Montreal police say they intend to question Zdeno Chara in the coming weeks and decide whether to press charges for the hit that sidelined Montreal forward Max Pacioretty with a concussion and a cracked vertebra, according to an Associated Press report on Tuesday.

The most promising potential buyer of the beleaguered Coyotes to come along since the team was thrown into bankruptcy two years ago has walked away from the process, a source told ESPN.com on Monday afternoon. Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer, who had hoped to have a deal in place to purchase the team from the NHL last spring, had set aside over $100M for the purchase of the team but ongoing issues over a new arena lease agreement with the City of Glendale have led to Hulsizer withdrawing from the deal.

The NHL board of governors unanimously approved the sale of the Thrashers on Tuesday, paving the way for the club to move to Winnipeg, Manitoba, for next season. True North Sports and Entertainment bought the team last month and announced it was bringing the Thrashers to Winnipeg, which lost the Jets to Phoenix after the 1995-96 season. The vote by the board was the final hurdle in the process to relocate the team. The votes on the sale and the relocation were unanimous among the league's owners.

A rising star on Canada's junior water polo team has apologized for his role in the Stanley Cup riot, according to an ESPN.com report. A sobbing Nathan Kotylak told a local TV station that what he did was "dumb" and he's prepared to face the consequences. He surrendered to police after social media sites posted pictures showing a youth stuffing a burning rag into the gas tank of a police car. The violence in Vancouver followed the Canucks' loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

Five men arrested during celebrations of the Bruins' Stanley Cup championship have appeared in Boston Municipal Court. Police say one man encouraged a crowd near TD Garden to turn on police and dared officers to arrest him. Three men have been charged with malicious destruction of property. They're accused of smashing mirrors on parked cars. A fifth man was arraigned for assault and battery after allegedly shoving a police officer. Two other arrests were reported. Police say most revelers behaved responsibly.

Almost 150 people required hospital treatment overnight and close to 100 were arrested after rioters swept through downtown Vancouver following a Canucks loss to the Bruins in the decisive Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Vancouver Coastal Health spokeswoman Anna Marie D'Angelo said Thursday three stabbing victims have been admitted and an unidentified man is in critical condition with head injuries after a fall. Rioting and looting left cars burned, stores in shambles and windows shattered over a roughly 10-block radius of the city's main shopping district.

A revamped head-shot rule came one step closer to fruition Monday after the NHL's competition committee approved the rule, pending a review of the language. The committee, a group of players, owners and general managers, has agreed with the GMs' recommendations that would broaden the scope of Rule 48. The amended rule should be in place for next season, pending approval of the board of governors on June 21 in New York. However, league executive Brendan Shanahan and NHLPA executive Mathieu Schneider must finalize the language before the governors meet.

Prospective owner Matthew Hulsizer has provided a new proposal to Glendale for the purchase of the Coyotes, a source told ESPN.com. This proposal would give the city more options for financing the deal and is more attractive than the deal Glendale previously agreed to, which is presumably still on the books.

In an effort to reduce the number of dangerous blows to the head, NHL general managers are proposing a broader interpretation of Rule 48, according to an EsPN.com report. The league originally implemented the rule at the outset of the season to eliminate blindside hits to the head. Meeting in Boston before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals, the GMs recommended eliminating the term 'blindside' from the rule to allow more penalties to be called on a broader range of corresponding hits.

The most lucrative sponsorship deal in NHL history is in doubt after an Ontario judge ruled in favor of Labatt's claim that the league reneged on its agreement with the beer company, according to an ESPN.com report. The Ontario Superior Court ruled Friday in favor of Labatt's, which claimed it already had a deal in place with the NHL before the league committed to a $375M sponsorship agreement with archrival Molson Coors. It was called "a monster deal" by NHL chief operating officer John Collins when it was unveiled in February.