Top Line: Winter Classic homeless; Crosby schools MacKinnon; links

An annotated guide to this morning's must-read hockey stories:

​• We're less than five months away from the 2015 Winter Classic between the Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks and we still don't know where the game's going to be played. Alex Prewitt explains the hold-up that's preventing the league from taking care of this sorta important element of putting on the game of the year.

​• Sidney Crosby discusses his aching wrist, the off-ice overhaul in Pittsburgh and showing Nathan MacKinnon the ropes in this interview from his top-secret summer training session in Florida.

​• An influx of veterans may give the Sabres more buoyancy this season, but it is the long-term prospects that have the team's fans buzzing. The league's best collection of young talent is the focus of the NHL's 30-in-30 feature on the Buffalo Sabres.

​• Simon Gagne missed all of last season, but at least one team still thinks he has some NHL hockey left in him. He's a long shot to make the club, but the veteran will get his chance to show what's he got at their training camp next month.

​• One year into their ownership of the Devils, Josh Harris and David Blitzer are still deep in the bleeding-money phase. But they're optimistic about the future of the franchise, both on the ice and at the bank.

​•  Lou Lamoriello says there's a job in New Jersey for Martin Broduer if he wants it. Problem is, it's not on the ice.

​• Canadiens prospect Tim Bozon survived a near-fatal bout of meningitis. Now he's trying to get his career back on track. You can't help but cheer for this kid.

​• The Blackhawks may have lost 2010 first rounder Kevin Hayes to free agency, but a long track record of success at the draft will help them get through this disappointment.

​• Ben Kuzma says any hopes of the NHL coming to Seattle lie in the hands of the city's council. The more I hear, the more I think there's a real chance to alter the Memorandum of Understanding that requires an NBA team to be in place first.

​• Most Canada/USA games are memorable, but this one was something else.