Passing the Torch (for now)

Well, it's almost time for me to take my leave...so this will be the last post before I embark on my trip across the pond. I leave you in capable hands, I'm sure Chris will take good care of my readers (few, though you may be).

I promise that I will try and get to an Internet cafe' to post when I can, though I can't grantee when or how often. I put $30 bucks on my calling card, so if I don't use them all talking to my better half, I'll keep Chris posted so that he may transfer my commentary onto you.

Say it with me now: LET'S GO RED WINGS (clap-clap, clap-clap-clap)...LET'S GO RED WINGS (clap-clap, clap-clap-clap).

For all of you, I'll be bringing home 4 points in the standings as a souvenir.

Bon voyage.

Chirping from a Bitter Brittle Blues Blog

Found this pile of dung from St. Louis Game Time:

We Get to Embarrass the Red Wings at Home.

Everyone's focusing on this as a homecoming game for the obnoxiously Swedish Detroit Red Wings. Frankly, between the PR for the Wings and the Hawks, you'd think that they were playing each other. Frankly, though, when you think about it - half of the Central Division has been invited to be a part of this. We were considered the toughest division in the NHL last season, and we're being considered that again this year. It's nice that the league's recognizing it. And, of course, nothing would be funnier than beating the snot out of Detroit. Once'd be cool. Twice would be hysterical. Let's aim for two times.

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Pssh. Aim away, slugger. It ain't happening. You should fall to your knees and...thank the hockey gods if you manage to squeak a single point out of this trip. Mad about your first round collapse after being the league's hottest team the second half the 2008-2009 regular season? You should be. But guess what? You lost to a mediocre Vancouver team, you showed no heart and had bad goaltending. I don't think the return of Erik Johnson clears up either of those issues. The Red Wings on the other hand, are hungry. You are simply the first in the cross-hairs. Get ready to be beaten. We'll see if you think THEM apples are hysterical.

Lidstrom Talks about Stockholm Games

Dave Waddell of the Windsor Star posted this early this morning. A conversation with captain Nick Lidstrom and a bit from Kenny Holland about Sweden, and the real reason they're going over there....

"The only reason we're going is because of No. 5 and the rest of our Swedish players. I know how much it'll mean to Nick to play at home."--Kenny Holland

Holland has apparently never supported playing NHL games over in Europe, but he was willing to cast aside personal opinions and put the interest of his players before his own in this case.

Lidstrom seems to appreciate it:

"It's another thing you can look back at having the chance to play with the Wings in Sweden in front of your own fans. It's something I never thought would happen. It's tough to compare to winning Stanley Cups or Olympic gold, but it's something that will be a good memory for me and my family."

Lidstrom is just three points shy of 1,000 in his career. When asked about the chance to achieve this milestone in his own country, Lidstrom had this to say:

"First, I didn't think I'd reach 1,000 games let alone reaching 1,000 points. It's something I'm very proud of to be closing in on. It would be nice to get it there because a lot of friends and family will be at the games. If not, I might as well do it in Detroit."

The short off-season (long as it may have seemed to us, the fans) has not been kind to teams traveling across the pond to start the regular season in recent years. Not one coach out of the four that started the season in Europe kept their job throughout the entire regular season. Here's your captain's thoughts on the hangover of their trip:

"We'll have a lot of time to get back on to U.S. time. Going over all the guys are excited, not just the Swedes on the team. I don't see it as being a big hurdle with all the days we'll have between games. I always find it easier traveling from Sweden to U.S. getting used to the time."

You better be ready. Those two games in Stockholm may prove more important for reasons other than the fact I'm flying all the way out there to see them. Getting off to a good start is extremely important in today's NHL. Plus they have the all-but-ordained 2010 Central Division Champs Chicago Blackhawks when they get back. Chicago gets two poof games against Florida in Helsinki...I want blood.

Sweden Gear, not very Punny

Found this on shop.nhl.com, it's the new Premiere Game gear for the Wings/Blues in Sweden and apparently two crappy teams are playing in Finland that same weekend...

Anyone else have a problem with the color scheme here? I know blue and yellow are the nation's colors, but c'mon...it looks like a St. Louis shirt. I probably would have gone with the more neutral white or possibly even yellow since the Blues primary color is...yep: blue.

Also, was "How Swede it is" last season's Stockholm slogan? You guys couldn't come up with something new? This may be a knee jerk reaction, but first impression: FAIL.

Oh, but I'll still probably buy one while I'm over there.

Who wants to go to Sweden with Me?

From DetroitRedWings.com

Join the Red Wings and Premiere Global Sports for this once-in-a-lifetime event. Fans can experience both the excitement of Red Wings hockey and the beauty of Stockholm with packages that include airfare, lodging, tickets, and tours of the city.

Premiere Global Sports’ offers fans packages that include:
•Airfare
•Four night accommodations at the Hilton Stockholm Slussen, Sept. 30-Oct. 4
•Tickets to the Red Wings vs. Blues games at Stockholm Globe Arena on October 2nd and 3rd
•Exclusive VIP access to a Red Wings practice
•Drottningholm Palace tour with lake cruise, lunch, and local guide
•Roundtrip deluxe motor coach transportation to practice, palace tour, and both games
•Official Detroit Red Wings Souvenir
•Daily breakfast at the hotel
•Experienced staff on-site to assist
•Lanyard and ticket holder
•All taxes paid

Already have my tickets and hotel room booked, but I thought I might pass this along in case there's any more English-speaking psychopaths out there crazy enough to take this trip.

