A Happy Father's Day 2011 goes out to all you dads this morning, and I hope you have half as good a morning as I have so far. Besides a fresh cup of coffee served up with hugs from the kids and some cards, the haul of gifts included two hockey-related books, which I plan on curling up with on the couch for the afternoon:
Sports Illustrated's The Hockey Book, a way-cool compendium of hockey history and photography from SI, which has a gold mine of wonderful shots taken over the decades.
Hockey's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Wicked Slapshots, Bruising Goons and Ice Oddities
Be sure to check those out, then follow after the jump for your morning notes!
The "Toast of Music City" balloting has opened for 2011, and I'd appreciate your vote for OTF as Best Blog in Nashville; just click the banner below to head over there where you can vote daily (click the green button)!
Coupon code offers extra 15% off hockey gloves & skates | Hockey Gear HQ
If you're looking for hockey gloves or skates (ice hockey or inline skates), this weekend is the time to buy, thanks to this special offer code.
Nashville Predators News
Smashville 24/7: Shea Weber's case for the Norris
Ryan lays out Shea's candidacy.
Hockey Night in Nashville: Web Address change
The blogs, they are a-changin'.
Dads, daughters, sports fans - The Tennessean
You've got to like it when one of the local paper's Father's Day stories leads with a picture of a dad and his hockey-playing daughter.
Around the NHL
Zdeno Chara Stops Boston Bruins Parade, Allows Fans To Touch Stanley Cup - SBNation.com
OK, this is pretty darned cool.
Video: Brad Marchand raps ‘Black and Yellow’ at Bruins Cup parade - Puck Daddy
Yikes!
Inside the KHL’s ‘money for a roster spot’ scandal - Puck Daddy
This sounds like a real mess... (FYI, a ruble is worth about 3.5 cents US)
The Malik Report : Red Wings overnight report: Jagr, Draper/Osgood and other stuff
Check here for a host of updates on what the Red Wings are up to.
Exploring the Sabres Top Free Agent Targets | The Hockey Writers
Who might Buffalo go shopping for?
Tomas Vokoun's Agent to ESPN: Let's See What Happens July 1 - On Frozen Pond
I'm not sure why Philadelphia would open the vault for Ilya Bryzgalov when this guy might be available, too.
Restricted Free Agency: Soft Targets - Houses of the Hockey
I've been a big fan of this idea for a long time; targeting RFA's on teams that are close to the cap, and might have a difficult time matching an offer sheet.
The Year We Wish We Could Forget | All Habs
Getting knocked out of the playoffs is bad, but watching their ancient rivals hoist the Stanley Cup made 2010-11 even worse for Montreal fans.
Lombardi interview highlights " LA Kings Insider
Rich Hammond gets a few thoughts from the Kings GM about their priorities this summer.
Post Mortem Craziness - CanucksCorner.com
Tom's not buying the BS some of the media are pushing, that the Canucks lost the Cup Final because of some fundamental flaw in their makeup. Too often, sportswriters just can't resist creating their own story line and blowing some minor detail up into a colossal issue.
Hockey World - Edmonton Journal
Devin Setoguchi for a young defenseman like Cody Franson or Kevin Klein? Interesting theories (and they're just theories) tossed out here.