Chris Chelios, the longest-tenured defenseman in NHL history, is finally hanging up his skates. After 26 NHL seasons and three Stanley Cups, Chelios announced his retirement Tuesday at the age of 48. “I guess I’ve been dreading this day for a long time,” he said at a news conference in Detroit. Read Original Post Here
The Colorado Avalanche remain committed to their youth movement, signing forward Chris Stewart to a two-year deal. The 22-year-old Stewart led the team with 28 goals last season and finished with 64 points. The deal’s terms weren’t disclosed. Colorado general manager Greg Sherman says the team is looking forward to seeing Stewart “build on what he started a year ago.” The Avalanche… Read Original Post Here
The Nashville Predators owners have completed a purchase of the 26 percent stake in the team held by the bankrupt estate of a California financier jailed for fraud. Preadators Holdings LLC chairman Tom Cigarran announced Thursday that the NHL and Metro Nashville Sports Authority had approved the transaction for the ownership shares previously held by William “Boots” Del Biaggio III and… Read Original Post Here
"I was down in the area visiting my father-in-law who lives in Medford [N.J.]," Guerin told the paper. "I was going to be in the area anyway and I wanted to get on the ice. My agent talked to [GM] Paul [Holmgren] about possibly having me come here and skate around with the guys. It was nice. It was good to finally get back on the ice and skate."
The 39-year-old veteran of 17 NHL seasons noted that he had no idea if it could lead to a deal or not, but he told the Inquirer that he is "definitely looking to play this year."
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The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that Niemi, who wanted more money than the Blackhawks could pay him this offseason, will be signing with the Sharks for one year and $2 million.
The 27-year-old will replace former Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov and now leaves San Jose overloaded with talent between the pipes. The team also signed another native of Finland this summer: Antero Niittymaki
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CBC-Montreal is reporting that "a very very reliable source close to Carey Price" has shared that the goalie wants to be making $3 million per season "or he’s going on strike."
Drafted fifth overall in the 2005 draft, Price went 13-20 with five overtime losses this past year. His goals-against average was 2.77 and save percentage was .912 on the year.
The 6-3, 219-pounder from British Columbia has won 60 games in his three years in the NHL. At 19, he led the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs to the Calder Cup championships and won the playoff MVP award.
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If the team signs Kovalchuk to the $100 million, 15-year deal that is rumored to have been submitted to the NHL for approval, it will need to get rid of between $3 million and $5 million of salary to get under the cap.
The signing of Jason Arnott this summer has made Zajac more expendable, though the paper notes that "conventional wisdom suggests Bryce Salvador ($2.9 million) and Dainius Zubrus ($3.4 million) are the obvious candidates" to be sent packing when Kovalchuk eventually signs.
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The New Jersey Devils took a new contract for Ilya Kovalchuk to the NHL on Monday only to have it rejected, according to the New York Post. So the KHL in Russia continues to try to woo him back to his homeland.
Yahoo! Sports’ Nicholas J. Cotsonika was told by KHL president Alexander Medvedev, "Ilya knows that our proposal is still on the table." Medvedev claimed that he was set to call Kovalchuk’s agent after hanging up with Cotsonika. Cotsonika also spoke with NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who said the league doesn’t want to lose Kovalchuk to Russia.
"Obviously he’s a great player, and we want him playing in the National Hockey League, and I believe he wants to play in the National Hockey League," Daly told Cotsonika. "As a matter of fact, during our arbitration on the first contract, he said as much. His priority is to play in the National Hockey League."
The problem with the new contract is its length, according to the Sporting News. The league already rejected New Jersey’s 17-year, $102 million contract for Kovalchuk. According to the Sporting News, Sovietsky Sport is reporting that the latest framework the Devils provided the league was for a deal spanning 15 years, and the league won’t approve anything longer than 13 years.
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In the group for the Devils were owner Jeff Vanderbeek, president and general manager Lou Lamoriello and Kovalchuk’s agent, Jay Grossman.
The first contract offer to Kovalchuk for 17 years and $102 million was voided by the league and an arbitrator.
"There was no new contract submitted," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Toronto Sun. "We talked conceptually."
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The 35-year-old, who spent the Stanley Cup Finals being a nasty pest to the eventual Cup winner Chicago Blackhawks, had surgery in late July to remove "loose bodies" and he still has no timetable to start skating, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
However, he is riding a stationary bike and aiming to return for the Oct. 7 opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins. But he won’t put himself at risk to make that deadline. He tells the paper he’s in "no hurry" as he wants to make sure the leg has regained its strength and feels as strong as his left leg before he hits the ice, the paper reports.
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