Monday Chum Bucket: League confirms 48-game schedule

Despite talk of a 50-game season, the NHL confirmed in a memo to its 30 teams on Sunday that the 2013 regular season will last 48 games. Conflicting reports from Elliotte Friedman and Pierre LeBrun suggest that a January 19th start date is probable, but the 15th is not out of the question if the CBA ratification process is a quick one. [Pro Hockey Talk]
Logan Couture and Dan Boyle are excited about the season starting but openly wonder whether fans will return in droves like they did after the last lockout. [Working the Corners]
San Jose restaurants and businesses are pretty stoked on the lockout being over too. [Mercury News]
Vegas oddsmakers have the Sharks at 25-to-1 to win the Stanley Cup following a shortened season. [Sporting News]
Guess who you’ll never have to see in the Sharks’ crease again? Tomas Holmstrom, who retired earlier today. In other Red Wings news, Henrik Zetterberg has been named the team’s next captain. [Puck Daddy]
Who does the new CBA suck for? Well, everyone. [Driving Play]
Straight from conspiracy corner: is the way the NHL’s initial schedule was formulated indicative of the true “drop-dead” date for negotiations? [mc79hockey]
Mark Parisi with some final thoughts on the lockout: “We can’t say They’re too dumb to do this again or They have too much to lose ever again because they’ve already shown that they are and they don’t. That’s a harsh realization, and it stings.” [Silver Seven]
Here’s a full list of every unsigned free agent left for all your rosterbatory needs. [SB Nation]
Corey Pronman releases his ranking of the top 50 prospects for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. [Hockey Prospectus]
Adam Proteau says these four teams could be very active as soon as the CBA is ratified. [The Hockey News]
How can the NHL thank its die-hard fans for sticking with the league through another lockout? A lot of ways, but improving their GameCenter Live service would be a start. [Backhand Shelf]

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