Your savory breakfast links:
● Lockoutapalooza keeps right on rockin’.
○ Hey, the NHL really does care what the fans think!! …or at least is willing to pay a PR firm a lot of money to help them craft a message that makes it look like they do. Same diff. [Deadspin, Puck Daddy]
○ Both the players and the NHL are losing money while they argue over… well, money. Ah, sweet irony. [SI.com, Yahoo!]
○ At least they’re still talking, which is good. But what exactly are they talking about, and what is – or could be – on the table? [Puck Daddy, PHT]
○ An economic proposal that actually sounds feasible. So it will definitely not be under consideration. [BHS]
○ When If nothing comes of this latest round of talks, expect the NHL to pull the plug on another set of games… and this time it won’t just be two weeks. [Sporting News]
○ We’ve heard it before, but it never stops being true: in order for this lockout to end someone’s going to have to compromise, because the NHL cannot lose another season. [Sportsnet, ESPN]
○ Don’t make the fans angry, NHL… you won’t like us when we’re angry. [BHS, Denver Post]
○ Why Donald Fehr doesn’t care what you or anyone else thinks – and why he doesn’t have to care. [Puck Daddy]
○ Uber-agent Pat Brisson (aka “Sidney Crosby‘s agent and I guess the agent for some other guys, too”) may be organizing an NHLPA world tour… [Sportsnet]
○ …but don’t worry, chances of that or anything else leading to the creation of a WHA-esque rival league are slim to none. [Spector’s Hockey]
○ “Bettman confirmed that he hasn’t seen so much public enthusiasm about the sport since 2004, when a labor dispute forced the NHL to cancel the entire season.” Laugh to keep from crying, kids. [The Onion]
● Meanwhile over in Europe:
○ Alex Ovechkin’s Dynamo Moscow is in first place in the KHL’s Western Conference… [SBNDC]
○ …while things aren’t so pretty (relatively speaking) for Brooks Laich’s Kloten Flyers. But he does lead his team in goals and assists, so there’s that… [SBNDC]
○ …and Wojtek Wolski is home at last, officially introduced as a member of YankeesNation Ciarko PBS Bank KH Sanok. All of Poland rejoices. [eurosport.pl, sport.pl (interview), Radio Rezszow (pics)]
● And down on the farm:
○ Boyd Kane will once again wear the ‘C’ for the Hershey Bears this season, just the fifth player in the franchise’s storied history to wear it for more than two seasons. [Lebanon Daily News]
○ Bear tracks! [Lebanon Daily News]
● The Caps boast two of the League’s potential under-the-radar fantasy all-stars. Spoiler alert: neither of them is John Erskine (sorry, big guy). [McKeen’s Hockey]
● Dick Patrick talks to the media and reflects back on the early days in Caps Nation before receiving the Lester Patrick Trophy at last nights USHHOF Induction Ceremony. [Dump ‘n Chase, Caps OT (video)]
● A somewhat timely look at individual point percentage across the League for the last four seasons. [NHL Numbers]
● Happy 27th birthday to Jay Beagle and happy 45th to Joe Murphy.
● Finally, check out Caps’ 2012 draft pick Thomas DiPauli scoring the eventual game-winner for Notre Dame to claim the Icebreaker Championship (via PHT):