Season Opener

Via Winnipeg Free Press reporter Gary Lawless: Tweeting that Claude Noel will be the 1st coach for the new franchise. Here is the article from the Free Press confirming that Claude Noel will be the head coach.--True North is showing that they believe in their coach. Illegal Curve extends our congratulations to Claude Noel Global Winnipeg: True North unveils pre-season schedule. Here it is as a handy calendar. Columbus Dispatch: Split squad pre-season game with the Jackets. This comes from Columbus beat writer Aaron Portzline and seems highly unusual but kinda cool in a baseball sort of way. Winnipeg Free Press: Winnipeg starts in style against venerated Habs. Might we hear an Ole Ole chant? Winnipeg Free Press: C'mon luck seven. Friday will be momentous. Winnipeg Free Press: No coach yet - team name could be Friday. Do they want team name to overshadow 1st ever draft choice? Chicago Sun-Times: Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews loves life in Chicago. With our new GM and potential new head coach being from the Hawks, folks in Chi-town are getting understandably nervous that Winnipeg's favoured son might have a desire to return to his hometown. Arizona Republic: Phoenix Coyotes to play Winnipeg in home opener. If the comments on the bottom of the article mean anything, there isn't much love lost between the fans of these two cities. Should make for an incredible (fan) rivalry at least. Winnipeg Sun: 'Tobans have high hopes. Wouldn't it be nice for the St. Croix's to hear their son's name selected by his hometown's new team. More Winnipeg NHL news plus some general NHL after the jump. Winnipeg Sun: Stefan a bust from the beginning. Always easy to look back and point out bad picks by teams. TSN: Winnipeg nickname and head coach expected this weekend. Might the next 3 days rival the day of the announcement that the NHL was returning to Winnipeg? Today we get the schedule, Friday we see the team's 1st ever draft pick and then on the weekend the coach and team name are to be revealed. TSN: Canadiens to visit Winnipeg for home opener October 9. Appreciate that the NHL/True North didn't schedule it for the 8th (Yom Kippur). A little concerned about divided loyalty, with the possibility of many Habs fans in the arena. Of course pitting Canada's newest franchise vs. its oldest should make for a good storyline. Winnipeg Sun: Chevy keeping ears open. There really are infinite possibilities with the 7th pick. If one of the top 5 slides down you can grab him or if all your "top" selections go, you can make a trade. The next few days are going to be very exciting for this franchise. Winnipeg Sun: Jets' chosen ones? As I said yesterday, the old Jets didn't have the best draft history, but with a new team comes new chances to make the right decision. Of course for every Stamkos, there are 5 guys who didn't make it. General NHL: Pioneer Press: Wild will need clout to switch divisions. The article discusses some of the radical changes the NHL is considering. Globe and Mail: Harly Hotchkiss - the voice of reason who saved Canadian hockey. More on this Canadian legend.

Thursday Morning Papers