting News: Devils’ Steve Bernier left to pick up pieces after key penalty, Cup loss. When Steve Beriner ran Rob Scuderi into the boards, it quickly became an iconic moment in Stanley Cup history (or infamy). Having made a blunder in an important game in minor hockey (that I still get grief about many years later), I feel for Bernier who was just trying to finish his check. When the call was made to be a five minute major, my initial reaction was “not like this.” It’s too bad that the Devils had to go down that way, but on the flip side the Kings were the better team and deserved to win.

CBC.ca: Coaches Corner: What was Rob Scuderi thinking? One of the few times in recent memory that Don Cherry is spot on. If I’m Scuderi there, I’ll keep the puck moving forward around the net, rather than stopping, turning my back to the forechecker and putting myself in a vulnerable position.

Toronto Sun: L.A. has no intention of winning just one cup.With core of Richards, Carter, Kopitar, Doughty, Brown, Williams and Quick locked up for a few seasons the party could continue in the City of Angels.

USHL.com: Alumni Hoist Stanley Cup. Now in it’s tenth season, the USHL is becoming a strong developer of hockey talent. On the Kings team Trevor Lewis, Matt Greene, and Alec Martinez previous played in the USHL. As well as healthy scratches Scott Parse, Davis Drewiskie and scout Tony Gasparini. At last year’s draft we spoke with Gasparini and USHL commissioner Skip Prince. Look to hear more about the USHL in this year’s upcoming draft.

TMZ: The first place we took the Stanley Cup was... Not a usual contributor of hockey related content but with the Stanley Cup being paraded around LA, home of the paparazzi, you knew TMZ would get some content from this party. Click for a picture of the cup on top of some bar and Jon Quick posting with the Conn Smythe trophy with some fans.

TMZ: The losers can party too. It’s not quite Rob Gronkowski after losing the Super Bowl, but TMZ cameras caught the Devils going into their limos after partying at some club in LA. Drink if you win, drink if you lose, I guess. (Don’t bother clicking on the link, it’s just some idiot walking up to the Devils asking them dumb questions as they go into a cab).

The Rest

Sportsnet.ca: Penguins favoured to win 2013 Stanley Cup. The Penguins are favoured at 7/1, Kings at 11/1, and then Blues, Canucks, Blackhawks and Red Wings are in a logjam at 12/1. The Jets are tied with the Avalanche, Stars, Senators, and Coyotes at 40/1. So you’re telling me there’s a chance.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: How can Blues end the league’s longest cup drought. With the Kings winning, the Blues now hold the longest cup drought in the league at 44 seasons. After winning the division this season, the pieces are in place for them to be competitive for years to come.

The Hockey News: Who has interest in Radulov? Apparently the Rangers are in on the Russian forward, as well as first liners Rick Nash, Bobby Ryan and Zach Parise. Well it looks like the Rangers are in on everybody.

MLive.com: Red Wings believe Tomas Holmstrom wants to play next season, but will wait to make decision. We spoke about this on last week’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show with Bob Duff who thought that Lidstrom and Holmstrom were a package deal. He indicated that Holmstrom was unhappy in his fourth line/power play specialist role. Ansar Khan reports that Ken Holland says Holmstrom is leaning towards playing. Hopefully this doesn’t become an ongoing will he/won’t he saga. (Which it probably won’t.)

CSN Bay Area: How should Sharks fans feel? If you are a Sharks fan…pretty awful, they’ve been Stanley Cup contenders favourites for almost ten years now and have been unable to even make it past the conference final.

Winnipeg Jets News

The Hockey News: Pavelec Jetting out of Winnipeg?. Hold your horses Winnipeg fans, nothing is done quite yet. Rumors are afloat that Pavelec has received an offer from a KHL team for a one year big money contract. Pavelec, an RFA going into next season, has little leverage in bargaining with the Jets. The threat of running to the KHL is very clearly being used as a bargaining ploy. Exactly how much exactly is Pavelec worth? IC’s Richard Pollock wrote this piece back in February “Establishing Ondrej Pavelec’s Market Value“, which is a valuable resource.

Sportsnet.ca: Report: KHL team pursuing Jets’ Pavelec. Same report as above that is making the rounds. This could be one of the heartbreaking things that come with having an NHL team. By all accounts Pavelec enjoyed his time in Winnipeg, but the name of that AC/DC song is “Money Talks”.

Stanley Cup News

Fire & Ice: Devils enjoying watching Brodeur turn back the clock; Expecting an early push from Kings in Game 6. Well of course the Devils should expect an early push from the Kings in game six. It’s GAME SIX…OF THE STANLEY CUP FINALS. I wouldn’t expect the Devils to expect the Kings just to lay down.

SI.com: Devils’ adjustments push Stanley Cup Final to game 6. These are two evenly matched teams, while Los Angeles got off to a quick start, things have regressed to the mean and now the Devils are in position to force a game seven. Full credit to Peter DeBoer and the Devils for making it this close. Their “why not us” mantra reeks of the Red Sox “idiots” when they were down 3-0 to the Yankees back in the 2004 ALCS.

