NHL: Free Agency, Trade, Injury, and Rookie News!

Penguins send Fleury back to AHL

TSN.ca Staff

10/1/2005 12:24:57 PM

The Pittsburgh Penguins pared down their roster further on Saturday, assigning goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to Wilkes Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

The team also sent down centres Colby Armstrong and Michel Ouellet, left wing Erik Christensen and right wing Tomas Surovy, and defencemen Daniel Fernholm, Ryan Lannon, Andy Schneider, Noah Welch and Ryan Whitney.

Fleury, their first overall selection in 2003 will have one more year to develop in the minors while veteran Jocelyn Thibault and backup Sebastien Caron handle the duties.

Fleury was Pittsburgh's starting goalie when the 2003-04 season started, then was loaned to Canada's junior world championship team before going back to Cape Breton in January. The Penguins made the move partly to avoid paying Fleury $3 million in contract bonuses.

Fleury was 4-14-2 with a 3.64 GAA and .896 save percentage for the Penguins.
 

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Habs send Latendresse back to junior

Canadian Press

10/2/2005 9:16:01 PM

Guillaume Latendresse is heading back to junior after the Montreal Canadiens assigned the promising forward to the QMJHL's Drummondville Voltigeurs on Sunday.

The six-foot-two 18-year-old has been impressive at training camp, recording three goals and two assists in four pre-season games.

A second-round selection in the 2005 NHL draft, Latendresse collected 29 goals and 49 assists in 65 games with the Voltigeurs in 2004-05.

Latendresse, who had become a fan favourite in Montreal for his tenacious physical play, has a shot at playing for Canada at the world junior championships later this year.

The move leaves 25 players at training camp.
 

Leschyshyn announces his retirement

TSN.ca Staff

10/3/2005 10:26:32 AM

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Curtis Leschyshyn has decided to retire.

The 36 year old played 16 seasons in the NHL including the first eight-plus seasons with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche.

Leschyshyn was Quebec's first pick, third overall, in the 1988 Entry Draft and went on to play in 522 career games with the franchise which included winning a Stanley Cup title in 1995-96.

"After going through the entire training camp, I feel it is the appropriate time for me to make that decision," said Leschyshyn. "I'm proud of what I have accomplished as a hockey player and I was fortunate to be playing in the NHL for so many years. I am really happy to retire as a member of the Colorado Avalanche, the organization where I began my career and won a Stanley Cup in 1996."

Leschyshyn also went on to play for Washington, Hartford, Carolina, Minnesota and Ottawa.
 

Leafs send Colaiacovo, Kronwall down

Canadian Press

10/3/2005 11:40:33 AM

The Toronto Maple Leafs have sent down a pair of young defencemen.

The team announced on Monday that Carlo Colaiacovo and Staffan Kronwall have been assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

Colaiacovo appeared in four of the eight Leafs' preseason games and scored one assist. He was hobbled recently by an ankle injury.

Kronwall appeared in five games and collected two assists. The youngster caused a stir early in training camp when he leveled Eric Lindros with a body check.
 

Brule signs on with Blue Jackets

Sports Ticker

10/3/2005 4:30:05 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) - The Columbus Blue Jackets agreed Monday with center Gilbert Brule, the sixth over pick in the 2005 NHL draft, on a three-year contract.

Brule collected 39 goals and 48 assists in 70 games for the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League in 2005. The 5-10, 175-pounder also collected 169 penalty minutes.

He led the Blue Jackets with two goals and three assists in six preseason games to earn a spot on the team's season-opening 23-man roster.

"It has been a lifelong dream to play in the NHL and I am so happy this day has come and I'm a Blue Jacket," Brule said. "I'm going to work hard and hopefully I will play here all year and do whatever I can to help this team continue to improve and win games."

"Gilbert is a talented young player who worked really hard and played extremely well for us during the preseason and I'm very happy for him and for our organization that we're able to get this deal done," Columbus general manager Doug MacLean said. "He earned a spot on our roster and will be a tremendous compliment to the young talent in our organization."

Columbus begins the season Wednesday at Washington.
 

Oilers send down Schremp, Syvret

TSN.ca Staff

10/3/2005 4:02:12 PM

The Edmonton Oilers have sent down two Memorial Cup winners.

TSN has learned that the Oilers have sent forward Rob Schremp back to the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League and defenceman Danny Syvret to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.

Schremp was drafted 25th overall by the Oilers in 2004, and has played in six preseason games this year, scoring one goal.

Schremp scored 41 goals and added 49 assists in the 2004-05 regular season and was an integral part of the Knights 2005 Memorial Cup Championship team.

