Pre-Season for the Precious- Red Wings prospect Thomas McCollum is gearing up to participate in the second NHL pre-season match of his young career, and he is excited.  Nervous to play Pittsburgh?  Nah.  He the talent won't be any better than he saw last week in practice - which is true, if you think about it.

Pre-Season Gameday Thread Wings @ Penguins 7 PM- The Datsyukian Deke is fired up about tonight's pre-season.  Though in-depth analysis is hard to come by during the pre-season, he looks at the discrepancy of starts in the opposing lineups and his expectations as a result.

Draper Still Not Skating- Chuck from Red Wings Front notes that Detroit center Kris Draper is taking his recovery nice and slow.  Draper is still suffering from a groin injury he sustained last week at training camp.  Draper, who is fighting for a roster spot, did not skate today as orginally planned.

Here’s To Malik. And Thid? You Can Just Go Ahead And Suck It - The Chief over at Abel to Yzerman once again returns from the high seas to rattle off a sassy little post aimed at Pittsburgh and their fans.  As to be expected, the Penguins fans hated the post as much as the Wings fans loved it.  Par for the course - the comments are almost as entertaining as the post itself.

What to do with Drew?- Drew Miller has done more than capture the hearts of a few female Red Wings fans...he's earned the respect of the majority of the Detroit fan base.  He's the kind of guy that coach Mike Babcock loves - he comes to play every day, grinds it out, kills penalties, and chips in a goal about every eight games.  But what are we going to do with him?

An informal update from the last day of Red Wings training camp/Wings-Pens roster- George Malik is representing not Snapshots but Abel to Yzerman in this little update from Traverse City.  In this post, he discusses the rosters for tomorrow's friendly against Pittsburgh and touches on Datsyuk's secret KGB weapon.

Red Beats White 5-3, Questions Linger Before Preseason- Chris Hollis, who seems to be back in full force now that he has joined up with The Production Line, recaps today's Red vs White game and discusses Jonathan Ericsson and his sub-par performance...it seems to be a trending topic right now with Jakub Kindl and Brendan Smith both turning in great performances.

Zetterberg Autograph Signing Event- Henrik Zetterberg is back to help out the fire department. Autographs are guaranteed for the first 400 people with wristbands. Wristbands will be handed out starting at 10 a.m. at Hockeytown Authentics in exchange for a smoke detector or a $10 donation to the Red Wings Foundation and local fire departments.

Filppula's Forecast- I've long said that Valtteri Filppula is "a little bit Datsyuk, a little bit Zetterberg - but not as good as either".  Filppula's numbers should drastically improve this year...but are they going to be as good as Babcock has said they could be?  Come on over and tell us what you think.

A Look at the D Pairing Swap from DSN- Rob from Red Wings Win, Eh? takes an in depth look at Mike Babcock's decision to split up the pairings of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski as well as Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart.  Will Kronwall/Lidstrom and Rafalski/Stuart work?

Draper Out Again- Chuck from Red Wings front reports that the groin tweak that Kris Draper suffered on Saturday is likely going to keep him off the ice for the rest of camp and probably the beginning of the pre-season games.  The 39 year old center is going to take his recovery nice and easy.

2010-2011 Player Profiles: Darren Helm- Kris from Snipe Snipe, Dangle Dangle takes a look at #43, Darren Helm.  His points from last year's regular season, his highlights and his lowlights.  You didn't actually think she was going to post this and NOT get a mention from me on Quick Hits...did you?

Lilja Lingering - We've all followed the Lilja saga.  We offer him a contract at a discount, he says no, we go out and sign Salei for less, Llja doesn't find an offer he likes, Lilja regrets not taking the offer that Detroit gave him, Lilja's not ready to sign a two-way deal like Maltby did, Lilja not ready to go play overseas, Red Wings training camp starts and Detroit invites Lilja to keep skating with them.  Crazy.

Red Wings prospect Brendan Smith trying to grow, mature; Ken Holland says Jakub Kindl's all but a lock to make team as #7 defenseman- I'm pretty sure that George James Malik of Snapshots just broke his own record for the longest post title in Red Wings blogger history.  Do you even need to read the post?  Of course you do, it's George!

Know Thy Enemy: The Dallas Stars - Graham over at The Hole in the Door is going through all 29 opponents for the Detroit Red Wings.  Today he took a glance at Dallas, who saw two of its former franchise players jump ship to the Central.  One was going home for one last shot at the Cup, the other stands in his way.  Who will win?  Mike Modano, duh!

