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European invasion

Jeff Marek, Sportsnet.ca, October 8, 2011

On HOCKEY CENTRAL Friday, John Shannon talked about the future of the NHL in Europe and you better get used to it folks, because it isn't going away.

As a matter of fact, the league is looking to expand there. As John mentioned, starting as early as next season, don't be surprised if games are not played at the beginning of the season, but rather in the middle of it.

And what's the end game for the NHL in Europe? A TV footprint? Expansion? Sell some merchandise? Extend the brand? All of these things have been discussed at length by the board of governors.

Two years ago I received a collection of documents from 1994 outlining meetings and plans between the NHL and IIHF to set up a two-tiered league in Europe, and while I don't think the NHL has any plans in the immediate future to set up shop overseas in that fashion, there are a number of highly influential owners who see Europe as an untapped goldmine for the league.

Los Angeles is most likely at the top of that list with the parent company of the Kings, AEG, owning a number of rinks across Europe. The NHL has plans to do much more overseas and that's also why the league's relationship with the IIHF, and KHL for that matter, is crucial to unlocking the treasure chests that exist in Stockholm, Moscow, Helsinki, Prague, Trencin, etc.

This is one of NHL deputy commission Bill Daly's pet projects.

I know it was against a rookie-laden Ottawa Senators team, but you can't help but be impressed at how the Detroit Red Wings looked Friday night. It was no rust, all polish in a 5-3 win against the Sens.

As we talked about on HOCKEY CENTRAL Friday, many still marvel at the job the Wings have done with Todd Bertuzzi. Mind you he's bought in, chiseled his body down from the 240 he used to play at for the bulk of his career and is playing "Wings hockey."

Bertuzzi looks like he still has plenty in the tank too. Add him to the list of reclaimed hockey payers who's careers have been turned around in Detroit just like Kris Draper, Dan Cleary and as I mused about in my last blog, I'm betting they do the same with Fabian Brunnstrom.

How'd you like that pass by Sergei Kostitsyn to set up Ryan Suter for Nashville's first goal Friday? A thing of beauty in my books, but I suppose you could look at it a number of ways (much like how hockey people have been trying to figure out the Kostitsyns for years).

On the one hand, I don't know many players who would surrender an almost perfect shooting lane like that to feather a sweet pass that put Suter in the clear. On the other hand-and maybe knowing how the Preds like to play a very conservative game this is how Barry Trotz felt about it-he turned a solid scoring chance into a high risk situation. Thankfully for Sergei, Suter buried it behind Steve Mason.

However you feel about the Don Cherry rant from Thursday, one thing that can't be factually denied was his stat about players committing suicide.

Grapes alleged that previous to Rick Rypien and Wade Belak, since 1999 eight players have committed suicide and not one of them was a fighter. Trevor Ettinger took his own life in 2003, Jake Gilmour in 2005, Mark Potvin in 2006. All three were noted scrappers with high penalty minutes.

Chris Nilan fired back at Cherry early Friday morning on Sportsnet 590 The FAN on the Brady and Lang show and demanded that Grapes apologize to him on Coache's Corner for misrepresenting his comments.

Anyone think that's happening?