NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition): Gerry Cheevers sides with Crosby in “handshakegate”, Where is the love for Pavel Datsyuk?, The Monster is visiting the Leafs, Todd Davison’s charity continues to grow, Jim Balsillie taking different tact, A new Belfour in goal.

More Stanley Cup Final Reaction

From Pittsburgh:

• Prisuta: Traits of a captain; He watched it all unfold from the end of the Penguins’ bench, Sidney Crosby watched not because he had no choice, but because he made the right choice.
• Fans need not wait long to relive the Penguins’ Stanley Cup run.  Warner Home Video will release its official “Pittsburgh Penguins 2008-09 Stanley Cup Champions” DVD on July 7.
• Gerry Cheevers thought the NHL’s post-series handshake ritual was meaningless when he won two Stanley Cups during the 1970s.

From Detroit:

• The Red Wings are already making plans to hold a three-day training camp Sept. 13-15 in Traverse City to prepare for the 2009-10 season.
• Pavel Datsyuk is a finalist for four awards, two more than any other player in the league. So, why isn’t the soft-spoken dynamo from Yekaterinburg, Russia, mentioned in the same breath as Ovechkin and Crosby?

The Rest:

• Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke confirmed that Swedish free agent Jonas Gustavsson, a.k.a. The Monster, will arrive in Toronto this week and meet with the Leafs.
• Martin Gelinas’ new role is off-ice for Predators as director of player development where he hopes to pass on some of his hockey education to Nashville’s prospects.
• After Phil Kessel finished fielding the creampuff questions from fifth-graders here at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School yesterday, the Bruins forward got down to the harder stuff.
• Bryan Murray says he’ll try to grant his top goal scorer’s trade request, but not at the expense of settling for an unsatisfactory offer.
• The scar on Derian Hatcher’s right leg runs from the top of his shin to the top of his kneecap and serves as a reminder of how much he gave of himself over 17 NHL seasons as a shot-blocking, crease-clearing defenseman.  In case you missed it, here is the Hatcher press conference.
• Valley hockey fans found out first hand about Trevor Linden’s reputation as the ultimate gentleman and ambassador for the game.
• Cam Ward was back in the Carolina Hurricanes’ locker room Tuesday at the RBC Center, back to make a special presentation.
• Islanders radio voice, Bob Lawrence (officially Robert Lindstrom) dies at 70.
• It should come as no surprise that three years after Todd Davison’s death, the Believe in the Goal foundation he started to raise funds for cancer research, has continued to grow and this summer will move to the biggest hockey venue in the province.

Phoenix Situation:

• BlackBerry bigwig Jim Balsillie will not give up on his dream of moving the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, despite Judge Redfield T. Baum rejecting that notion in a ruling on Monday.
• The invitation never came the other way, so Jim Balsillie is going to ask the NHL in for a cup of coffee and a little chat.
• The NHL may have won this skirmish, but there are still problems galore in Phoenix and time is running out for Bettman.
• Bettman creativity to be tested as he has his work cut out for him now that Judge Baum has ruled that relocation rules are acceptable.
• The Coyotes are staying in Phoenix! The Coyotes are staying in Phoenix! Isn’t that just… great?
• While the NHL’s preference is to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix, beggars can’t always be choosers and any potential bids face major hurdles.
• Jim Balsillie’s stated goal is for the NHL to get a seventh Canadian team.  Yet, it seems he is equally keen for the NHL to get a seventh commissioner.

AHL:

• Texas Stars general manager Scott White announced today that Glen Gulutzan has been named as the hockey club’s first head coach. White also announced that Paul Jerrard has been named as an assistant coach for the Texas Stars.  Two Manitoba boys (Gulutzan is from The Pas and Jerrard is from Winnipeg) get an opportunity to show their stuff.
• For most hockey players, there’s nothing unusual about a post-season round of golf.  But most hockey players don’t have the Calder Cup riding shotgun in the golf cart, as Sault-born defenceman Greg Amadio and his Hershey Bears teammates did Monday.

Minor Hockey:

• It may be the middle of June, but Idaho Steelheads fans can already count on this: Their favorite ECHL team will look considerably different when the team hits the ice in October.
• Dayn Belfour was sitting in the Dallas/Fort Worth airport Sunday preparing to board a plane home to Winnipeg when he got a call from his dad, Ed.
• Stud American blueliner John Moore insists he hasn’t ruled out becoming a Kitchener Ranger.