From The Rink: FanShots

"I don’t expect that publicly reported loss numbers will have any impact whatsoever on our ability t...

2009-11-20T06:15:45Z

"I don’t expect that publicly reported loss numbers will have any impact whatsoever on our ability to sell the club," Daly said in an e-mail yesterday. The "losses in the short term don’t seem to be factoring into the interest of potential buyers. They have much bigger, longer-term vision of the investment."

Daly added the league has fielded a number of inquiries about the club. "Lots of calls and discussions [i.e., more than six]. Not sure I would classify them all as interested bidders."

— Paul Waldie, The Globe and Mail

"In this particular case, what would happen is we (in the League's video replay room in Toronto)...

2009-11-19T20:13:01Z

"In this particular case, what would happen is we (in the League's video replay room in Toronto) would see the puck in the net and call the video goal judge and say, 'Please blow the horn and get the referee over here. We see a puck in the net that hasn't been ruled a goal.' At that point the referee would come over and we would have the discussion. Usually the referees know exactly what's happening and they would come to us and say, 'Listen, I blew the whistle or my intent to blow the whistle was there. I've got this play dead before the puck crosses the goal line.' No more need be said. Once we hear that, basically video review is now out of the process. We step aside and say it's a call made on the ice and it's a non-reviewable call. It's a whistle blown by the referee and it was blown or the intent to blow it was before the puck crossed the goal line."

— NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy

It appears the on-ice futility is finally starting to catch up with the Toronto Maple Leafs,...

2009-11-19T08:02:31Z

It appears the on-ice futility is finally starting to catch up with the Toronto Maple Leafs, cashbox kings of the NHL.

For the first time since moving into the Air Canada Centre 10 years ago, the NHL’s richest franchise confirms that it has been unable to lease an unspecified number of the facility’s 152 luxury suites for Leafs games this season.

— Robert MacLeod, The Globe and Mail

"Corny as it is and clichéd as it is, I enjoy playing hockey, and they always say you never know ...

2009-11-18T19:03:50Z

"Corny as it is and clichéd as it is, I enjoy playing hockey, and they always say you never know when your last shift is going to be," Ortmeyer said. "I wanted to go out on my terms and not be forced out by some medical issues."

San Jose Sharks' Jed Ortmeyer battles blood-clotting disorder

Lamest bachelor party ever.

2009-11-16T20:06:14Z

Lamest bachelor party ever.

Mike Commodore, discussing Anton Stralman's rushed nuptials

It's hard not to read articles when you see Steve Yzerman makes a comment on the Olympics, or...

2009-11-16T15:15:42Z

It's hard not to read articles when you see Steve Yzerman makes a comment on the Olympics, or (Wings/Team Canada coach) Mike Babcock. You want to read them. You're curious. When we play (Detroit), it's another added incentive. You try not to think about it, but you want to leave a good impression.

Jarome Iginla.

In the only time Detroit and Calgary have faced off this season, Iginla was specifically called out by Flames coach Brent Sutter for his poor play.

"We're going to be there with them, we're going to be crying with them, we're going to be laughing...

2009-11-16T07:12:42Z

"We're going to be there with them, we're going to be crying with them, we're going to be laughing with them. We are the biggest Panthers fans.

"We're the only crazy ones who would do this."

— Stu Siegel, one of two owners now in charge of the Panthers

Q: Back, briefly to Balsillie: given all the water that's under the bridge, is there any chance he...

2009-11-13T06:48:37Z

Q: Back, briefly to Balsillie: given all the water that's under the bridge, is there any chance he could become an NHL owner?

A: There's a lot of water under that bridge. There's so much water some could argue the bridge washed out. I'm a believer that it's a long life and I would never say never. But let's not get hysterical with the headline. It's not something that I foresee any time soon.

— Gary Bettman comments on all things Coyotes an interview with Macleans magazine this week

It was really weird how it happened. We were maybe 15 games into the season, and they started...

2009-11-05T22:13:13Z

It was really weird how it happened. We were maybe 15 games into the season, and they started healthy scratching our captain last year. One day I came in for the game, and I had a 'K' on my jersey. I was like, "What the heck?" The coach came over to me and said "cap-tain," and everyone started clapping. And that was it.

— Former NHLer Kevin Dallman on life in the KHL

There was not a single person in sections 330 and 334 a few minutes into the game tonight. Not one....

2009-11-05T19:08:24Z

There was not a single person in sections 330 and 334 a few minutes into the game tonight. Not one. I think a couple souls showed up a while later and sat there, but that was…it.

You definitely did not dissuade critics who say Denver is just a bandwagon hockey town tonight, folks. The announced attendance was definitely not the actual number in the building either. I’d say the real number was about 8,500, maybe a bit less actually.