2010-2011 Team Previews: Detroit Red Wings- Houses of Hockey previews the Detroit Red Wings season.  Categories include: Looking Back, Key Additions, Key Subtractions, Offence, Defence, Goaltending, Best/Worst Case Scenario, Prospecting, All Eyes On, and a neat little Lyrically Speaking section where they use song lyrics to sum it all up.

Kronwall Already Skating - After only a couple weeks, #55 Niklas Kronwall participated in some non-contact drills today.  Yesterday he skated by himself.  At this rate, Kronwall should be at full tilt by tomorrow and killing folks by the end of the weekend.  Me likey quick rehab!

Know Thy Enemy: Calgary Flames - Graham from The Hole in the Door takes a look at the best NHL team in the province of Alberta - the Calgary Flames.  Ever since they bounced us from the play-offs back in 2004, we've been able to sit back and laugh about all the silly things the Flames have been doing...and this off-season was no exception. "If at first you don't succeed - re-sign departed players that didn't succeed before."

Marian Hossa...the $7.9 Million Man?- Rob from The Production Line works through a hangover by talking about the Ilya Kovalchuk debacle this season as well as the Marian Hossa issue we had to face after the 2008-2009 season.  Rob was a little late to the party, but it's still worth the read - as is most of the stuff out of TPL.

Seasons Change: An ELF Tribute to the New Hockey Season - Jordan, head of Eight Legged Freaks makes his triumphant return from an off-season hiatus to help us get excited about the season that is to come.  Don't need any more encouragement?  Well stop on over anyway, it's worth your time...why else would I link to it?

Jim Nill to be on WXOU- Jim Nill has agreed to a radio interview on The Corner Pocket show on WXOU - Oakland University's student-run radio station on September 20th.  Matt Pocket, Sports Director of WXOU has given me the freedom to submit questions that they may choose to ask Mr. Nill...any suggestions?  Leave them on the comment section of NOHS.

Red Wings Links: Four quick quips- George Malik of Snapshots briefly also discusses Jim Nill's upcoming radio interview at WXOU...but also talks about former prospect Francis Lemieux, current prospect Nick Jensen, and possible future prospect breeding grounds of the Plymouth Whalers.

Where is Jiri?- Missing from today's skate - the prodigal son from Prague(ish).  Jiri Hudler hasn't yet arrived in Detroit for the skates as reported by Red Wings Front writer Chuck Pleiness.

The New Faces in the 2010-2011 Lineup- A new face writing about new faces - Steve has apparently been given the keys to Motown Wings (formerly of the Chris Hollis variety).  Steve aka the "winnipegwingnut" talks about all the new faces that (may) be wearing the Winged Wheel this upcoming season.

Oh and Meech cleared waivers...but I'm sure you all knew that already.

A Decade of Dominance - Big news going around today.  But I'll let the others give you their thoughts on it here.  I went back and looked at what the 2K Decade meant to the Detroit Red Wings - and it meant a lot of good memories and a crap load of hardware.

Wings Re-Sign Kirk Maltby- The news of the Kirk Maltby signing goes Anthony of the Unconnected Red Wings Blog.  Maltby's deal is worth near the league minimum at the NHL level.  Most think that Malts will start (and probably stay) in Grand Rapids in this season - which could be his last.

Meech Placed on Waivers- After working to try and find a trade partner unsuccessfully, Kenny decided the best thing to do with Derek Meech would be to send him through waivers as reported by Chuck Pleiness of Red Wings Front.  Meech isn't gone for sure yet - but at a mere $500 K the versatile player will probably be snatched up by noon tomorrow.

ESPN's LeBrun believes Red Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom remains a Norris contender - As George Malik of Snapshots points out in his title - Pierre LeBrun of ESPN names Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty, and Nicklas Lidstrom as his picks for the 2010-2011 finalists for the Norris Trophy.  Agree with an ESPN guy?  That doesn't quite sit well...then again, leaving Lidstrom off of that list wouldn't either.

Your EA 2011 Player Ratings- The Electronic Arts NHL 2011 game, with its disgusting over (for consecutive years) hit shelves today.  I managed to find a source with the ratings for the Detroit Red Wings and decided to share them with the readers of NOHS.

Red Wings Links: Chris Osgood's 'ready' to play supporting role - George Malik from Snapshots tackles several issues (as per usual).  In this installment - Ozzie preparing for backup role, Franzen and the Mule getting ready to post big numbers, players to watch in Traverse City, and much, much more.

Wings Announce 2010-11 TV Schedule - Find out when and what channel will be playing all of Detroit's games this year as reported by the Detroit Red Wings official website.  I'm sure there's a lot of people out there just thrilled about the NHL Center Ice Package going up in price this year...thanks, Gary.