SI.com: Kings Stanley Cup Final run a sign of inclusive times in sports. SI’s Michael Farber, who made waves last week when he finally joined twitter gives his lengthy tee up of tonight’s Stanley Cup Final match.

Globe & Mail: Kings insist team remains confident. The Kings will have to take that confidence to the ice if they want to have any shot of winning.

Toronto Star: Devils brace for porn star appearance. She has made a name for herself this playoffs as the boobs behind Peter DeBoer, the internet phenomenon that is Taylor Stevens will be behind the Devils bench for game 6. If the game fails to live up to the hype, at least there will be some eye candy.(And not just coming from Kings anthem singer Pia Toscano, or super-fan Jessica Alba Alyssa Milano).

Player News

USA Today: Flyers’ Van Riemsdyk says he isn’t trying to hold up trade. Paul Holmgren voiced his displeasure with the young forward after the Flyers were eliminated from the playoffs. It was previously discussed on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show that Van Riemsdyk should be a player for the Jets to target in a trade.

The Hockey News: Room for Staal in Pittsburgh? With several top first round draft picks in the early 2000′s, the Penguins are about to face the same problem the Oilers could potentially face down the road. Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Fleury and Staal are all elite players who will command top dollar. With Staal relegated to the third line behind 87 and 71, it may be too expensive for them to keep the younger Staal around. (Who is definitely not better than Eric).

CBC.ca: Keeping Crosby is risky business for Penguins. Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts of the Week is always an enjoyable read, and he prefaces it with a discussion on the potential insurance issues regarding Crosby’s next contract. Concussion problems or not, the upside is too high for the Penguins not to extend Crosby’s contract.

MLive.com: Red Wings prepared to make Jiri Hudler a contract offer. Bob Duff of the Windsor Star appeared on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show last week and said that the Red Wings will most likely offer Hudler a contract that will be less than what he could get on the open market. David Jones just signed a four year, $16 million contract with Detroit, which Ansar Khan points out here, could be the benchmark for Hudler. The Czech forward will have to make the decision if he wants to take the money or be a part of a winning organization.

Sportsnet.ca: Doan given hockey stick made of Skittles. Not sure how this is news, but it looks delicious. All we need to do now is get Dave Minuk & Ezra Ginsburg of Illegal Curve a hockey stick made of M&M’s.

Sportsnet.ca: Ducks parting ways with Blake, Hagman. This should free up about $7 million for the Ducks next season.

Coaching & Management

Edmonton Journal: Oilers add MacT to front office. He will be the Senior VP of Hockey Operations. On Saturday’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show with Gabe Desjardins it was discussed that hockey people might not be the best people to run an organization and teams may want to start gravitating towards business people. It looks like the Oilers have found two for the price of one (a hockey + business mind) as MacTavish earned a Masters Degree in Business from Queens University. 

NHL Draft

TSN: Samuelsson makes his mark in final Craig’s list ranking. Craig Button a frequent guest of the Illegal Curve Hockey Show updates his “Craig’s List” monthly with the top sixty prospects. View the whole list at www.tsn.ca/craigslist. Samuelsson is the son of former NHLer Ulf Samuelsson who jumped from 54th to 29th on Button’s list. No word on where Cam Neely’s son ranks on the list.

CSN Philly: Top forward prospects. A nice primer to get you acquainted with the talent available.

Stanley Cup News

Grantland: The Consequences of Caring. As a big fan of Bill Simmons, I’m happy that he got Kings season tickets in lieu of the NBA lockout. I’m even happier that they are in the Stanley Cup Final so he can keep writing about it. (And giving hockey some national exposure)

ESPN New York: Takes a lot to DDistract DeBoer. With two days in between games you’ll have slow news days and stories like this. However I will give props to Taylor Stevens for sitting in that spot with her boobs pressed against the glass and getting some national exposure.

NJ.com: Devils’ Zach Parise said ankle is not an issue for rest of Stanley Cup Finals. Obviously good news for the Devils…and Parise who is heading into a free agent year. The last thing he needs is to break or tear something on the last game of the season. However, Drew Brees tore his labrum in the last game of the 2005 season with the Chargers and things ended up working out pretty good for him.

National Post: Martin Brodeur’s predecessor a blip in New Jersey Devils history. If you guessed Chad Erickson, you win today’s trivia challenge.

General NHL News

SI.com: Adrian Dater & Allan Muir Insights & Insuilts. A PTI-Style back and forth on the hottest topics in the NHL.

The Hockey News: Is Detroit a fit for Semin? I can’t wait until July 1 to  get a better idea of what the rosters for next season will be. As we talked about on last week’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show, Detroit will have no problem attracting top free agents whether it’s Parise, Suter or possibly Semin.

The Hockey News: Time for off-ice officials? Adam Proteau answers some reader questions. I’m not sure if off-ice officials would be the answer, I think we are looking for “better use of replay.” The technology is there, we should be able to use it on some additional calls.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Reviewing John Davidson’s greatest hits. Yesterday it was reported that John Davidson has a window in which he can interview for positions on other teams. He is a candidate for an executive in the Blue Jackets organization. Here is a list of his “greatest hits” aka. a blueprint for taking an organization going nowhere, and turning it into a division winner.