— Adrian Dater, All Things Avs

IIHF announces roster deadlines for Olympics

2009-11-04T18:17:17Z

IIHF announces roster deadlines for Olympics

On the following dates the teams will announce the names of 20 skaters and three goaltenders who will go to Vancouver. Teams are listed in alphabetical order:

Belarus: December 23
Canada: December 31
Czech Republic: December 30
Finland: December 30
Germany: December 30
Latvia: December 29
Norway: December 29
Russia: December 25
Switzerland: December 30
Slovakia: December 29
Sweden: December 27
USA: January 1 (during NHL Winter Classic)

NOTE: There will be no so called "taxi-squads" in Vancouver 2010. This means that injured players can not be replaced.

The NHL team theme song to end all theme songs

2009-11-03T23:47:47Z

The NHL team theme song to end all theme songs

This popped up on YouTube a few weeks back when Quebec fans were all giddy at the prospect of a new arena. It's horribly dated and very 80's, but I guarantee you'll be singing it in mangled pseudo-French tomorrow. You're welcome.

In Philadelphia, where a do-or-die game in the baseball World Series was about to start right...

2009-11-03T23:09:42Z

In Philadelphia, where a do-or-die game in the baseball World Series was about to start right across the parking lot, the Flyers sold 18,667 tickets, about 96 percent of capacity. (The Flyers game started at 5 p.m.; the baseball game at 8 p.m.) On Long Island, home to many fans of the New York Yankees, the other team in the World Series, 10,846 tickets were sold, or about 67 percent of capacity at Nassau Coliseum. (The Isles game started at 7 p.m.)

And then there was Phoenix, where the Coyotes were bought out of bankruptcy earlier in the day. An occasion for joy among local fans? Maybe, but only 5,855 tickets were sold for the game at Jobing.com Arena — a record low for the franchise, breaking the old mark of 6,495 set in the previous game.

— The New York Times

Based on the actions that have been taken to date with respect to my employment, including the...

2009-10-30T23:11:56Z

Based on the actions that have been taken to date with respect to my employment, including the ongoing surveillance of my activities at the office and the reduction of my role through the circulation of false information, it is my view that I have been constructively dismissed by the union. However, what is more important to me is that it has simply become impossible to work for the Players in the environment that has been created. It is also unfair to the hard-working, dedicated staff of the NHLPA to have my untenable situation negatively impact them in any way.

— Ian Penny, former interim executive director of the NHLPA

NHLPA Leadership Shake-Up Part 2

2009-10-30T19:38:28Z

NHLPA Leadership Shake-Up Part 2

This is getting ugly....

"Poor Pat." Give me a freakin' break. I would agree to get kicked in the face once a month if I...

2009-10-30T14:04:26Z

"Poor Pat." Give me a freakin' break.

I would agree to get kicked in the face once a month if I could get back on the ice in the National Hockey League.

— For First Time, Dapuzzo Reveals Anguish, Depression After Skate Severs His Face

Toronto Argonaut co-owners Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon are considering making a bid for the...

2009-10-29T17:20:36Z

Toronto Argonaut co-owners Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon are considering making a bid for the Phoenix Coyotes and plan to meet city officials next week.

Sokolowski and Cynamon had been linked to Ice Edge Holdings, a group of eight Canadian and U.S. businessmen who have made a pitch for the club. But their involvement with Ice Edge ended several weeks ago, according to sources familiar with the bidding.

— Paul Waldie and Stephen Brunt, The Globe and Mail

It was announced today that Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby will carry the Olympic Torch in the V...

2009-10-27T15:40:53Z

It was announced today that Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby will carry the Olympic Torch in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay on November 18 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"I am honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to carry the Olympic Flame in my home province of Nova Scotia," said Crosby. "The torch relay will pass through so many communities and hands on the way to Vancouver and I’m privileged to be part of that special group as the Olympic Flame makes its way to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games."

Crosby, originally from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, will be one of 12,000 torchbearers taking the Olympic Flame 45,000 kilometers across Canada.

>> team release

In a memo to the league's 30 player reps, Penny accused Chelios, a supporter of Kelly who tried to...

2009-10-26T18:36:03Z

In a memo to the league's 30 player reps, Penny accused Chelios, a supporter of Kelly who tried to stop the middle-of-the-night vote to oust Kelly, of using union staffers to spy on other union officials.

Penny wrote: "This completely inappropriate conduct has created a hostile, fractured and distrustful work environment. It is the type of environment that exists in repressive, totalitarian regimes -- not work places."

— Scott Burnside, ESPN.com

The Penguins' Eric Godard has his costume picked out early.

2009-10-26T16:35:05Z

The Penguins' Eric Godard has his costume picked out early.