Do You Bleed Blue

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On Saturday, the Columbus Blue Jackets and GM Scott Howson announced that they had signed free agent forward Vinny Prospal to a one-year, $1.75 million contract. The team has already acquired an assortment of offensive firepower; but then again, they were a team that needed a great deal of offensive talent to compete. He’ll most likely slide into a top-line role while injured winger Kristian Huselius recovers from a torn pectoral muscle that is expected to keep him out for four months. His role is clear, yet his ability to fill said role isn’t as easy to figure out. Will he be able to produce at a high level and help Jeff Carter and Rick Nash become one of the most feared duos in the league?

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NHL teams continue to tweak their coaching staffs this summer. Let’s take a look at four of today’s moves featuring two different teams.

The Montreal Canadiens promoted two Hamilton Bulldogs coaches to their NHL-level staff, naming Randy Cunneyworth and Randy Ladouceur as Jacques Martin’s new assistants today. Clément Jodoin will replace Cunneyworth as the Bulldogs’ head coach next season.

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AP

Just about anyone will agree that the lockout was a stomach-churning disaster. There’s no sense spinning it, whether you’re the NBA or NFL right now or the NHL in 2004-05.

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The New Jersey Devils were without an enforcer for all of about eight hours. After the Devils shipped noted pugilist Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond to Calgary for a 5th round pick next year, they went out and signed another master of the fistacuffs in Cam Janssen. Terms of the one-year deal were not immediately released, but the acquisition shouldn’t cost the Devils much in the way of salary. Janssen has made anywhere between $550,000 and $600,000 over the last four years of his NHL career—it’s unlikely he’d be much of a raise.

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It’s no secret that Los Angeles Kings have seen plenty of action this offseason. Between trading for Mike Richards, signing Simon Gagne as a free agent, negotiating with star defenseman Drew Doughty, and (very publicly) courting Brad Richards, there’s no shortage of story lines surrounding the organization. Yet many believe a big part of their success next season will hinge on a player who is already under contract for next season: Dustin Penner.

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It’s the summer of selling teams in the NHL and for one team, hopes are high that they’ll have a deal to be bought in place by the start of the new season. While teams like Phoenix and Dallas continue to fight for attention in the wealthy sectors to be bought, the St. Louis Blues are apparently not having similar problems.

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How does one truly judge leadership?

It seems like a rather subjective thing, especially since many simply equate team-wide success with dogged leadership when (perhaps) it could just be about talent. Either way, other players do look to captains in dire times, whether it be during a tough stretch of losses, critical moments in games or righting the ship during the postseason.

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AP

Considering how well-documented Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows‘ nibble was on Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron‘s hand, our initial instinct was to expect a one-game suspension. Jarkko Ruutu did receive a two-game suspension for biting Andrew Peters in a 2009 regular season game, after all. That being said, the NHL doesn’t exactly have a clear no-biting policy in its rulebook and this is the Stanley Cup finals we’re talking about, so maybe Burrows is safe to chomp away after all.

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As endearing as it was to see the Tampa Bay Lightning win Game 6 with such a spirited effort, a lot of the good feelings were ruined by a dispiriting showing by fans. Lightning fans made a misguided show of affection by showering the St. Pete Times Forum ice with noise-making devices that were called “rally drums” but looked like some evil manipulation of tennis rackets. (Hopefully the Lightning brass will do away with that promotion if the Lightning make it to the Stanley Cup finals or the franchise could suffer further embarrassment.)

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Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily are two of the most respected outlets out there for sports news and information and tonight they held their annual award ceremony to honor those in the industry ranging from leagues to agents to owners and when it came down to which professional sports league was their choice for top sports league of the year, the NHL proved to be the best around.

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