The game will take place at Wrigley Field. An announcement is expected next week before the inaugural “Blackhawks Convention” at the Chicago Hilton.

Last New Year’s Day, the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout in front of an NHL-record crowd of 71,217 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The Blackhawks Convention will be July 18-20. Yours truly will be there as I need my hockey fix while in Chicago. No I am not defecting, I am actually volunteering on the 19th. The Convention sounds like it has some great opportunities for Hawks fans to get autographs and photos with both current and former players.

He and the Red Wings will continue negotiations on a new contract until his arbitration hearing. Hearings will be held in Toronto from July 20 to Aug. 4, but chances are the sides will reach an agreement before then.

Filppula, 24, made $850,000 last season, when he posted career-high totals of 19 goals and 17 assists in the regular season. The second-line center had five goals and six assists in 22 playoff games.

The last time the Wings allowed a player to go to arbitration was in 1995 with Ray Sheppard.

Personally, I feel pretty confident that the Wings will be able to get it done before it’s time for arbitration.

“There are mechanisms in the CBA that protect the player and the club,” Holland said. “We now have to determine whether we want a one-year or two-year award. In the meantime, I’ve talked to Bill Zito, Filppula’s agent, a couple times today and yesterday. We’re going to continue to talk and, hopefully, we can find a solution. We do know he’s going to be under contract by late July or very early August.”

Holland said he’s had plenty of players file for arbitration but has always found a way to get a deal done and he hopes to do the same with Filppula. Holland said he they were “in the ballpark” on a short-term agreement, but they have also been talking about a long-term deal.

“I’m open to anything if it makes sense,” Holland said. “My feeling is I try to take the emotion out of the equation. It’s business.”

“It’s obvious that Henrik Zetterberg has made a significant impact for his team and the Easton brand,” said Kyle Horn, director of marketing for Easton Hockey. “Of our list of 300-plus elite athletes who are reaching new levels with Easton gear, he’s probably one of our brightest stars leading into next season, especially considering his postseason success in 2008. This micro-site speaks to that while celebrating Zetterberg’s Conn Smyth award and a Stanley Cup trophy.” …

“It’s no secret that Easton makes the best sticks in the league.” Zetterberg said. “When you have the chance to partner with the leading hockey company, you take it. I couldn’t be happier with the extension.”

To celebrate the new contract, Easton produced a micro-site featuring the man himself. With more video in the weeks to come, this micro-site has bio and career information as well as a page that allows you to see the various Easton gear that Zetterberg uses on game day.

Through September 30th, Easton has a “My Name is Hank” sweepstakes where the grand prize winner will win an autographed authentic Zetterberg jersey valued at $350.

“I asked what they were looking for,” Holland told Landsberg. “It was north of 7.5 (million). I told them I was uncomfortable (having Hossa make more than Lidstrom).

“In the end, Marian Hossa told me to not bother calling Nik, one year at 7.45 - it was a done deal.”

Even his agent was surprised.

“I have never been involved in a deal and seen a player get so excited to take $85 million less than he was offered elsewhere,” Winter told The Canadian Press. “It’s almost incomprehensible, even to an agent. But Marian is a special player.”

Hossa turned down a rumored nine-year, nine million dollar contract with the Edmonton Oilers and a Pittsburgh long-term contract because he wanted to sign with the team that would give him the best shot at the Cup (in his opinion). Even Holland was surprised by Hossa’s interest in a one-year deal.

“I was caught way off guard,” Holland said. “Shocked was my initial reaction. Marian made a decision he’d like to find a way to join our team. He wants to raise the Cup over his head. Without him wanting to be a Red Wing, this day would never have happened. I’m thrilled.”

Think of this next season as a trial run for the Wings and Hossa. If it goes well, the Wings may be able to convince Hossa to sign a long-term deal for less and hopefully Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen will buy into that system as well.

Hence Detroit general manager Ken Holland’s reluctance to tie his hands financially and lock up Hossa for more than one year.

