Duncan Keith’s Day at Wrigley

Filed under: Blackhawks, NHL Videos

The Chicago Blackhawks have been celebrating nonstop since they won their first Stanley Cup in 47 years this past June. Patrick Kane has been up to lots of drunken debauchery, there was a bounty put out to help find the puck from Kane’s Cup winning goal and there was the obligatory Tonight Show visit, to name just a few of the festivities.

Sunday, a pair of Hawks continued the victory parade as Duncan Keith took the field at Wrigley to throw out the first pitch at the Cubs game. Later on, he was joined by teammate Dave Bolland in the press box for the traditional guest signing of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

 

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Jonathan Cheechoo: From 50-Goal Scorer to Tryout Contract

Filed under: Sharks, Stars, NHL Free Agency

Five years ago Jonathan Cheechoo led the NHL with 56 goals as a member of the San Jose Sharks. Injuries have helped to derail his career in the years since, as he’s seen his production fall off in a stunningly consistent decline, going from 56 goals to 37, to 23, to 12 and all the way down to the five he tallied in 61 games with the Ottawa Senators last season.

Seemingly unable to find a guaranteed roster spot elsewhere in the NHL, Cheechoo accepted a tryout contract with the Dallas Stars on Saturday, in what appears to be one more shot for the 29-year-old forward.

He’s still one of just 89 different players in the history of the league that have ever scored 50-or-more goals in a single NHL season, which obviously puts him in some select company. Even if that one season was an outlier from the rest of his career.

 

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NHL, NHLPA Reach Agreement; Ilya Kovalchuk Contract to be Approved

Filed under: Devils, NHL Free Agency, NHL Economics

We’ve been down this road before, but it appears as if the Ilya Kovalchuk contract situation is finally, mercifully, close to an end result.

On Friday, multiple media outlets, including TSN’s Darren Dreger, ESPN’s EJ Hradek and Tom Gulitti of The Bergen Record are all reporting that the NHL and NHLPA have come to an agreement on an ammendment to the CBA in regards to the long-term contracts that have become the bane of the league’s existence the past two years.

The 17-year contract that the Devils originally had with Kovalchuk this summer was obviously the breaking point, dragging out his free agency to this point in early September. After the Devils submitted a revised contract last week (a reported 15-year pact worth $100 million) the league was supposed to make a decision on whether or not to approve it by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Instead of reaching a decision, the deadline was pushed back to Friday, prolonging the situation even further. According to Friday’s reports, the newest contract will be approved as part of the new CBA ammendment.

Not long after Wednesday’s deadline was delayed, reports surfaced that the NHL had issued an ultimatum to the NHLPA regarding contracts like the ones signed by Roberto Luongo and Marian Hossa, among others. Those reports, however, were disputed in the sense that it wasn’t necessarily an ultimatum, but simply a negotiation between the two sides. Either way, the agreement will also lead to the Luongo and Hossa deals being approved, as well.

According to Gulitti, via Twitter, the “CBA amendment would involve stipulations on cap hit for deals going past age 35 and age 40.”

 

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Mike Comrie Signs With Penguins

Filed under: Penguins, NHL Free Agency

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ quest to find forwards over the past couple of seasons has been well documented. Since they have so much cap space invested in their top three centers (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal) they’ve been forced to use a revolving door of reclamation projects, bargain bin free agent signings and trade deadline rentals to play on their wings: Petr Sykora, Bill Guerin, Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko. With two Stanley Cup Final appearances in three years, they’ve had a bit of success with this approach. And you can now add another name to the list: Mike Comrie.

The 29-year-old forward inked a one-year contract with the Penguins on Friday. The deal is for the league minimum ($500,000) according to the release on the Penguins website.

Comrie’s agent, Ritch Winter, said on Team 1260 in Edmonton (which originally reported the signing) that Comrie has already spoken to Crosby, who is looking forward to having him skate on his left wing this season.

 

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Carey Price Re-Signs With Canadiens

Filed under: Canadiens, Eastern

After trading last year’s playoff sensation, Jaroslav Halak, to the St. Louis Blues, it seemed set in stone that Montreal would use Carey Price as their No. 1 goaltender.

All they had to do was sign him.

They did that Thursday, giving Price what is reported to be a two-year contract worth more than $5 million.