ESPN: Paul Maurice to coach in KHL. I guess we won’t be seeing him on the rotating cast of the TSN Panel anymore. He’s going to coach former Winnipeg Jet Oleg Tverdovsky, Sergei Fedorov and the rest of the Metallurg Magnitogorsk squad.

The Washington Post: Capitals will not re-sign Jeff Halpern. Out with the old, in with the new appears to be the theme for the Capitals over the last two days. Recently Mike Knuble said he would also not be returning to Washington. Halpern is 36 and would like to continue playing, he should be able to find a job as he ranked 5th in the league in faceoffs last season.

CSN Philly: Laperriere finally set to retire. Now it’s official. Happy to hear that Ian Laperriere has been able to live a “normal” life off the ice after several concussions. Interesting to note that he would have retired earlier but because he was under 35 he could not, as it would count against the cap. I wonder if that will be addressed in the new CBA.

Calgary Sun: Hatsburg axed by Flames. Bob Hartley is bringing in his own guys.

Stanley Cup News

LA Daily News: Kings Notebook: Matt Greene, Jarret Stoll in it to win it. It amazes me how many players the Kings have who have been in a cup final before, or won a cup. The experience won’t show up on a stat sheet, but is valuable to a team. Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, Mike Richards, Matt Greene, Jarrett Stoll, Dustin Penner, Rob Scuderi, and Justin Williams. Not to mention the role Drew Doughty played on Canada’s 2010 Olympic men’s team.

New York Post: Q & A with Lou Lamoriello. A nice long Q & A about his philosophies of coaching and managing.

CBC.ca: Brother-in-law Moulson cuts to the (Jonathan) Quick of it. I had no idea that Jon Quick and Matt Moulson are brother in laws. They both married a pair of sisters. Sometimes that stuff happens, I was listening to an interview with Joe Walsh (of Eagles) the other day and learned that him and Ringo Starr (of the Beatles) are brother in laws after they married a pair of sisters. Nothing like sisters marrying tandem hockey players or rock-stars.

NJ.com: Devils hot topic: What did you think of 3rd period boarding penalty on David Clarkson? Personally I thought that penalty was a joke, it appears that I’m not the only one.

The Associated Press: LA Kings look to ‘hit the reset button’ after game 4 loss to New Jersey Devils. I was hoping last game would go to overtime and be like Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup Final when Uwe Krupp scored the game winner. I then started thinking who would be the Uwe Krupp on the Kings, my vote is Alec Martinez. As a baseball fan, I’m glad to see a Martinez in hockey.

Toronto Star: Martin Brodeur saves the day for the Devils. He stopped a few breakaways yesterday with the two pad stack poke check, a classic move that you don’t really see anymore.

Other NHL News

Globe & Mail: Goldwater Institute raises concerns over latest attempt to sell Coyotes. We’ve been here before. Here’s the quick and dirty; the team has been sale for three years now, it is not making money, nobody wants to use their own money to buy it, and the city of Glendale is hundreds of millions of dollars in debt because of this team. Just move them already, there are cities elsewhere that are dying for hockey.

TSN.ca: Report: Jagr on track to reach an agreement with Flyers. I’ll be happy to see the future hall of famer back in the NHL for (at least) one more season. It was a treat to see him when the Flyers came to Winnipeg this season.

The Denver Post: David Jones signs for four years $16 million. Did Avs overpay? At first glance, my vote would be yes.

The Tennessean: Alexander Radulov’s exit brings big risk to the Nashville Predators. While he is a talented player, he burned too many bridges in the Nashville organization. They were without him for a few years and did just fine. No reason to think David Poille won’t find a way to replace his production.

Sportsnet.ca: Davidson the saviour of Nash, Jackets future? He helped turn things around in St. Louis, could John Davidson be the guy the does the same for Columbus?

National Post: Michel Therrien did a ‘great job’ in first stint as Canadiens Coach: Doug Gilmour. Bringing back Michel Therrien was a move that many fans were unhappy with but Douggie Gilmour sticks up for his boy and gives some stories of a few great pranks he pulled as a player. Read the post for the pranks.

Stanley Cup News

Looks like the Kings lineup will remain the same tonight while the Devils will be making a few changes. Henrik Tallinder enters in place of Peter Harrold and Stanley Cup Champion Petr Skyora goes in for rookie Jacob Josefson.

The Star Ledger: Devils’ Zach Parise reassured by dad that comeback from 3-0 is possible It’s always nice to have that fatherly reassurance, no matter how down and out things look. As Kevin Garnett once said, “anything is possible!”

Fire & Ice: After a long road back, Tallinder excited to get a chance to play in Stanley Cup Finals. This will be Tallinder’s first Stanley Cup Finals appearance, he suffered a broken arm in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2006 with Buffalo. The ’06 Sabres were a great team who were decimated by injuries as the playoffs went on. It was disappointing the way they went down.

Fire & Ice: Kings’ lineup should remain the same for game 4. No reason to change a winning formula. Glad to see that Simon Gagne’s name will be on the cup (assuming the Kings pull it off).

