Ken Holland is a master communicator and will never say it, but now we're getting it in broken Swede.

“The way he locked on things. The criticism. Hockey was 24/7 for him, and he demanded that of his players.”

Hank. And if Hank said that to Michael Farber, which he did, then you an imagine what he and others have been saying to Holland for years.

It was time and I'll bet that when the opportunity arose, player leadership let Tick Tock know that the circumstances were ripe for a new, kinder, younger Uncle.

It wasn't a firing and it was definitely more a Babcockian move than anything, his decision. But it was time and here we are.

So now Babcock gets to see what he's left, and what he helped build. Tonight he gets to face off against what he hopes is the future in Toronto, but man we're talking years and years.

Does he have that kind of patience? Does the Toronto media who gobbled his "pains a comin'" line like a Hudlerian hooker have the patience to wade through that pain?

We all know the answers to both those questions. But, hey, live the fairy tale.

As for us? We are sitting pretty.

You have every reason to be pumped about tonight and the rest of the year. There are pharmacists out there predicting a playoff-free year for the Wings and they are absolute idiots. This team, this organ-I-zation, is well off.

It's going to be a fun year and how could it possibly begin any better than with a trip to the woodshed for an Uncle who left.

It's a Live Blog, bitches. Voox, pour 'em.