Around the NHL - 21 Oct

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Posted by admin on 21st, 2008

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Top News Stories:

Avangard Omsk returns to ice after Cherepanov death
The Avangard Omsk hockey team on Monday played its first Kontinental Hockey League game since the death of promising winger Alexei Cherepanov.

With Cherepanov’s parents in attendance, captain Alexander Svitov and alternates Anton Kuryanov and Alexander Popov skated with Cherepanov’s jersey No. 7 before it was raised to the rafters. An announcement was made that his No. 7 will never be worn again.

“It was tough on those three guys,” Omsk coach Wayne Fleming told TSN of Canada on Monday. “They didn’t have a lot of time to wipe their tears before the puck drop and away they went. And there was no warmup music at all. There was no talking among the players as both teams went about their warmup rituals and practice drills.”

(View the full story on Yahoo! Sports)

Avery returns to the Garden
Sean Avery hurried out of Madison Square Garden nearly as quickly as he left the New York Rangers as a free agent.

“I love you guys,” Avery said to a large throng of reporters in the
tight visitors dressing room, “but I have to go take my teammates out
to dinner.”

Avery made his presence felt upon his return to Manhattan after 1
1/2 seasons of being the resident Rangers pest. He didn’t show up on
the scoresheet Monday, but he walked out into the New York nightlife he
relishes after he and the Dallas Stars skated off with a 2-1 victory.

(View the full story on Yahoo! Sports)

3 Stars of the day (NHL.com):

Ryan Smyth - Colorado Avalanche (2G 0A 2Pts)
Dany Sabourin - Pittsburgh Penguins (SV35 SA36 Sv% .972)
Mike Modano - Dallas Stars (1G 0A 1Pts 1GWG)

Injury Updates:

Devils C Holik out 3-4 weeks
The New Jersey Devils on Monday announced that veteran center Bobby Holik will be sidelined three to four weeks with a broken right pinkie. Holik, who left in the second period of the team’s 4-3 shootout win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday, is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday. In a corresponding move, the Devils recalled left wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond from Lowell of the American Hockey League. (Yahoo!)
DiPietro feeling good
DiPietro (knee) said he was “feeling good” after Monday’s practice, the New York Newsday reports. (Yahoo!)

Transactions:

Rangers add LW DiDiomete
The New York Rangers on Monday agreed to terms with left wing Devin DiDiomete. Known as an enforcer, DiDiomete notched 23 goals and 56 points with 216 penalty minutes over 56 games last season with Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League. The 20-year-old DiDiomete also had six goals and six assists with 62 penalty minutes in 21 playoff contests. (Yahoo!)
Flyers assign RW Downie, C Ross to minors
The Philadelphia Flyers assigned right wing Steve Downie and center Jared Ross to the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League on Monday. Both have played sparingly as the Flyers have gotten off to a miserable 0-3-2 start. Neither has recorded a point. (Yahoo!)
Carolina send Zach Boychuk to WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes
Zach Boychuk is on his way back to the Western Hockey League. The Carolina Hurricanes announced Monday that the 19-year-old forward would rejoin his junior team in Lethbridge for the rest of the season. (Yahoo!)
Red Wings place RW McCarty on waivers
The Detroit Red Wings on Monday placed veteran right wing Darren McCarty on waivers, according to a published report. The Detroit News reported that if the 36-year-old clears waivers, he could be sent to Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League. All other NHL clubs have until noon on Tuesday to claim McCarty, who has been part of four Stanley Cup championships with the Red Wings. (Yahoo!)

