Sweet, Sweet September

The Good Lord up above couldn't send the month of September any sooner.

Although September is generally associated with the end of summer, I associate it primarily on a training-camp-is-starting level. Frankly, with the summer we had (or didn't have until about 2 weeks ago), I am just about ready to embrace autumn and the splendor it delivers that we call hockey.

The Stanley Cup is one hell of an accomplishment for any player or team to attain, but with it comes bad news for the rest of the world. It means hockey is OUT for the longest possible time.

We've had to endure a few things over the summer, but nothing as irritating as what we are STILL enduring. That pain in my a*s is called Mats Sundin and his SAGA that apparently still has no end in sight. Just sign with the Habs already, seriously.

Although the wait was long, in the end, the old saying rings true: good things come to those who wait.

I waited, very long. But, now, the thrills and excitement are hitting me harder than slab of concrete attached to a bull's horns and connecting squarely on my nuts. The hockey pools are starting up, the youngsters are gearing up for a shot to crack their respective NHL clubs through training camp, and the veterans are welcoming the challenges of adding even more responsibility to their workload.

The Habs are primed for a serious run at the cup. New additions Alex Tanguay and Georges Laraque are pumped and ready to go with their new clubs. Out are guys like Bryan Smolinski and Mark Streit, who each did good-to-great jobs at playing their roles; and in are going to be the guys who want it that much more than the others. Someone like Kyle Chipchura, or even Max Pacioretty has a very solid shot at making the big club come October, but to know that, we must go through the month of September.

Sweet, sweet September. How I've missed you...