Here are your Evening Puck Headlines: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.
• Jason Plank runs the numbers on first-year head coaches in the NHL, and comes up with this spiffy chart. The task was to determine if Todd McLellan could win right away with the San Jose Sharks. The conclusion: It takes an average of 5.06 seasons as head coach to win the Stanley Cup, and coaches win a Cup with their first team 47.06 percent of the time. [Hockey Primetime]
• The IHL's Kalamazoo Wings are allowing fans to vote on their third jersey design. Sadly, there is no "D: None of the Above." [Wings]
• Mike Ribeiro explains that in Montreal, the fans and media and organization all made fun of the way he dressed. When he came to the Dallas Stars, that all changed and Ribeiro found a comfort zone: "I just really appreciate the fact that they let me be me." This is a little too Clay Aiken for The Two-Line Pass. [TLP]
• Are the New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings the teams in the running for Brendan Shanahan if the New York Rangers have turned the page on him? [Snapshots]
• Five questions from the Canucks' side of the Shane O'Brien and Michel Ouellet trade. [Orland Kurtenblog]
Sports
• The odd NHL journey of hockey fighter Brandon Sugden has come to an end with the New York Islanders. At least for this preseason. [NYI Point Blank]
• The Czech Republic's largest-circulation newspaper gave the NHL a rather harsh review. [Canwest]
• The Vancouver Canucks send 18-year-old first-round draft pick Cody Hodgson to the Brampton Battalion for the season. But the Toronto Maple Leafs avoid PR suicide by keeping first-round pick defenseman Luke Schenn, despite the obvious contract ramifications. PR stunt for nine games? Maybe. But what if he plays like an all-star in those games ... [TSN]
• Look, we think Sidney Crosby is super talented. But 1.56 goals per game seems a little steep. [Peerless Prognosticator]
• The Washington Capitals' salary cap issues force promising young defenseman Karl Alzner down to the AHL, along with Chris Bourque and Quintin Laing, who has to pass through waivers. We'll say this: At his salary, a team would be rather wise to take a hard look at Laing as a depth forward. [Japers Rink]
• Rhett Warrener, Anders Eriksson and Jamie Lundmark were all placed on waivers by the Calgary Flames. This clears the way for Lundmark to join Pavel Brendel, Bill Pulsipher, Paul Wilson and Blair Thomas on the New York All-Never-Was team. [Battle of Alberta]
• Richard Matvichuk's time with the Columbus Blue Jackets is at an end. Wonder if he still has a place to crash in Tampa? [CBC]
• Ryan Hollweg gets a two-game suspension for "collecting his third boarding or checking from behind major in a 41-game span." Which means the NHL never took our suggestion and made Hollweg exempt from League punishment after the whole Chris Simon/stick/head/piñata thing. [Sportsnet]
• A rather humorous take on the Buffalo Sabres and the mysteries of their captaincy. [The Willful Caboose]
• Finally, with a H/T to the Washington Capitals boards and Japers, irrefutable evidence that God hates the Buffaslug:
