Fresh Links: Blues Clues Edition

Tappin' our toes, waiting until Thursday evening...

• The Bruins have been scouting St. Louis for forwards (no, not scouting Martin St. Louis.) [NicholsOnHockey]
• Going over notes from the roadie, here are a few takeaways. [NESN]
• Hang onto your seats, the Bruins have been merely average thus far, thankfully in a mediocre field of Eastern competition. [TheBostonGlobe]
• Patrice Bergeron will be helping to promote a health insurance enrollment fair, because Patrice Bergeron.  [BizJournal]
• As for the Bruins' walking wounded, David Krejci 's progress has been modest. [BostonHerald]
• Play Like Carl Soderberg has had his struggles, and in a contract year, which may be a blessing in disguise. [BleacherReport]
• Soderberg's services will be in high demand, his agent and the Bruins are holding off talks until the NHL cap is clarified. [WEEI]
• Meanwhile, David Pastrnak is back with the PBruins. Boston is demonstrating patience after an intriguing look  [HockeyBuzz]
• The PBruins received a needed boost on Sunday from their fourth line, defeating the Portland Pirates. [ProvidenceJournal]
• Paul MacLean 's dismissal only demonstrates how shrewd the Bruins were to extend Claude Julien. His challenge has been to work with whatever roster pieces Peter Chiarelli has provided. [Boston.CBSLocal]
• The Bruins need to play to their identity, and it has been a struggle with cap issues and so many new faces rotating through. Retaining one particular player would never have been the answer. [SouthCoastToday]
• The pieces of the Dallas trade have not added up as planned. Joe Morrow may be quietly emerging as the diamond in the rough. [MetroWestDailyNews]

Elsewhere around the rink:

• The San Jose Sharks have outdone themselves. For your amusement, an Ugly Christmas Sweater rap. The lyrics are solid. [USAToday]
• Take a look at this past weekend's NHL action. Speaking of the Sharks, they have been surprisingly bad only against bottom feeding teams. [Grantland]
• Malcolm Subban 's brother P.K. asserts that Jordan Subban is actually the pick of the litter, despite his size disadvantage. [ProHockeyTalk]
• Good things come in small packages. Here's a ranking of the smallest NHL players. [SportingCharts]
• The 1996 St. Louis Blues were unique, revisit the team and their moment in history. [Grantland]
• Which growth option is better for the NHL, expansion or relocation of an existing team? [PuckDaddy]
• Las Vegas will be testing the market to demonstrate interest. [TheGlobeAndMail]