CBC.ca: Kings ready to write final episode of their Hollywood story. Glad to see the Kings finally put together some on ice success. However, I’m not sure what else it will take to get the local media to notice the team.

Movers & Shakers

The Edmonton Oilers announced today that they have signed GM Steve Tambellini to a contract extension. The Tambellini era has not been great to the Oilers. They haven’t made the playoffs since he became GM in 2008 and the Oilers will now be on their fourth coach in the last three years.

Edmonton Journal: Dave Staples wonders: Is it the right move to bring back Steve Tambellini as GM of the Edmonton Oilers? Early poll results have 52.87% voting no. (Although I’m not sure how official this poll is.)

Edmonton Journal: How would you grade Oilers GM Steve Tambellini on the moves he’s made? A comprehensive list of Tambellini’s transactions. His best move was having the team tank and winning the draft lottery, not once, not twice, but thrice.

TSN.ca: Habs fire Cunneyworth and Ladoceur; Lapointe to be hired. Can’t say this is too surprising. It has become standard practice for new GM’s to hire their own coach, and for that coach to hire his own assistants. Cunneyworth really got a raw deal when he was named Head Coach in Montreal last season.

The Globe & Mail: Panthers reward Tallon for playoff spot. This Panthers team came out of nowhere to win the Southeast Division. While they did have some help via a terrible Southeast Division, Tallon deserves credit for overhauling the team over the off season and revitalizing hockey in South Florida (for the time being). Throwing rats on the ice in Florida is one hockey tradition that I am happy to see back in the game.

Sportsnet.ca: Knuble not returning to Capitals next season. The 39-year-old winger spent the majority of the season on the fourth line, averaging 13:57 minutes per game. Knuble says he’d like to remain playing, but do any teams have room for the veteran forward.

The Tennessean: Nashville Predators to sever ties to Alexander Radulov. I wonder if David Poille is regretting his decision bringing him back as a “ringer” for the playoff run. At the time it seemed like the right decision, but the whole “Arizona bar-gate” incident was just unfortunate for the franchise.

- Are you concerned about the cold weather in Winnipeg? It’s legendary.

Why should I be afraid of cold? It’s not cold if you play. Besides, I’m from Siberia. I’m not going to have any issues with the cold.

NBC Sports:  No parks, no problem for Zherdev.  With global warming killing the coasts, pretty soon everyone is gonna want to be on the prairies and it appears Zherdev is ahead of the game.

The Telegram:  IceCaps official.  Not sure how crazy I am for the name but Danny William sure seems confident:

“This name,” said IceCaps president and CEO Danny Williams, “will put us on the map across Canada and the U.S. This name and image will market not just our team, but also our province.

Around the NHL:

Ottawa Citizen:  Former Sens forward Kovalev signs with KHL.  Oodles of talent but just too blase for his own good.

ESPN:  Rule 48 may help shorter players (Registration Required).  Making more room on the ice is always going to be a good thing.

NHL.com:  Modano hints at impending retirement.  I was happy to watch Modano suit up for the Wings as it gave me a chance to watch him play live, however he may have given up the chance at one of the coolest “goodbye’s” when he was playing for the Stars and the last game of the season was in Minnesota.

Star-Ledger:  Devils name Dave Barr assistant coach.  After sitting on his coaching staff decisions for quite some time, Lou quickly completes his bench.

Winnipeg Jets Hockey Song (hat tip Puck Daddy):

Yahoo Sports:  Ranking the NHL’s Top 25 defencemen.  Despite the fact that we’ve assessed this team’s strength as its defence, we only had 1 d-man crack the top 20 and got 1 honourable mention.

NBC Sports:  Why this screen shot isn’t the the new Winnipeg Jets jersey.  As James reported EA Sports has confirmed (thx to Joe for noting my mistake) the jersey screen shot as a fake.  According to EA Sports:

We’re excited to welcome the Winnipeg Jets to the NHL for the 2011-12 season. We are in the process of taking the necessary steps to incorporate them into NHL 12 – but at this point have no announcements on how that will happen and what it will look like. We will have more details in the near future on how it will appear in game.

So fear not, this screen shot is just a fake.  The new jersey for the game should be revealed soon.

The Telegram:  St. John’s IceCaps will become official on Friday.  Both the name and logo to be revealed at the Mile One Centre at 11 am on Friday.

Around the NHL:

Newark Star-Ledger:  The New Jersey Devils trade Brian Rolston to the New York Islanders for Trent Hunter and a conditional draft pick.   As Lou Lamoriello said this is a business trade.  Rolston’s 4 year/$20 million+ deal was one of the worst contracts post-lockout, almost as bad as the Malakhov/Mogilny contracts.  Tune in to The Illegal Curve Hockey Show tonight from 7-9 p.m. CT on Sports Radio 1290 as we’ll have more to say about this one.

More from ‘Around the NHL’ including Botterill and Zajac chatting in Manitoba, MLSE might sue, Mac T gets an AHL job and the Rangers sign 1st round pick after the jump.

Canadian Press:  Jennifer Botterill and Travis Zajac to speak at Hockey Manitoba Hot Stove.  Always nice to see players who were developed in this province, giving back.

