A judge has upheld the Glendale City Council's vote on an arena lease agreement with a prospective owner of the Coyotes. Judge Dean Fink on Thursday rejected a claim by the Goldwater Institute that the city should have had open bidding on arena operations for Jobing.com Arena, the home of the Coyotes, rather than accept an offer from former Sharks CEO Greg Jamison. "We thought it was the right decision -- there wasn't a strong legal basis for this action at all," Glendale City Attorney Craig Tindall said.

The NHL season could start without a new agreement if both sides agree to continue talks beyond the Sept. 15 expiration date. NHL Players' Association executive director Don Fehr said Wednesday: "The players haven't considered what they would do on Sept. 15 or any other date if no agreement is in place."

New NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr said negotiations will begin after Wednesday's meeting of the NHLPA's executive board, though he did not specify a date, according to an ESPN.com report.

Police are investigating date rape allegations against Kings defenseman Drew Doughty stemming from an encounter with a woman at a Southern California seaside bar, according to an ESPN.com report on Wednesday.

The watchdog group Goldwater Institute has filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the Glendale City Council's vote to approve a lease agreement for Jobing.com Arena with a potential buyer of the Coyotes. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court on behalf of Glendale taxpayers Ken Jones and Joe Cobb.

A conservative watchdog group plans to ask a judge for a temporary restraining order Friday to prevent a Glendale City Council vote on a lease agreement that would clear the way for the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes. The Goldwater Institute said Thursday that its request will be filed at 8:30 a.m. Friday in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Vladimir Krutov, one of the Soviet Union's all-time great ice hockey players and part of the national team's formidable KLM Line, has died at the age of 52. The Russian Hockey Federation said Krutov died Wednesday. It did not give a cause of death, but the ITAR-Tass news agency said he had been taken to a hospital several days earlier for stomach bleeding.

Court records show retired NHL player Darren McCarty and his wife got personal protection orders against four former friends in suburban Detroit. The Detroit News reported Wednesday that the veteran of 15 NHL seasons who won four Stanley Cups with the Red Wings claims harassment by the three women and one man. McCarty and his wife, Sheryl, say in court papers the four tried to draw McCarty back into a partying lifestyle.

The Toledo Walleye of the ECHL say defenseman Bryan Rufenach has died this week while traveling in Switzerland. He was 23. Rufenach was picked by the Red Wings in the seventh round of the 2007 draft. He was signed to his first pro contract by the Walleye last year after four years at Clarkson University.

A fan is suing the owners of the Penguins because the team sent him more text alerts than he agreed to in the terms and conditions, according to an ESPN.com report. The lawsuit says the team violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits unsolicited text messages, because the Penguins website said subscribers would receive no more than three texts a weeks about breaking news.