40#1Fan

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/2008/10...pendectomy.html Andreas Lilja is having an appendectomy today and won't be with the team in St. Louis. The defenseman could return to the lineup as early as Friday, according to coach Mike Babcock, but that does seem like a very speedy recovery. Brad Stuart (bruised knee) said that he's definitely back in the lineup tomorrow night and will be back partnered with Niklas Kronwall. Derek Meech will remain in the lineup and partner with his former Grand Rapids teammate Brett Lebda as the third defense pairing.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic.../810210425/1361 McCarty clears waivers, stays with organization Dave Dye / The Detroit News DETROIT -- Forward Darren McCarty cleared waivers and remains a member of the Red Wings organization. The deadline for another team to claim McCarty was noon Tuesday. The club hasn't announced whether McCarty will be sent to minor-league affiliate Grand Rapids or put on the NHL roster.

Ryan Hollweg Back At It by Paul on 10/13/08 at 02:16 PM ET Comments (1) Hollweg returns from suspension and promplty hits Alex Pietrangelo of the Blues from behind, 5 minute major and a game. I do believe an automatic suspension comes with it, possibly three games

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/10/so...aseks_thir.html (from an interview on how Hasek is doing with retirement) Kulfan also reveals that the Wings will head to the White House on Tuesday: Hasek will visit his son Michael, who is attending Michigan State, this weekend. Hasek will travel to Carolina Sunday, be with the Wings Monday when they play the Hurricanes, then travel with the Wings to the White House for Tuesday's ceremony with President Bush. "It was nice to be here once more and feel the excitement," Hasek said. "Just with different clothes."

I would say yes, Versus' coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. The Detroit Red Wings' public relations department provides a well-timed note to those of you who tend to arrive at games during the first period--that's a very, very, very bad idea if you're attending Thursday's banner-raising season-opener vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs: October 8, Detroit Red Wings: Fans Reminded to Arrive Early For Opening Night Doors Open At 5PM, Pre-Game Ceremony At 7PM Detroit, MI... The Detroit Red Wings remind fans to arrive early this Thursday, October 9th for the Red Wings' home opener versus the Toronto Maple Leafs at Joe Louis Arena. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and fans are asked to be in their seats promptly by 7:00 p.m. for the special on-ice Opening Night presentation and Stanley Cup Champion banner raising.

http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hock...lin_on_waivers/ Bob McKenzie of TSN just mentioned on NHL Live that Nikolai Khabibulin is on waivers. Bob said maybe Tallon knows someone will pick him up, or, if not, he comes back on re-entry waivers at half price and maybe gets picked up.

Ken Holland just said that the Red Wings have assigned Ville Leino and Jonathan Ericsson to Grand Rapids. Earlier in the day, the Red Wings sent Darren Helm to Grand Rapids and put Aaron Downey on waivers. Darren McCarty (groin), Chris Chelios (leg) and Jimmy Howard (finger) will all start the season on injured reserve. That leaves the Red Wings with an active roster of 22, including Derek Meech and Kyle Quincey. The latter's status is uncertain. Quincey was told not to practice today and there have been reports that he might be traded. But the Red Wings can enter the season with their roster the way it is currently set. "We're talking (to other teams about trading Quincey)," said general manager Ken Hollad. "Right now, on the short term, we can keep our players. ... Ultimately at some point in time, once McCarty and Chris Chelios come off, we're going to have to make some moves. We're going to cap out. ... Do we do something here in the next day or two or do we wait?" Detroit has 12 healthy forwards, eight healthy defensemen including Quincey and two healthy goalies. In terms of salary cap, the current roster fits under the $56.7 million maximum. Unofficially, the Red Wings are at $56.199 million in salary with Quincey. Take Quincey out of the team would be at $55.674, giving the Wings $1.026 million of room. It's very interesting that when Holland mentioned players coming off the LTIR, he named McCarty and Chelios. There are three on LTIR. Howard will definitely be sent to Grand Rapids when he's healthy. Chelios will definitely stay in Detroit when healthy. Holland grouped McCarty with Chelios, not with Howard.

