The Dog Days of NHL Summer

You haven't heard a lot of NHL news lately, have you?

There's a reason for that. It's because no one is in the offices, the arenas, the training centers. The fact of the matter is that the NHL, like most of France, hangs out the 'On Vacation' sign each August.

Oh, there's a few things that have come out lately; Chris Drury's retirement, the release of the NHL on NBC/Versus/NBCSN schedule, the NHL's R&D camp in Toronto, and the anti-climactic first day of Minnesota Wild single-game ticket sales (an event which used to get Wild fans really excited. Then along came Todd Richards.)

In short, there's a whole lotta nothin' goin' on. The staffs are getting ready for the upcoming season; the players are getting the last rounds of golf in, before the calendar passes Labor Day and training camps start; the fans are getting ready to pony up for tickets (most other teams will follow Minnesota's lead, and start selling single-game tickets within the next 2-3 weeks).

So enjoy your last bit of summer, folks. In Minnesota, next week begins State Fair time. Load up at the Fairgrounds, and play like an NHL'er. Because most of them aren't skating right now, either.

Training camp only 30 days away...