Welcome back!
We are now Jamie Pushor days away from the start of the Blue Jackets‘ season, and that means you either watched the last gasps of pre-season hockey last night, or you probably got some friends together for the season finale of Dr. Who.
Either way, you probably had moments on the brink of tears punctuated by sudden laughter.
For the NHL, some unfortunate but not unexpected news came yesterday when Sidney Crosby said he will not be ready for next Thursday when the Pens meet the Canucks to open their season. This isn’t really shocking – Crosby is practicing with the team but has yet to be cleared for contact.
Over at Puck-Rakers, Aaron Portzline had some thoughts on the tough decisions in narrowing down the roster, and the final calls. Remember that the roster as stated will still change slightly – Ryan Russell and Alexandre Giroux will both be sent to Springfield once healthy and / or Matt Calvert and Derek MacKenzie suit up, while one of David Savard or Aaron Johnson will be packing his bags after James Wisniewski comes off of suspension. The real questions will begin in a few months, when the team must make decisions about their forwards after Jared Boll and Kristian Huselius come off LTIR.
After teases, concepts, and a leak, the Ottawa Senators finally unveiled their third jersey. I have to say, I have no love at ALL for the Senators….but I think these look really good. They really do a nice job of capturing the “heritage” feel without seeming cheesy. There’s a pretty good chance I’ll grab one of these eventually.
Sticking with the CBJ topic of the roster trims, we’ve got a lot of blog reactions as well: Greg at Full Mental Jackets is excited for the youth movement. Jeff Little talks about the roster ramifications,and DBJ takes some time to pause and reflect on the wholesale changes.
We’ve already shared our thoughts, but let me say it in my own words: It’s exciting, it’s a bit of a gamble, and I think this is going to be fun. Congratulations to Ryan Johansen, Cam Atkinson, David Savard, and Maksim Mayorov. You all worked like hell to get here – now the real challenge starts.
I cannot wait to see how you will rise to the occasion.
The Jackets aren’t the only team hoping for good results from a younger set, though – the youth movement is in full swing in Ottawa, with players like Mika Zibanejad, Jared Cowan, and Stephane DaCosta expected to step up. Also included on their opening night roster? #21, N. Filatov…it will be interesting to see how that works out.
Over at Pucks ‘n’ Stuff, you can sneak inside the private collection of known Russellphile Dannielle Browne, AKA Frickindannie.
We’ve got another Shanaban, as Maple Leafs forward Clarke MacArthur was suspended two regular season games for an accidental hit to the head of Justin Abdelkader on Friday Night. Expect another to come soon, as Ryan Malone was booted from the Bolts / Habs game for a hit to the head on Chris Campoli last night.
Light The Lamp chipped in his recap of Friday’s preseason finale, and looking at the bubble boys’ final perfomances.
Puck Daddy breaks down who the most valuable players are in the NHL by dollar value.
Portzline has a feature in today’s Dispatch about the joy (if you’ll pardon the Noel-ism) that is Vinny Prospal’s game.
Last few links from around the league to spin us out into the morning:
Two stories from teams kicking things off in Europe: Sean Avery could be a victim of roster trimming in New York, while Teemu Selanne starts his victory lap in Finland.
In the wake of the Taylor Fedun hit, calls have begun again for changes to icing. Meanwhile, Eric Nystrom, who delivered the offending hit, is dealing with a lot of guilt…and a lot of public ridicule on Twitter.
Edit: An oldie but goodie: Waiver Rules 101. These will become very important depending on how things shake out over the next 10 games.