There are a few interesting things going on around the league and here are a couple of reminders as well-
League releases the NHL regular season schedule at 3PM today
We mentioned this a few days ago, but it bears mentioning again. How many back to backs will the Canes have? How many road games during October? Who will they face for the home opener? I doubt I will have a chance to comment much about it immediately, but I will analyze the Hurricanes schedule later tonight.
League reveals the location and teams playing in Winter Classic at 2PM today
The worst kept secret in sports is finally made public. The Flyers will face the Bruins in Fenway Park on New Year's Day. The league big wigs are certainly busy today with announcements. Must be Gary Bettman trying to earn his 7 million dollar annual salary? (and you thought there was a recession?)
Drama in Chicago
Martin Havlat is acting like a jilted lover in his blasting of Hawks President John McDonough about the firing of former GM Dale Tallon. It's unusual to see a player speak like this in public, but it's very interesting. Regardless of the circumstances of his firing, Tallon has not been flawless in his duties. Forget about the bungled offer sheets to his RFA's and the signing of Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet, wait until next year when the team needs to negotiate new contracts for Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager, and Duncan Keith while already having 42 million of salary committed. Good luck with that.
Canes Conditioning Camp in progress
I will be attending the on ice portion of the camp today and tomorrow and will try to get a few words from some of the prospects when they are available. Look for those interviews in the days ahead. In case you missed it, Chip Alexander has already had a chance to catch up with first round pick, Philippe Paradis.