Noon Preseason Notes (Sep 30)

The Detroit Red Wings blueline is going to be challenged even further, if Niklas Kronwall can't start the season on the right foot.  The Wings coaching staff have said that the veteran blueliner has tweaked something and his status for opening night, Thursday, at home to Columbus, is in doubt.  He's considered day-to-day for right now, but it doesn't look great for the Wings, who are already without Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley.

The return of John P. to the hockey pool draft is a welcome one, but I'm sure the news of an injury on his team isn't.  Kronwall is his 13th round pick, 307th overall, so the expectations are not necessarily high for him, but no one wants to start the year with injuries.

The Los Angeles Kings are waiting for an update on forward Dustin Brown, who suffered an upper-body injury in Saturday night's preseason contest against the Ducks, leaving the game in the 2nd period, not to return. The initial reaction from the team didn't sound overly positive, so it seems somewhat unlikely that he will be ready to go for the team's opening night, Friday night, at home to the Sharks.

Brown is Jesse's 8th round pick in the draft and could certainly be a bargain pick in the pool, if he can stay healthy through the year and replicate the season he had a year ago.  If this is a long-term injury, Jesse would be eligible to flip him for someone healthy.