The United States men's hockey team named the Wild's Zach Parise captain for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, with teammate Ryan Suter and Kings forward Dustin Brown serving as alternates, according to an ESPN.com report on Friday.
Misc Rumor - Hockey Wiretap
Predators captain Shea Weber is day to day with an upper body injury and did not skate Thursday in Nashville's first practice since the defenseman was hurt.
Weber left Tuesday night's win at Winnipeg in the third period and did not return. The Predators took Wednesday off, and Weber was not seen in the locker room after practice Thursday.
Defenseman Mark Fistric has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Ducks.
The deal is worth $3.8M, a source told ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun,
The Stars have signed forward Ryan Garbutt to a three-year, $5.4M contract extension.
Garbutt has a career-high 18 points with 10 goals and eight assists in 46 games this season.
Phoenix Coyotes Co-Owner, President and CEO Anthony LeBlanc announced today that the Phoenix Coyotes will officially change their franchise name to the Arizona Coyotes beginning at the start of the 2014-15 NHL season. "We are very excited to announce that our franchise name will change to Arizona Coyotes for the start of the 2014-15 NHL season," said LeBlanc. "Becoming the Arizona Coyotes makes sense for us since we play our games in Glendale and the city is such a great partner of ours. We also want to be recognized as not just the hockey team for Glendale or Phoenix, but the team for the entire state of Arizona and the Southwest. We hope that the name 'Arizona' will encourage more fans from all over the state, not just the valley, to embrace and support our team." As part of the name change, the Coyotes will be introducing a new shoulder patch for their home and road jerseys in 2014-15. The patch will be unveiled for the Coyotes first preseason game next season. The rest of the Coyotes uniform will not change. The franchise has been known as the Phoenix Coyotes since it moved to the Valley from Winnipeg in 1996. The Coyotes played their home games in downtown Phoenix from 1996 until 2003 when they moved to their current home, Jobing.com Arena, in Glendale. |
Veteran center Vinny Prospal announced his retirement Tuesday after 16 NHL seasons, according to an ESPN.com report.
The 38-year-old Prospal, who last played for the Jackets last season, played 1,108 games in his career and had 255 goals and 510 assists for 765 points.
Lightning star Steven Stamkos added a new wrinkle to his Olympic comeback hopes, telling a media contingent here Tuesday morning that it's not inconceivable for him to play in Sochi even if he doesn't get into an NHL before-hand, according to an ESPN.com report.
The NHL has not decided whether to let its players participate in the Olympics beyond this year, according to an ESPN.com report.
With the league set to push pause on its season for the Sochi Olympics, deputy commissioner Bill Daly also is allowing for the possibility of a security issue that could keep the players from traveling to Russia at all.
"As of now, we do not doubt that all necessary steps are being taken by the Sochi Organizing Committee, the Russian government and the IOC to ensure the safety of the athletes and guests in Sochi," Daly wrote Monday in an email to The AP. "Obviously, if something significant were to transpire between now and February 9 that causes us to question that conclusion, we will re-evaluate. I don't expect that that will become necessary."
The San Francisco Bulls, an affiliate of the NHL's Sharks, folded operations Monday after failing to complete a change in ownership that they hoped would sustain the ECHL club established in October 2012.
The Bulls finished their partial season 15-20-5 with 32 games remaining, according to an ESPN.com report.
A counting issue will prevent Guinness from giving the NHL the world record for largest attendance at a hockey game, Yahoo! Sports reported.
The NHL sold 105,491 tickets for the Jan. 1 outdoor game at Michigan Stadium between the Maple Leafs and Red Wings, more than the current Guinness record holder -- 104,173 for a 2010 NCAA game between Michigan and Michigan State at the same site.