Good morning, happy Saturday, and happy Vinnukkah!
OK, that nickname was horrible, but we already used up Wizmas and Thanks-Carter. I’ll try to work on something better.
Still, tonight will be the celebration of Vinny Prospal’s 1000th NHL game at Nationwide Arena, so keep that in mind as we go through the news (and our full game preview will be out later!)
Over at Jackets Report, Rob spent some time scouting tonight’s opponent, including a chat with head coach Guy Boucher.
The NHL got another PR black eye when NBC / Versus analyst Mike Milbury was arrested for assaulting a child during a pee wee hockey game. There are more reactions from Puck Daddy and Backhand Shelf, but the short version is that I would expect to see a lot more of Jeremy Roenick on Versus and HNIC while this is sorted out.
Puck Rakers covered a hard work practice yesterday, DBJ looked at the Kyle Turris trade rumors, and the Dispatch looked at the sparks from the addition of Carter and Wisniewski.
Another major issue making news yesterday was the fallout from Chris Pronger being shut down. Backhand looks at effects on the ice, while Puck Daddy looks at the issues from the NHL side. As the debate over Concussion Treatment rages, Bruce Ciskie argues that prevention, not response, is the answer. Ken Dryden weighs in on the issue at Grantland (hat tip to Zekebud for linking it), and Pat LaFontaine, who also had his career end from concussions, talked about the problem of athlete’s perceptions.
Some more looks closer to home as Fire That Cannon tries to get inside some heads, Rob asks what’s going on, Jeff sees Passing Problems as the root of the trouble, and Wiz makes some interesting points about how the changes on hitting have affected the game.
At Puck Daddy, we’ve got Jersey Fouls for the season, more discussion about Darryl Sutter going to LA, and a “where are they now?” for the Vancouver Riot couple.
Last but not least, check out this video from Bluejackets.com as the team went out and spread some holiday cheer by helping out at charities around town.