The Globe and Mail: MLSE and Ryerson University butt heads over proposed development at Maple Leaf Gardens.  That’s not going to be good for business.

Edmonton Journal:  MacTavish to be named coach of AHL team in Chicago.  He’s a pretty good coach who should be back in the NHL pretty soon.

Ranger Rants: NYR sign 1st round draft pick T.J. Miller.  Hat Tip to Friend of Illegal Curve Andrew Gross of The Bergen Record for this article.

Fort Francis Times:  Byfuglien enjoyed his first FFCBC.  The IC crew is hoping to get Big Buff to come fishing with us in Lake of the Woods this summer.

Game Rant:  EA Sports 2012 Winnipeg Jets screen shot.  Someone took a screenshot of this jersey and suggested it was from EA Sports 2012.  Via IC twitter one of our followers (TheSamWladyk) suggests that this shot might just be Backstrom in a Capitals jersey which has been modified into a possible Jets jersey.  We will need to ask IC’s technology expert Michael Remis for some follow-up on this.

Fox News:  Offseason assessment of the Southeast division.  Can’t believe that Antropov is oldest player at 31.  How do you assess Winnipeg’s chances are at this point in the offseason?

Icethetics:  Winnipeg Jets jersey concepts.  As per usual, these guys produce some pretty cool concepts.

Around the NHL:

NBC Sports:  Could AEG’s plans to build an NFL stadium in LA crush K.C.’s changes of ever hosting an NHL/NBA team?  From what I’ve read, it sounded as if they (AEG) were making a ton of cash without an anchor tenant, so perhaps this is further proof that AEG wanting an anchor tenant for the Sprint Center is more about lip service.

Arizona Republic:  Glendale mum on life without the Coyotes.  As Blues President John Davidson would say “oh baby”.  With the interest of Matthew Hulsizer moving to said Blues, it would appear that the Coyotes might be down to often mentioned, tire kicker Jerry Reisndorf who has been referenced as a potential savior of hockey in the desert.

Sporting News:  Mike Richards denies report of ‘lifestyle concerns‘.  At this point it really doesn’t matter anyways.  Both Carter and Richards have opportunities for fresh starts with new teams.

Jets Nation:  Alex Burmistrov interview.  Excellent interview with the young Jet.  I especially enjoyed these questions/answers:

- Do you know that Winnipeg is the coldest city on the planet with population over 0.5 million?

I heard it was cold out there. But is it really colder than in Novosibirsk?

- It’s commonly referred to as “Winterpeg” for a reason.

Really? Well, ok. In my hometown, Kazan, it gets pretty cold too. So I’m not afraid. Besides, I can always buy a down-padded coat (laughter).

Global Winnipeg:  Jets gear nets $200k in sales.  Just imagine if True North had jerseys and all other sorts of merchandise to sell.

Around the NHL:

TSN:  Draper to announce retirement in Detroit on Tuesday.  The $1 man following his trade from Winnipeg to Detroit over 2 decades ago, he carved himself quite the niche in Detroit.  Was a great mentor to St. Andrew’s, Manitoba’s Darren Helm, who plays a similar style of game.

More after the jump including NHL goalies getting no respect, Top 25 Centres in the NHL and a video of Wild head coach Mike Yeo talking Minnesota hockey.

USA Today:  NHL goalies net less pay than forwards, defencemen.  Apparently goalies are the Rodney Dangerfield of the NHL, “they don’t get no respect”.

Yahoo (Puck Daddy):  Ranking the Top 25 Centres.  Doesn’t look like very good news for the Winnipeg Jets who failed to have 1 player crack this list.

5 Eyewitness News (Video):  Wild Coach Mike Yeo:

Icethetics: Using the new logo, concept artists submit their best designs for the Winnipeg Jets jersey. Some nice looking jerseys here, can’t wait to see what the final product looks like.

Illegal Curve Audio: Scott Brown, Director of Corporate Communications and Hockey Operations for True North speaks about the fans’ reaction to the new logo.

Winnipeg Free Press:  Jets merch expected to sell out today.  1900 hats sold.  Guess mine isn’t as unique as I thought.  

CTV.ca:  New Jets merchandise flying off the shelves.

Yahoo Sports:  Our five favorite Winnipeg Jets jersey design concepts.  I’m happy with the design chosen by True North.

London Free Press:  Jets logo was leaked.  As I said to someone today, impressive they kept it quiet as long as they did.

Around the NHL:

Columbus Dispatch:  Blue Jackets sign Prospal.  Jackets add some veteran scoring.

Arizona Republic:  Coyotes season tickets sales up despite uncertain future.  Good for fans in Arizona for sticking with the team despite all the drama in the desert.

Winnipeg Sun:  TSN, Sports 1290 get Jets rights.  Many Jets fans have expressed hope to hear the return of Keilback as the voice of the Jets.

Brandon Sun (registration required):  Jets give Wiebe boarding pass.  Sticking with the theme of going local.

Around the NHL:

ESPN:  Poaching players with offer sheets futile.  I’m still mad at the Hawks for costing the Jets 1.0 $6 million per for the team to retain Tkachuk’s services.

