- For those of you wondering: Fabian Brunnstrom will wear #76 with the Wings. His normal number, 96, is worn by Tomas Holmstrom so he needed something new. A quick look at Hockey Reference reveals he is the first Red Wings player to ever wear 76. Josh Howard will have to update his excellent Futurama shirt. [MLive]
- Mike Commodore will miss the first two games of the season and Jakub Kindl will start the season with Jonathan Ericsson as our third defensive pairing. [MLive]
- The roster battles aren’t done yet, as Left Wing Lock points out the Griffins need to cut 7 players to get down to the 20 player max. Oddest person on their list? Thomas McCollum, formerly our #1 goalie prospect, appears to have lost that title to Jordan Pearce. [Left Wing Lock]
- Tomas Holmstrom and Patrick Eaves are both questionable for the season opener. It sounds like everyone else is expected to play, however. [Detroit Free Press]
- Random tidbit, did you know the Red Wings have never completed a buyout in franchise history? Only four other franchises have not. [@CapGeek]
- Cory Emmerton, like many before him, is excited to have made the Red Wings. [Detroit Free Press]
- Puck Daddy has their NHL Awards Predictions up. Only Wings on the list are Datsyuk for the Lady Byng and Selke, and Babs for the Jack Adams. Even Lambert chose Datsyuk for the Byng and Selke. [Puck Daddy]
- Former Wing Sean Avery was placed on waivers yesterday as he lost the final forward spot on the Rangers to Erik Christensen. He is destined for re-assignment, likely in the AHL. I personally was not even aware he was fighting for a spot, so this came as a bit of a shock for me. I suppose Avery shaking his bad boy persona hurt him in the long run, because that is the only thing that really made him special. [Blue Shirt Banter]
- There will be interesting repercussions if Avery is not picked up by another team in the NHL; Cap Geek reports that it will put the Stars under the cap floor. With only a few days until their season begins, they’ll have to add salary… and fast. Else, they face the wrath of the NHLPA and possibility of forfeited games. [@CapGeek]
- The Devils, in constant need of another center, traded one them away yesterday as David Steckel was sent to the Maple Leafs for a fourth round pick. Pierre LeBrun (of ESPN and TSN) said on Twitter after the trade that he expects the Leafs to be the most active team between now and the deadline. [Pension Plan Puppets]
- Dale Weise was claimed off waivers yesterday by the Vancouver Canucks. By my count, that is the first waiver claim this season. Do not expect it to be the last. [Blue Shirt Banter]
- Time for another round of interesting names. We’re onto the 1950’s and the best of the bunch is Fred Sasakamoose, which sounds like a Canadian pornstar. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
- Goalie stats are now available at HockeyCSSI. This article takes another look at last year’s Norris Trophy Finalists and their ability to limit the opposition’s shot quality [HockeyCSSI.com]
Discussion of the Day: The Wings, per Cap Geek, are 17th in the league in cap hit with $5,245,455 in space. We are used to being limited by the cap, so I want you to go shopping. Put together the best package of players possible whose cap hits, when combined, total less than our available space. Winner gets a cookie from JJ.
