Saturday Links: Doom on Joe Thornton edition

Joe Thornton returns to Scottrade tonight for the first time since his crunching hit left David Perron with a concussion and zero ice time following a brief return that game. I don't think Jumbo had the intent to injure Perron, but something like this can't go unnoticed. Let's hope the Blues don't go out looking to headhunt and revenge. Rather, hope that the Blues pick the right spots and moments to make life "uncomfortable" for the former Bruin. Even if it wasn't egregious douchebaggery like the Tootoo hit on Carlo was, I'd like to believe that the Blues won't let this sort of thing go unnoticed.

Blues News:

• Blues/Sharks at 7. Build on last game's win, boys. [Post-Dispatch]
• You'd figure there would be some article concerning that bell-ringing of Perron last time, right? [Post-Dispatch]
• A shot of Vodka is helping to fill that Blues offensive void. It's hard to believe that David Warsofsky would've had a chance at helping the Blues organization with the current and future depth at the position. Good trade, Blues org, good trade. [Post-Dispatch]

NHL News:

• Hey, wait a minute. I'M a college student! Maybe I could be #2 goalie for a night, like this local student turned emergency backup. [Puck Daddy]
• Donald Fehr, a guy who spent most of his career representing baseball players, will now assume the role of chief pain in Bettman's ass, a guy who rose to fame as an NBA executive. Perfect. [TSN]
• Bourne believes that people will come to Coyotes games with new ownership in place, Ray. People will most definitely come. [Puck Daddy]
• Down Goes Brown tells us what we learned from the 24/7 Pens/Caps debut [DGB]
• Some of the faces that could potentially see new places before February 28th. [ESPN]
• Any Puck Daddy reader contest usually yields some choice entries. This holiday themed engagement is no different. [Puck Daddy]
• The Philly contingent tells how Chris Pronger being out 4-6 weeks isn't the worst thing ever. That's because losing Game Time's Norris trophy nominee Matt Walker is the worst thing ever. [Broad Street Hockey]

Other Stuff:

• Innovative and humorous protest signs. -50 points if you're the asshole that turns the comments into a political minefield. [The Chive]
• Even the best authors have been rejected at some point. [Mental Floss]

Video:

Multiple angles on the hit on Perron. Regardless of the argument of dirty/clean and all that, the league made the right call of a misconduct and a suspension given the current language of the rule. Until the rule is re-written to clearly define blind-side and account for height differences, this is going to be one of the hotly debated topics in hockey. Keep in mind that this is all in the name of preventing concussions, which modern medicine tells us are a major bitch.

Oh. And fuck Dany Heatley, too. That one's just on principle.

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