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.
• Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland met with Chris Chelios today and broke the news that that deposed Stanley Cup champs won't be needing the services of a 72-year-old 47-year-old seventh defenseman. Will Cheli find another home in the NHL, or is this in fact the end of the line for one of the last true warriors in the League? [Detroit News]
• Think of Jim Balsillie's court defeat as Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum uploading the virus to the mothership in "ID4" to bring down the alien force fields and save Earth. Now we're at the part where they need to somehow fly out of the ship without getting vaporized. In other words: Jerry Reinsdorf's reps told the court today that he will have an offer to keep the Coyotes in Arizona by Friday. His group includes former Anaheim Ducks CEO Tony Tavares. [McGran]
• You can follow the blow-by-blow of today's Coyotes court fun on Phoenix blogger Odin Mercer's Twitter feed. [Twitter]
• Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray does some interesting posturing on the Dany Heatley trade front, telling NHL Live that despite his no-movement clause Heater will not dictate the terms of the trade and that any deal done will have to be in Ottawa's best interests. [Silver Seven]
• Great work by Spector, chronicling all the possibilities and using his crap detector to figure out where in the NHL Dany Heatley could end up playing next season. Hadn't heard the Los Angeles Kings claiming the trade demand raised some red flags ... [Fox Sports]
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• Brent Sutter could be named Calgary Flames coach by noon on Tuesday, and New Jersey Devils overlord Lou Lamoriello doesn't expect to name a coach before the draft. Take your time, big guy; picking the next man to either get fired with three games left in the season or leave his contract because he's homesick is a tough gig. [Fire & Ice]
• Ten out of 10 NHL scouts select John Tavares as the No. 1 pick in this week's NHL Entry Draft. However, the gap between Tavares, Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene isn't all that large. [TSN, via Mile High Hockey]
• The Tampa Bay Lightning aren't holding a draft party, opting instead for a "fan friendly" draft pick camp in July. But again: No. 2 pick overall and no draft party? Yowch. [Lightning Strikes]
• Capitals GM George McPhee doesn't believe his team will play in the Winter Classic this season. Sure. [Capitals Insider]
• The Fourth Annual Hockey Day Minnesota is announced. Better luck next year, Little Canada. [Ciskie]
• Via Mondesi's House and our buddy Shirtless Joe, the great Dave Dameshek reveals the new sign in Pittsburgh after the Penguins' latest Cup.
• Huzzah! "The 2009 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins led all teams in the first annual playoff 'Beard-a-thon.' Over 1,700 Penguins' fans grew playoff beards and raised $113,541 for the Mario Lemieux Foundation." [Penguins]
• Awesome: Remembering the WHA with the legendary Harry Neale. On Washington Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau: "He was one of the worst-dressed players I've ever coached ... They called him Dirt... He had some hair back then and even that was never kept." [Sabres]
• Finally, from Defending Big D, alleged conclusive evidence that Brett Hull's infamous goal to win the Stanley Cup in 1999 was in fact a good goal. Buffalo Sabres fans that are easily angered or have any sort of heart condition are cautioned not to view this NHL.com clip and continue living a life of unrepentant bitterness.