NBC Sports:  Doc Emrick joins NBC/Versus as full-time play-by-play man.  Good move by NBC.

Sporting News:  Tom Poti, Capitals’ salary-cap buffer, intends to be ready for training camp.  The capologists in the U.S. capital had best be getting paid big bucks for all the work they are likely doing for GM George McPhee.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:  Minor schedule change vs. Jets.  Nice of the Pens to accommodate ‘Hockey Day in Canada’.

Around the NHL:

CBC:  Blackhawks Kane has fractured wrist.  Luckily they discovered it now and he can rehab it during July and August.

Montreal Gazette:  Labatt headed back to court in fight for NHL sponsorship.  I’m sure most fans only care about one thing, that whichever side wins this battle, lowers the price of drinks.

Fox Sports Detroit:  New Red Wing might honor vintage computer.  This belongs in the Heinz Ward wanting to be #57 for the Steelers category.  Pretty funny.

Winnipeg Sun:  Jets add restricted free agent Festerling.  More depth at the D position for the Jets and St. John’s.

Sporting News:  Teemu Selanne’s decision critical for Anaheim.  While not exactly a Jets story, anytime the Finnish Flash is mentioned we think it’s note worthy.  Especially considering his decision will impact the importance of the December 17th contest between the Ducks and the Jets.

Around the NHL:

AHL.com:  Capitals sign Micflikier.  Good to hear that the Winnipeg born Micflikier was signed by a team that could be competing for the Cup (in either the AHL or NHL).

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:  Sullivan sings Pens’ praises.  I’ve always liked his game and hopefully the 37 year old gets a chance to play for Lord Stanley’s Cup.

CBS Sports:  Devils still without a coach:  what’s the holdup?  Perhaps Lou himself is gonna jump back behind the bench.

Whatever the NHL’s realignment plan turns out to be, it will be a long and messy process getting to the final goal.

TSN:  Who should go after Stamkos or Doughty.  Even though the Jets are still a few million below the cap floor, don’t expect them to be in on these sweepstakes.

ESPN:  Truth to realignment rumors, Hulsizer and Heatley-Havlat fallout.   Have to agree with Burnside.  Way too premature to begin discussion of realignment for next season.

Winnipeg Free Press:  Jets to play Senators in Hockeyville game.  Glad to see they’ve moved the game to where the AHL affiliate will be playing.

Atlanta Journal Constitution:  Family draws Ramsay back to Florida.  Happy to see he got a job with another NHL team.

Winnipeg Free Press:  Steen Classic a hit.  A very worthwhile cause that continues to grow.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Sportsnet:  Jets agree to terms with Gregoire.   Jets get even more local.

Puck Daddy:  Predators pitch ticket deal to Thrasher fans for Winnipeg Jets games.  Good move by the Preds to help recruit fans from just down in Georgia.

TSN:  Which Canadian non-playoff team improved the most?  For our money, we think the Jets are the #1 choice.

Sporting News:  Former Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay to take job with Florida Panthers.  Appears that those who have played in the Southeast division don’t relish the idea of going elsewhere.

National Post:  The latest deals and analysis.  The Jets signing Ladd will definitely have an impact on this team’s success next season.

Around the NHL:

ESPN:  St. Louis Blues sign Jason Arnott.  Can the 37 year old still produce?  And more importantly when did Jason Arnott hit 37?

NHL.com:  Talk with brother convinced Kaberle to sign with Canes.  Since his bro played in Raleigh for a number of seasons, who better to give advice.

Fox Business:  What’s in a name?  Pro Sports teams say big bucks.  True North made the right decision when it comes to the name they chose.

York Region:  Brennan and the Jets.  As with most of the draft picks, they will all likely season in various leagues (Jr./NCAA) for the next year or two before getting the call.

Cranbrook Daily Townsman:  Shaw joins Jets in didn’t dare dream job. Always nice to return back to your home to work for the professional hockey team.

NHL News:

ESPN:  Former NHL player Paul Kariya announces retirement.  One can only imagine how good his numbers would have been had he not been plagued with so many injuries.

TSN:  Habs trade Wisniewski’s rights to Columbus.  Someone is looking to make a splash in the Central.

Sun-Sentinel:  Panthers sign center Tomas Kopecky.  They still have a long way to go to get to the Cap floor.

SB Nation Washington:  Semyon Varlamov To Leave Washington Capitals, Head To KHL.  What does Washington then do in net if he heads to the KHL?

SB Nation Arizona:  Coyotes ownership mess takes another step back.  Don’t see how this gets resolved.

Toronto Sun:  Bogosian among those qualified by Jets.  There was a lot of consternation when people read Ladd and Wheeler but Bogosian’s name wasn’t mentioned.

CBC:  Elliotte Friedman 30 Thoughts.  Perhaps that will mollify those who questioned the wisdom of the pick.

22) There were a couple teams picking in the 20s trying to move into the 12-15 spot to snare Mark Scheifele. Those plans were ruined when Winnipeg took him seventh. “You have to remember, one year ago, he was playing Junior B. Great pickup,” a scout said.

