The NHL announced its national televised schedules this week. I was surprised to learn that the Wings, the defending Stanley Cup champs, have only seven games on national TV. The Wings may have the headline TV attraction, but they are  not the most televised team. Five other teams will have eight games televised on Versus.

The seven games do not include the one guaranteed game to be shown on NBC, the Winter Classic. The Wings will likely have more games shown on NBC, but they have yet to be determined.

Fans will get to watch two Original Six franchises, the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings, face off in legendary Wrigley Field.

"What a way to start the New Year with two of the storied names in hockey playing in one of America's venerable stadiums," NBC Sports President Ken Schanzer, said. "The Winter Classic has become a great addition to what already was an appointment-viewing date on the sports calendar."

Added CBC's Hockey Night in Canada Executive Producer Sherali Najak: "This 'Original Six' city provides us with the ideal stage to showcase some of the NHL's brightest stars."

The NHL Winter Classic is only one of the more than 300 nationally televised games the League announced Thursday in unveiling the national TV broadcast schedules for 2008-09 for NBC, CBC, RDS, VERSUS and TSN.

According to George @ Snapshots, the Penguins got more televised games in Canada than the Wings did. CBC will show Pittsburgh ten times and the Wings only three times. TSN has the Wings slated for five games and the Penguins just one. In total, the Penguins have 19 scheduled televised games in North America and the Wings only 15 games.

Personally, I would rather watch Wings games on FSN Detroit instead of Versus so I'm not really hurt by getting one less game than five other teams. Surprised? Certainly. But I'm quite content with having one more game on FSN than Versus.

The Detroit Red Wings added two individuals to their coaching staff. Brad McCrimmon and Keith McKittrick were hired to fill the vacancies left by Todd McLellan and  Jay Woodcroft, who left for the San Jose Sharks this summer.

McCrimmon is a former defenseman (who even played three seasons for Detroit) with previous coaching experience. He was Atlanta's assistant coach for four seasons and also worked on the coaching staffs for Calgary and the Islanders. He signed a three-year contract.

Keith McKittrick will be the Wings new video coach for the next two seasons. He is leaving Michigan State where he was their video coach for three seasons. Before MSU, McKittrick was the assistant to video and scouting coach with the Minnesota Wild, where he was "responsible for creating video scouting reports, breaking down game film and assisting with U.S. and European-born player research."

Assistant coach Paul MacLean was re-signed for another three seasons so head coach Mike Babcock, MacLean, and McCrimmon's contracts will all expire at the same time.

Time will tell how well these two additions mesh with the current coaching staff, but I trust in GM Ken Holland and Mike Babcock to make strong hiring decisions.

Two players likely to spend the next year in Grand Rapids have been re-signed. Jimmy Howard, the Wings goaltender of the future, and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson will be with the Wings for another three seasons.

According to information posted on the NHL Players’ Association Web site, Howard will earn $600,000 next season and Ericsson will make $550,000.

I'm not surprised with either of the signings and Ericsson's could be quite the bargain in three years when he's a stud on the Wings roster.

The Wings have yet to re-sign Chris Chelios and while I still believe it's going to happen, I am surprised by the delay. Once Cheli signs his extension, the Wings will have nine solid NHL defensemen including Ericsson so depth won't be a problem- fitting under the cap may be.

According to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Detroit Red Wings will face the Chicago Blackhawks on New Year's at the historic Wrigley Field.

According to an NHL source, the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings will participate in the league's second outdoor Winter Classic on New Year's Day.

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.

What's my reaction? Well, I'm excited about the opportunity to watch the Wings play in this year's Winter Classic. However, I would have preferred to see the Classic occur on a day other than New Year's for a couple reasons.

1) Michigan football is kind of a big deal around here. While our team won't be as good this year, I still think they'll be playing on New Year's, which is a known football holiday. Many Michigan fans are also Wings fans so which game will they tune into if the game times overlap?

2) The Wings only season tradition is their annual New Year's Eve game, which is a favorite among fans (myself included). Unfortunately, the Wings will be unable to host their traditional game if this report proves to be accurate.

In addition to the date problem, I really really wanted to see the Wings face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium. I attend the University of Michigan and would love to have seen these two huge rivals (admittedly from back in the day) play in the biggest football stadium in the US and shatter the hockey attendance record. If the Wings are playing the Blackhawks at Wrigley, we can kiss that dream goodbye.

