Here are a few quick hits from around the league.
- Ilya Kovalchuk’s (American) agent Jay Grossman says that the Russian winger is looking to make his decision today. That’s good news, because my l, y, and k keys have been getting an unusual amount of exercise lately.
(Seriously, though, I don’t know about you ... but I’m ready for this story to come to a conclusion. You know, so we can criticize the deal.)
- Pierre LeBrun says that the Boston Bruins and Zdeno Chara have entered preliminary talks on a contract extension. The super-tall Slovakian defenseman’s contract ends after the 2010-11 season and could very well be one of the more interesting storylines next summer if the Bruins can’t sign him.
- Kris Versteeg might not be a Chicago Blackhawk any longer but that doesn’t change the fact that he still received his day with the Cup. Versteeg celebrated by playing a street hockey game with his neighborhood friends, a lot like Sidney Crosby and one would assume many other NHL players did during their day with Lord Stanley’s Cup.
The past twenty-four hours have been a whirlwind for Versteeg. The Cup arrived Saturday afternoon, and has toured the city ever since.
Versteeg has fond memories of the games they played on the street, but in those days, there were no fans, no NHL jerseys and no cups, real or fake.
Wearing a Blackhawks jersey for the final time, he scored one last goal, and let out one last trademark celebration.
His defence of the Cup fell short...he lost the game, but after the handshakes and one quick photo, they’ve all won, because the childhood dream is realized.