Sorry to have been quiet most of the day -- I've been fighting a bug, and I understand the site was down a little while this afternoon. Tech team guardedly believes things are back to normal now. A few bits from today:
- You've probably seen Calvin de Haan and Travis Hamonic got Canada WJC invites, while Matt Donovan got one for Team USA and Aaron Ness did not. Ness's Golden Gophers are having one very rough year -- heh, call it a "rebuild" (if Garth isn't looking) -- but I'm told by a few people who watch every game that he's still one of their best players along with Wild draft pick Zach Budish. Still: concern. Meanwhile, here's the local story on de Haan's reaction to getting the invite.
- I put this in a FanShot earlier, but since he's a divisive topic: What say you to Andy Sutton being rated the 17th-best defensive defenseman thus far? Factors include quality of competition, EV goals against and PK work. The real question is whether he can
stay healthykeep it up.
- The Islanders and Sound Tigers are promoting Rick DiPietro's return with a ticket package for Saturday night. Former Sound Tiger Kyle Okposo says it's been good to have DiPietro around.
- Transaction Crazy: The Short Island Smurfs claimed thrice-rejected Erik Christensen off waivers from Anaheim and waived ol' pal Stephen Valiquette to get him some AHL work ... the Ducks got Montreal's Kyle Chichura -- the 18th overall pick in 2004 -- for a 4th-round pick in 2011. And here we were talking about 1st-round disappointments ... oh, and Marc Savard's 7-year deal in Boston is now for real. ... Finally, while many of us enjoy a Leaf pitfall or two, this is no laughing matter: Jonas Gustavsson is being evaluated by cardiologists. That's really scary stuff, and a shame. They say they think it's minor, but it's still quite a worry.
- The Other Miracle: Check out this film on Team USA's "other" miracle: The 1960 gold-medal-winning squad, dubbed "Forgotten Miracle." Looks cool.