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.
March 2014 - Hockey Wiretap
The Avalanche announced today that the team has signed goaltender Semyon Varlamov to a five-year contract extension through the 2018-19 season.
Varlamov has posted a 26-9-5 record with a 2.43 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and one shutout in 42 games (39 starts) this season. Varlamov has already tied his career high with 26 wins, equaling his total from his first season with Colorado (2011-12). The Samara, Russia native is tied for third among NHL goaltenders in wins, ranks second in saves (1,199), third in shots faced (1,296), sixth in games (42-tied) and eighth in save percentage (.925).
“Undoubtedly, Semyon has been an impact player for us this season,” said Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic. “At only 25 years old, he is entering the prime years of his career and he wants to be part of this franchise moving forward. We are very excited to have come to terms with him and the fact that he has agreed to a five-year extension demonstrates his commitment to the Avalanche and what we’re trying to accomplish.”
David Nonis, Senior Vice-President and GM of the Maple Leafs, announced Friday that the club has traded defenceman Mark Fraser to the Oilers. In exchange, the Leafs receive forwards Cameron Abney and the rights to restricted free agent Teemu Hartikainen.
Abney, 22, was Edmonton’s third-round selection, 82nd overall, in the 2009 NHL Draft. He is currently with the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL.
Hartikainen, 23, was the Oilers’ sixth-round selection, 163th overall, in the 2008 NHL Draft. He has played in 52 career NHL games over three different seasons with Edmonton and has six career goals and seven assists with 16 minutes in penalties. Currently with Ufa Salavat Yulayev of the KHL, the left-winger has collected 13 goals and 14 assists in 43 KHL games in 2013-14.
Fraser, 27, appeared in 19 games with the Leafs this season. He has not dressed for the past 11 games. In 2012-13, the defenceman played in 45 games for Toronto and recorded eight assists and 85 penalty minutes.
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.
Despite being the road team in both games at Yankee Stadium, the Rangers made themselves at home in the ballpark in the Bronx and completed a sweep of the Devils and Islanders.
The Rangers rallied for the second straight game and topped the Islanders 2-1 on Wednesday night on Daniel Carcillo's tiebreaking goal 4:36 into the third period.
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.