The Red Wings concluded their pre-season schedule with what is being described as a lackluster performance. Unfortunately, few of us got to see it, and I think even less of us cared. The important thing was that they emerged from the last month relatively healthy, and Friday night the real season begins. Let's see what people are saying about the Wings.
TP:60 - Episode #1 (Part One): The boys over at The Production Line are back, and while the podcast may be different, the quality remains the same. Part One of Episode One features the Chief from A2Y, and besides some salty language we'd expect from a sailor, they discuss Kirk Maltby, Johan Franzen, and how awesome the Wings are going to be this year. I think I can speak for all of us when I say to the TPL crew "Welcome Back".
Red Wings put Mattias Ritola on waivers: The Free Press reports on the Wings' latest roster moves, the biggest of which is placing Ritola on waivers in the hopes that he clears and gets sent to Grand Rapids. Unfortunately for Ritola, he didn't do enough in camp to impress the coaching staff; unfortunately for the rest of us, we lose out on the chance to yodel "RRRRIIIIITTTTOOOOOLLLLAAAAA!" whenever he scores.
A Season Preview from ELF GF's Point of View: Jordan from Eight Legged Freaks brings in some outside help to preview the Red Wings' upcoming season. Let's just say there are some pretty high hopes for the Circus, and she thinks that a certain goalie may be due for a comeback season.
We're Not Really Gonna Do This, Are We?: The Chief at A2Y needs your help. He's concerned about the goaltenders giving up 4 goals a night, and wants you to tell him that everything is going to be ok. He gives a brief synopsis on yesterday's "effort", and notes that Khan(!) had a rather succinct take on what the Wings did to Chris Osgood in yesterday's finale.
Around SBNation:
Dallas Stars' Fans Starting to Feel Cautiously Optimistic? - Brandon at Defending Big D breaks down a tough summer for the Stars, but he feels like there is a silver lining to all of the changes. He's not predicting they are going to win a Cup, or even their division; he just feels they are at the start of a rise, and he's a little excited for that. I know I'd be excited for Mike Ribeiro being named captain, because he'll bring an unprecedented amount of success to their diving program.
Ales Hemsky Continues to be One of the Best - Derek Zona at The Copper and Blue takes a long look at how Ales Hemsky fares statistically against the rest of the NHL. He points out that Hemsky is completely underappreciated because of where he plays, and has the numbers to back it up. Do you think he's got a point? Head on over and let him know.
Seriously, The NHL Pre-Season is Meaningless - Mike Chen at From The Rink says what we all know to be true: the pre-season means diddly squat. He backs up his theory by showing that the Maple Leafs went undefeated in the pre-season last year. You know, the 29th-place-in-the-NHL Maple Leafs? The only downside is that he only looked at the Eastern Conference, so the title of his piece could have been called "Seriously, the Eastern Conference Standings are Meaningless".
Will Blindside Hit Exculpate Cammalleri? - Stu Hackel of Habs Inside/Out looks at the Mike Cammalleri - Nino Niederreither incident and questions whether the fact that El Nino possibly targeted Cammalleri's head will work in his favour in terms of supplemental discipline. I'm not sure what the NHL looked at to make their decision, but they did decide that slashing a player the way Cammalleri did is good enough for a 1-game suspension. However, there is no truth to the rumour that had he done it to a Red Wing, he would have been given a hearty handshake and a massage.