Could a Healthy Mule be the Red Wings Top Offseason Acquisition? - Pure MI Sports discusses what having Johan Franzen back at full capacity could actually be the biggest thing to happen to Detroit in this off-season.  Even upon his return, Mule said he wasn't 100% - but he will be this year.  40 goals from Franzen?  Yes, please.

Your 2012-2013 Red Wings - One Nightmare On Helm Street reader asked me to look at what the Detroit Red Wings roster might be a few years from now...so I did.  Not taking into account the obvious trade/waive/free agency acquisition - I laid out what the lineup might look like come October 2012.

Know Thy Enemy: St. Louis Blues - Graham over at The Hole In the Door's new thing is looking at all 29 other teams in the NHL and breaking them down...so it's probably going to be a regular here on Quick Hits for a while.  Today, he breaks down the team that completely ruined my trip to Stockholm last year - the St. Louis Blues. (Truth be told, the trip was still great, but the hockey sucked).

Fantasy Mailbag- Darryl Dobbs of The Hockey News answers various questions regarding the upcoming (fantasy) hockey season.  One reader asked about our own Jimmy Howard...and Dobbs responds by making a bold prediction that Jimmy flirts with 40 wins this season.  That would be nice.

Clarifying Red Wings prospect Willie Coetzee's situation and two tidbits - George Malik of Snapshots clears the air surrounding the possibility of Willie Coetzee playing for the Griffins this year and he also discusses a pic of Brad Stuart that one of my readers submitted (I didn't know about the link until I started writing this, Casey - I swear) and also touches on Tomas Tatar's photoshoot for for Upper Deck's Top Prospects.

No Fantasy Love for Wings- Do you think there are 8 defensemen in the league that are better fantasy options than Nicklas Lidstrom?  Yahoo! does.  Do you think there are 15 defensemen worth more in fantasy leagues than Nicky Lid?  ESPN thinks so.  These, and a few other snubs are examined in Yahoo! and ESPN's pre-season NHL fantasy rankings for the Detroit Red Wings and the rest of the NHL.

Untitled- Natalie from The Scrappy Octopus makes her triumphant return to the blogosphere after a near 3-month hiatus.  She discusses pretty much all the key points in the Red Wings universe during TSO's extended break.

Red Wings Blogger Roundtable- Once again, it's Deke Day at the Red Wings Blogger Roundtable as the boy's at The Triple Deke get their chance to host.  The three questions posed are 1.) Who would occupy the four spots on the bizarro Red Wings Mount Puckmore?  2.) Who will be the biggest surprise/disappointment for the season?  Are the Red Wings #1 in the NHL right now?

Part Two: It All Comes Down to The Threesome- Rob over at The Production Line breaks down the depth part of our roster, from the third and fourth lines, to our fifth and sixth defensemen.  Of course, the usual crassness and crude humor is used - and we dig it.

And Then There Were Three - Chris and myself over at The Nightmare On Helm Street have decided to open our doors to a new contributor.  He's lurked and commented and made a spectacle of himself at several recent Detroit Red Wings games in Michigan and Phoenix.  Sullyosis is now a junior officer over at NOHS and will be entertaining us once a week with his "Saturdays with Sully" piece.

Out for the Season- Kyle Kujawa, the proprietor of Babcock's Death Stare recently landed himself an internship position with the Grand Rapids Griffins - congrats, Kyle.  Unfortunately, this means that BDS will be closing its doors for the season.

Red Wings color commentator Mickey Redmond talks about 2010-11 Wings' roster on WBBL- Bet you can't tell what this post is about...okay, just kidding.  George Malik of Snapshots provides us with some audio of everyone's favorite color commentator - the Mickster - who will also be appearing soon at White Caps game in West Michigan.

Ch-ch-ch-changes- Jeff Hancock of the Brendan Smithsonian Institute discusses a variety of things going on in his own world and that of the Detroit Red Wings.  He also discusses Kyle's career move and the changes going on over at The Production Line.

Eaves has a Luck Dragon - Patrick Eaves will champion the Detroit Red Wings team in support of the Michigan Humane Society.  Eaves will be the captain of the Red Wings team for the Mega March for Animals this year.  Eaves is obviously both a lover of dogs and land monsters because his dog is the biggest thing I've seen outside of Fantasia.

Red Wings GM Ken Holland in French: Losing Yzerman to Tampa was incredibly difficult - We all had trouble losing Stevie-Y to the Tampa Bay Lightning.  But - as George Malik of Snapshots reports - we weren't the only ones shocked by Yzerman's departure.  Ken Holland didn't see it coming either...and there isn't much that surprises ol' Tick Tock.