Trade Rumors: (bought to you by spectorshockey.net)

EAGLE TRIBUNE.COM: Mike McMahon reports Phil Kessel’s improvement this season has turned him into the “sniper the Bruins need him to be”, silencing his critics and putting the rest the trade rumors that dogged him since last season. McMahon suggests the Bruins need to re-sign Kessel before he become a restricted free agent next summer.
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: Dan Wood reports on the media circus that’ll dog Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke during his club’s swing into Toronto this week, where he’s rumored to be in the running for the job of Maple Leafs general manager when his current contract expires with the Ducks at season’s end. Burke isn’t keen on discussing his future but added he’d make a decision on re-signing with the Ducks by no later than Christmas.
DETROIT NEWS: reports the Red Wings have placed popular forward Darren McCarty on waivers.
VANCOUVER PROVINCE: reports the Canucks have recalled forwards Kyle Wellwood and Matt Pettinger and are confident both will clear re-entry waivers.
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS: reports the Sharks have placed their 2004 first round pick Lukas Kaspar on waivers.
View the full article on Spectorshockey

Game Results:

Pittsburgh vs Boston
Pittsburgh	2	Final SO
Boston	1

Dallas vs NY Rangers
Dallas	2	Final
NY Rangers	1

Florida vs Montreal
Florida	1	Final
Montreal	3

Colorado vs Los Angeles
Colorado	4	Final
Los Angeles	3

Source: Yahoo! Sports | TSN.ca | ESPN | NHL.com

Technorati Tags: nhl, ice hockey, game results, trade rumours, trade rumors, nhl contracts

Tags: 3 stars, Alexander Svitov, alexei cherapanov, avangard omsk, Bobby Holik, brian burke, carolina hurricanes, colorado avalanche, dallas stars, dany sabourin, Darren McCarty, detroit red wings, didiomete, game highlights, game results, goal, hockey, jared ross, Kyle Wellwood, lethbridge hurricanes, madisan square garden, Matt Pettinger, mike modano, new jersey devils, new york rangers, NHL, Phil Kessel, philadelphia flyers, pittsburgh penguins, player injury, Rick DiPietro, Ryan Smyth, sean avery, spectorshockey, steve downie, trade rumors, vancouver canucks

Around the NHL - Sat 4 and Sun 5 Oct

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Posted by admin on 5th, 2008

Injury Updates:

Brad Larsen: Sports hernia surgery
Larsen had surgery to repair a sports hernia on Friday, according to the Ducks web site. (ESPN)
Drew Stafford: Ear injury
Stafford missed Friday’s practice with an ear injury, Buffalo’s WGR Radio reports. (ESPN)
Tim Connolly to miss 5th preseason game
Connolly (back) is expected to miss his fifth straight preseason game on Sunday, according to The Buffalo News. (ESPN)
Todd Bertuzzi: Leg injury
Bertuzzi left the ice in Friday’s preseason game with a leg injury, TSN.ca reports. (ESPN)
Pascal Leclaire: Sprained ankle
Leclaire sprained his ankle in the second period of Friday’s exhibition game, the Columbus Dispatch reports. (ESPN)
Guillaume Latendresse to begin staking
Latendresse will begin the season on a line with Robert Lang and Sergei Kostitsyn. (ESPN)
Mike Fisher to miss season opening games
Fisher (groin) will miss both of Ottawa’s season opening games against Pittsburgh reports the Ottawa Citizen. (ESPN)
Petr Sykora: Groin injury
Sykora will miss Saturday’s regular season opener with a groin injury, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. (ESPN)

Player Updates:

Thrashers top prospect Pavelec won’t report to AHL
Atlanta Thrashers top prospect Ondrej Pavelec will not report to the Chicago Wolves, the team’s AHL affiliate, according to a report in Sporting News. The 21-year old goalie was assigned to the Wolves on Saturday after appearing in two preseason games for the Thrashers, posting a 1-1 record. (TSN)
Khabibulin wont practice with Hawks
Nikolai Khabibulin did not practise with the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday and won’t until his future is decided. Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said he hopes the goalie’s sitaution is settled in the “next couple of days.” (TSN)

Signings & Acquisitions:

Hurricanes sign C Boychuk
Zach Boychuk certainly had a happy birthday. The 14th overall pick in this past June’s draft, Boychuk signed a three-year entry level contract worth with the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday - which happened to be his 19th birthday. Boychuk will net $787,500 per season in the NHL, or $65,000 at the minor league level. (Yahoo! Sports)
Ducks claim D McIver on waivers
The Anaheim Ducks claimed defenseman Nathan McIver on waivers from the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. The 23-year-old did not register a point in 17 games with the Canucks last season. McIver played primarily for the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League, collecting three goals and three assists in 43 games. McIver appeared in three preseason contests for the Canucks, notching 16 penalty minutes. (Yahoo! Sports)
Nolan Baumgartner assigned to Manitoba
The Vancouver Canucks assigned defenceman Nolan Baumgartner to Manitoba of the AHL and lost defenceman Nathan McIver on waivers to the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. McIver, 23, played in 17 games with the Canucks last season, collecting 52 penalty minutes. In 43 games with the Moose, he had three goals with three assists and 108 penalty minutes. (Yahoo! Sports)
Canucks waive Cowan
The Vancouver Canucks placed forward Jeff Cowan on waivers on Saturday, while the club lost defenceman Nathan McIver to the Anaheim Ducks via the waiver wire as well. (TSN)
View more NHL and Minor League transactions at NHL.com

Trades & Rumours:

Wild don’t expect to sign Gaborik by season start
The Minnesota Wild and winger Marian Gaborik will be headed for a season uncertain. Wild general manager Doug Risebrough told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Friday that he does not expect to sign Gaborik to a contract extension by the start of the season. (TSN)

From Spectorshockey.net:

The Nikolai Khabibulin situation is “nearing a conclusion”, as Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon has told the goalie not to attend team practices until the next course of action is determined to prevent him from getting hurt. When asked when any kind of deal — whether it’s to trade Khabibulin or let him go to Russia — would get done, Tallon said, “The sooner the better”, writes Kuc.
Contract talks between the Wild and the agent for Marian Gaborik appear to have stalled, as GM Doug Risebrough said no headway has been made, adding that Gaborik won’t be signed prior to the start of the season. Risebrough declined to comment if he’s had talks with other teams and has yet to determine if he’ll shop Gaborik. While it’s unknown what the Wild are offering Gaborik Russo suggests that if the forward is rejecting offers around $8.5 million per season it could spur Risebrough into shopping Gaborik rather than risk losing him to free agency for nothing next summer. If it comes to that Russo suggests Risebrough might deal Gaborik to an Eastern Conference team, possibly to Montreal, Toronto or the NY Rangers as the Wild GM is friends with the general managers of those teams.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and the Anaheim Ducks denied a recent report the league is monitoring potential trade activity between the Ducks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The report was based on speculation Ducks GM Brian Burke might sign with the Leafs next summer as their new general manager.
Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli continues to huddle with his staff in hopes of finding salary cap space to retain youngsters like Blake Wheeler, Nate Thompson and Matt Hunwick.
Schaefer could be a trade candidate given his poor play last season and $2.1 million cap hit. Barth also suggests rumors of the Bruins dealing Marc Savard are “unlikely” given his no-trade clause and his status as one of the league’s best set-up men.
Little progress made in contract talks between the Kings and forward Patrick O’Sullivan but the two sides are reportedly meeting more frequently.

Game Results:

NHL Regular Season Games:

NY Rangers vs Tampa Bay
NY Rangers	2	Final
Tampa Bay	1	Box Score Highlights

Pittsburgh vs Ottawa
Pittsburgh	4	Final OT
Ottawa	3	Box Score Highlights

NHL Preseason Games:

NY Islanders vs Boston
NY Islanders	3	Final
Boston	1	Box Score

Detroit vs Toronto
Detroit	4	Final
Toronto	3	Box Score

Minnesota vs Montreal
Minnesota	3	Final
Montreal	0	Box Score

Philadelphia vs New Jersey
Philadelphia	3	Final
New Jersey	4	Box Score

St. Louis vs Atlanta
St. Louis	4	Final
Atlanta	1	Box Score

Los Angeles vs Phoenix
Los Angeles	2	Final
Phoenix	5	Box Score