“The hope is this is one year of many years (with Hossa),” said Holland. “It gives me an opportunity to sit here for the next six-to-12 months with the key players on our team that are going to become free agents in 2009. The hope is that we’re able to find a way to keep everybody together, and certainly with Marian coming in on a one-year deal, we know he’s here, and I’ve got some time now to see what I can do to put it all together. As the winter wears on you start to get a little bit of sense when you get into the second half of the year where the cap might be going and growing.”

The Red Wings are recognized as one of the more in-tune, astute organizations in the NHL - as evidenced by Holland recognizing how difficult (and rare) it is for Stanley Cup champs to repeat. Holland figures bringing in Hossa - zero rings in 11 seasons - will add to the team’s hunger and negate the Stanley Cup hangover.

“That’s one of the things we’ve been talking about, internally, here over the last two weeks. I really think that Dallas Drake was a major factor in us winning the Stanley Cup. … I think as we got close, a lot of our players were playing for Dallas (who’d never won a Cup),” said Holland.

I hope every Wings fan just takes a deep breath and treasures this day. Yes, we’ve had our ups and downs and for those of us living in Michigan, the Wings may be the only good thing going for us. BUT, this signing is amaaazing. It’s been over 10 hours since I heard about the signing and I’m still giddy about it. I mean, look at what this improvement can do for our team.

ow, the Red Wings’ power play – which was already the third-best in the league this season – will be even more dangerous.

Now, Detroit’s 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio – which was already miles better (1.41) than the NHL’s second-best team (Anaheim’s was 1.17) – will be that much more outstanding.

Best of all, the single-year term of the deal puts the Wings in the driver’s seat this time next summer. If Hossa fits well with the team, he’ll get an extension from GM Ken Holland; if he doesn’t work out as planned, Holland has his money to sink into either an extension for Zetterberg or a different, top-line UFA.

In any case, the Hossa signing makes the Wings the prohibitive favorite to not only win another championship, but also the first repeat champion since – you guessed it –Detroit did so from 1997-98.

Hossa has bought into our system and I can only imagine how excited head coach Mike Babcock must be with next season’s lines.

“I’m really happy to become Detroit Red Wing,” Hossa said. “It’s a big decision for me I have to make. When I look at it, I wanted to have the best chance to win the Stanley Cup. I feel Detroit is the team. They’ve got a great team. I know I could get more money somewhere else, but I was looking for best chance to win Stanley Cup, and I think Detroit is that destination.”

Hossa adds more firepower to an already impressive forward corps. Last season, Hossa scored 29 goals and had 66 points in 72 games split between Atlanta and Pittsburgh. At 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, the winger also adds good size to the lineup.

“It’s fantastic,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “He fits into our philosophy in that he wants to win. He’s a two-way player like Pav and Z, and what I mean by that is, he’s as good with the puck as without. To me, he’s one of the top 15 forwards in the game.”

Sundin didn’t want to sign with Detroit
According to Holland when he went on the Fan590 earlier today, Mats Sundin was not interested in Detroit’s offer.

Ken Holland has had quite an impressive 48 hours and it has certainly shown the skeptics that he is the best GM out there as he has kept the Wings competitive in spite of a salary cap designed to prevent dynasties.

I have to go back to work, but I had to quickly post to BTJ that the Wings have reportedly signed Marian Hossa to a one-year contract worth $7.4 million.

I am completely shocked.

Why?

1) Hossa signed only a one-year contract.

2) The contract wasn’t ridiculously huge. It’s only $7.4 million. You’d think for one-year, he’d ask for something crazy high. Why only $7.4 million? The Wings refused to pay anyone more than captain Nicklas Lidstrom. Classy.

Well back to work, I just had to say that GM Ken Holland is a frickin’ genius and I’m in a very very joyful state right now. Go Wings!

Wings fans can take Brian Rolston off their wish list as he has just signed a four-year, $20 million contract with the New Jersey Devils. As I suggested earlier today, the other offers were just too high for Detroit to match. It had been rumored that Rolston was hoping to receive an offer from the Wings, but I’m guessing that his desire to play for his hometown team wasn’t as great as his desire to make some money in what may be his last contract before retiring.

