Some hockey notes to start the abbreviated week:

Bob Probert- a Detroit sports cult hero and the greatest enforcer in the history of hockey- passed away Monday afternoon. Probert fought, and beat, everyone he encountered. He was Steve Yzerman’s protection in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Despite some personal issues, he was always revered by Detroit sports fans. I reflected at length about Probert’s career, and recalled my last memory of “Probie” on my website, www.dougplagens.com.

I love what the Devils are doing right now. At the moment, they are very close to locking up Ilya Kovalchuk long-term. They already signed Anton Volchenkov for five years. Let’s not forget that although New Jersey’s playoff run was much shorter than the Devils would have liked, this team has a ton of talent. In Kovalchuk and Volchenkov, New Jersey may have two of the top-five Russian players; with Alex Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, and Evgeni Malkin rounding out the quintet, of course. How badly do you think Evgeny Nabokov would like to get a hand in this and be the one to succeed Brodeur when the time comes?

Congratulations to former Steelheads goaltender Matt Climie on his new contract with the Phoenix Coyotes. The goaltending situation in Phoenix likely won’t be any less complicated than the one in Dallas when this season begins. After all, he’s leaving Dallas, who had two veteran goalies firmly entrenched in the starter and backup positions with the Stars (Kari Lehtonen and Andrew Raycroft), and heading to Phoenix, where Ilya Bryzgalov is a Vezina candidate and Jason LaBarbera is a solid backup. Furthermore, Climie will likely be sharing time with another prospect should he play with San Antonio of the American Hockey League. In comparing the two, however, Climie is proven in the AHL after carrying the Texas Stars to the Calder Cup, while Montoya is working his way back from an injury. Montoya, though, did have a nice five-game stint with the Coyotes in the 2008-09 season (3-1-0, 2.08 GAA, .925 SV%). Appealing for Climie in Phoenix has to be the fact that Bryzgalov and LaBarbera are uncertainties beyond 2010-11, while in Dallas, Lehtonen and Raycroft are locked up in multi-year deals.

Also, it’s good to see the Oilers locking up their top pick, Taylor Hall, and getting him inked on the entry level deal. We all knew it would happen, but it’s always good to see the development process get underway without a hitch. Also, with nothing to lose after a season that was, well, horrendous, it was great to see Edmonton roll the dice on Alexandre Giroux. They offered the owner of back-to-back 50-goal seasons a one-year deal worth $500,000. At 29, he’s already in his “prime” and has not been able to consistently perform at the NHL level in a few previous tryouts, but this time, he’s going to get his shot. Scoring 50 goals in consecutive AHL seasons is no easy task, and I’ll be pulling for this 1999 draft pick to get it right this time around.

I’m just as anxious as the rest of you to learn who will be the next head coach of the Steelheads. We’ll see what happens.

‘Til we meet again…