BY THE NUMBERS: Justin Abdelkader - Bill Roose of DetroitRedWings.com plays a fun little numbers game with Justin Abdelkader - the last of the RFAs to sign this off-season.  Abdelkader is quickly endearing himself to Detroit Red Wings fans, by not playing hard-ball and signing for fair-value (maybe even a discount).

Gleaners Wrap Up - The Red Wings Commune, a group of volunteers flying under the banner of friendship and Red Wings mania converged on Gleaners Food Bank in Detroit, to work a 3 hour shift in a warehouse.  Red Wings Commune Volunteers can be any local or visiting Detroit Red Wings fan who wants to make a difference in our community.

The Roster (for now)- With the Detroit Red Wings most likely finalizing their off-season signings by extending RFA Justin Abdelkader for two more years - the 2010-2011 roster is set...but it won't be for long.  With the Abdelkader signing, Detroit is officially over the Salary Cap and will have to make some moves to become Cap compliant again.

Former Wing Aaron Ward Retires- Aaron Ward, outspoken defenseman who played with the Red Wings from mid 90's through the turn of the century, has elected to retire as George Malik of Snapshots reports.  Ward's run-ins with Scotty Bowman when the pair was in Detroit has become the thing of legends.  Ward won two Stanley Cups with Detroit.

Single game tickets on sale Friday- As DetrotRedWings.com reports: regular season game tickets will be available for purchase on Friday.  The season may seem far away, but ticket sales are very, very close.  Also announced is the return of the $9 ticket...something I've been taking advantage of for years.

Abdelkader gives Wings more depth - Chuck Pleiness of the Macomb Daily reports on the Abdelkader signing.  Pleiness looks at Abdelkader's stats and also gets the thoughts of Jim Nill and Ken Holland on everything Abdelkader.

Kronwall's Knee Not 100%- Our first bit of bad news (aside from losing Brett Lebda, that is) this off-season.  Kronwall's knee injury from last year's cheap shot from Georges Laraque is proving a slower recovery than we had hoped.  Nik Kronwall, who has played only one season in where he participated in more than 75% of the 82 game schedule, continues to be bitten by the injury bug.

Abdelkader back for two more years - The newest Red Wings blogger, youngster Nick from Nick on Sports has the privilege of representing the good news here on Quick Hits.  That's right, we finally signed all of our RFA's and true to form - Justin Abdelkader is drinking the cool-aid - signing for less (of a Cap hit) than he had previously.

Would you, if you could?- Rob from Wings Win, Eh? takes an interesting look at the news today that Chicago plans to lend disgraced contract Cristobal Huet to a Swiss Pro team.  "What if it were this easy to get rid of any mistakes we made in the past, no matter how significant?"  Go ahead and tell him.

Red Wings Links: Henrik Zetterberg's busy weekend- George Malik of Snapshots talks about...you guessed it...a busy weekend in the life of Henrik Zetterberg.  But he also posts links/comments on several other key topics such as Jim Nill, the World Hockey Summit, the KHL, and more.

Angry 'Hawks Fans - As if Chicago's fans didn't have enough to worry about throughout the course of this off-season...apparently their convention from a few weeks back was a less than enjoyable experience for a good number of people.  And true to form, the Windy City folk did not hesitate to let the world know how they feel about it.

REVIEW: EA Sports’ NHL 11, Best Hockey Game Ever.- Koedy Burkel of Red WingsGuy Dot Com provides us with an in-depth analysis of EA NHL franchise's latest installment, which will hit shelves on September 7th.  But -of course- it's only the best hockey game ever.  The best game ever title still belongs to Mario Kart: Double Dash for Gamecube.

Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom, most of Wings' players filtering back into Metro Detroit - George James Malik of Snapshots scoured the Swedish news once again and didn't come away empty handed.  The Perfect Human (Nicklas Lidstrom) has returned state-side along with several of this teammates.

The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #2- Speaking of Nicklas Lidstrom - he comes in at the runner-up spot in Graham's countdown over at The Hole in the Door.  For those of you just checking in, Graham's been counting down what he believes to be the greatest Detroit Red Wings of HIS time (30+ years).

Grind- Today I decided to honor those un-sung heroes willing to go into the corners, in front of the net, crash and bang and do whatever it takes to get the puck - and then get it to someone who can actually score.  Today at NOHS we salute a historical Red Wings line and one who's certainly starting to make his mark.

Mount Puckmore: The four faces of the Detroit Red Wings- It was the Detroit Red Wings' turn to have four franchise faces immortalized on a mountainside.  George Malik of Snapshots/Kuklas Korner was awarded the honor of selectiing our foursome.  And I think there are few arguments that can be made against his choices.  It's hard tp only pick four out of so many hockey legends.

