*It is, unsurprisingly, crickets in the hockey world. And will be ‘til next week. So talk amongst yourselves. Anyhoo, here’s five things you should read up on during this little break. [NBC Sports Philly]
*We knew, but it was made officially official yesterday: there will be no NHL players at the Olympics in Beijing. [Inquirer]
*Naturally, the players are pretty bummed about this. [ProHockeyTalk]
*The World Junior Championship is still on though, which means we are going to get a whole lot of looking at prospect Elliot Desnoyers. He’s fun. [Inquirer]
*The WJC isn’t completely unscathed, though. Crowds will be limited big-time at the games up in Canada. [The Athletic]
*Feel free to take one last look around the Metro before the holiday hits. [Canes Country]
*And finally, apparently Vladimir Tarasenko still wants out of St. Louis. Some think he should stay there. Some think Chuck should get us a big ol’ Christmas present. [Daily Faceoff]
