June 2011 - Hockey Wiretap

Predators forward Jordin Tootoo has been cleared to return to practice with the team by the NHL and the NHLPA. Tootoo has entered the follow-up care phase of the joint substance abuse and behavioral health program. He has not been cleared yet to play in games or travel on road trips. Tootoo voluntarily entered the inpatient program Dec. 27.

On Monday, Bruins forward Marc Savard remained at home in Ontario with symptoms from his fourth career concussion while his teammates practiced. Savard suffered the latest concussion on Jan. 22. He's expected to return to Boston on Tuesday or Wednesday and will be re-evaluated at that point. "He still has some symptoms. It hasn't totally disappeared," said coach Claude Julien. "We'll let the medical people deal with him when he gets back. Hopefully for his sake, not the team's sake, but more for his sake that he gets better. "It's important for the individual here that he takes care of himself. The organization, medical staff, upper management and everybody has always done the right thing as far as that's concerned, and that won't change."

Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, who has missed the last three games with a left knee injury and a sinus infection, skated with his teammates on Monday. Malkin, who received the third-most votes among forwards for the 2011 All-Star Game, was forced to skip the weekend's festivities due to the injury.

The Lightning have unveiled a new logo and uniform that will be put to use starting next season. With models Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos, along with franchise founder and Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito and former captain Dave Andreychuk, the new home jersey is a blue sweater with blue pants, and a new Lightning bolt crest in a circle.

The Canucks called up top prospect Cody Hodgson from Manitoba of the AHL on Monday. The forward has 10 goals and 26 points in 28 games with Manitoba this season. He returned last week after missing six weeks with a broken orbital bone from taking a teammate's stick to the face in practice. Hodgson was the 10th pick in the 2008 NHL Draft.

Patrick Sharp had a goal and two assists for Team Staal to win the MVP award and the car Sunday night at the All-Star game, even as the three Blackhawks on Nicklas Lidstrom?s team claimed an 11-10 victory, according to an Associated Press report.

Niclkas Lidstrom captained Team Lidstrom to an 11-10 victory over Team Staal in the All-Star game on Sunday night, according to an Associated Press report. Danny Briere, Jonathan Toews, and Martin St. Louis scored during a four-minute span of the third period to lift Team Lidstrom.

The FBI has offered to help a Chicago businessman try to find the puck Patrick Kane scored the Stanley Cup winning goal with last year. Kane scored in overtime to beat the Flyers in Game 6 at Philadelphia in June. The puck has been missing ever since. "The people who are doing this are doing it on their own time," FBI spokesman Ross Rice said. "They feel they are a part of history."

Team Staal picked up a victory in the SuperSkills event on Saturday night thanks to the play of Alex Ovechkin and Zdeno Chara. Ovechkin won his third straight breakaway challenge, while Chara broke his own 2-year-old record for the hardest shot. Players from the All-Star team Eric Staal put together won five of six events. "I thought we did pretty good" choosing the team, Staal said. "Obviously, we're going to see [Sunday] during the game, but tonight, it worked out with some good wins in some of the events." Team Staal also produced winners in the competitions for fastest skater (the Islanders' Michael Grabner), accuracy (Vancouver's Daniel Sedin) and the shootout (Anaheim's Corey Perry). Team Lidstrom's only victory came in the skills challenge relay.

The NHL hopes to sell the Phoenix Coyotes to Matthew Hulsizer, but Winnipeg is a potential destination if the deal falls through. ?We'll hang in there as long as it makes sense and as long as we can,? Bettman said Saturday before the NHL's skills competition. ?But time is getting short. Make no mistake about that. This is not something that is of infinite duration. I have tried to be as careful as I could be not to raise expectations in Winnipeg. ?Everybody knows my view on that ? if we have to move a club, it would be good to go back to a place that we were once in that has a different situation, vis-a-vis building and ownership and the like, but it's one of the reasons we get concerned. ?We think it's unfair when baseless stories come out suggesting things that aren't true to get people in Winnipeg all excited. If there's something to announce, I promise we'll announce it.?