CBS:  Daily Skate – Winnipeg ticket prices.  Not going to be cheap to buy tickets in this city for years to come.  Of course people better remember the scalping laws in Manitoba.

Drama in the Desert Redux:

Winnipeg Sun:  Coyotes update sale status.  How many times are we going to hear Reinsdorf is kicking the tires, checking out this team?

Winnipeg Free Press:  Phoenix Coyotes say they’re pursuing other buyers.  Can’t believe fans in Phoenix have to continue to put up with these shenanigans.  When is enough, enough?  I don’t know about you, but I can’t sit through another COG meeting.

More Coyotes talk as well as HOF news and Jagr to Pittsburgh lack of offer after the jump.

Sporting News:  Hulsizer pullout has Coyotes’ future again in question.  Looks like Forbes and I are thinking a long the same path…..Jim Balsillie anyone?

NHL News:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:  Still no offer from Penguins.  Despite owning a house in Pittsburgh still, I can quite easily see Jagr heading over to Detroit and taking his talents to Motown.

TSN:  Belfour, Gilmour, Nieuwendyk, Howe elected to Hall of Fame.  Really happy to see Carman, Manitoba’s Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Belfour entering the Hall of Fame.

Winnipeg Free Press:  Jets add seven new faces.  I like that the prospects were aware of what happened in Winnipeg.

Globe and Mail:  Jets push NHL to radical realignment.  We’ve discussed this with a bunch of different scenarios but regardless of what happens, it should be interesting after our season in the East.

TSN:  Jets happy with first NHL draft.   Should be interesting as we see these kids develop.

Global Winnipeg:  Hockey fans scoop up Jets merchandise.  Just wait till the new jersey arrives, this city will go nuts.

Toronto Sun:  Jets are active on Day 2.  Too bad we were unable to get local prospect Michael St. Croix, who ended up drafted by the Rangers.  Nice to see the front office wasn’t afraid to pull the trigger today.

Fox Sports:  Byfuglien excited about NHL’s return to Winnipeg.  And Winnipeg is excited to have Big Buff prowling the MTS Centre for the team.

Colorado Springs Gazette:  Winnipeg makes CC defencesmans dreams come true.  Glad that Harstad grew up without a favorite team.  No need for divided loyalty.

Portage Online:  Kasdorf to the Jets.  Young goalie prospect who becomes the Portage Terriers first drafted player since 1971.

More Jets links and general NHL news after the jump.

CBC:  Fans delighted with team’s name.  Delighted might be a wee bit of an understatement.  The Excel Energy Center was still full of guys in Jets gear on day 2, including Sports Radio 1290 Doc Tapper from On the Sidelines.

Blogs & NHL News:

Yahoo Sports:  The Winners and Losers of the 2011 NHL draft.  Winnipeg fans sure were the winners on draft day. Good to hear the Juicy Lucy is worth the trip.

USA Today:  NHL draft’s 2nd day – trends and a trade that didn’t occur.  Lots doing on day 2.

There are a lot of significant games that jump out in October alone.

Winnipeg Sun:  Give city’s key to local hero. This would likely get a unanimous vote.  Having said that, who knew they still gave away keys to the city.

Winnipeg Sun:  NHL unveils 2011-12 schedule.  Very interesting that the NHL choose to put Winnipeg in Phoenix for the Coyotes home opener.  From True North’s press release;

In the franchise’s first ever home opening game at MTS Centre, Winnipeg will host the storied Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. CT. They will then head out on the road for a pair of games against Winnipeg native Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, Oct. 13th and then the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday, Oct. 15th before returning home to face the Pittsburgh Penguins at MTS Centre on Monday, Oct. 17th.

Fan 590:  Assistant GM says Winnipeg’s draft pick to wear generic uniform.  Probably best so the crowd can cheer the pick and not go crazy about team name.  Have to expect that a big portion of the fans at Xcel will be made up of people from Manitoba.  If they announced name at same time, I could see draft being totally disrupted by cheering for next 30 minutes.

Sporting News:  Winnipeg franchise hires Claude Noel.  At least there won’t be a “getting to know you” phase with the team’s first head coach.

NHL News:

TSN:  Bryzgalov signs nine-year $51 million deal with Flyers.  He will have solid defence in front of him which is a good thing since the team sent off their top scorers as well today.

TSN:  Flyers deal Richards, Carter in separate trades.  Good news for Richards’ family is the Kings play in Winnipeg on the 29th of December.

USA Today:  Flyers deal Carter to Jackets for Voracek, picks.  Carter and Nash are going to be a scary good combo.  This should allow the Flyers the cap space to sign Bryzgalov.

More general NHL news including Jagr, Brian Burke and goalies after the jump.

ESPN:  Jaromir Jagr speaks with Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux.  Love that he never sold his house in Pittsburgh cause he was “too lazy”.  The Wings have shown they know how to win with a veteran team.

Toronto Star:  Burke open to dealing top-three Leaf picks for established player.  He’s always working an angle.

CBC:  The goalie factor.  Seems to be the biggest X factor when selecting for type of player.

