Your savory breakfast links:
- Tomas Fleischmann and the Washington Capitals came to terms late Tuesday evening, agreeing on a one-year contract for a reported $2.6 million and thereby avoiding arbitration. Welcome back, Flash. [Japers’ Rink, Caps Insider, CSN, PHT, RMNB, Frankovic, Caps Snaps, McNally, Red Line Station]
- The late-breaking news threatened to steal the attention away from the day’s big story –
Maxime Talbot‘s big yapthe 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic press conference. [NHL.com and yes, Sidney Crosby gets a fair amount of face time in the coverage. [Empty Netters (and again), Sporting News, WaPo, Stecks!] - The festivities included the unveiling of the official WC logo along with the individual team logos. Both the Caps and the Penguins are going über classic with their inaugural-season logos. [Caps Insider, Icethetics, with uni speculation at Puck Daddy, Icethetics, The Pensblog (but no one makes this key point)]
- The presser itself was fairly deadly, but the pace picked up with the “skills competition,” in which the players in attendance were tasked with shooting a hockey puck through the goalpost uprights at Heinz Field. Mike Knuble led off, and his first shot was a perfect 3-pointer. After that the results were decidedly mixed, though David Steckel and his brown flip-flops did well, and the competition concluded after four rounds once Sid got his dinger. [Caps Insider, Puck Daddy]
- L’affaire Talbot. [It Begins, SteinBog, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PHT, National Post, FFODC]
- Mike Colligan wants to know – why Pens/Caps so soon? And could it have to do with the L word? [The Hockey Writers]
- With Flash back in the fold for this season, it’s time to talk centers. Again. [Kings of Leonsis]
- Speaking of centers, could Keith Aucoin be the answer to the Caps’ second-line pivot search? We’ll respond with this visual. [THN, echoed at PHT]
- Maybe we should talk goalies too. [Capitals Gains]
- How could anyone not love Braden Holtby? Other than opposing forwards, of course. [Bears Bites, Stingrays Video]
- Russian Machine Never Breaks is turning one, and takes a look back. Those were the days, my friend. [RMNB]
- Finally, for those of you who like to pre- or post-game down at RFD, here’s a great deal for you – $20 worth of food and drink for only $10. Stock up. [SB Nation Team Pick (commercial deal)]