Seen Stamkos? Kinda ... the news cycle!

Donald Trump and the Buffaslug: two of modern media's worst creations

Going into his first season, Steve Stamkos was not quite getting Crosby-Tavares hype nationally but that didn't stop the Tampa Bay Lightning from diving into street team style marketing campaigns usually reserved for crappy avant-garde rock groups.

For those of you who are newer to hockey and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, there are two milestones that determine how long an NHL rookie stays with a big club: 10 and 41 games. If a player exceeds 10 games, it takes a year off of his entry-level contract which essentially means that said player can be part of a Kevin Lowe RFA offer sheet lollercoaster wicked fast. Reaching a player's 41st game might not be quite as huge as the first ten games, but if a rookie hits that mark then he will be an unrestricted free agent even sooner.

If restricted free agency is like a Funhouse, then unrestricted free agency shows shades of Arkham Asylum.

Going into the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning PR people were asking: "Seen Stamkos?" but now Tampa Bay's bizarro world front office might be asking themselves if they should "Send Stamkos?" down to the minors.

(Because we haven't Seen Stamkos on the scoresheet yet this season.)

• Speaking of Stamkos, Barry Melrose probably is missing Bristol, Connecticut these days. When the Kings made the SCF, it was on the back of Wayne Gretzky's heroics. It's always been a question of how much the famous Mullet had to do with that run, but either way he hasn't lead an NHL team since before the last two lockouts.

The splashy, brash style of the Tampa Bay Lightning drew Mark Cuban comparisons, but so far things are looking more like a Dan Snyder free agent orgy of stupidity.

• From the "rare bit of good news" file comes the fast start by the Buffalo Sabres. Don't get me wrong, watching a player adorned in the Buffaslug raise the Stanley Cup would be pretty shameful, but a tortured city like Buffalo deserves the occasional bit of happiness.

Besides, their awful jerseys sell like hot cakes and they play a fast-paced, exciting brand of hockey. What's not to love?

Oh right, the Buffaslug.

• The Alex Cherepanov saga just keeps getting worse. It's a shame that so little was learned from Jiri Fischer's near-death situation.

• This weekend was a bizarre one for the NHL: Saturday featured 15 games including all 30 NHL teams while Sunday was The Day the NHL Stood Still.

What did we learn? Apparently the NHL and NFL are a bit scared to go against the World Series.

• The shock waves of the Edmonton Oilers - Dave Berry fiasco are still being felt throughout the hockey blogosphere. Here's a sober and educational take from Off Wing Opinion/NHL Fanhouse's Eric McErlain. Mr. Plank also came thru with a rare dissenting opinion on the matter with "A Dark Day for Ice Cream Sandwiches."

• Finally, a bit of blog business. Since my interwebs access is flailing, Bertuzzday's original intended subject will be changed but it should feature the first poll of this blog's young existence.

This blog currently isn't living up to my original plan of multiple contributors "cycling" so I'd like to throw a faint wail into the hockey blogosphere abyss: would you like to contribute to Cycle like the Sedins??

If so, send me an e-mail at jamestobrien@hotmail.com and let me know if you have any hockey blogging experience.

Later suckas.