Nightly Hockey Hits: The dirty trick Bruce McNall used to get Gretzky, NHLPA close to sending out more pink slips, Good deals available in Phoenix, Could Ovechkin hit 70?

Some news and notes covering the latest hockey news from across the blogs:

• Cult of Hockey:  The dirty trick Bruce McNall played on Peter Pocklington that brought Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles.  Wow, that was a pretty, pretty, pretty low move on McNall’s part, and I agree with Cult writer David Staples in giving kudos to Stephen Brunt for getting McNall to come clean about that fact.
  
  (check out the excerpt of ESPN’s King Ransom which debuted tonight at the bottom of the page)
• Flames Insider:  Wee forwards meet jumbo defencemen.  Let’s not forget what David did to Goliath. 
• Nucks Misconduct:  Sami Salo hurt?  Sergei Shirokov Benched?  Not helping my Canucks in the Cup prediction.
• Puck Daddy:  Glendale is working overtime to get fans back.  Good time to be a fan in Phoenix.  They are going to offer big time specials to get you in the seats.  And perhaps they can call someone in Newark and pass along some tips because the Devils/Rangers game looked half full.
• Working the Corners:  Sharks to face Kings without any call-ups from Worcester to replace Pavelski.  Better hope the warm up goes smoothly. 
• All things Avs:  Anderson has groin pull.  That won’t be too good for the Avs if he is down long term.
• Defending Big D:  Modano out for at least a week.  Let’s hope it won’t be longer than that as he was looking good to start the season.
• Puck Rakers:  Mason making an early case for Olympics.  Too early to tell but he is looking very good to start.
  
• NHL Fanhouse:  Can Ovechkin realistically reach 70 goals?  While I think he could do it, if anyone is going to, I cannot believe its been since 1992/93 (what a year it was to be a Jets/Sabres fan) since it was accomplished.
• Japers’ Rink:  Daydreaming of a Dynasty.  It is always fun to dream, although with these Caps, who knows.
• The 6th Sens:  The Battle of Ontario – does it still have relevance?  It isn’t the Battle of Alberta, but I’d say it is the 2nd best Canadian inter-provincial rivalry (hehe).
• Broad Street Hockey:  Fan confidence is up even higher after a week.  Things are looking good so far in Philly.
• The Pensblog:  Feeling blue?  Seems like they don’t play stellar Pens hockey when wearing the 3rd jersey. 
  
• The Bruins Blog:  Three more years of Lucic.  With all that Kessel money free, the Bruins are flush.
• Habs Inside/Out:  Bergeron signs one-year deal.  Good signing by the Habs.
• The New York Rangers Blog:  Artem Anisimov Hartford bound?  Hopefully not, as IC’s Ezzy picked him for the IC 2009/10 Predictions as a Calder winner this season.
• Fire & Ice:  Lamoriello puts Shanahan on waivers.  Is this the end?  Who retires his jersey?  Devils, Wings, Blues, Düsseldorfer EG?
• Maple Leafs Hot Stove:  Looks like the Monster is in.  Looking forward to seeing him play a complete game.
• Slap Shots:  A look at tonight’s match-ups.   Lots of good games tonight.
• The Hockey News:  NHLPA votes to oust Hargrove, Pink, but can’t make it official.  While they may have managed to avoid being fired due to a lack of quorum, it would appear that pink slips are on the way.  I wonder who was the one vote against firing, as it apparently was a 17-1 vote.  Surprising news out of Boston is that Ference is out and Recchi is in.
  
• Western College Hockey:  A couple of CHL notes and some mythbusting.  Some good stuff in here.

ESPN:  30 for 30 – Kings Ransom