NHL News

LONDON _ The Los Angeles Kings were the forgotten team here this week, shunted to the background as their Southern California rivals paraded the Stanley Cup around London. Maybe they got tired of playing second fiddle. Mike Cammalleri scored twice and rookie Jonathan Bernier sparkled in his first-ever NHL start as the Kings dumped the defending champion Anaheim Ducks 4-1 ...

OTTAWA (CP) _ The Ottawa Senators locked up one of their best two-way players to a long-term deal Monday, signing centre Mike Fisher to a five-year extension. Fisher had 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points last season, his seventh with the Senators. The 27-year-old Peterborough, Ont., native played a key role in Ottawa's run to the Stanley Cup final last spring. He supplied plenty of grit at both ends of the ice and recorded 10 ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ The Nashville Predators aren't going anywhere. Owner Craig Leipold signed a letter of intent Wednesday to sell the team to a local group of investors trying to keep the NHL franchise from leaving town. The group of eight partners plan to pay US$193 million, according to Leipold. One of the partners, David Freeman, chief executive officer of 36 Venture Capital LLC, has put down a $10-million deposit to make sure the deal is ...

Restricted free agent Thomas Vanek has signed US$50-million, seven-year offer sheet with the Edmonton Oilers, his agent said Friday. The Sabres have seven days either to match the offer and keep Vanek or could take four first round draft picks as compensation. The Sabres have scheduled an afternoon news conference with managing partner Larry Quinn and general manager Darcy Regier at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y. ``It's not a surprise,'' agent Stephen Bartlett said. ``I've been saying for a ...

Owen Nolan has some advice for family and friends pondering him as a pick in their hockey pool next season. ``It's going to be better than last year, let's put it that way,'' the newest Calgary Flames addition said Tuesday. The 35-year-old Nolan signed a one-year contract worth US$1.75 million in base salary with another $250,000 attainable in performance bonuses. The deal was struck Monday but announced by the NHL club on Tuesday. He heads to training camp ...

ANAHEIM, Calif. (CP) _ The car slowly gained speed along the country road and Chris Neil pumped his legs as hard as he could in trying to keep up. His mom was driving. He was just a boy. Now he's in the Stanley Cup final, and the memories of how he got here will inspire him to be the best he can. ``I don't think I'd be where I am today if it wasn't for her,'' says ...

BOSTON (CP) _ Star defenceman Brian Leetch officially retired Thursday, ending an 18-year career that featured two Norris Trophy wins and 10 all-star selections. The 39-year-old sat out the entire out 2006-07 season after spending 2005-06 with the Boston Bruins, when he recorded five goals and 27 assists in 61 games. ``I have been fortunate to be an NHL player since 1988,'' Leetch said in a statement. ``I missed being in the NHL this past season, but believe ...

VANCOUVER (CP) _ The Vancouver Canucks re-signed centre Ryan Kessler to a three-year contract on Thursday. The 22-year-old had six goals and 10 assists in 48 games in 2006-07 before a hip injury knocked him out of the club's final 34 regular-season games. He returned in time for the playoffs but suffered a hand injury in Game 1 of the first-round series with Dallas that ended his year. Last summer as a restricted free agent, Kessler signed ...

ANAHEIM, Calif. (CP) _ Teemu Selanne couldn't decide if he felt overwhelming joy or a deep feeling of relief after the Anaheim Ducks hung on for a heart-stopping 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night to earn a trip to the NHL Stanley Cup final. The Ducks looked like they had the game sewn up with a 4-1, third-period lead but saw the Red Wings battle back with goals 6:48 apart. Detroit came close ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Predators general manager David Poile picked up the option Friday on coach Barry Trotz and his assistants for next season as a reward for the best campaign in franchise history. The Predators had chosen not to pick up that option before the 2006-07 season and Poile said last week the move was to let everyone focus on the task at hand. The Predators responded with 110 ...

ATLANTA (AP) _ Atlanta captain Scott Mellanby retired Tuesday, less than a week after the Thrashers were swept in the first round of the NHL playoffs. Mellanby ended his 21-year career after Atlanta made the playoffs for the first time in its seven-year history, but lost four straight games to the New York Rangers. ``I've been fortunate to live my dream for the past 21 years, and it's with a ...

OTTAWA (CP) _ Chris Phillips has agreed to a new contract with the Ottawa Senators worth US$14 million over four years. The deal also includes a no-trade clause. The 29-year-old defenceman from Calgary earned $2.2 million this season while posting career highs in goals (8) and points (26), logging an average of 22 minutes 21 seconds ice time while appearing in all 82 games. Phillips has spent his entire 10-year ...

The playoff picture in the National Hockey League became clear Sunday and it did not include the Toronto Maple Leafs. A day after they sent the Montreal Canadiens home for the summer, the Maple Leafs watched their season come to an end by virtue of the New York Islanders' 3-2 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils. That gave the Islanders the final post-season spot in the Eastern Conference with ...

A look at the eight first-round NHL playoff match-ups: East Buffalo (1) vs. NY Islanders (8) Season series: Buffalo led 3-1. Records: Buffalo 53-22-7, 113 pts.; Islanders 40-30-12, 92 pts. The Islanders are back in the playoffs after sitting out a year and the good news is they are 3-0 all-time in the post-season against the Sabres. The bad news is the last time they met was 1980 and their ...

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ Mario Lemieux didn't win a scoring title until his fourth NHL season and, despite his enormous talent and on-ice presence, couldn't lead the Pittsburgh Penguins into the playoffs until his fifth season. Sidney Crosby did both in his second season. At age 19. The NHL hasn't seen anything like this since a 19-year-old Wayne Gretzky's first NHL season with the Edmonton Oilers in 1979-80 _ a teenager ...