While Mats Sundin and Marian Hossa haven’t signed with a team yet, you probably also want to cross them off that list.

The Wings wanted Sundin, but can’t compete with some of the offers he’s apparently getting. Vancouver reportedly offered two years at $20 million. About the only way Sundin could wind up in Detroit is if his main motivation is going to a team that would give him his best chance to win his first Stanley Cup, and not so much a huge contract. Maybe there’s still a chance, but the fact that he appears in no rush to make up his mind might indicate he doesn’t want to come to Detroit.

The Wings were only interested in Brian Rolston if he was willing to accept a one-year deal. His former team, New Jersey, inked the 35-year-old to a huge four-year, $20 million pact. And the Wings don’t have anywhere close to the cap space to bring in Marian Hossa.

The Vancouver Canucks have reportedly offered a ridiculous contract to Sundin for two-years at $20 million. Craziness!

I still think the Wings have a solid shot at Sundin because we are only offering a one-year deal and an amazing shot at winning the Cup. If I was a player who had made a ton of money in my career and just wanted to win the Cup (while being fairly compensated), I would sign with the team full of my fellow Swedes, the Detroit Red Wings. But maybe I’m a little biased…

The Chicago Blackhawks have signed the top available defenseman Brian Campbell to an eight-year deal worth $7.1 million each year. I expected the Blackhawks to make a big signing today with the positive shift in their overall business practices this year, but I honestly thought it would be Marian Hossa. That’s no longer a possibility under the cap, but Campbell certainly is a solid pick-up for the young team that needed some strong veteran presence on the blueline. I don’t know if I’d agree with the salary they are throwing at him, but he’s certainly a nice addition to their roster. They also signed Cristobal Huet, who was arguably the top available starting goaltender this summer, to a four-year deal that averages $5.635 million a year.

As Pat at AOL FanHouse states, the first day of free agency has primarily been a shuffle of goaltenders. He has the round-up of all of the goalie moves here.

Other Wings news
The Wings are more likely to sign a lower tier forward like a Todd Bertuzzi. I don’t know if I’d be sold on that signing, but we’ll see if Ken Holland has anyone else in mind.

Regarding Bertuzzi, whom the Wings traded for in February of 2007 and tried to re-sign last summer, Holland said he would “stay in touch” with Bertuzzi’s agent. “I was happy with the job he did here,” Holland said of Bertuzzi. “We’re exploring.”

According to Bruce MacLeod, the Wings aren’t too concerned that another team will make an offer to restricted free agent Valtteri Filppula.

I asked Holland that and he said he’s not worried about another offer. He said that opponents do that to teams that have little or no cap space. The Wings have a lot. And if another team did offer Filppula a lot, the Wings will match. Where a big offer could mess up the Red Wings is next season, fitting both Filppula and Zetterberg in under the cap.

Update - Wednesday:

Scott Burnside at ESPN.com grades the first day of free agency and here’s what he had to say about the Conklin signing:

Ty Conklin set the gold standard for backups this past season in Pittsburgh, where he came on in relief for starter Marc-Andre Fleury, who went down with a high ankle sprain. Some wondered if the Penguins would free-fall out of the playoffs; but even without Sidney Crosby in the lineup for a long period of time, Conklin not only held the Pens in the playoff race, but he also helped them to the second seed in the East. His demeanor will fit perfectly with laid-back Chris Osgood, who recaptured the starter’s role in Detroit and led the Wings to the Stanley Cup. Watch for Conklin to post excellent numbers again next season in a supporting role. He’s a bargain at $750,000.
Free-agency grade: A

Howard has one more year in Grand Rapids before he would have to clear waivers so I suspect that he’ll get one more year of development. If the Wings don’t think he’s ready by then, I wonder if Howard becomes trade bait and the Wings go after Ryan Miller, for example.

Update: After reading Ansar Khan’s article on MLive.com, I think Howard would really have to outplay Conklin to earn the back-up spot for the reasons mentioned below.

“Ty Conklin has the inside track, but if Jimmy Howard is the obvious No. 2 guy (in training camp and the preseason), we’ll reassess,” general manager Ken Holland said. “Do we carry three (goaltenders)?”

