Daily Cupcakes - Links from around the locked out NHL - October 3rd, 2012

Don Cherry doesn't need Hockey Night in Canada to make his voice heard.

So Don Cherry’s feud with the Toronto Maple Leafs continues.

And this time it’s back to a familiar player: Leafs prospect Nazem Kadri.

Grapes came to Kadri’s defence on Twitter on Tuesday after the 21-year-old received criticism from Toronto Marlies coach Dallas Eakins last week for arriving to camp with a high body fat percentage.

"I have never in my life seen a kid treated like Nazem Kadri by the Leafs," Cherry wrote on his @CoachsCornerCBC account. "It started in his first training camp where he led the team in scoring but was blasted for his defensive faults.

Who were some of the best Russian CHL'ers?

Alexander Ryazantsev (Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL)

A now 32-year-old defenceman spent his years in the Q scoring 134 points including 40 goals in 134 games. In 1999 Ryazantsev also won the gold medal in the World Juniors in Winnipeg and led the tourney in assists among blueliners. Drafted by the Colorado Avalanche, Alex spent three seasons in the AHL and moved back to Russia. Last year he had a career season with 18 goals and 36 points in 51 games for Traktor. He also set a new world record for hardest shot according to KHL at 114.1 mph. He now plays for Severstal in the KHL.

Locking out the players - just for the preseason - has already cost a nice chunk of change.

Talks broke off quickly between the league and NHL Players’ Association on Tuesday morning and deputy commissioner Bill Daly emerged from the meeting saying he didn’t have "any progress to report." For the first time, he also revealed the extent of the damage the lockout has inflicted so far — "close to" $100 million after the cancellation of the entire pre-season schedule.

The NHL lockout has already cost the league almost US$100-million in lost revenue.

That figure will likely end up looking like chump change by the time the sport’s latest labour dispute is settled.

Zack Stortini wants to be a NHL'er.

"At 27, I'm still young for a hockey player and I want to keep playing," Stortini said Monday after Day 3 of the Hamilton Bulldogs training camp at Complexe Sportif Thibault GM.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here and be part of one of the greatest organizations in the history of the game."

Stortini is particularly grateful because his agent wasn't getting a lot of calls about jobs for a player with 257 NHL appearances on his resumé. The Bulldogs signed him to an American Hockey League contract on Sept. 21.