Empty Netter Assists - 10-12-12

Penguins

-Sidney Crosby's (above) grandmother is worried about the lockout.

-"My feeling really hasn't changed. Nothing's really changed. We haven't made any progress on the key issues." - Craig Adams on negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA. (PG+)

-Ex-Penguins all-star forward Mark Recchi has been participating in the Penguins' players informal workouts. (PG+)

-The lockout has apparently taken its toll on Tyler Kennedy's skating ability:

-Note: The NHL season was scheduled to open last night and the Penguins were scheduled to open their season at home against the Islanders before the league canceled the first two weeks of the season. May we all pour one out in mourning.

-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' first unit power play is composed of Joe Morrow and Benn Ferriero on the points, Eric Tangradi, Trevor Smith and Beau Bennett up front.

-Keven Veilleux hopes a tough summer of rehabbing from a knee injury will pay off.

-Could newcomer Warren Peters be the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' new captain?

-Happy 37th birthday to former Penguins forward Randy Robitaille (right). Claimed off waivers from the Kings midway through the 2001-02 season, Robitaille spent parts of two seasons in Pittsburgh. He finished 2001-02 by appearing in 40 games for the Penguins and scored a respectable 30 points. After 41 games and 17 points in 2002-03, Robitaille was dealt at the trade deadline to the Islanders in exchange for a draft pick. In 81 games for the Penguins, Robitaille scored 47 points.

-Happy 47th birthday to former Penguins defenseman J.J. Daigneault. Acquired at the 1996 trade deadline in a deal which sent a draft pick to the Blues, Daigneault spent parts of two seasons in Pittsburgh. He finished 1995-96 by appearing in 13 games for the Penguins and scoring six points. In 17 playoff games that spring, he scored 10 points. After 53 games and 17 points in 1996-97, Daigneault was traded to the Mighty Ducks in exchange for Garry Valk. In 66 regular season games with the Penguins, Daigneault scored 23 points. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Hartford Wolfpack, the Rangers' AHL affiliate.

Southeast Division

-"The longer you go, the harder it's going to be to get the deal done. That's the way it was last time and I don't see it any differently (now). Every lockout has been longer, so... there's not really anything you should think otherwise." - Jets forward Olli Jokinen.

-Panthers forward Jack Skille (right) has joined Rosenborg IHK Elite of Norway's GET-ligaen for the duration of the lockout.

Central Division

-Blackhawks forward Viktor Stalberg has joined Frolunda of Sweden's Elitserien for the duration of the lockout.

-Former Predators enforcer Stu Grimson has re-joined the team as a radio broacaster.

-Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey has joined the Denver Cutthroats of the CHL for the duration of the lockout.

-The Toledo Walleye, the ECHL affiliate of the Red Wings, will host an outdoor game at Fifth Third Field, a Class AAA baseball stadium, in 2014.

Northwest Division

-Vancouver's Sedin twins are big on horse racing.

Pacific Division

-"The hardest thing right now is just to stay motivated for workouts. ... Those drills don't do anything for me." - Ducks forward Teemu Selanne on informal workouts with teammates during the lockout.

-Former Wild forward James Sheppard, a one-time first-round pick, is trying to resurrect his career with the Sharks.

-Sharks forward Ben Guite has joined Val Pusteria of Italy's Serie A league for the duration of the lockout.

-As we reported yesterday, Rich Hammond, an inhouse reporter with the Los Angeles King's Web site, left his position to become a reporter with the Orange County Register. As it turns out, there was more to the story. Hammond, who was supposedly granted independence to report on the Kings without any restrictions, published a story with Kings forward Kevin Westgarth (right) about the lockout. The story was published Sept. 17, two days after the NHL officially locked out the NHLPA. League bylaws prohibit any team or league employee, including reporters, from interacting with NHLPA members. The Kings initially refused to remove the Westgarth story from Hammond's Web site, L.A. Kings Insider despite demands from the NHL. With the NHL attempting to dictate editorial content, Hammond decided to leave his job.

-EN Says: The Kings were scheduled to open their season last night and raise their Stanley Cup championship banner. We should be celebrating that. Instead, we're focusing on the league trying to dictate the narrative in its propaganda battle with the lockout.

Did Hammond violate a league rule. Certainly. But the NHL looks exceptionally petty today for taking this action. And what's even worse, it's puts every single piece of content league and team Web sites publish into question. How objective is any of the material available on NHL.com or the Penguins' Web site? We're friends with many writers for these sites. They're good people and many of them are very talented. But they're all receiving pay checks from the NHL or one of its franchises. How can anyone not question the legitimacy of their content, especially after this episode?

Any time a sports team, a corporation or a government has an "official" news source, you as a reader, listener, viewer, etc. should automatically be suspicious.

(Photos: Crosby and Kennedy-Keith Srakocic/Associated Press; Robitaille-Rick Stewart/Getty Images; Skille-Al Bello/Getty Images; Westgarth-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)