Price started his NHL career like a superstar in the making when he debuted in 2007, but fizzled badly in his second year, culminating with a dreadful performance against Boston that left him expressing his displeasure with Canadiens fans.

 

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Sharks GM Doug Wilson: ‘We Like Our Goaltending Now’

Filed under: Sharks

Watching Antti Niemi stymie his team again and again during the Western Conference finals wasn’t fun for San Jose general manager Doug Wilson, who still has the image seared in his mind.

Now, though, Wilson doesn’t have to worry about Niemi — the Stanley Cup-winning goaltender is now a member of the Sharks after signing a one-year, $2 million deal on Thursday morning. Niemi, a victim of salary cap limitations in Chicago, is expected to be the primary man in net in San Jose, taking over from longtime goalie Evgeni Nabokov, a free agent who was not re-signed.

“We like our goaltending now,” Wilson said on a conference call. “We feel going into camp our goaltending is very strong. If you’d told me in July we’d end up at this point, I’d be very pleased.”

 

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NHL Reportedly Wants Compromise With Union Over Kovalchuk Contract

Filed under: Blackhawks, Canucks, Devils, Flyers, Eastern, Western, NHL Free Agency

While NHL media and fans wring their hands over the league’s inability to rule on Ilya Kovalchuk’s new contract with the New Jersey Devils, the league is apparently working behind the scenes to make a deal of their own.

Larry Brooks of The New York Post reported Thursday morning that the NHL wants to cut a deal with the NHL Players Association. It’s a deal that the league hopes will put an end to these ridiculous long-term contracts that have become all the rage.

Brooks reports that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly sent a letter to the union late Wednesday night to outline the league’s position and lay out this proposal.

 

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Ilya Kovalchuk Contract Deadline Pushed Back to Friday

Filed under: Devils, NHL Free Agency

The NHL was supposed to make a decision on the most recent contract proposal from the New Jersey Devils and free agent winger Ilya Kovalchuk (a reported 15-year, $100 million deal) at 5 p.m. ET Wednesday, hopefully bringing an end to this on-going madness that has consumed most of the offseason.

Great news, right? Wrong.

About an hour before the deadline, it was announced that the NHL and NHLPA had mutually agreed to push the deadline back to 5 p.m. on Friday, continuing one of the most unique — and, quite frankly, maddening — free agent sagas the NHL has ever seen.

Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello released the following statement on the decision:

 

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Antti Niemi Reportedly Agrees to Contract With Sharks

Filed under: Blackhawks, Sharks, Western, NHL Free Agency

The San Jose Sharks seem to have developed an interesting off-ice rivalry with the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. Earlier this offseason, San Jose gave an offer sheet to restricted free agent defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson. The Blackhawks matched the offer, but the deal put them in a tough situation with the salary cap.

As a result, Chicago was forced to dump free agent goalie Antti Niemi when he got too much money in arbitration. The Blackhawks made Niemi an unrestricted free agent by walking away from the deal, and they signed veteran Marty Turco for less money to take his place.

Now, the Sharks have pounced. Reports have emerged that the team is on the verge of signing Niemi to a one-year deal.

 

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Yale’s Mandi Schwartz Learns Cancer Is in Remission

Filed under: College Hockey

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Yale hockey player Mandi Schwartz is scheduled to receive a stem cell transplant after learning that her cancer is in remission.

The 22-year-old Regina native received the news Tuesday from doctors, according to a release from Yale University. Schwartz is a senior at the school and played center on the women’s hockey team.

It’s the third time she’s gone into remission since being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in December 2008. She will receive the stem cell transplant — essentially, a new blood and immune system — as soon as possible.

“We are relieved to hear that Mandi is back in remission,” her father Rick Schwartz said in a release. “The support we have received during this difficult time has been inspiring. We thank everyone who has kept Mandi in their thoughts and prayers.”

Schwartz was originally scheduled to have a stem cell transplant on Aug. 26, but that was delayed when it was discovered the cancer had returned. She then went through another round of chemotherapy at a Seattle hospital.

Mandi’s brother is Jaden Schwartz, who was selected 14th overall by the St. Louis Blues in June. Her other brother Rylan plays for Colorado College.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

 

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