The Greatest Wings of MY Time - #4- Graham from The Hole in the Door has now moved into the top five of his countdown of greatest Wings (in his oppinion) over his lifetime of 30+ years.  Today's entry features a man who used to have his own "irish jig" ring through the halls of Joe Louis Arena every time he popped the biscuit in the basket.

Red Wings prospect/Ottawa 67's goaltender Petr Mrazek, an 'import draft' success story- George Malik of Snapshots (who will also be hosting the Red Wings Roundtable later today discusses Detroit's 5th round draft choice from this year - Petr Mrazek from the Czech Republic.  Georgie-boy will be getting to evaluate the young netminder even closer in a few week as both will be in Traverse City for camp (with much different roles, obviously).

The Expendables - Another slow day in the news.  So I whipped up another movie poster.  In honor of the #1 movie over the weekend, I re-made The Expendables movie poster with the faces/names of those Free Agent/Trade acquisitions that never panned out.

Biased, Unprofessional, and Verbose- It's been announced that George James Malik is leaving Snapshots over at Mlive to join the Kukla's Korner hockey empire.  Proof that George is turning over a new leaf - he wrote a title that didn't already explain what was going to be said in the post...amazing.

Prepare to get Kronwalled! - Niklas Kronwall launches is official website at http://www.niklaskronwall.com/.  It's already more intense than any website I could ever hope to create.

Top 10 NHL Lines - The Hockey Writers talk about their favorite 10 forward line combinations of all time.  They were sure to include the following disclaimer "This is neither a list of the greatest talent nor the most clever nicknames but a blending of the two. There’s also no real order to the list – it’s just ten of the great ones."

The Rules of Hockey: Slap Shot- Dave Bartkowiak Jr.from the blog Dear Red Wings provides us with a "little cinematic hockey fun while we wait for the season to start."

"Hey You Guys!" - Since news was slow today, I decided to re-visit an old theme over at The Nightmare On Helm Street with the crude photo-shopped movie poster.  Today I paid homage to some of the tough guys that have worn the Winged Wheel of the Detroit Red Wings.

Evander Holyfield To Fight At Joe Louis Arena In November - Yeah you read that right - the ice that the Wings normally skate on will be covered up as Sean Yuille over at SBN Detroit reports that Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield will be fighting Sherman Williams at JLA...weird.

What a Week: It's Not October, but for Now It'll Do - CaptNorris over at The Winged Wheel summarizes the week that was in the Red Wings organ-i-zation.  Chris Chelios retiring, Mike Modano signing, and the author himself took the plunge and proposed to his lovely significant other.  Congrats, you two.

Jackholes for the Week - Jenn Holstine over at Hockey Blogette razzes all of the main players in the Kovalchuk debacle.

EA Sports NHL 11 Demo Released in North America on Tuesday Aug. 17th - As Joe Burkel of Red Wings Guy Dot Com relays to us - the demo for EA's NHL franchise game will be released in North America next week. I'm sure all the right people are working on alternative covers since it's absolutely unforgivable that EA put a Blackhawk on the cover two years in a row.

Mount Puckmore of Detroit - George Malik gets the final say in which 4 faces get to adorn our Mt. Puckmore over at Puckdaddy.  But it couldn't have been an easy choice.  We discuss the more obvious options that Georgie got to choose from.

Red Wings GM Ken Holland, coach Mike Babcock to attend Livonia Chamber of Commerce lunch on September 7 - George Malik of Snapshots with another self-explanatory title.  Just click the link...I can't read add anything to that.

Red Wings Week In Review - Hockeytown Happenings provides us with a very nice little summary of the week that was in the Detroit Red Wings universe.  Stories covered include: Mike Modano/ Ruslan Salei signing, the return of Chris Chelios and the Kirk Maltby issue.

The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #8 - Graham from the Hole in the Door continues with his quest to rattle off all of his favorite Detroit Red Wings from the past 30 years.  We're up to #8 (as the title suggests) and this one is a good one - #16 - unofficially retired in Detroit because of Vladimir Konstantinov.

2010/2011 Roster Set? - RC over at Word on a Wing takes us through what very well could be the finalized roster for the upcoming season.

And Salei Makes 24- I'm no Capologist (like Scotty Bowman was SUPPOSED to be), but I tried to breakdown the current signees now that we added Ruslan Salei - and tried to make it work with the Abdelkader signing.  Check my work, check the CBA, do what you will and let me know what you think.

