BHN Puck Links: Who On Earth Would Steal From Walter Gretzky?

Who on Earth would steal from Walter Gretzky?

A pair of foolish, cold-hearted thieves were arrested by Canadian authorities this week after allegedly stealing $500,000 worth of Wayne Gretzky memorabilia from his father Walter’s home over the summer in Brantford, Ontario. Word on the street in Brantford is that the local people there are in a rage that somebody would do that A) to a senior citizen in general and B) do it the iconic Walter Gretzky, who is known to be a kind, generous man that’s given and given to charities throughout his colorful life.

Certainly the entire Gretzky family is as close to Canadian royalty as you can get, so stealing from the patriarch of the family deserves a severe penalty, particularly with the suspicions that these thieves knew exactly who they were stealing valued items from.

I’d like to make an amendment in Canadian law that stealing from Walter Gretzky be a federal offense because those people deserve to do some hard time after committing such a heinous act. Now that I’ve got that off my chest, on to the links:

*Max Pacioretty has been the subject of recent trade rumors, but has brushed them off and called them “lightweight stuff” given the kind of rumors he dealt with while playing 10 years for the Montreal Canadiens. (Vegas Hockey Now)

*Is it time for the Boston Bruins and Zdeno Chara to part ways if the 43-year-old defenseman wants to continue playing in the NHL this season? It’s a question that really needs to be asked of the legendary Hall of Famer. (Boston Hockey Now)

*Great news that Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom has been diagnosed as cancer-free after his battle with Ewing’s sarcoma. (Pro Hockey Talk)

*Who doesn’t love the video of Alex Ovechkin’s son, Sergei, jumping on the ice for the very first time all decked out in hockey gear? That brings back great memories of my son, Finn, who is in his first year of mites this winter.

Sergei Ovechkin’s first time on the ice is the content we needed 🥺

(📽️: IG/nastyashubskaya) pic.twitter.com/jdCI7zSrdD

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 16, 2020

*While our guy Adrian Dater reported for the National Hockey Now Network that the NHL is going to play games in the 31 NHL rinks rather than go the bubble route, Elliotte Friedman says there are still hub cities under consideration (Columbus, Newark, Vegas and Toronto/Edmonton) if circumstances dictate it.

Potential hubs could be Columbus, Newark, Vegas and Edmonton/Toronto. But, as Bettman indicated, not permanent bubbles as we saw last summer

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 16, 2020

*For something different: An interesting look at the Andelman Brothers, the Phantom Gourmet and the difficult PR year that they’ve experienced after one of the brothers went off the rails on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Boston Magazine)