Somebody call a wah-mublance!
Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo says he'll retire from the NHL if the league makes the nets bigger.
If someone had asked him about the league using a smaller puck, he probably would have said he'd set himself on fire if it ever happened.
Also, Taking One for the Team has some nice NHL predictions featuring some nice hockey bloggers, including yours truly.

Charles Wang, who owns the Islanders, is such a weird guy. His franchise is synonymous with insanely bad contracts. And yet, Wang does have some genuinely good negotiation instincts. Forward Sean Bergenheim stalled signing his contract with the Islanders last year. When it wasn't done before training camp, Wang told him it wouldn't get done period. So Bergenheim spent last season in the Swedish Elite League.
Bergenheim signed with the Isles this offseason. For the same contract the Islanders had on the table last year.
See? You thought I was going to say he got a 20-year deal, didn't you? But it was really nice negotiating.
Also, Simon Gagne is in the running for the Flyers' C (login info.). PuckUpdate's official position is that we support Sami Kapanen for the captaincy. I'm going to start rolling out some attack ads later this week.

Terry Frei revisits Eric Lindros' career, wondering if Lindros was truly the NHL's biggest bust.
The piece is actually nicer and more balanced than that, but it just goes to show you, more than anything else, that performance is really the greatest indicator of success. Across all sports, you can't really get excited about guys who have never played in the league. A lot of times, they rise to the occasion (Sid Crosby), and a lot of times they wilt under the expectations (Alexander Daigle). Although, to be fair to Lindros, he had an iron will to succeed. His body just wasn't meant for the rigors of the NHL.
Also, I don't know if I've mentioned this before but it cracks me up the NHL recognizes the potential of Europe as an NHL market, but instead of trying to make inroads into Western Europe or Scandinavia, is working the England/Austria angle (login info.). I can't help but think someone in the NHL saw HAPPY GILMORE, which features Adam Sandler as a hockey player, but remembered it as BILLY MADISON, a hockeyless, but still great Adam Sandler movie, which somehow got translated into BILLY ELLIOT, a movie about an English kid who wants to be a ballet dancer, all of which conspired to have the NHL send teams to England.
Finally, who the heck wouldn't let Flyer Sami Kapanen into the US for five days? I'm sorry, but I can't think of a more versatile active NHL player. He should be allowed to go wherever he wants, whenever he wants, no questions asked, no passport required. I would even let him do it after he retires. And I hope the Flyers make him their next captain.