The Chronicle Herald published a story about the Pittsburgh Penguins captain taking care of some unfinished business in Halifax, Nova Scotia, showing up at a fan's house to sign a jersey.
Patricia Lingley-Pottie's husband Darryl placed a plywood sign - complete with a hanging Crosby jersey - outside their home in Enfield, Nova Scotia, with a simple message: "SID PLEASE SIGN MY JERSEY."
Crosby wasn't able to get to it earlier this summer, and even though the sign was gone when he was back in the neighborhood (it stayed up for a week), he showed up at Lingley-Pottie's door weeks later, ringing the doorbell like any other Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup winner would.
"I was just shocked," Lingley-Pottie said. "I was just so full of joy.
"He remembered."
Crosby stayed at the Pottie household for 20 minutes, taking pictures and signing one for the family, as well.
Canada and the U.S. were playing in the final game of the National Junior Evaluation Camp, and the hit was a microcosm of the beating the Americans dished out on their northern neighbors.
The U.S. won 5-1.
As for McAvoy, he was at it all week. Check out this hit against Sweden:
The all-world Canadian center skated Saturday at the Dallas Stars Hockey Academy and is progressing well from a calf injury that cost him almost his entire playoffs.
"Doing well," Seguin told the Dallas Morning News' Mike Heika. "It's been a short but long summer, bit of a different summer as far as training-wise just coming off an injury, but feeling great and looking forward to the World Cup in the next month or so."
The World Cup of Hockey officially kicks off on Sept. 17 in Toronto, with training camps set to open Sept. 4 and 5. A 12-game pre-tournament exhibition schedule begins Sept. 8.
"I'm sure the World Cup's going to be pretty great," Seguin said, adding that the tournament will be all the more special because he'll be playing alongside his teammate, captain, and friend Jamie Benn in Canadian colors.
Only 24, Seguin has produced at more than a point-per-game pace over the past three seasons, evolving into one of hockey's elite players down the middle.
After Steven Stamkos opted to stay put in Tampa Bay prior to July 1, Milan Lucic became the biggest - literally and figuratively - character in the free-agent market.
The 28-year-old wound up signing a seven-year, $42-million contract with the Edmonton Oilers, and while he's expected to make an immediate impact, Lucic is now facing questions as to the kind of player he will be in the later stages of the contract and beyond.
The winger has nothing but confidence in himself to play well over the next seven years, and hopes he will continue his career even after the deal expires.
"I’m looking forward to these next seven years, and I plan on playing them out to the best of my ability and, hopefully, I can add another year or two once this contract is done," Lucic told Steve Ewen of The Province. "Hopefully things are going well and I can play as long as I want to play. There’s maybe one or two percent of guys who get to do that."
Despite his bruising style of play, Lucic has managed to compete in at least 72 games in all but one - lockout excused - of his nine NHL seasons. He was limited to 50 contests in 2009-10 with the Boston Bruins.
Mika Zibanejad had plans to move this summer - within Ottawa.
The newest member of the New York Rangers moved into a new house during his final days as a Senator, writes NHL's Dan Rosen. Zibanejad was traded on July 18 in a move that saw Derick Brassard head to the Canadian capital.
Zibanejad, only 23, met with the New York media for the first time Friday, and is looking forward to "an exciting start, a new chapter in my career."
A former first-round pick, sixth overall in 2011, the Swede set career highs across the board last season with 21 goals and 51 points. The trade made the Rangers younger, as Brassard will turn 29 before next season begins, so New York is hoping the best is yet to come for their newest man up the middle.
It took a while for Zibanejad to get over the shock of the trade, Rosen writes, and his housing situation weighed heavily on him. The trade was "nothing I counted on, obviously," he said.
His new teammates have helped with the transition, though, and Zibanejad continues to hunt for an apartment. He's looking forward to playing under the lights at Madison Square Garden - his new friends tell him being a Ranger in New York is as good as it gets.
"It's a change from Ottawa," he said. "It's a little bit busier, but I like that."
Playing with a talented group of forwards up front, a 60-point season from Zibanejad wouldn't be a surprise. He's going to be counted on to replace Brassard's 58 points, and will likely have more responsibilities on the penalty kill, something he welcomes.
In case you forgot, plenty of new faces will be in new places come October, and while some of the contracts doled out at the beginning of the free agent frenzy were a tad perplexing, a select few met the needs for both the players and teams involved.
Here are three signings that should prove to be a success.
Kyle Okposo - Buffalo Sabres
Sabres general manager Tim Murray wanted Steven Stamkos - bad - but inking Okposo to an affordable seven-year, $42-million contract was a fair consolation.
Okposo will join a growing, but supremely talented core of forwards in Buffalo, and will add scoring punch to an offense that ranked 25th league-wide in goals for with 199 last season.
At 28 years old, Okposo still has prime years ahead of him, and there's no reason to believe he can't produce a fourth consecutive 50-plus point season, even if he isn't riding shotgun with John Tavares anymore.
Alexander Radulov - Montreal Canadiens
While character issues have tarnished Radulov's reputation, the reward highly outweighs the risk for Marc Bergevin and the Canadiens.
A one-year, $5.75-million contract fits easily into Montreal's books, and Radulov claims to have changed his ways, saying he's matured since his incident in Nashville.
Adding the 30-year-old addresses the Habs' need for goals, which just so happens to be Radulov's modus operandi. In three of his past four seasons in the KHL, Radulov has finished among the top two in scoring.
Brian Campbell - Chicago Blackhawks
Campbell wanted a reunion with Chicago, so he and general manager Stan Bowman made it happen.
The 37-year-old signed a one-year, $1.5-million contract to return to the Blackhawks, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2010.
Bringing in Campbell immediately fills a hole in Chicago's top four, a void created when Johnny Oduya left for the Dallas Stars last offseason.
The Blackhawks lone downfall last season was a lack of defensive depth, and in Campbell, they get reliability, familiarity, and production at a discounted rate.
