Here are your 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.
• In true Brett Hull fashion, the iconic former St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars sniper tells ESPN that he's been elected to the Hall of Fame before the official announcement this afternoon. Of course, the announcement is a formality, unless the class is something other than Hull, Steve Yzerman, Brian Leetch and Luc Robitaille. [St. Louis Game Time]
• Solid Hall of Fame candidate rundown. [CBC Sports]
• CBC announces the greatest competitive reality television news since the premiere of "Daisy of Love": It's "Battle of the Blades," in which NHL legends Lanny McDonald, Glenn Anderson, Tie Domi, Bob Probert, Craig Simpson (we're stretching the legends thing now), and Stéphane Richer are "paired with some of Canada's top female figure skaters in a competitive and thrilling pairs showdown beginning this October." If this leads to Probert throwing his partner like a javelin at Domi, we're sold. And Glenn Anderson and Stéphane Richer ... in a figure skating competition? [Puck The Media]
• The Calgary Flames may finally get around to making Brent Sutter official today. [Sportsnet]
• According to Sun Media, the wishlist Dany Heatley provided the Ottawa Senators: "Sources told Sun Media the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins were among the teams submitted to Murray by Heatley's agents J.P. Barry and Stacey McAlpine." It's good to want things. [Sun Media]
Sports
• Marian Gaborik is buying a house in Vancouver? From Zanstorm: "If Gillis were to sign Gaborik, I hope I'm not around a gun when I'm drunk in the near future. Could you imagine TWO injury-prone Slovaks on the Canucks? No bloody thanks." [Nucks Misconduct]
• Buyer beware before befriending Bouwmeester. [Simmons]
• Totally missed this during the playoffs, but did you know there was a "movement" afoot to have the Canadian anthem played during Stanley Cup Final games because the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings had so many Canadian players? [Play Our Anthem, H/T Puck Buddy Randal S.]
• Tim Thomas and Phil Kessel (despite the injury) are expected to receive invites to the USA Hockey camp this summer. Really digging the idea of Thomas being the U.S. starter. [Bruins Blog]
• Great stuff from former Tampa Bay Lightning GM Jay Feaster on the proper way to build through the draft. [THN]
• John Shannon, the NHL's senior vice-president of broadcasting, leaves the League. David Shoalts also reports that 20 NHL employees were let go recently, although Shannon wasn't one of them. All is well! Remain calm! [Globe & Mail]
• If Dennis Seidenberg is done with the Carolina Hurricanes, then it may be time for some defensive shopping this summer. From David Lee: "If Kaberle isn't back and Seids isn't renewed, Carolina will have five NHL defenseman under contract for next season. This includes Tim Conboy, who will be more likely to find himself playing in the New York State Penal League than as a regular in the NHL." [Red And Black Hockey]
• Not Hockey: Pig Vomit to replace Harvey Milk in "Three Stooges" movie? [Y! News]
• Simeon Varlamov of the Washington Capitals on facing Sidney Crosby in the playoffs: "Sidney has a really good stance. Like a fighter. He is excellent playing rebounds. When we shook hands at the end of the series, Sidney said to me 'You are an excellent goaltender, it was hard to deal with you'." [Japers Rink]
• If you've got an extra $2,000 in the couch cushions, then you can begin bidding on a Sam Pollock Montreal Canadiens business card. Patrick Bateman would be all over it. [eBay, H/T Alain M.]
• Steve Rosenbloom believes the future for now-former Wings defenseman Chris Chelios is with the Chicago Blackhawks, as either a player or as an ambassador. [Chicago Tribune]
• Fantastic follow-up by NHL.com on David Carle, whose abnormal readings in the electrocardiogram administered by the York University medical staff may have ended his hockey career but helped user in the test as mandatory at the Draft Combine. Remember when Koules/Barrie selected Carle in last year's draft, back in the feel-good days of Lightning hockey? [NHL]
• Can the New York Islanders screw up the draft again? [Hockey Guy]
• Phoenix Coyotes blog Five For Howling has the latest developments in that saga, including this assessment of the Balsillie camp's chances: "The only real positive for the Moyes/Balsillie side here was that they actually got an auction for the team to be moved just in case the sale to a local bidder doesn't work. That only comes into play if no buyer can be found here and with the offers that were once thought to be make believe in the eyes of some becoming more of a reality I still really don't get how exactly Balsillie is 'Back in'." [Five for Howling]
• NHL VP Bill Daly on the Balsillie application: "As we've said all along, a relocation application, properly looked at and reviewed, is something that takes several months. It's not something that takes several weeks. I think we're going to focus, in the first instance, on a local sale process, an auction process, but it doesn't mean we aren't going to continue to process Mr. Balsillie's applications." [NHL]
• Interesting piece on staged fighting. [Pensburgh]
• Detroit Red Wings boss Mike Babcock is expected to be named Team Canada coach for 2010. [NHL]
• Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn went under the knife. [Philly.com]
• The Kurtenblog has a really clever post that offers a "mock draft" of NHL Draft clichés, from the always popular "Bit of a project" through the ever-creepy "Man among boys." One edit: Gotta have "a Stevie Yzerman-type player" somewhere on there, as nearly every average-to-undersized first-round center has gotten that rap in the last several years. [KB]
• Finally, Hall of Fame trophy room porn:
