Welcome back! We’re now Marc Methot days away from the start of the regular season.
Good news, everyone! I’ve taught the toaster to feel love! The Columbus City Council has approved the arena deal, 6-0 (with one abstaining from the vote). Jeff Little, the past master of all things arena lease, has his thoughts at TMM.
Over in Chicago, Ray Emery has landed the backup job. Congrats to Ray for a truly incredible comeback from what easily could have been a career ending injury.
Good news: Portzline reports that Derek MacKenzie is making progress as he works to return from injury. Portzline also announced on Twitter that the Dispatch has added former Crew beat writer Shawn Mitchell to the CBJ beat. Give him a follow on twitter and welcome him to the family. His opening salvo? A nice look at Radek Martinek’s experience taking on the top players in the NHL.
Speaking of guys on twitter, it seems Jakub Voracek is putting his toes into the water.
Rob Mixer has day 1 coverage of the team’s trip down to Oxford over at Jackets Journal, and Portzline expands a bit for the Dispatch. Reports that James Wisniewski was suspended an additional four games for mercilessly hitting an unsuspecting golf ball are unconfirmed.
We mentioned that The Score was launching “Backhand Shelf” in an attempt to compete with Puck Daddy – and so far they’ve been busting out some excellent content on Day 1. Here’s a look at moneyball in the NHL, the sudden increase of players spinning out as if given a headshot, a look inside an NHL team practice, and the joy of pre-season PR photos.
A pair of Monday “Catch alls” at Ten Minute Misconduct and Full Mental Jackets – and did I mention that TMM will host the next part of the Blogger Roundtable today?
Alex Ovechkin has taken a leave of absence from the Capitals due to a death in the family. Our condolences.
Going to Friday’s game? Alison over at Heart of A Jacket encourages you to try the 50/50 for a good cause.
Brendan Shanahan has released his first “Why we didn’t suspend someone” video, dealing with the Ryan Malone / Chris Campoli hit.
PHT has their Season Preview for the Jackets. Meanwhile, ESPN produces their pre-season power rankings, and the Jackets are near the bottom.
Over at Pucks and Stuff, DBJ sneaks inside of Greg May’s closet…and finds Santa.
Trying something different: Much like giving you some quick hits on Backhand Shelf, I’m going to compress down the links to Puck Daddy – let me know if you guys like it? There’s more BoTB recaps, Fantasy Hockey advice based on the pre-season, Jason LaBarbara’s amazing tribute mask, Mike Milbury shooting his mouth off, Calder Trophy odds, and how the first 2 months of the season are critical.
Enjoy a frosty beverage or two at the R-Bar? Don’t forget to check out Breakfast on Friday, where you could win free CBJ tickets, or the game watching party on Saturday!
Marc Staal will miss the start of the season with lingering concussion symptoms – a very bad sign for their defensive depth.
Over at THW, Alex Stallings has a look at the forwards as he starts their CBJ season preview.
Finally, with the news about Cam Atkinson switching his number to #13, DBJ reflects on how he just might make us forget Nicky(s)