Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette had a long chat with P.K. Subban recently about his ongoing contract talks. The quotes Subban gives in the interview are gold, especially the one printed at the very top. But the best part about the interview in our humble and biased opinion is that Stubbs mentions EOTP: "Not Subban nor Meehan nor Bergevin will confirm the dollars or term either side is offering. But the website habseyesontheprize.com, a lucid voice that offers exhaustive, balanced analysis of the Subban case, lists no fewer than six dozen NHL defencemen of less impact (in their view) who annually earn more than $3 million." Thanks to Dave for that!

Andrew briefly mentioned Lou Fontinato in his "Who Wore It Best," series for the #19 sweater. Unfortunately "Leapin' Lou" didn't make the vote there, so here's a look at another #19 who turns 81 today. A career cut short by a tragic injury (shown in the link), Fontinato was one of the toughest players in the league at the time. For those who know their history, it was his tussle with Gordie Howe that made "Mr. Hockey" famous as a fighter. .

Dave Stubbs linked to this video of Pacioretty pushing over 1000 pounds of weights for Prentiss Gym while training for the season. This makes the 3rd straight year where a Pacioretty training video makes the rounds. It all started with this video of Pacioretty doing a 5 foot vertical jump with no momentum. Patches is a definite fitness nut, and it paid off for him last year, hopefully more of the same in 2013.

The NHL Board of Governors has ratified the CBA, announcement coming soon. Gary Bettman will be holding his billionth press conference of the season live on TSN 690 in a few moments.

So I think we can all assume that this is no longer worth a full article, but a writeup must be done. We're used to the NHL canceling games by now, but this time it comes with an assumed drop date for the league. What does that mean? Well it means that if no CBA is reached by January 15th, the NHL is going nuclear and taking out the season. All the legal stuff that's been going on the past couple weeks seems to make that deadline a hell of a challenge to meet, so the doomsday sayers can begin their chanting now. Well, the doomsday sayers in regards to the NHL. People who think the world is going to end tomorrow (today in Australia and New Zealand) are still really, really stupid. 625 games have been canceled thus far, over 50% of the NHL schedule.

The website StadiumJourney.com came out with a special feature for today, the date 12/12/12, where they named the 12 best arenas where the number 12 holds a special place of honour. The Bell Centre was named the top arena, no surprise there, as the Montreal Canadiens honour both Yvan Cournoyer and Dickie Moore. Legends of years past, both Moore and Cournoyer were stars of their eras. Between the two #12s are 16 Stanley Cup rings.

Hamilton Bulldogs President Steve Ostaszewicz spoke to Hockey Central this afternoon, leading up to the team's home opener this Friday.

Max Pacioretty 2011-12 Stats and rankings for the 2011-12 season Total events tracked for Pacioretty: 4,773 *most among Habs forwards Total even-strength minutes played: 1182.3 *most among Habs forwards The charts below represent Pacioretty's statistics during the 2011-12 season. The first chart reflects his play in the offensive-zone, while the second chart represents his play in the defensive-zone.

Tomas Kaberle 2011-12 Stats and rankings for the 2011-12 season Total events tracked for Kaberle: 2,074 Total even-strength minutes played: 568.92 The charts below represent Kaberle's statistics during the 2011-12 season. The first chart reflects his play in the offensive-zone, while the second chart represents his play in the defensive-zone.

The Hamilton Bulldogs released their schedule and list of participants to open this year's training camp. Twenty-six forwards, 11 defencemen and five goaltenders will report for medicals and physicals on Friday at the Brossard sportsplex. Just 15 players from this year's camp saw action in Hamilton last season, with only two defensemen suiting up for the Bulldogs in 2011-12. Twenty-six-year-old Frederic St-Denis is the veteran of a very young defensive corps at this year's camp. The Bulldogs also announced that St. Denis, goaltender Cedrick Desjardins and forward Aaron Palushaj have signed AHL deals, enabling them to avoid NHL waivers. The first five days of on-ice camp will be in Sherbrooke, QC, before the team heads to Trenton, ON,for a community skate on Friday Oct. 5. The following Saturday the Bulldogs play their first pre-season game in Cobourg against the Toronto Marlies. The Dogs then head homeward to finish camp, before the season begins on October 12.