It is a nervy week for two Canadian NHL clubs still battling for playoff spots _ the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. And both have key tests on Tuesday night. The Leafs, who are 11th in the Eastern Conference but only two points behind Carolina, the New York Islanders and Montreal, play host to the Hurricanes. The Canadiens are at home against the sixth-place New York Rangers. The ...

DETROIT (AP) _ The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Tomas Kopecky to a two-year contract on Monday. The 24-year-old from Slovakia appeared in 26 games this season before breaking his clavicle Dec. 14 at Chicago. He lost his footing and hit the boards as he approached the Chicago blue-line, and Blackhawks defenceman Jim Vandermeer fell on top of him. Kopecky, who had one goal this season, would have been an ...

In the battle between the top two teams in the NHL, a little-known forward made the difference for the Detroit Red Wings. Jiri Hudler scored twice Wednesday, including the go-ahead goal, as the Red Wings surged past the Nashville Predators in both the NHL and Central Division standings with a 4-2 win. Hudler's heroics came a night after his goal was the winner in Detroit's 5-2 win in Nashville. ``I ...

Finding some elbow room in the tight Northwest Division of the NHL is like battling for space with an elephant in a phone booth. It's pretty crowded. The Vancouver Canucks will need a win over the Calgary Flames in Saturday night's game at the Pengrowth Saddledome (CBC, 10 p.m. ET) if they hope to remain first in the packed division. The Canucks then play the Oilers, another division rival, in ...

Ken Hitchcock heard the whispers but ignored them. He knew what some people were saying after he got fired by the Philadelphia Flyers earlier this season. The new NHL wasn't for him, they said. Wonder what they're saying now. The Columbus Blue Jackets have been re-energized since Hitchcock's hiring Nov. 23, going 6-3-0 under his guidance, all three losses coming by one goal. They're currently riding a five-game win streak ...

The St. Louis Blues, last overall in the NHL despite a change in ownership and several player upgrades, fired coach Mike Kitchen on Monday night and replaced him with former Los Angeles Kings coach Andy Murray. Blues president John Davidson said Murray received a long-term contract after negotiations in New York on Sunday. Murray was fired by the Kings last March. ``We realize we're a team that's got a long ...

Ladell Betts is getting his first taste of life as a regular starting running back in the NFL, and the results look pretty good. He's had back-to-back 100-yard games, quite a change of pace for someone who has spent 4{ years as a role player with the Washington Redskins. ``It feels like a long time coming,'' Betts said. Which leads to the inevitable question: How difficult would it be to ...

Longtime NHL forward John LeClair was assigned to the minors by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday for the second time this month. LeClair was placed on waivers last week but was not claimed by another team. The Penguins then assigned him to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL before putting him on re-entry waivers, which would have required any club claiming him to pay half of the remaining share of his US$1.5 ...

Darcy Tucker slammed Carlo Colaiacovo into the boards, yelled some four-letter words at nobody in particular on his way back to his practice drill position, and slashed at a water bottle when he got there. The Toronto Maple Leafs' leading scorer was testy during practice Wednesday, and might as well have been wearing a ``Beware Of Dog'' sign on his chest as he stripped off his pads afterwards. A team ...

The Stars signed defenceman Stephane Robidas to a three-year contract extension worth US$4.5 million Wednesday. Robidas had a career-high 15 assists and 20 points for the Stars in 2005-2006. This season, the 29-year-old has appeared in 27 games and has registered eight assists. His contract was set to expire at the end of the season. ``Stephane brings a relentless work ethic to the rink each day and has earned his ...

Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Smyth is out indefinitely after suffering a fractured thumb in Saturday night's 4-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Smyth played only two shifts in the first period before suffering the injury. He was wearing a cast after the game, but the team said surgery likely won't be required. ``I couldn't move my thumb,'' Smyth said after the game. ``I had no movement at all. I thought maybe it was dislocated or something. ``I ...

The Calgary Flames are retiring the number of goaltender Mike Vernon, who led the Flames to their Stanley Cup win of 1989. Vernon, a Calgary native, spent 13 of his 20 NHL seasons with the Flames. He had three shutouts and 16 wins for the Flames in the 1989 post-season. Vernon also played for San Jose, Florida and Detroit, where he won another Stanley Cup in 1997. He was also ...

The Toronto Maple Leafs solved their logjam in goal by sending Mikael Tellqvist to the Phoenix Coyotes for forward Tyson Nash and a fourth-round 2007 draft pick Tuesday. Tellqvist had been a third-stringer this season and appeared in only one game, a 2-1 loss to New Jersey on Nov. 16. J.S. Aubin, who has been dressing as the backup to Andrew Raycroft for most games, moved ahead of Tellqvist in ...

This won't be the first time Chris Pronger returns to play a former team but it will surely be the most anticipated. The 32-year-old star defenceman, now with Anaheim, plays in Edmonton on Tuesday for the first time since requesting to leave the Oilers after last season. He'll likely be booed all night. Even during Friday night's win over Chicago, Edmonton fans booed when it was announced that the Oilers' ...

Marc-Andre Bergeron won the speed drill, Petr Sykora was the most accurate shooter and Joffrey Lupul was best in the shootout during the Edmonton Oilers' skills contests Sunday. More than 15,000 _ a record for the annual event _ streamed into Rexall Place to watch. Bergeron blazed around the ice surface in 14.392 seconds. He also won the hardest shot competition with a 103.5 miles-an-hour rocket. Sykora picked apart four ...