Update after Tuesday's practice: The Red Wings have placed enforcer Aaron Downey on waivers. He has 24 hours to clear. If he clears, he can be sent to Grand Rapids (AHL). Depending on other moves and the salary cap situation, the club also could elect to keep him on the NHL roster. Downey twice cleared waivers last season. "Right now I don't know what's going to happen,'' Downey said. "I always have a good attitide. Whatever happens, happens. If I got to go to Grand Rapids, I got to go to Grand Rapids. "I know I had a good camp. I made some improvements, worked on my skating this summer. I feel I'm quicker. I feel like I'm a top-five enforcer in the league. I believe I do my job excellent. I think this team really needs me, especially this year because when you're on top of that mountain, people start coming.'' Right wing Darren McCarty said he will start the season on injured reserve due a groin strain, which he doesn't believe is a long-term issue. Tomas Holmstrom didn't practice, coach Mike Babcock said, because of a sore foot, the result of blocking a shot in Sunday's preseason finale. Babcock believes he'll be ready for for Thursday's season opener. Ville Leino took his Holmstrom's spot in practice on the line with Pavel Datsyuk and Marian Hossa. Leino said he hasn't been told of his status yet. Hossa, who missed Sunday's game with a sore groin, said he feels good and will be ready to play Thursday. Forwards Darren Helm did not practice. No word yet on his status. Defenseman Kyle Quincey said he didn't practice due an injection he received in his back. He said willl be availble to practice tomorrow, but he also does not know his status, whether he'll be traded or start the season with the team. Jonathan Ericsson practiced with Derek Meech, but Ericsson said he believes he'll be assigned to Grand Rapids. The top three defense combinations were intact, including Andreas Lilja-Brett Lebda. Goaltender Jimmy Howard (broken finger) practiced but is expected to be out a week to 10 days. He can't be sent to Grand Rapids until he's healthy.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2008/10/02/khabibulin_khl/ 'Hawks looking to loan Khabibulin to KHL Chicago Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin could be headed to Russia after clearing waivers earlier this week. In order to shed payroll, the Blackhawks are to prepared to loan their high-priced former all-star to a club in the Continental Hockey League (KHL), Sportsnet has learned. If a deal is reached, Chicago could knock the value of the final year on Khabibulin's contract, worth US$6.75 million, off their salary cap. Furthermore, the NHL team could have most if not all of the remaining salary paid by the borrowing club. Sources say negotiations are ongoing and it has not been determined which KHL team would end up with his services. The inside track may belong to HC Dinamo Minsk in Belarus where it's believed Khabibulin has family. Chicago placed Khabibulin on waivers on Monday, but no NHL team was interested in picking him up with the amount owed on his current contract. Entering the final season of a $27-million, four-year deal, Khabibulin joined the Blackhawks from Tampa Bay as a free agent in 2004 after leading the Lightning to the Stanley Cup. But Chicago signed Cristobal Huet for four years as a free agent this off-season, making Khabibulin expendable.

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/10/ch...ruise_to_r.html Posted by George James Malik October 01, 2008 13:43PM The Detroit Free Press's Helene St. James reports good news on the Chris Chelios front: October 1, Detroit Free Press: Chris Chelios was hobbling around the Red Wings' dressing room today, using crutches to prop up his 46-year-old body. Chelios took a puck to the right knee during Tuesday's game at Montreal. Chelios said he got hit right through the [shin] pad. "It's not so much where I got hit where it's sore, it's the muscle where the fluid is draining," Chelios said. "It's just day to day. More like, "I'm out till next week," but, all things considered, this is good news. The Sporting News's Ray Slover also weighed in on the Red Wings' injury situation via a summary thereof: October 1, The Sporting News: Nicklas Lidstrom will play Wednesday for the first time since having his face rearranged by a puck. The news is not as good for forward Pavel Datsyuk and defenseman Chris Chelios. Doctors cleared Lidstrom, the Detroit Red Wings' captain and perennial Norris Trophy winner, to return for Wednesday's exhibition in Atlanta against the Thrashers. Lidstrom is recovering from a broken nose and bloody and swollen right eye. Datsyuk is nursing a sore groin and won't play Wednesday. He hasn't skated for several days but says the injury isn't a big deal. The world awaits Datysuk's presence on a line with Marian Hossa and Tomas Holmstrom. ... Aside from the medical updates, the team also said Tuesday it will cut the camp roster to about 30 [after Wednesday's game].

Line up for tonight: (Forwards) Franzen-Zetterberg-Hudler Cleary-Filppula-Samuelsson Leino-Helm-Haydar Ritola-Emmerton-McCarty (Defense) Lidstrom-Stuart Meech-Lilja Quincey-Ericsson (goalies) Osgood (whole game) Larsson

http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/ from Ken Campbell of the Hockey News, The Blackhawks are trying to clear salary cap space by getting rid of Khabibulin and insiders say the player they’re targeting now is Washington Capitals center Michael Nylander, who has three years left on his contract with a salary cap hit of $4.875 million. Sources say the Blackhawks have already made two serious offers to the Capitals for Nylander and believe he would be a good candidate to replace Robert Lang and play with oft-injured Martin Havlat.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/st...BD?OpenDocument Blues defenseman Jeff Woywitka has a cracked bone in his right foot and will miss four to six weeks, according to the team. Woywitka suffered the injury while blocking a shot in Friday's 9-4 victory over Atlanta at Scottrade Center. He becomes the third Blues' defensemen to be injured during the preseason, leaving a huge void less than two weeks before the start of the season. The club already has lost defenseman Erik Johnson (knee) for the entire 2008-09 season and defenseman Jonas Junland (shoulder) for a couple of weeks. Woywitka scored two goals and had eight points in 27 games with the Blues last season. Before he suffered the injury, Woywitka was expected to make the team's opening-day roster.

more from MLIVE: ANOTHER UPDATE: Coach Mike Babcock on Datsyuk and team soreness/injuries ... "I think everyone's pretty good," said Babcock. "We have the day off tomorrow and we'll monitor everyone. We've got a whole bunch of guys that are sore. We'll see after the day off, we'll have a better idea who's injured and who's sore." There are no practices Saturday ... the only day of the preseason without anything scheduled. Sunday morning will be the next on-ice test for Datsyuk.

