Silver Nuggets: TV schedules out; Alfie and ABBA

Quite a menagerie of links for you today, mostly focusing on the release of national TV schedules for Canadian and US networks. I'm not really terrible surprised that the Ottawa Senators won't be televised nationally in the USA (sorry, Mark and other US-based Sens fans), but I was actually a little surprised there will be 19 Sens games broadcast nationally in Canada.

Don't get me wrong, it's great, but it gives Ottawa more national airtime in Canada than the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, and even the Winnipeg Jets. The only teams with more are the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, for obvious reasons. Part of that is because the Sens play Montreal and Toronto very often and so benefit from that proximity (seven of Ottawa's nationally televised games are against the Leafs or Habs), but that doesn't fully explain it, to me.

I'm certainly not complaining, though. I'm looking forward to it.

Ottawa Senators links:

• A B-Sens profile on Patrick Wiercioch. (Eye on the Sens)
• Anytime a Norm MacIver reference is featured, I'mma link. Nichols wonders if this might be the year MacIver's legendary record for points by a defenceman might be broken. (The 6th Sens)
• The Sens will get a good amount of TV time in Canada, with 20 HNIC broadcasts plus ten games on TSN. (Sens)
• But no love in the USA. Wyshynski's list of winners and losers on the NBC Sports schedule doesn't include Ottawa, although the Sens won't be televised nationally in the States at all this season. Same as last year. Doesn't surprise me, though. (Puck Daddy)
• Check out the full Sens' national TV schedule, as well as those of all other NHL teams. (Puck The Media)
• Ugh... Earl McRae tries to write an article on Daniel Alfredsson, which obviously requires an ABBA reference. McRae should probably stick to moaning about footbridges, or something. (Ottawa Sun)

General links:

• Straight Jackets, a Columbus Blue Jackets blog: Great name, or greatest name? Anyway, here's an article about some predictions, but what really matters is the awesome name. (Straight Jackets)
• Jo, aka JoNana 'round these parts, pens a piece about Trent McCleary's once-collapsed larynx. (Puck, that hurts!)
• Interesting look at the ubiquity of prescription painkillers in professional hockey. (Puck Daddy)
• Apparently Brendan Shanahan doesn't think that removing the trapezoid would make much of a difference. Note: Shanahan, to my knowledge, never played goaltender or defence, positions for which removing the trapezoid would make the most significant difference. (ProHockeyTalk)