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Doughty holdout talk: Harbinger of doom or scare tactic?Video: Sean Avery bailed out; TMZ with arrest detailsPuck Headlines: Mascot planking; Teemu Selanne uncertaintyHockey Guilty Pleasures: Sean McIndoe of Down Goes BrownThe NHLâ??s unemployed free-agent defensemen clubSean Avery arrested in LA on battery charges against copHockey Guilty Pleasures: SB Nationâ??s The Battle of CaliforniaFlorida Panthers offer â??visiting fans not welcomeâ?? sectionPuck Headlines: Owen Nolan tries Canucks; Weber deal falloutIs this the [New York]e|islanders Islandersâ?? new black 3rd jersey?
Doughty holdout talk: Harbinger of doom or scare tactic?Video: Sean Avery bailed out; TMZ with arrest detailsPuck Headlines: Mascot planking; Teemu Selanne uncertaintyHockey Guilty Pleasures: Sean McIndoe of Down Goes BrownThe NHLâ??s unemployed free-agent defensemen clubSean Avery arrested in LA on battery charges against copHockey Guilty Pleasures: SB Nationâ??s The Battle of CaliforniaFlorida Panthers offer â??visiting fans not welcomeâ?? sectionPuck Headlines: Owen Nolan tries Canucks; Weber deal falloutIs this the [New York]e|islanders Islandersâ?? new black 3rd jersey?
Jack Ferreira is the special assistant to the general manager for the [Los Angeles]e|kings Kings .
He was also the GM of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim back in 1997, when star Paul Kariya (notes) held out over a contract squabble before signing a 2-year, $14-million deal. He missed the Ducks' first 32 games , during which Anaheim went 11-15-6 and eventually finished sixth in their division.
So Ferreira knows from holdouts. Which makes this statement about the Kings and unsigned restricted free-agent defenseman Drew Doughty (notes) so intriguing.
From The Press-Enterprise, via Surly and Scribe:
Egads.
Holdouts can derail a season for a player and/or a team. They can create animosity between the two sides that lingers beyond the contract resolution. They're generally, and genuinely, bad news.
So hopefully Quisp from Jewels From the Crown is correct in speculating this could be posturing from a Kings executive to exert a little pressure on the Doughty camp. It makes sense. It's also very Dean Lombardi.
L.A. has some very good reasons for excitement heading into camp — the return of Anze Kopitar (notes) , the arrival of Mike Richards (notes) . Doughty's absence would put a damper on it. Smart money's on the sides getting things done before then.
Following up on the news that Sean Avery (notes) of the [New York]e|islanders Rangers was charged with battery on a peace officer at 12:30 a.m. Friday morning in [Los Angeles]e|place , here's the ubiquitous TMZ catching up with him after he posted $20,000 bail. ( Credit: TMZ )
TMZ: Sean Avery leaves jail after arrest from Greg Wyshynski on Vimeo .
To review Avery's arrest: Avery was having a party at his home in the Hollywood Hills earlier Friday morning and police arrived for a second time at his house after getting complaints of loud music. According to police, Avery shoved an officer out of the way to return to his house after a dispute with LAPD. He initially refused to come back out but eventually did and was cooperative as he was charged with battery.
Andrew Gross of Rangers Rants passed along some additional details:
TMZ.com, which provided the video, has also alleged details on the incident with LAPD and Avery, as law enforcement sources claim Avery called the police "fat little pigs," challenged them to fights and exclaimed "come back without your badges." But that last statement might have something to do with them clashing with their outfits. We're just not sure.
In any case, we're not expecting these TMZ claims to have any traction in the mainstream med ...
... oh crap, someone told the [New York]e|OOD Post.
Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
â?˘ Ex-NBA player sued for strip club fight
â?˘ NFL's Hall of Fame trash talkers
â?˘ Fired football coach hands son scholarship on way out
Here are your 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.
