October test for Hawks, a loss, and NHL 07 Stanley Cup Champ switches teams

Great read on concerning the upcoming season for the Hawks. Specifically October, which as the article points out, will be tough with every game having its own storyline.

October is, in many ways, an acid test for the Hawks.

Three games are against divisional rival Nashville, a problem team for Chicago; witness three losses last season. They meet 2009 playoff foes Flames and Canucks, both bent on revenge. A grudge match with Martin Havlat and the Wild, and meetings with Colorado, Edmonton and Montreal, all who defeated Chicago during the previous campaign, complete a month which has no ‘gimmes’.

Should the Hawks stutter, the doom and gloom from fans and hockey pundits will multiply. As good as Cristobal Huet can be, the boo-birds will jump on his every miscue. Havlat Nostalgia may resound if the Hawk attack comes up short.

Blackhawks lose their last exhibition game 2-1 and I wouldn't care if it weren't for this little sidenote:

Chicago hadn’t lost to a European club since 1991.

What's that say about this team? Probably nothing, but with all that's gone down this off-season to foreshadow a tumultuous year...

Former Blackhawk and all around old dude signed by Coyotes. An aging star signed by failing franchise--no idea why this is meaningful at all. Except that any player from my XBox 360 NHL 07 Stanley Cup championship team will always have a place in my heart. This one goes out to you Langer.

The Phoenix Coyotes signed veteran center Robert Lang to a one-year contract Tuesday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said the 38-year-old Lang "provides another veteran presence for our team and is a proven scorer in the National Hockey League."