Wednesday Links - Such Great Heights

This is the last links post I'll write while in the State of Montana. Yay?

BLUES NEWS:

• St. Louis is one of five U.S. cities to be chosen as possible hosts for the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championships. Don't get on this motherfuckin' bandwagon . . . drive it! [SLGT]
• Say Hi to our other recap-writer, Justin42. [SLGT]
• Blues Captain and Minnesota State alum David Backes donated $100K to his Alma Mater, who will name the strength and conditioning room of their arena after him. [SBN College Hockey]
• Speaking of Backes . . . hey, stop me if you've heard this before, but Ken Hitchcock doesn't know what he'll do with the forward lines! Fucking stunning, I know. [StL Today]
• And here, Jay Bouwmeester basically admits to still being hampered by a groin issue by the end of last season without actually saying it. This makes his usage toward the end of the regular season even MORE baffling to me. Rest the fucker. He ain't young, and everyone could tell he was not 100%. Ugh. [StL Today]
• The merits and demerits of putting Keith Tkachuk in the Hockey Hall of Fame, according to Craig Custance. [ESPN]

HOCKEY NEWS:

• What do we make of the rather large, baffling contract the Devils gave to defenseman Adam Larsson over the weekend? Ryan Lambert has his ideas in Trending Topics. [Puck Daddy]
• The 30 NHL clubs have a breaking news problem. Sean McIndoe, aka "Down Goes Brown", goes into it. [Grantland / The Triangle]
• Looks like the Avalanche(s) might turn back the clock a bit with their Stadium Series sweaters. IF this is correct, which it probably is. [Twitter / @icethetics]
• The Penguins signed Eric Fehr to a three-year deal and sent forward Brandon Sutter and a third-round pick to the Canucks for forward Nick Bonino, prospect defenseman Adam Clendening and a second-round pick. Busy day for Jim Rutherford. [USA Today]
• On the other side of Pennsylvania, the Flyers signed forward Sean Couturier to a six-year extension, which might further fuck up their cap situation. [CBS Sports Eye on Hockey]
• Meanwhile, unsigned UFA Daniel Briere is facing retirement before he really wants to do so, it seems. Remember a couple years ago when Blues fans (well, me, at least) were clamoring for this guy? Whoops. [ESPN]
• The Maple Leafs signed their top pick from the 2015 NHL Draft, forward Mitch Marner, to a three-year entry-level deal. [TSN / The Canadian Press]
• Ryan Smyth is eyeing a return to hockey . . . not on the ice, but in the Oilers' front office. [Sportsnet]

OTHER SHIT:

• What they DON'T tell you about Montana in this article is . . . overall, it's fucking expensive to live here, despite the lack of sales tax (and despite what this tells you). They get you elsewhere. (S/T to BluesMay) [NPR Business]
• A Polish food blog took to naming Game of Thrones-themed cocktails, and someone took to renaming them in English. And there are pictures! [Nerdist]
• The subtle genius of Minionese. *bee-doh-bee-doh-bee-doh-bee-doh* [Mental Floss]
• This middle infield play by Royals second baseman Omar Infante and shortstop Alcides Escobar is just fucking insane. I've seen this kind of play before, but I'm not sure I've seen it pulled off this well. [Deadspin]
• The easiest burglary ever. [Y! / AP]

VIDEO:

"Such Great Heights", the great tune by The Postal Service, as covered in Jackson Five-style:

"I want you back!" Oh wait, wrong song.

Our final links post in Montana will be done by BluesMay. Help her out:

• ncismay87 AT gmail DOT com
• @BluesMay

Our next "Say Hi To Game Time" comes later in the morning. Not to give it away, but it's someone who will be returning to links duty NEXT week! :-D