Here are your Morning(-ish) 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.
• By far our favorite story of the day so far, from Busted Coverage: The Florida Panthers team policy for renting out their Ice Dancers. As Mr. Busta Rhymes once said, "Put your hands where my eyes could see." For the record, an Ice Girl will cost you $100 an hour if you're a sponsor, $200 an hour if you're a non-sponsor, and $1.1 million if you're a Saudi prince. No what are those binoculars for exactly, junior? [Busted Coverage]
• It was a rather awful night for goalies last night, and especially for Manny Legace of the St. Louis Blues. He said if he could figure out why, he'd "never have a bad stretch in my career ... I'd be making $100 million a year." Steven Ovadia writes: "I don't know if that would all be hockey money or if maybe he'd get some kind of stipend from a Fortune 500 company." [Puck Update]
• From Dairy Queen in St. Louis to the "chili chant" in Columbus to "we want tacos!" in Nashville, a look at how NHL teams are setting goal-scoring benchmarks for free fan food. [CNBC]
• The St. Pete Times' Damien Cristodero on last night's performance by the Tampa Bay Lightning: "Really, this is on the players now. If you have reservations about the coaches, forget it for now. If you have doubts about personnel moves, put them out of your mind." [Lightning Strikes]
• Denis Savard joins the likes of Tony Esposito, Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita as Chicago Blackhawks Ambassadors. Great news for local car dealership grand openings and county fairs in Illinois. [Slam Media]
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
• There's some whispers that today could be Brendan Shanahan Day, and that the Philadelphia Flyers have every reason to be waiting by the phone. Meanwhile, one fan makes the case for Shanny in Philly, despite the previous failures of "Paul Coffey and Adam Oats." Oh, Bleacher Report. [BR]
• Wait ... Brian Burke to the Toronto Maple Leafs isn't a sure thing? We figured they were already printing the business cards. "Look at that subtle off-white coloring ... the tasteful thickness of it ... oh my God, it even has a watermark." [CBC Sports]
• Will Burke's resignation from the Anaheim Ducks finally put to rest rumors that Ken Holland will leave the Detroit Red Wings? We hope so. The Steve Yzerman rumors are way more fun. [Snapshots]
• Meanwhile, TSN learns that Carolina Hurricanes president Jim Rutherford was offered the Leafs' team presidency and the GM job last August. Brian Burke = 2nd choice? LOL! [TSN]
• Revenge of the Nords? Quebec City is moving closer to securing funding for a new arena. Curtis Leschyshyn is already sharpening his skates. [TFP]
• College hockey players and commissioners embrace the shootout. We searched the page for the word "integrity" and came up empty. [NHL]
• The new Pittsburgh Penguins' arena will cost $31 million more than expected. When asked for comment, Penguins fans replied "JORDAN STAAL WOOT WOOT BITE IT HOSSA!" [Biz Journals]
• The Los Angeles Kings vaguely discuss their mysterious third jersey. [Icethetics]
• Really, any incorporation of the Smurfs into hockey recaps deserves some attention. Bettman > Gargamel. [Melt Your Face Off]
• Finally, please adjust your volume down before viewing this because THIS IS THE DALLAS STARS' NO. 1 FAN. There's no way this isn't Brett Hull's kid, right?