Atlanta Journal Constitution:  Waddell’s search for Thrashers buyer included more than 20 local groups.  Once again the AJC’s Vivlamore provides readers with previously unknown information.

TSN:  A look back at Winnipeg at the NHL draft.  Sometime the past is best left in the past and looking at all the missed opportunities can give one a headache.

CSN Chicago:  Bowman – Dangerous to draft on current needs.  A blurb about Winnipeg ‘s interest in current Hawks assistant coach Haviland.  Equally interesting is the main focus of the article, which is Bowman’s feelings on how teams should draft.

Globe and Mail:  Former Flames part-owner passes away.  Quite a remarkable person, who was part of the group that brought the Atlanta Flames to Calgary.

More news after the jump.

Washington Examiner:  Could the Caps host an NHL draft?  Small blurb mentions Winnipeg getting an NHL draft in near future.  Pretty amazing that in all the years of the previous franchise, we never hosted a draft or all-star game.

Winnipeg Free Press:  A closer look at 10 players to watch in this week’s draft. They left Ryan Strome, the guy a lot of people think the Winnipeg franchise will select if he’s still around, off the list.

USA Today:  Mock draft.  They feel that Strome could give the franchise some needed flash but also warn he could be a bust.

Blogs:

Puck Daddy:  Is Bryzgalov worth $7 million a year?  Only if the Flyers win the Cup next season.

NHL.com:  Board of Governors unanimous on Winnipeg.  Nice to know that we had 100% support.  If you want to check out the “official” team NHL site, click here.

Winnipeg Sun:  True North, ‘Peg get unanimous NHL go ahead.  Mark Chipman said it best;

We are very honoured by the NHL board of governors’ unanimous decision,” Chipman said in a news release. “We know the fans of this province have an appetite for NHL hockey that is rivalled by few in the league and intend to work very hard to make Manitobans proud of our franchise for years to come.”

Atlanta Journal Constitution:  Thrashers’ sale and relocation official.  Chris Vivlamore delivers the news to the Thrashers faithful.

TSN:  Jets meter.  Finally reaches 100%.

More links, general NHL news, blog post and today’s Tweet of the day after the jump.

Globe and Mail:  NHL board of governors approves Atlanta sale to Winnipeg.  Is anyone surprised?

Winnipeg Free Press:  Always room in a market for teams that win.  Let’s hope both the Bombers and the unnamed NHL team both win on the scoresheet and in the stands.  For now the latter necessity has been fulfilled by both clubs.

NHL News:

New York Magazine:  It was only a matter of time before someone mentioned the Rangers.  Can’t see New York in the mix for Jagr’s services this season.

Edmonton Journal:  Tambellini keeps draft-pick cards close to his chest.  While we may be in the Southeast for one season, it pays to keep abreast of what our potential future competition is doing.

The Hockey News:  The hot list- draft risers.  Here’s a list of some of the guys who might be on the move up come draft day.  Remember to stay tuned to @illegalcurve for all the latest directly from St. Paul.

Blogs:

Second City Hockey:  Help wanted sign at the Coach’s room.  We will ignore the shot at Winnipeg to bring you some interesting insight into possible coach Haviland.

Bird Watchers Anonymous:  A quick thank you to the Thrashers fans.  A very nice thank you post from the crew at BWA.

Chris D:  Collection of Winnipeg Jets memorabilia on display today.  Very appropriate timing for the display.

SB Nation Atlanta:  Could the NHL give Atlanta a third try?  While it might seem far fetched since the team officially leaves today, Laura makes some good points on what Georgian’s can do if they ever hope to see the NHL back in their market.

On the Forecheck:  The NHL says goodbye to Atlanta.  Appears that Predators sites are actively courting fans of the departing Thrashers.

Tweet of the Day:

Winnipeg Free Press:  New GM meets scouts, days before draft.  Crunch time in the next week.

CBC:  Winnipeg NHL team may remain nameless at draft.  True North could sure wow the Xcel Energy Center if they unveil the new jersey at the draft but it doesn’t appear that this will happen.

TSN:  Cheveldayoff prepares Winnipeg staff for their first NHL draft.  A lot of work will be done this week.  Be sure to tune into IC’s live coverage from the draft as we will have Kyle, Ez and Remis on site in St. Paul.

The Hockey News:  Will Ken Hitchcock return behind NHL bench?  With just Winnipeg and New Jersey left looking for a head coach, will Hitch get a posting?  Seems to be the year of the non-experienced coach so the current trend appears to be against him.

ESPN:  Countdown to July 1.  Pierre LeBrun with a breakdown of what is happening around the NHL.

Fox Sports:  Trades could heat up before draft.  Doesn’t appear Winnipeg is in the mix to make a splash, but always important to know what other teams are up to.

More links after the jump.

Winnipeg Free Press:  Gordie Howe in city for charity golf tournament.  Met him while covering the Wings/Flyers exhibition game at Joe Louis Arena a few years back.  He was extremely nice with a sense of humour as sharp as his elbows.

IC Content:

Prospect Pulse:  Arturs Kulda. If you missed it earlier, Kyle had an interesting take on this prospect.