â?˘ In an effort to decrease the number of dangerous rebounds, the NHL has decided to strap mascots to every crossbar this season. Or this is just the [Colorado]e|avalanche Avalanche dog getting in on the well-worn planking meme. [ Avs, via Eye on Hockey ]
â?˘ Interesting update on Anaheim Ducks star Teemu Selanne, as he recently told a Finnish paper it was "fair for all parties" to wait on an announcement regarding his NHL future until September. Sounds like he's being very careful about his knee rehab. C'mon, Teemu: One more year. [ Ducks Blog ]
â?˘ Sean Avery, who was arrested last night for a physical altercation with LAPD, is fresh out of jail and out on bail, California dreamin' ($20,000 to be exact). Sept. 2 court date for a misdemeanor. [ NYDN ]
â?˘ Blueshirt Banter on the Avery arrest: "That's not to say that good players should get away with more than bad players would. But I do think that the Rangers will want to know as much as they can about Avery's future with the team before making any decisions. At the end of the day, this arrest is embarrassing for both Avery and the organization as a whole. How the organization will move forward is what remains to be seen." [ BB ]
â?˘ Why Derek Stepan and Kevin Shattenkirk "are both prime candidates to suffer a sophomore jinx season." [ TPSH ]
â?˘ After watching Keith Ballard descend into a season from hell after hip surgery, is there concern that Ryan Kesler will do the same after his surgery for the Vancouver Canucks? [ The Province ]
â?˘ Both Alex Kovalev and Nik Zherdev said they turned down NHL offers to play in the KHL. Zherdev was being courted by the Winnipeg Jets. [ Sporting News ]
â?˘ Meanwhile, Robbie Earl is the latest sure-fire bet for a spot on the KHL All-Star team. (Speaking of which: With Jagr gone, what does the other team to face Team Yashin become?) [ Hockey Wilderness ]
â?˘ Patrick Kane at the Jersey Shore can only be a good thing for this blog and, conversely, mankind. [ NYR Blog , and via reader Jon S. here's the hockey camp that Kane and Dustin Byfuglien are scheduled to take part in]
Read More »
(Ed. Note: Our series "Puck Daddy's Guilty Pleasures" features puckheads from all walks of life answering questions about their own hockey-related guilty pleasures. It will run daily during the month of August. Have a suggestion for a "Guilty Pleasures" guest blogger?Â Hit us on email . Enjoy!)
Today's special guest: Sean McIndoe of the hilarious Down Goes Brown , creator of the legendary NHL suspension flowchart.
1. The Player You Most Love To Hate
There are probably too many to list. If you catch me at the right moment I could name 15-20 guys pretty easily, and that's just on the current Maple Leafs roster after a loss.
2. Other Than Your Own, The Team You Can't Help Rooting For
I don't have a second favourite team. No real fan does. Hockey teams are like wives: If you have a second favourite, you don't really love the first one.
3. Favorite Fight or Brawl of All-Time
I loved Clark vs. McSorley so much that I not only wrote 700 words about the fight , but also 1,000 words about everything that happened right after the fight . My goal in life is to be the lucky fan who catches McSorley's eyeball when, as physicists estimate, it falls back to earth some time in 2016.
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Colin White made $3 million for the New Jersey Devils last season, the fifth year of a six-year contract worth $18 million. The team gave him a buyout and he ended up inking a 1-year, $1-million deal with the San Jose Sharks and includes a modified no-trade clause.
So that's the market for a 33-year-old defensive defenseman at this point in the offseason.
The free-agent frenzy's a distant memory. Some teams have spent to the cap. Some teams have spent to their budgets. Three have yet to hit the salary floor , according to Cap Geek.
But there are still unemployed defensemen on the market, waiting for that call.
Read More »
(Follow-Up: Here are additional details and footage of Avery after his bail out. )
Well, this will bring the haters out: Sean Avery (notes) of the [New York]e|islanders Rangers was arrested and charged with battery against a police officer early Friday morning. The LA Times reports the incident occurred at 1 a.m. PST and that Avery spent the night in jail.
