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Pre-game reading: Did Gerard Gallant deserve better?

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On New Year's Day the Red Wings and Maple Leafs honor 100 years of the NHL in the 2017 Centennial Classic then, on January 2 celebrate a tradition as the Blackhawks face the Blues in the 2017 Winter Classic.

-- Up top, NBC’s promo for a couple of outdoor games.

-- ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun argues that Gerard Gallant deserved better from the Panthers. That’s a common refrain we’re hearing from the media after a “philosophical divide” led to the coaching change in Florida. But here’s the thing: If Gallant wasn’t on board with management’s plan, what choice did management have? For a team to be successful, everyone has to be rowing in the same direction, and clearly Gallant didn’t agree with everything that the front office was doing. That being said, Tom Rowe better start winning, or the Panthers are really going to look bad. (ESPN)

-- Ben Bishop is 7-8-4 with a .902 save percentage. “Bad bounce, tips, goals off my own players. It kind of seems like it happens every single game, but nobody is going to feel sorry for you.” The fact Andrei Vasilevskiy has been near unbeatable (6-1-1, .951) makes Bishop’s struggles seem even worse. (Tampa Bay Times)

-- A list of the 10 types of terrible contracts, and how NHL general managers can avoid them. The “No-Choice Extension” certainly applies to Brent Burns, whom the Sharks just signed until he’s 40. The challenge is avoiding them. Burns had all the leverage in negotiations. What were the Sharks gonna do: trade him? (Sportsnet)

-- The Vancouver Canucks do not have a very happy camper in Jake Virtanen. The 20-year-old winger has already spoken out about his lack of ice time this season, and he’s still talking while down in the AHL. “I dunno exactly what (the plan is); they didn’t really communicate with me as much.” Virtanen has no goals and just two assists in seven games with the Utica Comets. (Hockey News)

-- Is Sidney Crosby under-appreciated as a goal-scorer? Well, that depends -- do you think he’s a good goal-scorer? If you don’t, the answer is yes, because he scores a lot of goals. (Canadian Press)