My thunder was stolen by today's Cole's Notes (COLLLLLLE!), but here it is anyways: Las Vegas and Quebec City have moved on to Phase III of the expansion process. Phase IV will see an appearance of the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, while by Phase V the NHL will have transcended space and time.
New Puck Daddy: Las Vegas and Quebec City NHL expansion bids move to ‘Phase III’ http://t.co/Bn6wAnf8wi
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) August 21, 2015
The #NHL has retained #Quebecor‘s candidacy for the 3rd phase of the expansion process. The goal: Bring #Nordiques back to #Québec City
— Québecor (@Quebecor) August 21, 2015
And now, your AIH News at Noon.
Central Division
Whether at home or on the road, the Chicago Blackhawks are not exactly a cheap ticket on the secondary market. Time to get hyped for road games against the Carolina Hurricanes, which are "currently the least-expensive Blackhawks tickets on the secondary market, having an average price of $125.32 and a get-in price of $34." (The Hockey Writers)
The Colorado Avalanche haven't given up on Sami Aittokallio just yet, signing him to a one-year deal with a very important clause. (Mile High Sticking)
Sami Aittokallio (COL) has signed for 1 year $735,000. Includes clause allowing him to play in Europe if not w/ #Avs http://t.co/SlpwXw6SVJ
— General Fanager (@generalfanager) August 21, 2015
Adam Vingan envisions the Nashville Predators featuring "an opening-night third line of Hodgson with Steve Moses and Calle Jarnkrok on the wings." There's a couple of significant questions marks in Hodge and Moses, but if it gels, that could be a pretty good secondary scoring line. (The Tennessean)
"Wild assistant coach Darryl Sydor faces two charges of drunken driving involving endangerment of a child after he was arrested as he drove his 12-year-old son to the son’s hockey game." He has since been released on bail. (StarTribune)
Sure, new Blues forward Troy Brouwer talks about how St. Louis has always been a tough team to play against, but this article's real value is in its reminder that he's a "self-professed Britney Spears and Taylor Swift fan". (FOX Sports)
In his review of the Central, Ken Wiebe says the division found a way to get even tougher this off-season. I'm actually not sure if I agree, given the downgrades in St. Louis, Chicago and possibly Colorado, though this is coupled with an ascending Dallas and Minnesota. (Winnipeg Sun)
Finally, some intrigue: Brendan Lemieux is Ken Wiebe's sleeper pick to make the Winnipeg Jets opening day roster. (Winnipeg Sun)
Dennis Beyak has some thoughts on the Jets roster possibilities heading into 2015-16. "Chris Thorburn, Anthony Peluso, Matt Fraser, Andrew Copp, Matt Halischuk and Patrice Cormier are all candidates to play on the fourth line." Get excited. (TSN)
And All The Rest
The Globe and Mail's Editorial staff implores Calgary to be bold and reject CalgaryNEXT, citing the myriad of ways the project is paid for by folks other than Calgary Sports and Entertainment. (The Globe And Mail)
The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed 2015 draft selection and frequent Petan-wingman Paul Bittner to an entry-level contract. While there are concerns he may have been riding on the coattails of Oliver Bjorkstrand and the aforementioned Petan, you could do worse so far as big-bodied prospects go. (BlueJacketsXtra)
Nail Yakupov continues to be Derek Roy's biggest fan; you can feel the admiration he has for his now-former centre coming right off the page. I honestly wonder if Yakupov would rather Roy to McDavid, at least at the moment. (Edmonton Journal)
PHT's Under Pressure selection for Montreal is Carey Price, which seemed a bit odd until I realized the degree to which they're asking him to be great again. Michel Therrien would have worked as well. (ProHockeyTalk)
Sticking with Les Habitants, prospect Michael McCarron is finding new life as a centre, which could be particularly handy in the Montreal pipeline. (ProHockeyTalk)
Great news, as Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello has made a full recovery and should be ready for training camp. (NHL)
Martin St. Louis penned a touching tribute to his mother, who died of a heart attack while the Rangers were playing Pittsburgh in the 2nd round of the 2014 playoffs. Maybe hold off on reading this if you're with company and don't want to be seen welling up. (The Players' Tribune)
The details are still unknown, but it sounds as if Daniel Alfredsson is all-but-set to rejoin the Ottawa Senators in a hockey operations capacity. No word yet on if future GM Alfie will still be booed every time the camera pans on his skybox in Toronto. (TSN)
Speaking of Toronto, agitating forward Leo Komarov has been fined more than €35,600 by a Finnish court for two counts of speeding and two counts of fraud. This sounds like an exorbitant amount, until you learn that Finland adjusts its traffic fines according to income and Komarov reported his income as €0.00. Oh Leo, getting under the justice system's skin. (Pension Plan Puppets)
Should the current Washington Capitals d-corps stumble without Mike Green, Madison Bowey is a pretty good prospect to have in your back pocket. (NHL)
And finally, this is the Barrie Colts as Cats post you need in your life. (A Very Barrie Colts Blog)
My goal is to get @blemieux22 to sign one of my nonsensical photoshops of him this year, but which one?!.. pic.twitter.com/CFJpjhbdpq
— Ryan Noble (@ryannoble66) August 19, 2015
Thanks for reading! Be sure to say in the Comments below if you think Brendan Lemeow is a great pun, or 2015 Pun of the Year.
