Your savory breakfast links:
● Opening weekend is finally here! …okay, so it’s not the NHL as originally planned. But the AHL is gearing up for its 77th year and that’s plenty to get excited about:
○ The Hershey Bears are getting ready to kick off their season, and intrepid reporter Tim Leone‘s got you covered with wall-to-wall season previews. [Patriot-News]
○ Taking a look at opening weekend across the AHL. [THW]
○ So with no NHL, who are the NHL-caliber AHLers who might make this year’s AHL games even more interesting? [THW]
● Oh, the lockout…
○ Bill Daly says the NHL is trying to minimize the potential damage caused by the League’s second lockout in a decade… gee, ending said lockout might do the trick. [CSNW]
○ Daly’s boss has received plenty of bile from the players during this lockout, and it could be hurting the chances of compromise. [BHS]
○ Speaking of that hatred, Don Cherry thinks the players should tone it down, too. Which is just funny on so many levels. [SLAM]
○ The longer the lockout goes, the closer we get to a cancelled Winter Classic. And the closer we get to that, the longer DC might have to wait for a Winter Classic of its own. [SBNDC]
○ If you’re in need of an outlet for your frustration, some ways to protest the Non-Opening Nights this weekend. [Hockey Shopped, Puck Daddy]
● If they ever do play again, here’s what we might expect from Wojtek Wolski. [Peerless]
● Caps’ president Dick Patrick receives the Lester Patrick Trophy this Monday to honor not only his three decades of service to the organization but also his efforts to grow the game in DC. [NHL.com (and again)]
● The great Bobby Orr weighs in on potential rule changes for the NHL and players going to Europe during the lockout. [Sportsnet]
● On Wednesday ESPN rolled out a list of the top 25 under-25s in the NHL. Today, a look at those who might fill the list in the near future. [ESPN ($)]
● Dmitry Orlov: Lost in Translation. [RtR]
● Are we going to link to the LEGO post? We’re going to link to the LEGO post. (This lockout really needs to end.) [Caps Outsider]
● Finally, happy 38th birthday to Jason Arnott and happy 46th to Shawn Chambers.