The Morning After the Night Before: 13 July 2016

How do you get Pikachu onto a bus? Pokemon. That was as much as I knew about the apparent cultural phenomenon until I read a piece on NHL.com about the new game. I don't understand it, I don't get the appeal, but it appears that every single man, woman and child around the world is on the hunt for these critters. Good luck to you if you're out there Pokemon hunting - just remember to keep your head up. Or this might happen.

So what's happening around the league?

- As always it's Sportsnet first, and they say George McPhee will be announced as the Las Vegas GM this week. Not sure I'd have even had him on my shortlist to be honest.

- Shane Doan cashes in on a new one-year deal with the Yotes. I love his play, but just cannot stand the man. To me, he's the anti-Jarome Iginla.

- Gamespot - yes, Gamespot - was one of many sites breaking down the new NHL 17 trailer. I don't buy EA games on release now, I wait until they're on EA Access and pay £20 for c.6 games a year.

- CBC looks at the seven Canadian teams, and the moves they've made this summer. Nothing new in here, but it really makes you feel better about the Gudbranson trade when you read 'Hall for Larsson'...

- The Waterloo Region Record (I know, right) has a nice community piece about Michael Latta and Mike Hoffman doing work with local kids. Which always goes down well with this NMer.

- CSN Chicago makes us all feel bad with this piece on the Hawks' latest KHL steal, Michal Kempny. He's not going to win a Calder, but the Hawks know what they're doing with their European acquisitions.

- At the Province, they looked at the 200-person poll regarding confidence in their teams' front office. The Canucks ranked 30th. Fess up, who made us look bad?

Question for the day: Which Pokemon character should the Canucks sign?