Kuba takes a hit

If this is any kind of indication about the upcoming season, we're screwed.

Less than fifteen minutes into today's first practice of the year, Filip Kuba's skate caught a rut in the ice and he crashed awkwardly into the boards before being helped off the ice. No word yet on the seriousness of it, but the fact that it's Kuba is cause enough for concern. He missed 29 games last year and 11 games the year before with various injuries, most of which were classified as "lower-body injuries" -- though it's important to note that a lower-body injury could be anything from a sore hip to a hangnail on his pinky toe.

Does Pascal Leclaire take the backseat in terms of the team's official Player Made of Glass™? Will Kuba recover anytime soon? More importantly, if Kuba's still sidelined when the season begins, does that spot in the defensive corps become Jared Cowen's to lose? Will Brian Lee finally show why he was drafted 9th overall? Does Patrick Wiercioch or Eric Gryba make enough of an impression at camp to be kept on, even if only temporarily? Or, failing all of the above, what about David Hale?