It's the middle of the week, I've got work to do, so here are some quality links in place of actual thoughts:
- Best link of the day -- Jim Kelley showing us another side of Joe Sakic, one that isn't easily pimped on ESPN but is relevant nonetheless. The league is losing one of its best.
- Obama is taking a bit of heat from hockey bloggers, but here's an encouraging read from the Washington Post about the growth of the game in DC. Glove tap to On Frozen Blog for the find.
- Just as everyone is jumping on board the Blackhawks bandwagon, The Program has a little dose of reality. Could the Hawks, Pens and Bruins all be moving too quickly? A post for another day.
- Speaking of the Hawks, here's another look at their disasterous Summer of '08.
- Lions in Winter has been coming up with some great stuff this week. Namely, an in-depth look at coach killers and a rundown of Canadien prospects who are falling through the cracks. I have a sick fascination with obscure players and highly-touted busts, so this is a preview of guys I will be mocking in 5 years.
- Speaking of the Habs, here's an insightful look at Tomas Plekanec. Thankfully, not every player is a Dany Heatley.
- Red Light District is doing an Ultimate Playoffs tournament. It's nigh impossible to read this and not end up with strong opinions.
- The Sens need to give Heatley's "A" to... somebody. The fact that Kovalev is even a candidate boggles the mind.
- Oops! Looks like the Pronger deal counts as an over-35. The Bruins ran into this snafu with Tim Thomas... looks like GMs are asleep at the wheel when it comes to the fine print on this rule.
And in doesn't-merit-a-link news, LeTurtle is finally calling it quits. Good riddance to old rubbish.
