Quick hits/what you might have missed

• So, the Boston Bruins signed Tim Thomas to a 2 or 3 year deal with a $5 million per year contract. Expect a salary cap outlook on them soon, but my overall review: "thumbs up." The cap hit isn't too big and the Bruins are allowed to buy him out if necessary. Can't ask for much more than that.

• It stuns me that people are so hypercritical of the Montreal Canadiens (although, I know, I KNOW that hockey is a bigger deal in Canada) when the New York Rangers missing the playoffs would be WAY more detrimental. Bloggers point out all the UFAs the Habs have while simultaneously mocking them for character issues - isn't it a good thing that Bob Gainey could give that team a makeover, then? Sometimes I just hate the Internet.

Lots of posts this week, so here's a list of some of the more significant ones in case you missed them:

The hockey in Japan post by Chris Kontos, which is now a bit of a solemn read since it ended up being the second to last game in the history of the Seibu Prince Rabbits. Bummer.

So far, we've compared the Edmonton Oilers to the San Fran 49ers, the Montreal Canadiens to the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Red Wings to the Los Angeles Lakers. The question is: are you still enjoying these comparisons?

Apparently, the world has moved on from midgets and monkeys. We'll have to file that post in the "Things that only made us laugh" category with The Post Americanizing Weird NHL Names, the Post With an Elaborate Jesus Joke and a few others.

Keep your eyes open for more Hockey Orphan entries in the next few days. Check the master post for all we've featured on CLS so far.

• We're a little starved for feedback here in Cycleland. Send us an e-mail or leave a comment if there's a feature you cannot stand, couldn't live without or whatever. You'd be surprised how one pointed comment can alter the course of a blog. Seriously, give our junk mail some company (jamestobrien@hotmail.com).