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FlightZone: From Avco Cup to Alexei Zhitnik

Posted on by PhilipIver

Puck Daddy's Summer Series has been taking an A to Z look at every NHL team, and our very own HappyCaraT took up the Winnipeg Jets' mantle. Some references are historical necessities, others are out of left field, and all of it's worth a read. Any guesses on who ended up under the letter T? Hint: it's not Jiri Tlusty. No, it's not Trouba either. The other T.

My favourite moment may have been when I was reminded of the "Where's Waldo?" which was Winnipeg's white out:

And now the news.

All Central Division, All The Time

Artemi Panarin and Marko Dano jump straight to the Blackhawks' top five prospects. It's a good job GM Stan Bowman thinks you'll fall in love with them and the other new additions. (NHL)

Avalanche prospects Will Butcher, Ben Storm and A.J. Greer will miss Colorado's rookie camp, thanks to NCAA eligibility rules. (Denver Post)

Tyler Seguin ordered an In-N-Out burger, and Dallas Stars superfan Lindsey Dortch delivered. It’s far too early in the day for me to be desiring burgers, darn it. (Yahoo! Sports)

Minnesota is apparently the place where careers go to end, as both Keith Ballard and Jordan Leopold are leaning towards retirement after their brief stays in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. As to the latter's future, "he and his wife are close to opening up an events and wedding center on the Bluffs of the Mississippi called Leopold's Mississippi Gardens", which I thought was pretty cool. (StarTribune)

Oddly enough, Devan Dubnyk doesn't want to repeat last year's 27-9 scramble to make the playoffs. With him backstopping the Wild from Day One, they shouldn't need to. (Pioneer Press)

Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo and GM Chuck Fletcher will be expecting more out of the team's four primary centres. If Mikael Granlund gets over the hump, Minnesota will be a whole lot scarier for it. (ProHockeyTalk)

Barret Jackman is rejuvenated and feeling like a rookie again thanks to his move to Nashville. No word yet on if the team will make him skate out solo for a bit in his first game. (Predators.NHL)

Speaking of that old warhorse, here's a Tweet of Jackman at the Nashville Zoo as promised in yesterday's FlightZone:

Cat Silverman is concerned about the cap implications of a hypothetical Scott Gomez signing, but I'd have to think that a) he'll be rather cheap, and b) once Patrik Berglund is healthy, a kid such as Ty Rattie will probably find himself sent down to the minors as a matter of roster and cap logistics. (Today's Slapshot)

And A Few Scattered Others

Cam Ward wants to be in Carolina. Let's see if his play this season can convince the Hurricanes that they still want him. (The News & Observer)

Calder Trophy runner up Mark Stone feels physically ready heading into 2015-16, including the wrist he had fractured during the playoffs. (Ottawa Sun)

Ryan Lambert gives his take on whether or not the Pacific Division will be the worst in the NHL. Does Arizona straight up cancel out Anaheim on the ledger? (Yahoo! Sports)

Mike Halford quite rightly picks Martin Jones as the San Jose Sharks' Under Pressure candidate. I think he'll be fine, but imagine the disaster if he isn't. The free agent market isn't exactly flush with attractive goaltending options anymore. (ProHockeyTalk)

And finally, I'm sure photos of Steven Stamkos at the Toronto Blue Jays batting practice will cool any wild Stamkos-to-Toronto speculation. Prepare for an entire 2015-16 of this. (The Score)

Thanks for reading!

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