Is it me, or does Brett Lebda look like Richard Simmons? Not a look he should be proud off. Hope he wasn't wearing short shorts that sparkle.

From past experience, no, you don't have to have a ticket to get into the parking lot. They don't collect your ticket until you enter the building. Just be aware that parking is limited and with Camp being sold out this year, I'd get there early to secure a spot. Have fun. It's a great experience. Leaving tomorrow morning at 3:30 a.m. to drive up, but it's so worth it.

http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hock...clears_waivers/ According to Darren Dreger on Leafs Lunch, no team put a claim in for Schneider.

Enjoy! http://multimedia.detnews.com/pix/photogal...ctice_09082008/

I know they had the game two years ago at Comerica Park. They didn't hold it at Comerica last year since the Tigers' were playing at home the weekend before Training Camp. Checked the Tiger's schedule this year, and it looks like Comerica is opoen again the weekend before Camp, so hopefully will announce soon.

So far this was the hardest year to get tickets for. We did get our tickets for Saturday, Sunday and Monday via fax (faxed at 7:01 a.m. on the first day allowed) - and our reservations have been set at the Grand Traverse Resort since May. Can't wait to go and see Hossa in action!

The Detroit Red Wings have hired Brad McCrimmon as an assistant coach on Mike Babcock’s staff, filling the vacancy created when Todd McLellan left to take the head job in San Jose. McCrimmon was the associate coach for the Atlanta Thrashers last season and a finalist for the head job with the Thrashers. He told Sporting News he has agreed to terms to join the Red Wings and expects to sign the deal when he goes to Detroit next week. “I was there for three years as a player and loved it,” said McCrimmon, who played for the Red Wings from 1990-93. “Now it’s a great opportunity to go back. It’s a good situation in the sense of the city, the team and what they’ve been doing there for a long time http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...ke_retirem.html Red Wings forward Dallas Drake is expected to make an official retirement announcement during a 1 p.m. conference call today. Drake told the club a couple of weeks ago that he was leaning toward retirement and it should move on without him. The 16-year NHL veteran began his career with the Wings in 1992-93 and finished it in Detroit this past season by winning his first Stanley Cup

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/07/st...uzzi_on_ho.html The Detroit Free Press's Helene St. James confirms that Red Wings GM Ken Holland is leaving no stone unturned as he inquires as to the status of most of the league's top free agents, as well as an "old friend": After getting the Brad Stuart contract finalized around 11:30 this morning, Red Wings general manager Ken Holland soon after got on the phone to agents for several unrestricted free agent forwards. Holland told me has spoken to representatives for both Todd Bertuzzi and Mats Sundin. Sundin is one of the most coveted free agents on the market, though, so unless he badly wants to come to Detroit, he's probably going to go out of price range. Regarding Bertuzzi, whom the Wings traded for in February of 2007 and tried to re-sign last summer, Holland said he would "stay in touch" with Bertuzzi's agent. "I was happy with the job he did here," Holland said of Bertuzzi. "We're exploring." Strike Flint native Brian Rolston off the list of potential Wings - he's getting offers starting at $4 million and going north, and for far more term, too, than the Wings are willing to consider.

July 1, ESPN: Over the past three seasons, Ty Conklin has gone to the Stanley Cup finals twice as a back-up, with Edmonton in 2006 and this past season with Pittsburgh. Both times, his teams came up short. Having signed a deal worth a reported $750,000, Conklin will now be looking to be on the right side of the Cup fence next spring. He was terrific in relief of Marc-Andre Fleury, posting a 18-8-5 record while Fleury was out with a high-ankle sprain midway through the season. His .923 save percentage in 33 games was second in the NHL. Conklin will get a chance to play behind veteran netminder Chris Osgood, who split playing time the last few seasons with the recently retired (for good, one assumes) Dominik Hasek. Unless the Penguins are content to let Dany Sabourin handle the back-up duties in Pittsburgh, Conklin's departure again puts the Pens in the hunt for a viable back-up for Fleury.

from Kuklas: And Capitals Insider notes… just heard from a source that Huet asked the Caps for three years, $15 million and the Caps offered it to him. But Huet told them he wanted test the market today and see what might be out there. Now it’s looking like he’ll sign a four year deal with Chicago for $5.6 million per.