6\28 The 2000-2001 Exhibition Schedule:

Sept 
17 New Jersey
19 Pittsburgh
20 at Columbus
21 Boston
24 at Pittsburgh
26 Dallas
28 Toronto
30 at Dallas
Oct 1 Toronto at Hamilton, Ontario.

6\25 As expected,, Scotty Bowman announced today he will return to coach the Wings next 
season.

6\24 The Wings picked Niklas Kronvall, D, from Djurgarden, Sweden and  Tomas Kopecky, C,
from Trencin, Slovakia in today's amateur draft.

6\23 Stacy Roest and Daryl LaPlante were selected in the expansion draft today. It doesn't 
appear as if any deals will be made to retrieve them. Also: Scotty Bowman is expected to 
announce that he will return next year very shortly. He met the Red Wing brass in Calgary 
today for the amateur draft which starts tommarrow. The Wings pick 29th......The Wings have
an arbitration hearing with defenseman Uwe Krupp on August 17th in New York. Hopefully we'll 
never hear his name again after that....Wings' associate coach Dave Lewis has had two i
nterviews with the Blue Jackets regarding their head-coaching vacancy. 

6\23 By Joe Falls / The Detroit News

     It's over. Finally. No more hockey for Gordie Howe. He can't skate anymore. Not after 
undergoing two knee operations last year. Just look at those long scars on his legs. "I just 
can't do it. It's scary getting out there," Howe said. "I find myself going back on my heels 
and losing my balance." 
     Gordie Howe losing his balance? Tell us Niagara Falls has stopped flowing. 
     Howe hasn't been on skates since he played with the old-timers at the All-Star Game in 
Tampa, Fla., more than a year ago. He, of course, scored in that game. 
     At 72, old No. 9 is as sharp as ever -- that impish humor is still there -- but his legs 
are gone. He walks fine but there will be no more sweeping in on Turk Broda or Johnny Bower 
and putting one in the top shelf. 
     So he won't be lacing them up one more time for the Detroit Vipers in order to play in 
seven decades. Too bad. He lasted only 69 years on skates. 
     Howe, who had made his home in Traverse City, has returned to Detroit with his wife, 
Colleen, and they will live in the northern suburbs. He is as busy as ever, making
appearances across Canada and the United States. This is how he earns his living, but he does 
as much for charity as he does for himself. 
     "I was 3 years old when I got onto the ice for the first time," Howe said. "A neighbor
down the street gave my family a pair of skates and I got one and my sister got one. "We put 
them on and went into the back yard and pushed ourselves around with one foot. When she got 
cold and went back into the house, I put her skate on and promptly fell down." 
     Howe was in a reflective mood. He had been to Maurice Richard's funeral in Montreal and 
it touched him deeply. "To see all those great players carry his coffin into the church was 
something I will never forget," he said. "You could feel the sadness -- the great respect -- 
everywhere that day. The church was packed with some 2,000 people and there had to be another 
200,000 outside in the streets. I never saw anything like it. I even saw Murph Chamberlain, 
the old Montreal forward." 
    Howe and Richard were great rivals -- maybe the two most celebrated players in the history 
of the game. The demonic Richard and the laconic Howe. They were as different as the emblems on 
their uniforms. 
    Richard hated everyone he played against. He battled them all. He took it all very 
personally. Howe ... well, he played as hard as The Rocket but in his own way. He would give you 
the butt end of his stick if he thought you had it coming, but when it was over, he would display 
a keen sense of humor and go on about his way, stopping to talk to moms, dads, grandfathers, 
grandmothers and children. Especially children. They all wanted his autograph and he asked only 
one thing from them: he insisted they say please and thank you. And Howe always said thank you to 
anyone who asked for his autograph. 
     The interesting thing about these two men is that even though Richard might have disliked 
Howe because he was the enemy, Howe never held any animosity toward The Rocket. In fact, he 
admired him. 
     "I really didn't know him," Howe said. "I'm not sure his brother, Henri, even knew him. Henri 
told me once if they had a tape of all things his brother said to him in their lifetimes, it 
wouldn't run 20 minutes. The Rocket had five or six kids but I never heard anything about them. 
     "We didn't speak the same language, so we never said anything to each other. He was a very 
special player. He carried our league for a long time and I'd watch him closely. It was amazing -- 
every shot he took was on the net. I learned a lot just looking at him." 
     Howe recalled the night he and Richard were seated next to each other at a banquet. "I can 
still see the scene ... the flowers on the table, the pitcher of water, the white tablecloth. We 
sat there all night and never said a word to each other." 
     After his long and distinguished career, Howe is held in high esteem everywhere he goes ... 
not only because of his great accomplishments but also for his innate honesty and genuine care for 
people. He has had these traits his entire life and is so modest that it is hard to believe he was 
such a great performer. He has never lost that guy-next-door feeling. 
     His autograph will go for as high as $75, but he'll stand on a street corner in any city and 
sign forever for anyone interested in his signature. He used to drive his teammates on the Red Wings 
crazy. They would all be on the team bus ready to go after a game, but No. 9 would be out on the 
sidewalk signing for all the children. He became known as, "Come on, Gordie!" 
     Much has been written about Howe over the years. He even has a book, And Howe, which is in its 
third printing and has sold 1.3 million copies. It is still in demand wherever hockey is played. 
They have even issued a stamp in Canada with his picture on it and he went on an eight-city tour 
signing stamps. They cost 46 cents, Canadian. 
     Ever the family man, Howe has been married to Colleen for 46 years. They have four children and 
nine grandchildren. On this day, he got a wistful look as he spoke about Maurice Richard. 
     "He was his own man," he said. "He'd never take a picture with me if I was wearing a helmet. 
He'd say, Take that damn thing off.' You know, I really miss him."