Conklin, 32, received a one-way contract, meaning he will be paid the same whether he’s on the NHL roster or in the minors. And there’s a problem with sending him to the minors. If the Wings send him to Grand Rapids and he clears waivers, and then try to bring him back up on re-entry waivers, they will be responsible for half of his salary if another team were to claim him. The Wings have the option to send Howard down to Grand Rapids for one more season without clearing waivers.

GM Ken Holland re-signed Brad Stuart to a four year contract averaging $3.75 million per year. The price is definitely above what Holland was looking to sign, but I think Holland believes that the Wings are in good shape when it comes to the 2009-2010 salary cap so he could reward Stuart after a great postseason.

“They were pretty sure he could get $4 to $4.5 million,” said Holland. “We paid a little bit more than we wanted to and he took a little bit less than he wanted to. But all deals made a compromises. He’s got a home now.”

“We’re obviously done on defense,” added Holland. “We’re still looking for a back-up goalie. If we can find a forward on a short-term deal to fill out our needs, great. But will that be this week or later in the summer, who knows.”

According to Bruce, the Wings have Kronner, Stuart, and Rafalski on contract for the next four years. Lidstrom has two more seasons on his contract. If Holland can extend his contract for another year or two, the Wings will have their top two defensive pairings all set for a nice chunk of time. I like it.

Obviously, there are a couple improvements I’d like to see in the line-up, but Wings fans really can’t be too bummed if the roster stays the same for the most part. We still have a great blend of youth with veteran experience and I can’t wait for next season to start!

Quick notes on Rolston & Sundin
Brian Rolston told Tampa Bay that he wanted to entertain other offers so he is still a possibility for Detroit. However with the Zetterberg and Franzen contracts up next season, I don’t see Holland paying the big bucks to Rolston and possibly tying up too much in the future salary cap. Rolston is rumored to be hoping for a Detroit offer because he grew up in Flint, MI and knows that that there are some great youth hockey programs in the area for his six-year old son.

I agree with Bruce that I think the Wings are more likely to sign player like Mats Sundin, who the Wings may be able to get for a one-year deal and would then have no impact on next year’s cap, over a Rolston-type player.

Update: Family played a role in factoring who Stuart signed with this year.

“It’s been a tough couple of years from having a family and having to move around a bit, spending a lot of time a part,” Stuart said. “To be able to stick in Detroit for four years, I’m real happy about that. It’s not just about you anymore. It’s about the family and some times you have to make sacrifices to make everyone happy.”

Stuart’s family priorities changed on April 24 when his son, Logan Michael, was born in San Jose. Stuart was excused that day from playing in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Avalanche.

Another key reason to stay for Stewie was his chemistry with defensive partner Niklas Kronwall.

Another reason that Stuart said that he wanted to return to the Wings was the partnership he had built with Kronwall. As the Wings’ No. 2 defensive unit behind Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, the pairing of Stuart and Kronwall made a measurable dent in opposing offenses.

“It was a pretty big factor. I really enjoy playing with him,” Stuart said of Kronwall. “We seem to have a pretty good chemistry. That’s not always easy to find, so that was pretty important to get a chance to continue that. I’m excited to get going next year.”

Here’s a quick summary of what has gone down so far:

The new ownership group with eight members is announced. They bought the team from Bill Davidson, owner of the Detroit Pistons.

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced its new eight-man ownership group this morning, bringing together a team of leadership which will combine its extensive resources and diverse backgrounds to take control of the Lightning, the leasehold rights to the St. Pete Times Forum and approximately 5.5 acres of adjacent land in downtown Tampa’s Channelside District. The group, led by Hollywood producer Oren Koules and former NHL player and current real estate developer Len Barrie, expects to close on its purchase from Bill Davidson and Palace Sports & Entertainment on June 30.

“This is a great day for Tampa Bay and for the Lightning,” said Koules. “There is a wonderful foundation for hockey in this community; a great fan base and a former Stanley Cup winning team led by Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. Our group’s primary goal is to win hockey games and compete for championships on a regular basis. And we look to further develop the community foundation Palace Sports has established in Tampa Bay.”