So the Red Wings have the NHLPA to thank for Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen's deals?- Now that the Arbitrator laid the smack down to Lou Lamierello and the Kovalchuk deal, a lot of other long term contracts (Hossa, Luongo, Savard) are being reviewed.  Wyshnski over at Puck Daddy suggests that the NHLPA is to blame and George Malik of Snapshots let us know what HE thinks of that.

NHL Releases New Female Jerseys- Hockey blogger extraordinaire Monica McCallister is not too fond of the new jerseys that NHL.com just made available in their store - basically, the new female jerseys are full of glitter and studs (not hunky men, but the small button-like things made of metal).  Monica doesn't only find the jerseys repulsive...but she's offended - and she isn't alone.

Shanahanigans from the Wings Alumni Charity Softball Game... - Kris from Snipe Snipe, Dangle Dangle attended the Detroit Red Wings alumni softball game recently and provides us a recapitulation of what went down at the charity event.  Some good pics and a video too - and of course - she wore her Brendan Shanahan baseball jersey.

The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #9- The daily saga continues as Graham from The Hole in the Door counts down his favorite Red Wings of his lifetime.  Today's installment features the man who is changing the game in terms of what "net-front presence" truly means.  Tomas Holmstrom aka "The Demolition Man" has been giving us on and off-ice gems for many years now.

The Cup is in France and Nobody Cares- Chicago back-up and soon to be waived Cristobal Huet shut down the Eiffel Tower when he brought the Cup home to France.  NHL.com reports that the crowd was cheering and chanting - I'm guessing they were angry chants because the few non-tourists left stranded on a day they wanted to visit he tower are probably all Montreal Fans.

Is 101 Too Many?- Ruslan Salei played 101 games as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.  The Chief over at Abel To Yzerman asks the question - is that enough time for Salei to be tainted?  We all remember what happened with Uwe Krupp...this situation seems all too familiar.

The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #10  - Onward and upward as Graham from The Hole in the Door continues with his quest to list his favorite Detroit Red Wings over the past 30+ years.  This installment features the Russian forward we traded to Buffalo to acquire The Dominator.

Evil Drew Sharp freaks out about Ilitch's courtship of Pistons, PS&E; Detroit News's Henning disagrees- I think George Malik of Snapshots finally beat his own record for longest post title ever.  Ilitch wants to save the Detroit Pistons - he should be declared emperor of Detroit.  Drew Sharp disagrees...you make the call.

Red Wings to play 2010-11 season at Joe Louis- Globe Sport: Hockey confirms that the Detroit Red Wings will play yet another season inside hallowed Joe Louis Arena.  Though if Ilitch's bid for the Detroit Pistons goes through, it would be one step closer to a Pistons/Wings shared Arena in downtown Detroit.

Two-Way Deal Maltby's Only Option- Only option for Kirk Maltby other than retirement, that is.  If Malts still has the bug to play professional hockey there is no conceivable way he can do it and remain in the Detroit organ-i-zation unless he signs a two-way deal.  There's just no room left at the Inn.

Mike Modano: What REALLY Happened - Whoabot from Beards of War delves into the 'true' reasons that Modano ended up a Detroit Red Wing rather than a San Jose Shark or a Minnesota...Wild?  Is that the plural of Wild?

Note to Malik: Pack Your Bags- The Chief over at Abel to Yzerman is sick of getting what many consider second rate reporting from Detroit's beat writers.  So he started a campaign to raise enough money to send George Malik to TC for training camp.  He'll do his job well- so help him get there!

Pieces are Falling into Place- A rare piece from Ellen over at Big Red Machine.  She discusses the Modano signing and various other puzzle pieces that are coming coming together to build the 2010-2011 Stanley Cup contender.

The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #11- Graham from The Hole in the Door continues with ongoing saga of the greatest Red Wings over the past 30+ years.  This player got his nickname from Steve Yzerman and made sure to sign an 11-year extension right before suffering what was supposed to be a season-ending injury only to come back, play in the Olympics, and score 4 goals in one game on the brink of elimination.  #93 - Johan Franzen.

Someone's Gotta Go- We locked up Darren Helm...that's awesome.  But now we already have 23 guys signed on the roster which is the league max.  To exacerbate things, not one player can be sent down to Grand Rapids without clearing waivers.  Waive someone?  Trade someone?  How do we make room for Abdelkader?

A few more takes on Mike Modano's addition to the Red Wings, possible $250,000 performance bonuses- Turns out that Mike Modano's contract could end up costing the Wings $1.5 million on Cap space if he meets certain performance metrics.  George Malik from Snapshots does the usual digging and lets us know what he thinks.