But I guess I can't complain too much since this will be an exciting opportunity and I'm going to do everything I can to be there whether I'm working it or just freezing my butt off in the stands.

The Detroit Red Wings certainly did not have the flashiest day, but it's hard to argue with what they did do and they didn't break the bank in the process.

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."

GM Ken Holland got a veteran goaltender on board via a one-year contract with former Penguins back-up goalie Ty Conklin. At only $750,000, this seems like a very sound signing since Conklin was arguably the top available goaltender who would likely be relegated to back-up duty. Jimmy Howard can still earn the back-up role, but he has to outplay Conklin by a lot during training camp according to an article on MLive.com.

"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.

All in all, it was a great first day of free agency for Wings fans. Mats Sundin is still available and considering a two-year, $20 million Vancouver Canucks contract. I still think the Wings have a strong shot at him because the guy wants to win a Cup, but it's going to come down to this question: "Would I rather make more money or win the Cup?" Only Sundin can answer that question and we'll find out the answer soon enough.

I would like to apologize for the lack of posting over the last week. I've gone back and forth from Detroit/Chicago three times, started a new internship, and moved to a new city so there's been a lot of adjusting at my end. Since I'm about to head to work, here are some quick Wing notes to hold you over.

Goaltender Dominik Hasek retired after winning his second Stanley Cup in sixteen seasons. After being replaced by Chris Osgood in net after four games this postseason, you just knew that Hasek didn't like not being No. 1 in net. And when you're 43, just won a Cup, and didn't play the role you had hoped in the playoffs, it's a fairly easy decision to retire.

"When I was kissing that Cup, I had made the decision," said Hasek, 43, who made his exit from the game at a Monday morning press conference at Joe Louis Arena. "I didn't feel I needed to wait. I know it's 100 percent the right time."

Head coach Mike Babcock has signed a three year deal worth approximately $1.5 million per year plus bonuses. The deal was pretty much done before the playoffs, but they had to wait until the end of postseason to nail down some specifics regarding minor contract details.

"For me, this place has been fantastic," said Babcock, whose deal is worth approximately $1.5 million per season plus bonuses. "I love coming here to work. I love where I live. Our staff here has the same passion that I do. They love and care about hockey."

"We're excited about the opportunity here," Babcock said. "We're looking forward to the next three years. I don't think we're going away. The core players we have coming back will give us an opportunity to be successful."

Todd McLellan, one of the Wings assistant coaches this past season, is heading to San Jose where he will be the head coach of the team for three seasons after Ron Wilson was fired. While I hate to see him go, he is certainly deserving of this position.

"It's a very good feeling," McLellan said in a statement released by the team. "From the first moment Doug called to the moment he offered the job, I felt comfortable. I think the Sharks have done a tremendous job. You don't get that close to 50 wins for a number of years in a row without a lot of talent. It's a matter of getting over the hump. There are some real parallels between the Wings and the Sharks."

So I get to work at my internship in Chicago Thursday morning and my bosses ask when the parade is. I tell them and they ask if I’m going. I said that no, I’m working here. After a discussion amongst themselves, they decided they would be mad if I didn’t go. So I took the 5.5 hour train after work from Chicago to Ann Arbor. It’s 7:10am on Friday and I leave for Joe Louis Arena in half an hour. I’ll be front and center at the parade and I couldn’t be more excited!!

Basically, I’d like to apologize for a lack of posting especially after such a fantastic victory, but I’ve been a little busy and getting home to work the parade was a bit more important than blogging. Sorry! Whenever I get back from the Joe, I will be sure to make some decent posts or two this evening. But until then…I’m celebrating in Detroit!

P.S. I’d like to remind everyone that I picked the Wings in six this series. Spot on baby.

I've been celebrating tonight and am really in no position to make a post-game recap at the moment. So until then, here is Frank @ PensBurgh's letter to WIM:

Dear Wings Fans,

Congrats on a great win and playing a great series.  Your defense is impenetrable, your goalie infallible and your offense is incredible.  You've earned the win and set some records in the process.  Congrats to having the first Euro-captain - that's something that can never be defeated.

Enjoy the parade and the Cup.

Hugs and kisses,

FrankD

Pensburgh.com