Your savory breakfast links:
- Talking blueliners and second-line centers in this week’s Japers’ Rink Mailbag. Keep those questions coming – you ask, we answer! [Rink]
- Tuesday was a pricey day for the Caps, as they shelled out over $67 million on defensemen alone – but the moves to upgrade the blueline should pay off. [WashTimes]
- And for their troubles, they get a not-completely-failing grade on July 1. Hooray! [Puck Daddy]
- Well… unless you ask these guys. Worst. Signing. Ever. [WaPo]
- Meanwhile, Brooks Orpik admits that it was a “no brainer” to sign with his one-time rival. I can think of 27.5 million reasons why that was the case… [CSNW, with a closer look at Orpik at BrooksLaichyear, who also has a rundown of all of Tuesday’s signing action]
- As for the other blueline acquisition, Matt Niskanen is ready for the challenge of high expectations that accompany his high paycheck. [WaPo, CSNW]
- And what of the Caps’ highest-paid blueliner, Mike Green? He’s still in the Caps’ plans, and they hope to get him back on track. Yes, please. [WaPo, NBC4]
- Checking in with the Metropolitan Division to see who got better, who got worse, and who got bored in the first few days of free agency. [The Cannon]
- A day after being announced as the new Hershey coaching staff, head coach Troy Mann and assistant Bryan Helmer met with the media:
- Check out the full video of the introductory press conference here.
- It was an emotional moment for Mann, who returns to the Bears after a brief foray into ECHL excellence. [WaPo, Patriot-News]
- The men at the helm (…sorry) speak about their new roles with Hershey. [Patriot-News video (Mann, Helmer)]
- First on the agenda for Mann and Helmer? Development camp at Kettler, which gets underway Monday. [Caps, WaPo, Patriot-News]
- Journeyman defenseman Tyson Strachan is off on another journey… to Buffalo. Or Rochester, more likely. [Sabres, AP, Sports Xchange]
- Friday Flashback #1: Another dip into the awesomeness that was the cheesy lip-syncing magic of the Caps’ late 80s/early 90s highlight video. [Grantland (DGB)]
- Friday Flashback #2: Cooking with GM Brian MacLellan, 1990-style. [WaPo]
- Finally, happy 42nd birthday to Mike Knuble, and happy 238th birthday, America! (Well… sort of.)