Fresh Links: Well, This Is It Edition

So with a day to go before the CBA expires, hope is pretty much lost. Owners, despite making noise about wanting shorter term limits on deals, continued to sign players to six and seven year deals even through today. I guess now is the time to start getting excited about driving to the hockey hotbeds of Manchester and Providence (and Worcester, ew.) For those of you living outside New England, what are your plans for hockey this season?

After the jump, a few deals got inked today, a QMJHL team cancelled a preseason game for kind of a silly reason, and other stuff.

Bruins News:

• Today was the last day the Bruins will be at Ristuccia for a while, it seems. [Herald]
• This Montreal writer thinks Shawn Thornton is a cool guy. [Gazette]

NHL News:

• John Carlson re-signed with the Capitals for 6 years, $23.8 million. That's a steal. [Japers]
• The Stars signed Kari Lehtonen to a 5-year, $29 Million contract extension, as well. [Defending Big D]
• This is a cool piece about junior hockey billet families. [OHL Writers]
• Shane Doan will choose between the Canucks and the Coyotes by 5pm today. Yuck. [City TV]
• The Halifax Mooseheads cancelled a preseason game because half the team has the flu. :( [CBC]
• The Red Wings signed Carlo Colaiacovo and re-signed Justin Abdelkader today. [MLive]
• UMass Lowell product Carter Hutton is still waiting for his shot. [Sun]
• Hockey in a 2,000-year-old arena? That is a thing that is happening this weekend. [IIHF]