Because the World Cup is Over, Four Stories of Hockey

I’ve been gathering a lot of hockey-related news over the past couple of weeks, so here you go:

Grossest Hockey Collectible Ever – In 1989, the unfortunate goalie Clint Malarchuk got his outer jugular vein slashed by Steve Tuttle’s skate. A horrified audience looked on as pools of blood collected in the crease. He survived. If this isn’t a hoax, McFarlane Toys has released a figurine depicting the moment, and one of them is up for sale on eBay.

Hockey Pool 2.0 – My friend Rob (of Kitsilano.ca, among others) is involved with The Common Fan (not to be confused with The Uncommon Cake), a hockey pool site that looks all slick and Web 2.0ish. They’re not launching until September, but for now they’ve got a blog. I shall be owning all of you in a hockey pool this fall–you can count on it. Now, what team does Lars Lindgren play for these days?

Confused by the NHL’s Salary Cap? – Who isn’t? Now you can track teams’ salary commitments (and check out sundry other stuff) at Hockey Analysis. Here, for example, is the Canucks’ current status. I wish I didn’t have to care about this stuff, but welcome to modern fandom.

Anson Carter is Rumoured to Be Signing With Toronto – That was yesterday, and I haven’t seen anything further since. It’s no surprise that Carter would follow the money, but we’ll see how he does with the twins bouncing pucks off him. Here’s a little highlight package of the ‘Brother Line’ courtesy of Vancouver Canucks Op-Ed.