Morning Bag Skate: Winter Classic sweaters and Fleury gets paid

It's another off day for the Chicago Blackhawks as they prepare at home for a game tomorrow against the Washington Capitals. Speaking of the two teams, we now know what the sweaters will look like for their 2015 Winter Classic matchup in a couple months after the Blackhawks' reveal on Wednesday night. Here's the info on that and more for Thursday morning:

**Blackhawks unveil 1950s inspired jersey for 2015 Winter Classic (SCH)

**No official update on Patrick Sharp yet, but the team is prepared to move forward temporarily without the star winger. (Chicago Tribune)

**Tracey Myers on the team's goaltending depth (CSN Chicago)

**Pittsburgh announced a four-year, $23 million extension for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury that unsurprisingly elicited a wide range of reactions. It's probably a bit of an overpay at $5.75 million annually, yes, but you can also see why the team took the conservative route given an underwhelming free agent market. (Penguins)

**Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson has been suspended three games for a hit to the head of Carolina forward Jiri Tlusty (Pro Hockey Talk)

**A look at Alex Ovechkin and where he places among the great scorers in Capitals history (Japers Rink)

**Avalanche defenseman Brad Stuart will miss "a couple weeks" with a hamstring injury (Denver Post)

**Tanking for Connor McDavid? Of course not, says the NHL. Mhmmmmmm. (Puck Daddy)

**The Oilers placed forward Will Acton on waivers Wednesday with purpose of assigning him to the AHL. (TSN)

**Good news for Columbus, as defenseman James Wisniewski won't need surgery on a fractured finger (Columbus Dispatch)

**Can Tomas Hertl break out of his sophomore slump? (Puck Daddy)

**Sean Avery, "a playwright’s worst nightmare." Alrighty. (New York Post)