Wings Set To Introduce Modano Friday- Hockeytown Happenings returns from a brief computer-less hiatus to report on the press conference that will occur tomorrow afternoon.  Are you ready to see #90 don the sweater?

Asdfasdf - Eu nem sequer penso que é uma palavra em Português, mas desde que Darren Helm é o jogador preferido Herm na história de sempre ... Sou capaz de compreender a sua excitação.

The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time: #12 - Graham gave The Hole in the Door a major face lift to make it look a lot more like Matt Saler's On the Wings...not sure if that was deliberate or not.  Regardless, looking over "Amerinadian"'s favorite Wings over the past 30-some odd years, we come to Chris Chelios...everyone's favorite ex NHL-er who owns a string of Chilli restaurants.

Cap Stretched Tight - With the Modano signing, the Red Wings are officially up against the Cap pretty significantly...not as bad as Chicago, mind you, but I took a look over at Cap Geek to try and spit-ball some scenarios.  Good discussion in the comment section with interesting ideas.

Forbes Names Red Wings Fans 3rd-Best In America- Bet you can guess what this Sean Yuille article is about over on SBN Detroit.  Us Wings fans rank only behind that of the Boston Red Sox and the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to the smarty-pants writers of Forbes magazine.

Stars fans shouldn't fret over Mike Modano's decision to join Red Wings- George Malik of Snapshots comments on Heika's little piece in the Dallas News about Modano joining forces with the "hated" Detroit Red Wings.  How do you think the fans in "Big D" are going to react to #90 hitting the ice in Texas wearing the Winged Wheel?

It's Just Around the Corner! - Jenn Holstine, a relatively new Red Wings blogger over on Hockey Blogette gives us all a reminder on how to stay connected to our beloved Red Wings in all shapes and forms even throughout the slow off-season...let's not let Forbes down, people.

The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #13 - Graham from The Hole in the Door continues on with his favorite Detroit Red Wings of the past 30 or so odd years.  Coming in at number thirteen is a man we just recently lost tragically.  Fan favorite and tough guy extraordinaire...Bob Probert.

Deeper Wings- It was a big day in the news for Detroit...and a day that was a long time coming.  The Modano signing does create some problems for Detroit.  But you know what?  They're the kind of problems that 29 other teams would LOVE to have.

Red Wings to hold Modano presser on Friday, and he'll wear #90- George Malik of Snapshots talks about the Modano Press Conference on Friday, terms of the deal, and what number he will be wearing as the newest member of the Detroit Red Wings...but as usual - you could've probably deduced that from Georgie-Boy's title.

The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #14 - Graham from The Hole in the Door continues to plug away at the list of his favorite Wings over the past 30+ years.  Today's installment features Mr. "Triple OT" himself, wine-maker and "professor" extrodinaire: Igor Larionov.

There's No Question That Osgood Belongs in the Hall of Fame- Joe Burkel of Red Wings Guy Dot Com decides to tackle the ever present argument as to whether or not the Wizard of Oz deserves to be in Toronto with the immortals.  Be sure to head on over and voice your opinion...even if you've done so on someone else's blog.

I'll Take A Cup Of Mitchell While We're At It - The Chief over at Abel To Yzerman reminds us that he's still a little mad at Mike Modano for making us wait.  He also joins in the discussion of whether or not Willie Mitchell is a viable option in Detroit.  And of course, The 19 sound off and let you know what they think.

Welcome to August- News has been a little slow for the Red Wings, but August should be an eventful month.  The Modano domino should drop sometime this week which dictates several different moves Kenny Holland will pull of.  Either way, Detroit should be poised to be a Western Conference power once more.

Kid Rock Mingles With Blackhawks Players, Raises Stanley Cup - Vomit inducing article from SBN Detroit showing Kid Rock in Chicago with Bon Jovi hoisting the Cup with a couple Chicago Blackhawks.  If that's not good old fashioned nightmare fuel, I don't know what is...Joe C must be spinning in his grave.

Lidstrom, Modano, Favre e LeBron (post gigante) - Herm de Hockeytown Brasil escreve um post gigantesco disussing notícias Detroit vario, bem como outros temas de esportes. Eu não ligaram para o blog Herm em um tempo Então pare por aí.

Games This Season- Ti from Franzenmuth shares with us her experience in purchasing her first ever partial ticket plan for the Red Wings last season.  Apparently, she was at H2H and didn't even know it...weird.

Like Some Hot Chick You Used to Date - Rob over at The Production Line misses hockey.  And in true TPL fashion, he does not mince words in sharing his feelings about the void we are all trying to fill right now.  Apparently, Rob is not a Brett Favre fan.