We'll miss you out there Gordie.
 

6\20 From the AP wire:
      DETROIT --   The daily operations of the Ilitch empire of hockey,
                 entertainment and pizza have been passed to two of Mike and Marian
                 Ilitch's seven children.

                 The Ilitch empire includes ownership of the Detroit Red Wings and
                 Tigers, and Little Caesar Enterprises, the nation's third-largest pizza
                 chain.

                 The family's holdings also include the Fox Theatre, Hockeytown Cafe,
                 Second City Comedy Theatre and concessions at Cobo Arena, Joe
                 Louis Arena and Comerica Park.

                 Denise Ilitch, 44, and her youngest brother Chris, 35, will share the newly
                 created title of president and oversee day-to-day operations of the
                 family's privately held companies, Ilitch Holdings Inc.

                 "They're turning this over to the next generation, I think that's how my
                 father would describe this," Denise Ilitch said.

                 Detroit Lions vice president Tom Lewand, who has overseen negotiations
                 for a new football stadium, said Denise Ilitch was the family's point
                 person in 1996 talks to build side-by-side stadiums for the Ilitch-owned
                 Tigers and the Ford family's Lions.

                 "She's an intelligent, savvy business person. She struck me as somebody
                 who's very passionate and very fair," said Lewand.

                 While Mike Ilitch transformed the Red Wings into one of the NHL's most
                 successful teams, he has not had similar success with the struggling Tigers.
                 Their new home, Comerica Park, has lagged in attendance compared to
                 other new ballparks, and the team sits in last place.



6\16 It wasn't all bad at the NHL awards last night. Steve Yzerman won the Selke Trophy, awarded 
to the best defensive forward. Also, The 1st All NHL team included 3 Red Wings, which is awesome.

