Newsday: Katie Strang has an interview with Rick DiPietro regarding his health from last season through the summer and whether he will be at a hundred percent for the season opener, also a few words about Scott Gordon and how much he wants to play this season.
NYI Fan Central Comments:
What's never brought up is how well DiPietro played after the all-star break, how his surgically repaired hip reportedly had no problems all season nor did he suffer any concussions. I did not read all these things about his health when he returned for the playoffs against Buffalo last summer despite having surgery after the series.
One other huge difference no one has written about is DiPietro will have a lot more breaks in the schedule during the second half this season unlike last year where the club did not see one three day break after December aside from the ASG which is why all this talk about locking him into a set schedule now makes little sense just like it would for any other starter.
You can bet the folks in the media who have problems with DiPietro will make sure to always point out the downside first because part of this is about his relationship with the media and his contract.
You see the negative parts about Brodeur played up in the media as soon as he struggles but when he does well we read how under-rated he is or it's outright ignored. When Henrik Lundqvist plays with a family member sick he is praised or given excuses for mediocre play over a few months but when DiPietro suffers a loss in his family he is portrayed as a selfish player regardless of what he does.
Barrie Examiner: Ian Schantz speculates Tomas Marcinko will not be back with Barrie because he's signed by the Islanders.