Your savory breakfast links:
- Huzzah! Marcus Johansson has inked a 2-year, $4-million contract extension in plenty of time to make the beginning of training camp… [Rink, NHL.com, Dump ‘n’ Chase, WaPo, DSP, THW, Talk the Red, Caps Outsider, RMNB]
- … which is a very good thing, since he’s expected to return to the Backstrom/Ovechkin line… [CSNW, DSP]
- … and his teammates are quite pleased… [CSNW]
- … but will this be the Caps’ last offseason move? [CSNW]
- … and c’mon, stop comparing Mojo to players who refuse to sign their second contracts. [Sporting News]
- As of press time, the Caps’ All-Time Tourney finalists are deadlocked. Will we need to take the teams to the skills competition? [Rink]
- Rookie Camp wraps up today with the traditional scrimmage versus the Flyers rookies:
- Puck drop is at 3:00pm. The game is free and open to the public, but if you are planning to attend, you need to RSVP –> [Capitals]
- For everyone who can’t attend in person, the game is being streamed live at Monumental Network, with John Walton on the call beginning at 2:55. [@WaltonCaps, Capitals Voice]
- News and notes from camp:
- NCAA rules (and the start of school) kept prospect forward Riley Barber from attending, but Miami of Ohio head coach Enrico Blasi answered the invite to attend as guest coach, and he had a few thoughts on the rising sophomore. [CSNW]
- Interviews! [Monumental video (Oates (and again), Carrick, Stephenson)]
- Photos! [Sk84Fun_DC, Capitals Hill]
- After all is said and done, a look at the roster shows precious few spots available for the taking… [Caps Outsider]
- …though Nate Schmidt is certainly going to try. [CSNW]
- The season draws ever closer and the prognosticatin’ and pontificatin’ is in full swing:
- This Sabres blog still feels the sting from last season. [Sabre Noise]
- A Sharks blog eyeballs the sixteen games they’ll play against the Metro Division. [Blades of Teal]
- Caps vs. the other Metropolitans – not nearly as bleak as the popular wisdom currently holds. [RLS]
- Peerless’ Year In… [Erat, Fehr, Grabovski, Vanadium and Titanium]
- Don’t forget – the netminders will be minding nets of different dimensions this season. [Lumbus Dispatch]
- Happy Olympic Year! Word is starting to sift from Russia that Caps captain Alex Ovechkin could well be kicking off the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay, possibly being the first to carry the flame upon its arrival in Moscow. On or about October 6. Oh, Alex. [TheScore, citing R-Sport, via GoogleTrans; RMNB]
- Or perhaps a less-than-happy Olympic Year – Evgeny Kuznetsov is on his way to Germany for consult with the specialist who bolted his shoulder together the last time. [RMNB]
- Belated congrats to Sluggo and Smitty, the Caps’ head equipment manager and head athletic trainer, as they assumed operations of the pro shop at Bowie Ice Arena this August. [ProSkate-MD.com, via @jeff_halpern]
- Finally, happy 47th birthday to Kevin Hatcher, and happy 6-0 to Nelson Pyatt.