All NHL Team 2000

G - Olaf Kolzig, Washington Capitols
D - Chris Pronger, St.Louis Blues
D - Nick Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
LW - Brendan Shanahan, Detroit Red Wings
C -  Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
RW - Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins

Now, I don't know what's going on with the hockey writer's association. Chris Pronger won not 
only the Norris, but the Hart Trophy as well. Are you kidding me? Pronger is good, but he wasn't
even the best defenseman this year, let alone the MVP. Why is Nick Lidstrom getting screwed so 
much? He should have been picking up his second straight Norris Trophy. Instead he lost out to a 
sentimental favorite last year (Al MacInnis) and the media bitch du jour this year. Case in point 
is Dominic Hasek. He had a good run in the Olympics a couple years back, and all of a sudden, 
he's the second coming of Terry Sawchuk. He has never been the best keeper. He's way too
inconsistant. Guys like Brodeur and CuJo never got a chance because the media was drooling over 
Hasek. It's a real shame these hockey writers are starting to believe the crap they're writing 
and reporting. Why not let the players vote for these awards? They would at least be handed out 
fairly and to the most deserving players.....not the player who gets the most media attention.
It's alright Mr.Lidstrom. We know who the best defenseman is. 

6\13 All NHL teams (except Atlanta and Nashville) had to submit their lists of protected players 
for the Expansion Draft. Columbus and Minnesota can select up to two players from each team. The
Wing's list is as follows:

                                   Protected List

                 Kris Draper F, Sergei Fedorov F, Tomas Holmstrom F, Vyacheslav
                 Kozlov F, Martin Lapointe F, Kirk Maltby F, Darren McCarty F,
                 Brendan Shanahan F, Steve Yzerman F, Chris Chelios D, Mathieu
                 Dandenault D, Steve Duchesne D, Nicklas Lidstrom D, Aaron Ward D,
                 Chris Osgood G.

                                   Available List

                 Pavel Agarkov F, Doug Brown F, David Engblom F, Johan Forsander F,
                 Brent Gilchrist F, Alexandre Jacques F, Joe Kocur F, Darryl Laplante F,
                 Igor Larionov F, Stacy Roest F, Anatoly Ustugov F, Pat Verbeek F, B.J.
                 Young F, Todd Gill D, Yan Golubovsky D, Uwe Krupp D, Maxim
                 Kuznetsov D, Larry Murphy D, David Arsenault G, Manny Legace G,
                 Ken Wregget G. 

Just because a player is selected doesn't neccessarily mean they're gone. Remember Doug Brown 
was reaquired after Nashville picked him up two years ago for like a 4th round draft pick.
    Tonight is the 3rd anniversary of the limo accident involving Vladimir Konstantinov, Slava 
Fetisov, and Sergei Mnatsakanov.


6\7 Scotty Bowman said yesterday that he'll decide next week on his future with the Wings. He 
is waiting for complete results of a physical examination he underwent last month. All signs 
point to him returning though.
    In other news, Associate Coach Dave Lewis has interviewed by phone for the head-coaching job 
with the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets. Jackets General Manager Doug MacLean is a former Red
Wing Assistant GM.

6\3 "By Associated Press
   DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings said Friday they signed left wing Ryan Barnes, their second 
pick in the 1998 NHL draft, to a three-year contract. Barnes, the 55th overall selection in the 
1998 draft, would have become a free agent had Detroit not signed him by Thursday. Contract 
terms were not disclosed. Barnes spent 1999-2000 with Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League, 
collecting 17 goals and 12 assists with 98 penalty minutes and a plus-minus of 15 in 31 games. 
   Red Wings general manager Ken Holland also announced Friday the club has entered into a two
year agreement with the Toledo Storm of the East Coast Hockey League. The Wings will place four 
players with the Storm in each of the next two seasons. Detroit had a similar arrangement with 
Toledo from the 1991-92 through 1998-99 seasons. The Storm last season was an affiliate of the 
Tampa Bay Lightning. "
   The fate of the new Rossford,OH club is still up in the air. That is suppose to be the home 
of the former AHL Adirondack Red Wings. Officials are having trouble securing funds for the 
arena\outdoor amphitheatre which broke ground over a year ago and was halted after only a few 
month's work.