From NBC [New York]e|place :
From the original TMZ report on Avery's arrest:
Thing about Avery is this: For all the "bad boy" reputation and his role as one of the NHL's greatest trash-talking pests, his off-ice life has been positively tranquil.
The last time he was close to being mixed up with the law was in 2008 when his name appeared in the little black book of a madame for high-end call girls, who later said Avery never used the service. Said Avery: "I do know that if I ever was to venture into one of these establishments, I definitely wouldn't use my own name. I think that that would probably be stating the obvious."
From a hockey perspective, The Journal News wonders if the battery chargeÂ "violates any sort of behavioral agreement Avery might have with the league following his last suspension." We'd doubt it; the suspension (and therapy) after the "Sloppy Seconds" joke were targeted for on-ice behavior.
And hey, a high-profile NHL player getting arrested for battery in August has become a semi-annual tradition -- it's just that Avery wasn't in the back of a [Buffalo]e|OOD cab.
This feels like your classic late-night party screw up. Trouble is that when you're Sean Avery and your critics are always sharpening their knives , this isn't the type of news that simply lingers in the police blotter.
â?˘ â?˘ â?˘
TMZ UPDATE: "NHL star Sean Avery challenged cops to a FIGHT when they responded to his Hollywood Hills home this morning ... calling them, 'Fat little pigs.'"
Now look, you can accuse Sean Avery of a lot of things, but going after someone's weight isn't one them, unless you're talking about Bruce Boudreau or Marty Brodeur or ...
That said, we are impressed that Avery challenged the cops to a fight -- sorry, a FIGHT -- and apparently didn't immediately turtle.
(Ed. Note: Our series "Puck Daddy's Guilty Pleasures" features puckheads from all walks of life answering questions about their own hockey-related guilty pleasures. It will run daily during the month of August. Have a suggestion for a "Guilty Pleasures" guest blogger?Â Hit us on email . Enjoy!)
Today's special guests: Rudy Kelly, Earl Sleek and Megalodon of The Battle of California blog , where you'll get your daily update of Kings, Ducks and Sharks coverage mixed in with humor and cartoons.
1. The Player You Most Love To Hate
Rudy Kelly : Ryan Smyth. I hate a lot of people (Thomas Jefferson, Jackie Joyner Kersee, Greg Wyshynski) but most of them are for petty and possibly insane reasons. But I love to hate Ryan Smyth because my hate for him is perfectly justified. He's been overrated his entire career and he has been bestowed mythical Canadian qualities because his team sucked so much he was available for the World Championships every year. The truth is that he's a lazy backchecker, he hogs the puck, and he isn't even that good in front of the net (the commentators just point him out more). Plus, he's goofy-looking.
Then the hayseed idiot asks for a trade, freeing up the Kings to pursue Brad Richards and sign Simon Gagne, all while exposing himself for a selfish player that puts himself above the team. The Germans have a word for how I felt: It's " Ryansmythisstupidfreude. " And gentlemen, that feeling is GLORIOUS.
Earl Sleek: His playing career is over, but I don't think I'll ever hate a player with the same extraordinary intensity with which I hated Patrick Roy. That was a special kind of spite â?? I hated him, and I was quite proud of myself for doing so. Nowadays, players can irritate me, but I don't particularly love the fact that I hate them. Well, except for Steve Ott.
Megalodon: Patrick Roy. He's an arrogant jerk who padded his wins total later in his career while playing on the insanely-stacked Avalanche team, and his horrible puck-handling was an embarrassment that he never got enough flak for. Also he married a woman with the same name as his father, which is eight kinds of creepy.
Read More »
The Florida Panthers are our favorite NHL team for innovative and ballsy and sometimes downright outlandish ticket plans. Their latest attempt to attract fans to the free-agent jigsaw puzzle that is next year's team? The Florida Panthers Red Zone , where no visiting fans will be allowed to sit.
This season-ticket seating section, located in Sections 105-114 (shoot once end zone) of the BankAtlantic Center, starts at $25 per game and includes a red Panthers fan pack as well as the chance to win a red 2012 Ford Focus.
