And on the seventh day, he rested

HOCKEY IS BACK!!! After all the fits and starts, the trips to New York, the mega sessions in Toronto, Trevor Linden getting involved, players demanding a deal get done back around the scheduled all star break, and more recently, several marathon sessions, hockey is finally, finally back. Yes, despite Jeremy Roenick's wishes, we are back, we WILL come to the arena, and we will cheer, boo, and live and die with our hometown heroes.

How do I know it's back. Not because the NHL announced it is back. Not even because of the full page spread in USA Today apologizing to us for taking it away. No, what convinced me that the NHL is back is that our franchise, in Hockeytown, is taking a take-no-prisoners approach to the new era of hockey. Kenny Holland is being as aggressive as he wants his coaching staff and players to be, reaching out and grabbing that Cup, rather than lazily assuming it will be handed to us by other teams. Hockey is back because Lewis is gone, Babcock is in, heavy forechecking is in, the red line is out, shootouts are in, and hopefully Nikoli Khabibulin is in (net) as well. No disrespect to Manny Legace, the greatest backup goaltender ever. Oh, I almost forgot, the Mick is in, and Hatcher is likely out.

Times like these are when Mr. Holland has to prove why he makes the big bucks. Detroit fans are counting on him to maintain our presence as the preeminent franchise in hockey. We have cultivated a reputation here, are claiming to be Hockeytown, and must prove that it is our knowledge of the game (and not just our bigger budget) that has brought us back to prominence. Ken Holland has s short period of time to re-create the Wings in his image, first by separating the eras, identifying players of today (light) from those of yesteryear (night). Now is not the time to be nostalgic. If they can't play on a high level, do not pay them to be on the roster. Next, he must plant saplings, develop young talent. Add some veteran bruisers, and finally, create man (Babcock). Then, and only then, can Kenny rest, satisfied that the team he has formed will have the staying power to compete in the new era NHL.

And the rest of us, the fans that support the team, those who wear the sweater proudly, that look to the Wings as our jewel, our place in the national spotlight, anxiously await the finished product, looking forward to the day that Kenny rests, so that we can rest, knowing, that last night, we sipped again, from Lord Stanley's Cup.