Sidney Crosby is kind of popular - 10-9-08

Sidney Crosby made the rounds with TSN and ESPN yesterday:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKd2GkuWa3Q]
 
[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9xtNTNMUgA]

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmLSpthPDXY]

Brian Kenny poses a really dated question at the 2:11 mark of the third video when he asks Crosby if he and Alex Ovechkin are the future of the sport. That would've been a nice question in 2005. Why not ask Mario Lemieux if he plans on retiring?

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Mark Eaton isn't hitting the Nutrisystem.

-Michel Therrien says Eric Godard got a raw deal in Sweden.

-Are we going to see those blue and white jerseys from the Winter Classic again?

-Paul Bissonnette didn't expect to start the season with Pittsburgh.

-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got crunched by Hershey in its season opening game, 8-4. Ryan Stone had two goals and an assist for the Penguins.

-Stone manned the point for the Penguins last night.

-Stone also took a shot to the head but was fine.

Atlantic Division



-Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur (above) has a new mask (right).

-Brodeur's previous mask was a lot better than the new one. Plust the previous one was fairly iconic. Almost like Patrick Roy's Canadiens mask. It seems kind of odd he would change it.

-Sarah Palin apparently supports puppy drowning. (Kudos to the several readers who gave us a heads up.)

-The Islanders claimed forward Nate Thompson off waivers from the Bruins.

-The agent for free agent forward Brendan Shanahan denied a report that a deal between his client and the Rangers is imminent.

Northeast Division

-The Sabres made a surprising move and named defenseman Craig Rivet their captain. Rivet was acquired in an offseason trade from San Jose.

-Buffalo demoted defenseman Mike Weber, a native of Pittsburgh, to Portland of the AHL.

-The Bruins demoted forward Vladimir Sobotka to Providence of the AHL.

-Senators forward Chris Kelly is happy with boring hockey.

Southeast Division


 
-The Thrashers unveiled a new third jersey. As you can tell by the sunny expressions of Niclas Havelid, Colby Armstrong, Ilya Kovalchuk and Mathieu Schneider, it's going to be a long season in Atlanta.

-Our immediate reaction to these train wrecks involved a swear words. Seriously, did the designer drop acid before they came up with these? They look like a cross between basketball and football jerseys. Nothing about that look says "hockey."

-The Thrashers will not name a captain to start the season, but will use five alternate captains; Armstrong, Havelid, Kovalchuk, Schneider and Slava Kozlov.

-Atlanta goaltender Ondrej Pavelec has agreed to report to Chicago of the AHL.

-The Panthers are another team that will not go with a captain to start season. Brian Allen, Cory Stillman and Stephen Weiss will serve as alternate captains.

-Panthers forward Rostislav Olesz will not be suspended for a hit that injured Islanders defenseman Chris Lee.

-The latest chapter in the NHL-KHL feud involves former Penguins forward Matt Murley. Despite being under contract with the Hurricanes, he signed with a team in the KHL.

Central Division

-Red Wings forward and former Penguin Marian Hossa is now subject to the Sports Illustrated cover jinx.

-Hossa is a funny guy.

-Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood is handy.

-Chicago thug Ben Eager was suspened for three games for swinging his stick at Stars forward Sean Avery from the bench. How is Ben Eager in the NHL again?

-The Blackhawks claimed defenseman Doug Janik off waivers from the Stars, and then traded him back for a seventh-round draft pick.

-Defenseman Mike Weaver, who was in camp with the Penguins last season, will make the Blues' roster out of camp. Fire Ray Shero.

-The Predators are going to need to rely on their defense a lot more this season.

-The Blue Jackets aren't jealous of all the attention Ohio State gets or getting run over by USC.

-Columbus demoted Nikita Filatov, its 2008 first-round pick, to Syracuse of the AHL.

-The Syracuse Crunch will retire a No. 7 in honor of Reg Dunlop, Paul Newman's character in "Slap Shot."

Northwest Division

-Wild defenseman Marek Zidlicky is dealing with an ankle injury.

-Hockey is kind of popular in Minnesota.

-Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote is happy to be back in Colorado.

-Colorado is playing the disrespect card.

-Canucks forward Jeff Cowan, Matt Pettinger and Jason Krog all cleared waivers and were sent to Manitoba of the AHL.

Pacific Division

-Stars forward Jere Lehtinen (above) is dealing with a groin injury.

-Sharks defenseman Kyle McLaren cleared waivers and was demoted to Worcester of the AHL.

-The Ducks recalled goaltender David LeNeveu from Iowa of the AHL.

Norris Division

-How appropriate is it with Wall Street melting down, Gary Bettman opened trading yesterday at the New York Stock Exchange?

(Photos: Brodeur-Getty Images; Brodeur's mask-New Jersey Devils;Thrashers-Atlanta Thrashers; Lehtinen-Getty Images)