Around The NHL

-Is Pavel Bure Hall Of Fame-worthy in 2010? Joe Pelletier from Greatest Hockey Legends says "yes" and discusses why.

-Doug Weight will sign with the Islanders for one...more...year. I guess 1 Stanley Cup is good enough for him. (TSN)

-George Armstrong, Darryl Sittler and Wendel Clark were invited to the Dion Phaneuf captaincy press conference but Mats Sundin wasn't? Bitter Assholes!!!

-Brendan Morrison, Scott Walker and Joe Corvo will not be wearing Capitals jerseys next season. (TSN). Hey Gillis! Let's create a Canucks reunion! A Morrison-Walker-Cooke line will suffice won't it? You could also add Jose Theodore to the list of Washington rejects.

-Did you miss 4 Blackhawks players making an appearance with the Stanley Cup on the Jay Leno Show on Monday night? Well, here it is. Awwwkwaaarrrrd.

-Here is a terrific piece on new Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel (Columbus Dispatch). Yeah, we lost a good guy didn't we? Here are some quotes from Arniel at the press conference. I think the BJ's are going to thrive under Scott Arniel. The players will love him. Best of luck once again, Mr. Arniel, until you play the Canucks, of course.

-The Ducks will be sporting their 3rd jerseys next season. It looks like this. Kidding. Who in the hell came up with and OK'd that jersey anyway? Off with their heads! Anyway, the new look is a mystery. I'm guessing a Duck Hunt theme.

-Wanna know how a good captain responds to media questions about his future with the team and his lackluster play? Look no further.

-A very good chance Ethan Moreau, Sheldon Souray, Robert Nilsson and Patrick O'Sullivan are done in Edmonton. Ethan Moreau is making $2 million this coming season...what do you think Canucks fans? There is a guy with character and grit for line 3.

-Beginning today, NHL teams can buy out the contracts of players they no longer want. Players over 26 are bought out at two-thirds of the remaining amount, while younger ones get one-third. In both scenarios teams get double the time remaining to absorb the hit to the salary cap, meaning if a player has two years left, they can spread the dollar amount out over four years.

That from the Detroit Free Press. I wasn't aware of that "drawn-out" rule. Oh and Jason Williams is hitting the UFA market, like anybody cares.

-Spezza may be tired of his critics in Ottawa but he does have some fans who, through the power of Facebook (gag) are going to hold a rally on Parliament Hill on Saturday to keep Spezza in Ottawa. That's real cute. I weeping over here.

-Vancouver hotelier Tom Gaglardi is one of the candidates to buy the Dallas Stars.

-Cam Neely will be named the new Bruins' president tomorrow at a press conference. He was a Canuck once....yes he was. Now imagine if Barry Pederson never existed.

-The Thrashers and Maxim Afinogenov are not even close to negotiating a new deal. Can't blame the Thrashers. Can you spell A-N-O-M-A-L-Y? It still baffles me to this day how much Maxim looks like Pavel Bure in appearance and in his skating technique. He just hasn't blown out his knees yet...or scored 60 goals....

-Todd Bertuzzi wants Marc Crawford to pay the damages awarded to Steve Moore...etc, etc. (Globe and Mail) Can they just get that fucking issue resolved already? It won't be until next year though, as the article states. So......fuck it.