Your savory breakfast links:
● Lots of lockout news and opinion, so let’s dive right in:
○ The League made a new offer that must have tested well in the focus group sounds like a step in the right direction… [Puck Daddy, CBC, ESPN, TSN, National Post, Backhand Shelf, NHL Numbers, Sporting News, SI, WashTimes, WaPo, SB Nation DC]
○ … or does it? [Globe and Mail, PPP]
○ Karl Alzner was “thrilled to see a legitimate proposal” (which one would imagine wouldn’t be Donald Fehr‘s reaction to seeing his locked out players praising the other side so effusively). [WashTimes]
○ So, uh, expansion? [Puck Daddy]
○ Will the fans come back after the lockout? Maybe not here as much as elsewhere. [NHL Numbers]
○ More recaps of the day and other labor strife-related musings. [SBNation, Puck Daddy, Sportsnet, Sportsnet, Sporting News, Hockey Shopped]
● Nicklas Backstrom may be getting ready to center his #1 wingman (woohoo!) in Russia (meh). [Alex Ovetjkin]
● Wojtek Wolski is pretty much Polish royalty. [eSanok, eSanok, Google Trans via nowiny24]
● Brooks Laich is en fuego. Sorta literally. [RMNB]
● Notes from Tuesday’s practice up the road in Hershey… [Patriot-News, Caps365 (video)]
● … where Ryan Stoa looks to be a key piece for the locals. [Patriot-News, and for more Bears bits, hit up RtR and if Bears and dogs are your thing, Twitter]
● Down a level, Brett Flemming is off and running, err, skating in his second pro season… [Caps Outsider]
● … and Philipp Grubauer speaks. [Caps365 (video)]
● Legendary player, good cause. [Capitals]
● Finally, happy 28th birthday to Sami Lepisto.