• The Jagrbombs may not be the best beer-league team, but they're among the best dressed. [Reddit Hockey]

• Jiri Hudler's time in the KHL is over. He's been released from his team, Lev Prague, after suffering an abdominal injury. [Ria Novosti]

• The operators of Nassau Coliseum are facing $88,000 in fines for workplace health and safety violations like exposing workers to asbestos and the New York Islanders. [Long Island Press]

• Andrei Markov signs with Vityaz Chekhov, where his slapshot will be known as "Chekov's Gun". [Ria Novosti]

• Wherein Matt Stajan, Carlo Colaiacovo and Shawn Matthias surprise a Mississauga youth hockey team at practice. Colaiacovo also gave the definitive statement on the lockout: "It kind of sucks," he said. Indeed. [National Post]

• Most of the NHLers in the KHL are making friends, with the exception of Sergei Bobrovsky. Eric Francis and Jeff Glass relate the story of a Russian star upset to have been outscored by goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky: "He was shaking his head, and I didn't need a translator to interpret him constantly repeating 'Bobrovsky, (Russian curse), Bobrovsky, (Russian curse) Bobrovsky!' He is far from star-struck, but this usual point-a-game player now has a bagel next to his name in every category and is chasing a goalie in the scoring race." [St. Catherine's Standard]

• Gabriel Landeskog signs with Djurgarden of the Swedish second-tier league, a move Adrian Dater calls "smarmy". [Denver Post]

• David Shoalts presents his solution to the lockout, and it ends with "voila", so you know it's legit. He's proposing a soft salary cap. Downy soft. [The Globe & Mail]

• The lockout makes it pretty difficult to run a fantasy keeper league, but here's an alternative temporary system from Glen Hoos, using league equivalency ratings from the AHL, WHL, OHL, QMJHL, KHL, and NCAA. Desperation breeds innovation. [Dobber Hockey]

View photos

• Here's your first look at new KHLer Zdeno Chara in his Lev Praha jersey. [Sportsky stick-tap Patrik]

• Eric T. saps all remaining fun from the idea of clutch. "The number of people whose performance improves or declines in the playoffs is almost exactly what we would expect from simple variance over the small playoff sample sizes. It is thus hard to argue that clutch talent is a significant factor in playoff performance, or that people who have had improved outcomes in the playoffs should be expected to continue to do so. [NHL Numbers]

• It's not specifically hockey, but Joe Eskenazi's feature on Bleacher Report is special. [SF Weekly]

• How an NHL lockout might actually benefit the Montreal Canadiens. [The Hockey Writers]

• Here's another look at the intro to Game 6 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final. [Mayors Manor]

• Spector weighs in on replacement players. The whole thing sounds complicated, especially considering the labour issues that await the NHL in Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec. [Spectors Hockey]

• Kevin Bieksa sings. [Pass it to Bulis]

• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was terrible at faceoffs in his rookie season. Will he always be this bad? Maybe not, but probably for the next five seasons. [Oilers Nation]

• The most impressive goal you'll see all day features a sweet dangle to beat a check one-on-one, followed by a between-the-legs shot that picks the top corner. It is, in the parlance of today's youth, "rad." (s/t Reddit)