Tuesday Night Link Dump & Open Thread

Lightning

• Lightning close to signing Brett Connolly. Close as in the deal is "done," just not signed. [Bolts Prospects & @LightningTimes]
• Brad Richards on the Tampa Bay Lightning: "If they're going to talk to me, I'd definitely be interested."
• Jeff Vinik and Guy Boucher attended Tampa's inaugural Sneaker Soiree (video). [Tampa Bay Lightning]
• Tampa mourns former sports writer Tom McEwen, who was, among many things, a major advocate of bringing hockey to Tampa. [tampabay.com]
• Mike Vernace was re-signed by the club yesterday [Tampabay.com]
• Final depth rankings of the Tampa Bay Lightning system for the 2010-11 season [Bolt Prospects]
• More outreach into the Orlando market for the Bolts? [@victorialim via Twitter]
• None of the seating at the St. Pete Times Forum that is being replaced will be made available to the public [@victorialim]

Playoffs

• Canuckspiration. [The Star]
• Hear Vancouver's reaction to Max Lapierre's game-winning goal during Game 5 (video). [Puck Daddy]
• Scott Burnside's question to Lapierre: "Max, looked like you were mortally wounded when you had that encounter with Zdeno Chara. I wondered how you were able to carry on after that." [Puck Daddy]
• Burrows on hatred for the Canucks: "Obviously, we probably are." [The Bruins Blog]

NHL, et al

• Remember Sidney Crosby? Rob Rossi reports that Crosby is getting his off-ice workout on. [Chipped Ice]
• New York Rangers' Chris Drury is on the market. [Puck Daddy]
• The QMJHL is going to require teams to draft American players [Puck Daddy]
• Bruce Arthur says that NHL discipline is as consistent as the rorschach inkblot test. [The National Post]
• Trash talking and getting vicious: The Hockey Internet and the Death of Civility. [Kukla's Korner]
• Jim Balsillie is playing Gary Bettman's game with NHL's Blackberry sponsorship. [Forbes]
• Why sports fans care about TV ratings. Do you care? [Business Insider]
• I was able to catch up on the newly launched Grantland.com this weekend. Definitely worth your perusing. [Grantland]
• Dan Snyder's Atlanta Thrashers legacy will continue in Winnipeg. [Pro Hockey Talk | NBC Sports]
• Speaking of the Thrash -- was there a Half-Billion dollar bid to keep the team in Atlanta? [Bird Watchers Anonymous]
• In random and irrelevant, "while on the kiss cam at a hockey game" is listed as one of the worst places to have an emotional breakdown. [Listgeeks]
• Intelligent analysis and discussion of injuries in the NHL[That Pucking Hurts]