Homer's in His Office, All's Right with the World

Because if there had been Red Wings in Browning's time, I swear he'd have been a fan.

Ah, October! That most glorious on months. The month where the weather cools, the leaves turn, and men start leaving their teeth on sheets of polished ice (fortunately for Kopitar the tooth was fake; fortunately for the fans, the blood was real). And all I have to say is...

IT'S ABOUT DAMNED TIME!!!

The Wings played their first two games, winning 4-0 over Anaheim and 3-2 over Chicago, leaving me with a warm, fuzzy feeling of contentment. Though I got to see both games, I unfortunately have yet to be reunited with Ken and Mickey, since I had to put up with the Anaheim feed on Friday and the NHLN coverage on Saturday. Still a win's a win, and I'll take both of these and summarize my thoughts here:

• 1 game = 1 shutout for James Tiberius. How awesome is that? Keep it up, pal, and the media will be eating the word "slump" along with a great big side of "too old."
• Pasha is the man. No only can he deke and score and humiliate opponents on the ice, but he can kick their asses when it's called for. Good going, Pasha. Now don't ever do that again.
• Franzen made it through the Chicago game, and in a week or so, I expect my nightmares to fade as the relief sinks in.
• Modano scored his first goal as a Wing and looked like a solid presence on the 3rd line. I like Mike. So far.
• On Saturday, Bambi was the man. With his big doe eyes fixed on the net and his luxurious locks flowing in the wind (well, their would be if he hadn't been wearing a helmet), Filppula sank 2 around Turco. I love it. This is his year. I can feel it.
• Ozzie looked good. He gave me a moment or two of nail-biting anxiety, but over all, he got the job done. 1 of the 2 goals he let in was entirely not his fault but rests on the shoulders of Dan Cleary and the defense for hanging him out to dry while the puck was banged out of the corner. The other goal, maybe he should have had, but he came up with the save he needed to when we needed them. So, go Oz!
• I like Jakob Kindl 100 times more than Ericsson. He might not be as pretty (by like a factor of 100) but he was solid and steady out there in a way Big Rig hasn't been in a year. He gets my vote for the 6th D-spot.

So next game is tomorrow v. Colorado. Since I'm both a traditionalist and a sentimental fool, I'm looking forward to a couple of hours of  vitriol and hate in my living room.

Ah, hockey! How I've missed you...

Let's Go Red Wings!

Seriously. October? Anyone? Anyone?

So I posted, then immediately got wrapped up again in that life thing. What a nuisance. Especially considering the damned thing took me to Orlando, FL and Chattanooga, TN in July and August. It was about as pleasurable as having a facial performed with a belt sander, but I finally got back home last night (no thanks to a certain un-named airline) just in time for today's news:

• Helm re-signed. Yeah, I know this technically happened earlier this week, but this was the first opportunity I had to put it in print, so deal. I love me a Helmer. Actually I love any player who learns at the knee of Kris Draper and plays every single shift like Mike Babcock is holding a gun to the back of his head and threatening to shoot him and then drop him from the team if he doesn't work his ass off every second on the ice. Thanks, Kenny.
• Modano finally decided to toe the line and sign on the bottom one. It was announced earlier in the week as well, but today was the actual presser and the live photos of Mikey in his #90 red-and-whites. I saw parts of the press conference, but the damned feed kept cutting out on me, so I finally gave up and decided to just assume that Mo expressed the correct degree of awe and gratitude about coming home to Hockeytown. If I'm wrong, there will be plenty of time to grow to hate him over the next few months. I was firmly in the neutral camp about Mike (or maybe firmly in the waffling about Mike camp), so this one was more of just a relief. At least now, we can all stop reading, thinking, and hearing about it.
• Chris Chelios has officially announced his retirement and accepted a job in the Red Wings' front office. That news brought a huge smile to my face. I love Cheli, and I'm delighted to have him back in the organ-i-zation. I think he'll be a great influence for the whipper-snappers and a fantastic role model for the prospects. I mean, how can you not love a guy who loved the game so much, he played it until most hockey players his age were on their 3rd set of knees? Welcome back, Cheli. I'm very happy to see you.

But with all that said, it's still only August (*gack*) and I'm jonesin' for my sport. I need to see me some ice soon, before things get desperate. Oh, hell, who am I kidding? I'm already desperate. So hurry up, September. Training camp might just keep me alive until October.

Training camp and the news of Abdelkader's new deal. C'mon, Kenny. I'm waiting.

Still Not October?

So, okay, that was a longer break than I expected. Apparently combining the end of the season with buying my first house, and packing up and moving into said house, made me even lazier than I had anticipated. Never fear, though. I might have been hiding under a rock for the last 4-6 weeks, but I did have internet access under there. I've been keeping up with the Wings' news. The earthworms and I had some interesting discussions about Bertuzzi's new contract. They know quite a lot about Ol' Bert, it turns out. (Okay, cheap shot, but it was easy, and we've already established that I'm a lazy bitch.)

First, we did resign The Perfect Human (for what I tearfully feel will be his last season) just before I went to ground, and of course, I rejoiced appropriately over that, as well as our ability to retain Homer for another two. Go, Kenny! Then we had the lull of "beginning talks" with the rest of the current roster, punctuated by the excitement of officially booting Williams and Lebda to the curb. God help Toronto. And recently, we secured Drew Miller, followed quickly by Patrick Eaves, for another year each. Both solid signings, in my mind. I was impressed with both of the new additions this past season, with Eaves especially, and I'm hoping that he, at least, will be sticking around for a bit. So, that leaves Kenny hopefully hard at work lassoing Helmer and Abby into new contracts. I can't imagine him letting either of those young whippersnappers get away, not given their solid efforts on behalf of the Wings. Not to mention the fact that Herm would likely elect to wear Queen Victoria's mourning costume were Helm ever to leave Detroit. I have a feeling more than one of us is counting on #43 to become the Wings' next franchise player. Anyway, that's the big news I personally am waiting for from the front office.