Blog // Tags // Alexander Ovechkin

• There's a lockout a-coming. Are you prepared? Mike Brown is. He's been getting ready to look unemployed for months and I'd say he's finally there. [Instagram]

• Labor update: nothing is happening. [TSN]

• But the NHLPA was still plenty busy Wednesday dispelling myths, such as the idea that they're "stonewalling" the NHL: "The players are not 'stonewalling'. They have simply refused to accept the owners' outrageous demands. There was and is plenty of time to reach an agreement and begin the season without interruption." [NHLPA]

• They also distributed a memo Wednesday night titled "How does a lockout affect me?" It explains that injured players are still entitled to pay, recommends that players heading overseas purchase disability insurance, and may or may not feature a voucher for a free Subway sandwich. So yeah, there's probably going to be a lockout. [USA Today]

• Shea Weber's contract has been finalized, and it does not include a no-trade or no-movement clause, and thank God for that. [The Tennesseean]

• How Alex Ovechkin can make the most of the lockout: "Alexander Ovechkin should tell Dynamo, CSKA and Medvedev to kick rocks and make public overtures about his desire, should the NHL lock its players out, to play for... Lokomotiv Yaroslavl for a League-minimum salary." [Japers Rink]

• David Gunnarsson's Optimus Reim mask for James Reimer is as excellent as you'd expect it to be. [Dave Art]

• A six-month assessment by a special task force has found significant deficiencies in the structures and processes that are designed to provide oversight of the BU men's ice hockey program. For instance, "a culture of sexual entitlement." Yeah, that's never good. [BU Today] stick-tap Chuck from What's Up Ya Sieve?

• The "Sorry I was So Bad Last Season" Calgary Flames Apology Tour is coming to your town. [Flames Nation]

• How a lockout could really hurt NBC. [Montreal Gazette]

• Here's an interview with Glendale mayor Elaine Scruggs, who says she's interviewed Greg Jamison and he has his finances in order to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes, but is waiting on the city of Glendale to sign off on the deal. [KJZZ]

• With the signings of Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, the Edmonton Oilers have blown past the very safeguards put in place to protect them. [Toronto Star]

• The Green Men have been inducted into ESPN's inaugural Hall of Fans. What's more, they were the big winners. [PITB]

• Can the Toronto Maple Leafs take advantage of a lower salary cap? Yes, in the sense that it will stop Brian Burke from doing things sooner. [The Hockey Writers]

• Cyclist Bob McEnaney is riding in the Furnace Creek 508 to raise funds for Jack Jablonski, who suffered a major spinal cord injury in a tragic hockey incident. Go donate. [Indiegogo]

• Evgeni Malkin goes full Russian, playing hockey in a cap with ear flaps and felt boots.