The Lightning make the No. 1 overall selection in the 2008 NHL Draft by picking Steve Stamkos, a player projected as a Steve Yzerman-caliber player.

The new owners are determined to turn this team around as quick as possible providing a strong framework for their new top draft pick.

Koules and Barrie, the primary investors in a group purchasing the Lightning for $206 million, have vowed to be “shockingly aggressive” in free agency to upgrade the roster and surround No. 1 draft pick Stamkos with players who can help him be successful.

These new owners announce Barry Melrose, the face of the NHL on ESPN for 12 years, as their new head coach.

Melrose estimates he watched about 90 percent of Tampa Bay’s games on TV last season. What he saw was a team that lost its zest under the hard-driving Tortorella, who led the club to its only Stanley Cup title four years ago.

The Lightning not only missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002, they finished last in the NHL with a league-worst 31-42-9 record.

“I think what happened here is just a group that lost their passion in the second part of the season. That’s why you win,” Melrose said. “You out-work other teams, you out-want other teams. When you lose that fire and lose that passion, it’s very hard to compete in the NHL.”

A day later, it comes out that the new ownership is working towards a $77 million, nine-year contract with Vinny Lecavalier, who they hope will eventually become a team executive as Steve Yzerman has done.

Owner Oren Koules on Thursday said he sees Lecavalier working as a team executive after he retires.

“We absolutely do,” Koules said. “We’ve already talked to Vinny about it. When we talked, we talked about lifestyle, about how long he wants to live here. He wants to retire here when he’s done, and he wants to be part of this.

“We look at Stevie Y as the exact model of what we want to do with Vinny.”

The team then acquires the negotiating rights to two Pittsburgh Penguins, Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone.

Yesterday, Malone signs a $31.5 million, seven-year contract with the Lightning. Later that evening, the Lightning picked up the negotiating rights to Brian Rolston of the Minnesota Wild. We’ll have to wait and see if the two sides can actually come to an agreement.

With Gary Roberts almost certainly in the fold as well, the Lightning made another bold overture Sunday evening, acquiring the rights to Brian Rolston from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a conditional draft choice in either 2009 or 2010. Rolston is arguably the second most attractive forward available in free agency after Marian Hossa because of his age (35), consistency (three consecutive years of 30 or more goals), versatility (can play either right wing or centre) and ability to anchor the power play, with a devastating point shot.

Once again, the Lightning’s new co-owners, Oren Koules and Len Barrie, made the announcement. In a statement jointly attributed to both men, they said: “We are trying to prove after making our deal with Pittsburgh yesterday, we will work feverishly to improve the Lightning team for the 2008-09 season. We believe getting the Lightning a head start in the negotiating and signing process can help us secure the players we are targeting. Nothing is guaranteed here, but we hope to have a chance to get another quality player in a Lightning uniform sooner rather than later.”

What will happen next? Who knows, but it certainly looks to be an exciting summer for Lightning fans.

The Wings selected Derek Meech as their rookie of the year putting him in great company with the likes of Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, and Jiri Hudler.

Steph at No Pun Intended has a great post up recapping how last year’s Detroit draft picks have fared over the past year.

Dan Cleary gets the Cup tomorrow and he had to hire a public relations firm to handle the demand by the media. His firm has given 94 press credentials, including the big Canadian publications, to cover his activities with the Cup.

He’ll pick up the Cup at St. John’s International Airport on Monday and will visit Janeway Children’s Hospital before taking it to his hometown of Riverhead for a private event with his family.

He plans to share the Cup with as many people as possible Tuesday, which is also Canada Day, a national holiday. …

Cleary has a daylong celebration with the Cup planned at a local ball field. “It’s all about the town and the children,” he said. “It’s like a festival. There will be children’s activities, a beer tent, musical acts throughout the day and fireworks at 10 o’clock.”

Ken Holland penned the cover story for The Hockey News with nine reasons why his team has been so successful in a piece called How We Did It. I’ll be sure to look for that issue on newstands this week and hopefully snag a copy.