Introduction

Well let’s start my Red Wings blogging career off with a bit of an introduction.

My name is Steve London, and I’m from Winnipeg, Manitoba. I blogged for the Predators for the tail end of their playoff run, and then took the opportunity to blog for my team when it became available, the Detroit Red Wings. I played hockey from the age of 8 until 16, when it was either work or hockey. Having missed playing the game, last year I decided to start reffing minor hockey, and it was easily one of the best decisions I’ve made. Watching those young kids with the NHL dream running through their mind, and playing the game they love is worth more than the pay.

I became a die hard Red Wings fan in 1996, the year that my beloved Jets left for the desert. There was no way I could cheer for a Jets rival (Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver), the Leafs or the Habs whom some in my family love. Ottawa was a fairly new team, so I really had no Canadian team bandwagons I wanted to jump on. That’s when I decided that I should cheer for the team my favorite player and boyhood idol Steve Yzerman played for, the Wings! I haven’t looked back since that day.

I’m going to talk about the team of course, some of the upcoming talent, some holes I feel need addressing and all other things Red Wings!

If you have a topic you’d like to see discussed, please let it be known in the comments, via e-mail or twitter.

Looking forward to this upcoming season!

That’s A Wrap

Mike Modano finally wore me down. I just can’t take it anymore. I quit.

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H2H2 and You

It seems like just yesterday that we were putting the signature on the big check for Children’s Hospital of Michigan and hanging out with Herm on his first ever trip to Michigan. As well all know though, time stops for no one and these events don’t plan themselves. So dust off your planners, put a big fat circle around March 11, 2011, and get ready to join the shenanigans in Detroit once again.

Your mission is to let Jen MacRostie know, via e-mail or Twitter Direct Message (e-mail is  preferred), how many tickets you will be needing for the extravaganza and the game. Game tickets are $28 each and will be on the end where the Wings shoot twice.

Get your sleep while you can. It’s going to be one heck of a party in March.

The Great Twitter War: OtW vs. BDS

Just in case you didn’t believe me when I said earlier today that this Mike Modano situation was bringing tempers to a boil, all you had to do was tune into Twitter this afternoon to see the debate in action. Friends of the blog Matt Saler from On the Wings and Kyle Kujawa from Babcock’s Death Stare shared the floor for an honest and cadid debate about the Wings future with Modano, humor on the Internet and each other’s respective writing styles. It was, for lack of a better word, brutally honest. Of course, a debate of this magnitude can’t be left to dissolve into the annals of Twitter history without nary a mention, so MW is here to preserve this epic clash for all eternity.

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Hitting the Reset Button on Modano

Consider this post as my “step back” from the entire Mike Modano situation. I, like most of you that read this blog, are anxiously awaiting the decision of the former Dallas Stars forward on whether or not he will play another season of hockey, and if so, whether that hockey will be played in the D. Unfortunately, in this day and age of instant information and real-time decision making, Modano has decided to revert to the time honored tradition of thinking through his decision and putting it on hold while he enjoys the luxury of a summer without hockey. The problem for Modano is that he apparently got caught up in the moment during his visit to Detroit and said some things that 1) Led most of us to believe that he was destined for the Winged Wheel and 2) Was going to make a decision in short notice. Yet here we sit, waiting for Mikey Mo to make up his mind while he’s busy lacing up his golf shoes and enjoying 18 holes on a sunny day.

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Tags: Darren Helm, Jiri Hudler, Justin Abdelkader, Marian Hossa, Mike Modano, Sergei Fedorov, Todd Bertuzzi

More on Modano

Just a quick post here, but one that is definitely worthwhile. As the masses continue to get irritated by Mike Modano’s delay in making a decision, Chris McCosky from the Detroit News raises an interesting counterpoint in terms of how Mikey Mo is going about the process. While I still feel like Modano is dragging this out longer than need be, McCosky does raise some interesting points about what may be going through Modano’s head right now:

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Tags: Mike Modano

A Quick Update on TOV

With nothing earth-shattering going on around Hockeytown today, I decided to take a few hours to go through a number of neglected e-mails. I’m always appreciative of the questions and comments you guys send my way, but sometimes real life takes priority and your e-mails get caught in a state of e-purgatory. As I started filtering through the messages, one of the most prevalent questions that I kept seeing was about the status of The Obstructed View and when the show would return to regular broadcasting. For the 18 of you that asked, here’s your answer, albeit a bit lengthy:

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Meech, Modano and Other Free Agent Musings

As the slow slog that is the NHL offseason continues to move forward at a pace resembling a Chris Chelios breakout, the Wings are also continuing their methodical pursuit of a number of free agents, both within and outside of the organization. A wild ride this is not, but let’s take stock of all the happenings of the past few days around Hockeytown.

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Tags: Andreas Lilja, Brett Lebda, Chris Chelios, Darren Helm, Darren McCarty, Derek Meech, Justin Abdelkader, Kirk Maltby, Mike Modano

“Mebdeech” No More: Lebda Inks With Toronto

Somewhere in Canada tonight, Derek Meech is crying himself to sleep. Or celebrating. Who knows.

When the news hit that Brett Lebda - one half of the interchangeable defensive threat known as “Mebdeech” (H/T to Kyle, as always) – is  departing Detroit for greener pastures and ridiculous contracts in Toronto, it only took mere seconds for Red Wings fans all across to blogosphere to share a collective laugh and offer up semi-heartfelt condolences to the Maple Leafs organization. In a move that can only be described as a “miracle” for the Lebda camp, the former Notre Dame defenseman was able to conjure a 2 year deal out of Brian Burke that will see him rewarded with $1.45 million annually, a raise of just around $800,000 from what he made in Detroit.

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Tags: Brett Lebda, Derek Meech, Tomas Kaberle, Toronto Maple Leafs

Eaves to Return for One Year, $750,000

The dominoes continue to fall into place for the Red Wings this week, as Patrick Eaves is back on board for another year.

RedWings.com:

The Red Wings have re-signed forward Patrick Eaves to a one-year contract.

Pierre LeBrun confirms the deal, noting that Eaves will be paid $750,000 for his services next year. I have to admit that I’m very surprised that his salary comes in this low, as I honestly thought Eaves would consider arbitration if he didn’t get closer to the $900K range. That said, this is a huge victory for the Wings in terms of their free agent money and Eaves’ price will definitely aid in their pursuit of a 6th defenseman to support the blue line corps.

Tags: Patrick Eaves