Thursday's news: Hockey continues growing in a southerly direction

The Nashville Predators fan base is still buzzing about the news yesterday that the black cloud of "Boots" Del Biaggio's bankruptcy is about to blow away. As always, however, there are plenty of other hockey stories to focus on moving forward.

Follow after the jump as we cheer on a fellow hockey blog, summarize reaction to the Nashville ownership developments, and take a look at how Southern Hockey is developing - and when I say "southern", I mean south of the border!

Predators News

Toast of Music City 2010 at OnNashville | The Tennessee Blog Directory
Keep your fingers crossed for Jeremy & Codey (and Patten!) from Section303.com, as today we'll hear whether they won the Toast of Music City's "Best Blog" category.

HFBoards - News Article Local Ownership to buy Boots' shares
A member of the HFBoards provides a wonderfully detailed account of Tom Cigarran's appearance on Nashville radio yesterday afternoon. It sums up very well all of the talking points he hit. Any Predators fan should feel much better about the state of the team after reading this.

Preds On The Glass: Great Day in Pred Land, A Nasty Rumor, and Thursday Thoughts
Buddy's morning links include a review of yesterday's news, too.

Fantasy Season in Review: Nashville Predators - DailyFaceoff.com
For you fantasy hockey nerds out there (lemme hear ya!), here's a survey of the Nashville lineup from that point of view.

The View from 111: Predators Future Looks Bright as Current Owners Buy Del Biaggio Shares
Mark examines yesterday's news from a variety of perspectives, all of which point in a positive direction.

Paul McCann - Preds Safe and Sound...
The Preds PA announcer nicely sums up the feeling of Preds fans everywhere after hearing yesterday's news.

A look at who's on the hot seat in the West - NHL.com
Which Predator do you think is under the most pressure to perform next season?

Around the NHL

It Took So Long to Bake Him: Thrashers Let Clarke MacArthur Walk - NHLHotStove.com
Pretty much everyone shook their head when they saw what a salary arbitrator awarded the Thrashers winger, $2.4 million coming of a 35-point season with a -16 Plus/Minus.

Is Sunbelt Hockey Working? Part II - Hoosier Hockey
To what extent has the 1988 Wayne Gretzky trade to Los Angeles resulted in the development of professional hockey talent today?

Mexican hockey: Signs of hope south of the border - NHL.com
Bill Metzer profiles the state of the game in Mexico, which boasts over 2,000 registered hockey players. Talk about Sunbelt Hockey...

Icy Bits: Khabibulin Drunken-driving Case Postponed Again - The Grinder
If you think the Predators have an unsettled goaltending situation while they look for a backup, Edmonton still doesn't even know if their starter will be available. If he's convicted in an Arizona court, it could impact his ability to enter Canada - a tough situation for the Oilers' #1 goalie.

St. Louis Blues Free Agency FAQ - NHLHotStove.com
Take a look at what's going on with a key Central Division rival. Personally, I'm not impressed.

Filling Holes: What to Make of the Flames Lineup Thus Far - Matchsticks and Gasoline
Has Calgary found a formula to help them return to the playoffs?

Who Will Give James Neal The Real Deal? - View From My Seats
Matt ponders a dicey situation in Dallas, where the Stars need to lock up their young winger, but are constrained by an internal budget.

Five Hole Fanatics: So Far So Good For Stevey Y
Kent gives a tentative thumbs-up to the new Tampa GM, but of course his Lightning haven't played a game yet.

There's an easy fix for a deal with the Devils. Easy, but not likely - The Globe and Mail
Eric Duhatschek lays out the likely next steps for the Devils as they battle with the league over the Kovalchuk contract.

Things I Care as Little About as The Kovalchuk Contract Saga - Defending Big D
On the money, Brad, on the money!

Covering the NHL’s Goalie Coaches – The Goalie Guild
Justin highlights some under-the-radar coaches around the league who work with goaltenders.

Oilers owner urges city council to help pay for new NHL rink - The Globe and Mail
Public financing of sports arenas is generally a tougher sell in Canada than it is in the U.S., making this an uphill climb even in hockey-mad Edmonton for owner Daryl Katz.

Guy Calls 911, Demands NHL Returns To Winnipeg - KuklasKorner
Umm... what else is there to say here? Other than no, it wasn't David Shoalts.

Paul Bissonnette's off-hand remarks about Kovalchuk bring his Twitter account to an end - ProHockeyTalk
Freedom of expression doesn't mean that there isn't a cost for stupidity.

With Traffic Surging, SB Nation Buys One Blog And Starts Another - TechCrunch
The SB Nation train keeps on rolling with two big announcements...