But above all else, it's a place where Panthers fans won't have to share legroom with some snowbird in a Montreal Canadiens sweater. At least in theory. (What, are they going to deputize ushers with Tasers and large nets to remove visiting fans from the Zone?)
From the Panthers:
Again, thisÂ is why we love the Panthers. Not because the "home fans only" section is some great leap in arena seating arrangements â?? it's like a grown-up version of a college sports student section, or supporter-specific areas in soccer stadia.
But because of the gleeful hypocrisy of it all.
Consider this: The Panthers can market tickets to [Philadelphia]e|flyers Flyers fans ( promo code: bullies ) vacationing in South Florida, while at the same time create a safe haven for their fans away from the Flyers fans they invited to the building .
They're like an exterminator that opens a box of termites on the front porch before ringing the doorbell. It's ingenious!
Â
Here are your 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.
â?˘ Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis announced today that the Canucks have signed Owen Nolan and Todd Fedoruk to professional tryout contracts. Yes, that'd be 39-year-old former Quebec Nordiques No. 1 pick Owen Nolan, who was with Zurich of the Swiss League last season. (Looks like someone had a bit of Recchi envy after the Finals.) If Nolan points at Luongo before scoring on him in practice, will Roberto be offended or flattered he was singled out? [ Canucks ]
â?˘ A little more Chris Osgood/Hall of Fame debate for ye. [ Kukla ]
â?˘ One [Detroit]e|redwings Red Wings blogger is quite impressed with Shea Weber's commitment to winning the Stanley Cup: "I know it's taboo to talk in such glowing terms about a player not currently wearing the Winged Wheel. But why do I love Shea Weber? Because he wants to win, a Red Wing-like trait, and everything he's done up to this point has shown that." [ Winging It ]
â?˘ Will the Weber contract had any effect on the negotiations between the [Toronto]e|mapleleafs Maple Leafs and Luke Schenn? [ [Toronto]e|OOD Star ]
â?˘ The Shea Weber ruling's ripples could be felt with the [Dallas]e|stars Stars and Alex Gologoski. [ [Dallas]e|stars Stars Blog ]
â?˘ Speaking of foreboding contract situations, down the line, a look at Jordan Staal and the [Pittsburgh]e|penguins Penguins. [ Pensburgh ]
â?˘ NHL.com catches up with Jaden Schwartz, whose sister died fourth months ago after a courageous battle with cancer: "From here on out, this tournament, this camp -- everything is for (my sister). While I'm obviously trying to do this for me, my family and for Canada; most of all, it's for her." [ NHL ]
â?˘ Brad Marchand on his contract negotiations with the [Boston]e|bruins Bruins: "Right now, we're just kind of getting into things. It's been a long summer and people have been on vacation and enjoying the Cup so we're going to start getting into it pretty heavily here and hopefully we'll get something done soon." Good luck in the contract talks, Brad; hopefully you don't lose your shirt. [ ESPN [Boston]e|bruins ]
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A few facts about this image:
â?˘ The [New York]e|islanders Islanders are slated to have a new third jersey this season.
â?˘ The Islanders' alt-sweaters are rumored to be black .
â?˘ It's from the Flickr account from someone who has a ton of [New York]e|islanders Islanders-related images uploaded and claims to have been "billed as Graphic Designer in the Table of Contents" of the Islanders 2010-11 Official Yearbook. The account name is "roblgraphicd"; Robert Lawlor Jr. is listed as a graphic designer for the Islanders.
â?˘ The description of this image:
(Something that gives us pause: The Islanders of course have already had a third jersey during the Reebok years.)
Is this a concept? A prototype? The final product? No clue. We'll let you know when we receive the inevitable email from the Islanders or Reebok.
But if this is the real deal, what do you think: Pass or fail? And is this some kind of synergistic outreach to the black/blue/orange Mets and Knicks?
UPDATE: The Islanders confirm this is, in fact, a legit third-jersey concept.
This message arrived after they were bombarded with feedback on Twitter, most of it incredibly negative.
