Local (Lightning)
Former Red Wings winger Shawn Burr dies | Hockey – Home
Burr had been fighting cancer when he died yesterday.
Former Bolt Shawn Burr — ‘a great teammate for all of us’ — dead at 47 | Tampa Bay Times
Said Terry Crisp, who coached Burr during his first stint with the Lightning, “I used to stand behind Shawn Burr on the bench with a pen and paper in my hand and write down the barbs he’d throw at the other players. He had to be one of the best trash talkers I have ever, ever encountered in my career, and I heard some good ones, believe me.
Bolt From the Blue: Shawn Burr – Best of the Web
In this 2010 interview, Burr reflected on his time in Tampa.
ProHockeyTalk.is doing their build up to the season by giving each team a day (mostly) to themselves. They started with the Atlantic Division (#Flortheast) and yesterday was the Lightning’s day:
- It’s Tampa Bay Lightning day on PHT | ProHockeyTalk
- Tampa Bay has big questions in goal | ProHockeyTalk
Lightning’s Drouin misses Canada’s junior camp with sore foot | ProHockeyTalk
Moving on without Lecavalier will be tricky for Tampa Bay | ProHockeyTalk
“His buyout made some fans upset.” Ya think? - Can Jon Cooper reboot the Bolts? | ProHockeyTalk
Poll: Is Martin St. Louis on a Hall of Fame pace? | ProHockeyTalk
Read the comments if you like to laugh at stupid things./
Florida Hockey History: A look back at the AHL’s Jacksonville Barons – Litter Box Cats
The third installment in Todd Little’s examination of puck history in Florida.
National (NHL)
Pro goalie Bobby Goepfert goes in-depth on the varying types of pain a hockey puck dishes out | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com
Bobby Goepfert is hilarious. He is unique like a little snowflake. You should not only read this article, you should be following him on twitter. (@Geffman47) I don’t think I can be friends with you if you don’t think he’s funny.
Black swans, randomness, and focusing on things other than hockey | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com
Nassim Taleb’s “Black Swan” theory is fascinating, and if anyone other than Nassim Taleb were writing about it (he comes off as an arrogant blowhard in print) it would have become more mainstream. In essence, the idea is that human beings, who are not naturally inclined towards thinking probabilistically, are more likely to take drastic action on the basis of really big, very unlikely events that do happen than on smaller scale things that are far more likely to happen. These are black swans, and the human brain pays a heck of a lot of attention to them, despite their improbability.
And so, says Cam Charron,
“those hours of hanging around rinks [at junior camps and such] aren’t going to make you any better at understanding the game. Non-hockey concepts can have value in hockey, and it’s worthwhile to occasionally step away from the sport, and rather than focusing on a specific random event, learn to modify our expectations for the improbable and unlikely by determining what’s random and what’s talent. That goes not only for hockey, but also life.”
Retooled Senators better off without Alfredsson | ProHockeyTalk
Joe Yerdon says Bobby Ryan > Daniel Alfredsson because numbers.
Stars’ Antoine Roussel switches number, will pay for your jersey change | Puck Daddy – Yahoo! Sports
This is kinda neat. Jerseys are expensive and are long-term investments for a lot of folks, and it’s nice that Roussel recognized that. But if the team decided the numbers should be changed along with the entire uniform change in the first place, shouldn’t they be doing some sort of trade in deal for everyone affected?
Tallon is building the Panthers in a familiar way
“When he took over the Florida Panthers in the summer of 2010, he knew he had to help build them from the ground up and his design is looking mighty familiar to what he did in Chicago.”
Panthers Should Be Commended For $7 Season Tickets
What the Panthers package looks like is this: $7 season tickets, a free jersey, free parking, four free concerts at the BB&T Center and a $25 dollar Duffy’s gift card. How insanely, ridiculously good is that? Mind you they’re in the 500 level but still, if you’re in any other NHL building, you’re probably throwing down around $20 bucks for nosebleed seats.
There are also only a few of these packages. And while this is a good value, a winning hockey team would go a heck of a lot farther at getting folks into the arena than ticket discounts.
Farm Report (Prospects)
New Tampa Bay goalie signing provides depth for the Syracuse Crunch | syracuse.com
According to Tampa Bay assistant general manager Julien BriseBois, Gudlevskis projects to an ECHL spot right now.
International (Europe & World)
83 members of Congress call on U.S. to protect Olympians from Russia’s anti-gay laws – Outsports
Like I’ve said. This isn’t going away. There’s nothing anyone can really do to make a change in Russia before February, and no one’s going to boycott (no countries, that is), and there’s still the question of what the best action to take is. But this is going to be a big headache for a lot of people.
Anti-gay laws in Russia: Why gay people should be grateful the 2014 Olympics are in Sochi.
“Gay people are treated appallingly in countries all over the world, and the only homophobic hellhole that’s being editorialized against is the one where the five-ringed flag will wave next February.”
The lion Chronicle: Who said that the off-season is boring? | crash the net
You think the Phoenix mess is crazy? Check this out–the KHL wants to expand into Finland and two KHL owners have invested heavily in the Helsinki SM-Liiga team Jokerit (Jokers). That team announced a few months ago that they’d be leaving the SM-Liiga to join the KHL in 2014-15. So the rest of the Finnish league got together and banned them from competing in Finland in 2013-14. Whoops. But, as always, money changes everything.
Business (Business)
Sale of Phoenix Coyotes is finalized – NHL.com – News
We all emerge from our hiding places and blink owlishly in the glare of the lights bouncing off the ice. And yet…
Phoenix Coyotes nightmare ends as NHL approves sale, out clause and all | Puck Daddy – Yahoo! Sports
Wyshinski is cynical: “Again, I want this to be over. So I hope my cynicism is just a Pavlovian response after all these years.”
Phoenix Coyotes have owners—now, do they have fans? – NHL – Sporting News
Sean Gentille is cynical: “Part of that deal: IceArizona can move the team after five years if it loses $50 million. So, no matter what anyone says, this is not over. “
The Market (Numbers)
The Farm Club – Why is no-one talking about Victor Hedman?
A strong look at Victor Hedman’s numbers. Keep in mind that he’s only 22 years old. And that the Lightning have stunk for the past two years. When Hedman gets demonstrably better on a team that isn’t giving him any “padding” (like actually controlling the puck so he doesn’t have to do it all), well, that’s pretty damned impressive.
Winning a Fight Has Impact on Future Outcomes | NHLNumbers.com
Oh, the sarcasm. It hurts.
Funnies
NHL Pokemon Logos – Imgur
Yes. Yes they did.