Shanny Inducted into Obscure Hall of Fame- Long time fan favorite in Detroit, Brendan Shanahan is being inducted into the prestigious Etobicoke Hall of Fame...yes, it's a real place.  In fact, the comment section provides us with a little background including the $0.10 word "amalgamated".  Stop on by and share you favorite Shanny memory.

That's a Wrap - Chris Hollis of Motown Wings posts his last piece over on his FanBall sports page.  Though, Chris will still be involved in the Red Wings blogosphere...we've lost a significant place to help us pass the time.

The Collapse of Chicago: A Day in the Life of Stan Bowman- I know what you're thinking and the answer is 'NO' - I did not write this little piece of CHIdenfreude and double link to NOHS (I got yelled at for doing that).  This comes from CaptNorris over at the Winged Wheel and is chock full of that anti-Windy City sentiment I love so much.

The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #16 - How many of you remember Ray Sheppard?  I do...and so does Graham from The Hole in the Door. The former #26 is next on the list of Graham's favorite Red Wings to play during his 30-something years on earth.

The 'Lidstrom in decline' arguments are wearing thin- A surprisingly succinct title from George Malik of Snapshots - George goes to bat for The Perfect Human against all the nay-sayers who think that his skills and effectiveness are beginning to dwindle.

RFA's Keep Dropping- 3 more avoid arbitration (Moulson - NYI, Brule - EDM, Fleischmann - WSH)...it's looking like just about everybody is trying to avoid the generous arbitrators like grim death.  Too bad for Chicago - Antti Niemi's is in less than 24 hours and Bowman still has not a clue what to do.

Kovalchuk Saga Not to Blame for Slow UFA Market- Spector's Hockey takes the position that the UFA market isn't slow BECAUSE of Kovalchuk.  Whether you buy that or not, this is a good article that breaks down some of the top UFA's available and where they could be headed.

Landon Ferraro escapes from Red Deer- This post by George Malik may have more links than The Puck Stops Here has over at Kukla's Korner - just nevermind if you don't know what I'm talking about.  But seriously, lots of good links here from George regarding all things Red Wings.

Ice Edge Bid Trouble Should Equal End of Line for Hockey in the Desert - The Hockey Writers have had enough with the struggles between Glendale, a city that apparently wants to keep its franchise yet chases away every suitor that shops the team.  Hockey markets like Detroit, and most Canadian teams don't deserve the burden of subsidizing Gary's failed experiment any longer.

Holland's Contracts are Legal - There's a big difference between what Ken Holland did with Mule and Hank compared to what Lamoriello is trying to pull-off with Kovalchuk.  Even Gary Bettman didn't question the long-term deals of Detroit...but when other GM's (Tallon, Lamoriello) starting playing around with them, stuff got weird.

The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #17- Graham from The Hole in the Door returns from vacation and resumes his breakdown of what he thinks were the greatest men of his lifetime to where the Winged Wheel.  In this edition, he discusses the man who tough Tomas Holmstrom to be such a pain in front of the net - #22, Dino Ciccarelli.

Pavel Datsyuk, the Red Wings' resident shootout maestro- George Malik of Snapshots briefly discusses Pavel Datsyuk's shootout prowess.  Basically, he's a goalie's worst nightmare in the shootout...because you never know what rabbit he's going to pull out of his hat.

Hockeytown South- How does Steve Yzerman plan on turning Tampa Bay into a successful franchise?  By attempting to emulate the exact science of building a sustainably successful franchise as he learned as a prospect, player, and excecutive while with the Detroit Red Wings.

This Should Make Wings Fans Laugh- Remember how Detroit lost one of its key contributors after the 2008-2009 season?  No, not Hossa.  No, not Samuelsson.  No, not Hudler...I'm talking of course, about Tomas Kopecky.  The over-rated, "I want more minutes!", now Blackhawk apparently has already fallen out of favor with Chicago - what fickle creatures they are.

Off Night Rant: Stupid Nicknames- What Red Wings Hardware lack in length, they make up for in enthusiasm (interepret at your own peril).  This is a succint, angry little post - but it's new - and that is rare this time of year.

NHLPA officially files grievance against NHL for rejecting Kovalchuk contract - Guess what this post is about.  King of the self-explanatory titles, George Malik of Snapshots goes over the latest in the Kovalchuk signing.  We waited this long and they can't even give him a legal contract?  Ridiculous.

The RFA's are Making Bank- Mason Raymond and David Perron are the two latest RFA's to score big(ger) pay days and avoid arbitration.  Who could blame GM's for hastening their talks after Clark Macarthur got $2.4 million?  Hey Stan Bowman...ya mad?