Anyone bites, I'll let you buy me an expensive Swedish drink once we're over there. Tempting, I know. But if this experience comes close to the magic that was last year's Winter Classic, believe me, you don't want to miss it.

A look at the first four games…

On the heels of the NHL Regular Season Schedule being published, I thought that the first four contests for the Red Wings was worth talking about. What do you guys think?

Fri Oct 2, 2009

Detroit Red Wings

At…(Stockholm)

St. Louis Blues

Yeah ok, call St. Louis the home team all that you want…we wouldn’t want their lone Swede, Patrick Berglund to feel neglected, but we all know who the crowd will be going for in this one. I can’t wait to get over there. Apparently the flight from Amsterdam will have free booze. That should make the time go by a little quicker. How perfect is it that the Wings are playing in a building in Sweden that bares the same name as The Big Rig? I’ll bet Conklin gets the start in one of these games for the Blues.

Sat Oct 3, 2009

St. Louis Blues

At…(Stockholm)

Detroit Red Wings

Did I mention that I’m going to both of these games in Stockholm? Don’t know if they’re going to top the Winter Classic at Wrigley last year, but should be a great experience for someone like me who has never even been to Mexico. I’m wondering what Uncle Mike has in store for the line-up. Now that Hossa’s gone, I’m putting my money on a re-union of Monty Babcock’s Flying Circus (Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmstrom). Z’s going to have a big year production-wise now that he’s back with Pav: mark my words.

Thu Oct 8, 2009

Chicago Black Hawks

At…

Detroit Red Wings

Does anyone know when we’re raising the ‘2008-2009 Central Division & Western Conference Champion’ banners into the rafters? This might be a good night to do so. Ericsson, Kronwall, Stuart, you have one job to do: win or lose, catch Mr. Hossa with his head down…make him pay. I think the WCF last season (as brief as it was) effectively put the fuel back into the fire of this rivalry. The idiots in Chicago have been hating the Wings for years but Detroit fans never really put much thought into it after years upon years of domination. Bring your hate, Detroit fans and don’t take it easy on anyone sporting Chicago gear.

Note: So on Saturday, the Wings will be playing St. Louis in Stockholm and on Thursday, they are playing Chicago in Detroit (apparently Gary wasn’t worried about our Swedes spending much time in their native land). That means if they leave on Sunday, they really will have only 3 days (Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday) to rest up and get that jet-lag out of their system. Yeah yeah, I know Chicago is on the same schedule, but they’re playing the Florida-friggin’ Panthers in Helsinki, Finland. Apparently Florida is one of the marquee teams we want to show to rest of the world. Why not just have them play Leino’s old team?

Sat Oct 10, 2009

Washingon Capitals

At…

Detroit Red Wings

Two days after the Chicago game, Ovi-wan-kenobi and his faux hawked Norris wannabe come strolling into town. Detroit can give their ‘boo’ muscles a rest for this one, since Sergei decided to go back to Russia. Last year, the Wings lost their only match to the Caps 4-2 off of a pair of Ovechkin goals. But…we did get to see Dr. eVille Leino score a highlight reel goal about 45 seconds into his NHL on-ice debut.

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All-in-all, it’s looking like a pretty exciting start to the season. Bettman isn’t going to make it easy on us right from the start. (You’re surprised?) Our first four games are in 8 eight days spread across two continents against three play-off teams, one of which made it to the Conference Finals. A slow start to the season can sometimes be the kiss of death so let’s hope the heartbreak from last season is this year’s motivation.

Please don’t make us wait until the post-season to show us some consistency. Last year was very frustrating at times. Babcock did a masterful job of not cracking the whip too hard when his team failed to play up to its potential, but more on that later.

Only two and a half months away. We’ll look ahead to some other intriguing games soon.

Slow Season and Sweden

I don't know if anyone even cares, seems like my last crack at this failed either because:
A.) Nobody even found there way on to here
B.) Nobody cares what I have to say

Regardless, I get sick of waiting for news to break about my beloved Red Wings. Therefore, instead of just trolling around Kuklas Korner (as much fun as I have over there), I figured it was about time to start making my own little rambles back on my own blog instead of just leaving them in the comments section for trolls to find and respond to when they feel like it.

Ok, I'll be happy even if I get trolls to come on over and post. We'll just have to see how it turns out.

As echoed by many of the 19 at Abel to Yzerman..."Is it October yet?"



Already put in notice at work, this guy is heading to Stockholm on September 30th to see the Red Wings take on the St. Louis Blues. My buddy that works for the Wings organ-i-zation tipped me off on how to get tickets through the Swedish ticketmaster. With frequent flier miles being cashed in, my total cost to fly there and back came to about $83, with the cost of the hotel being $300 total for the week (sharing a room with some family members) and the tickets going for about $85 per game, we're looking at about $553 dollars thus far not including expenses such as beverages (hear the Swedish charge an arm and a leg), merchandise, and food. Still I think it's a pretty good deal to catch such a "once in a lifetime" event. Of course, that's what I said New Year's Day when I got to go and watch my Wings beat the crap out of Chicago at Wrigley Field.

That's enough for today. More to come later.

Is it October yet?