The 19-year old was the player of the game for Team Orr at the 2004 Propects game where he scored one goal and two assists.

Syvret was Schremp's teammate in London in 2004-05. The 20-year old posted 23 goals and tallied 46 assists in 62 regular season games.

Syvret played in four preseason games and had one assit.

The 6'0" defenseman was taken 81st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
 

Krahn, Nystrom among Flames cuts

TSN.ca Staff

10/3/2005 4:12:33 PM

The Calgary Flames reduced their roster to 22 players Monday by assigning six players including goaltender Brent Krahn and rookie Eric Nystrom.

Robyn Regehr's brother Richie and Mark Giordano were the two defencemen sent down to Omaha of the American Hockey League while wingers Lynn Loyns and Brantt Myhres were also demoted.

With the assigment of Krahn, Philippe Sauve will play backup to Miikka Kiprusoff in the Flames net. Krahn appeared in five games, giving up eight goals on 107 shots for a goals-against-average of 2.40 and a save percentage of .916.

Nystrom was drafted tenth overall by the Flames in the 2002 Entry Draft and completed four years at the University of Michigan.
 

Predators sign Perreault

TSN.ca Staff

10/3/2005 3:27:09 PM

The Nashville Predators have signed free agent center Yanic Perreault. Terms of the deal were not released.

The 34 year old had been in training camp on a tryout agreement and finished the preseason with two goals and three points in four games.

Perreault was said to be battling Randy Robitaille for a spot as the team's second line centre. At least one report had Perreault and the Predators discussing a two-way deal, which would give the NHL team financial flexibility down the road.

"We'll have to see what all the options are before anything gets decided," Perreault told the Tennessean prior to the team's final preseason game Sunday night. "But hockey is different today. The new (collective bargaining agreement) makes things much different."

Robitaille, along with forwards Jerred Smithson and Scottie Upshall and defenseman Greg Zanon were all assigned to the team's minor league affiliate in Milwaukee.

Perreault, a third round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1991, will be joining his fourth NHL team having also played for Los Angeles and Montreal. In 2003-04, he had 16 goals and 31 points in 69 games with the Canadiens.
 

Thrashers hope to meet with Kovalchuk

Canadian Press

10/3/2005 3:44:48 PM

ATLANTA (AP) - Ilya Kovalchuk will be in Atlanta this week to see his new daughter, and the Thrashers hope they can meet with their unsigned star winger during his visit.

Kovalchuk, a restricted free agent, is threatening to play this season in his native Russia if he can't agree on a contract with the Thrashers.

"I think things will start to shake out in the next little while," general manager Don Waddell said Monday.

Kovalchuk almost certainly will miss the start of the season with the Thrashers, who open Wednesday at Florida.

Kovalchuk tied Columbus' Rick Nash for the NHL lead with 41 goals in the last season before the lockout. He also had 46 assists, finishing 32 points ahead of Atlanta's second-highest scorer.

His girlfriend delivered a girl this past weekend, according to Waddell, and the player is scheduled to fly in Tuesday or Wednesday to spend a week with his child. During that time, Waddell wants to meet with the player.

"It wouldn't be so much to hammer out a deal," Waddell said. "I want to explain to him where we're headed as a franchise. I know he wants to play for a winning team. I think we've made good changes to do that. I'd like to sit down and talk with him if possible."

Kovalchuk's agent, Jay Grossman, did not immediately return a telephone message.

The Thrashers, who have never made the playoffs, took advantage of league's new salary cap to bring in plenty of help for Kovalchuk up front. Bobby Holik and Peter Bondra were signed as free agents, and Marian Hossa was acquired from Ottawa in a deal for Dany Heatley.

The team also expects to be much better defensively with newcomers Jaroslav Modry, Niclas Havelid, Tomas Kloucek and former first-round pick Braydon Coburn. In addition, top goaltending prospect Kari Lehtonen is set to take over in the nets, backed up by Mike Dunham.

Waddell said the Thrashers are willing to give Kovalchuk a slightly better deal than the one Nash got from the Blue Jackets: five years at $27 million US.

"It's all about the money," Waddell said. "We've also discussed the length of the deal, talked about different options."

The Thrashers are facing one crucial deadline. If Kovalchuk plays a game in Russia after Wednesday, he would have to clear waivers to return to Atlanta this season.

"Twenty-nine other teams would have to pass on him," Waddell said. "That's never going to happen."

If Kovalchuk sits out games in Russia, he would have until Dec. 1 to agree on a contract with the Thrashers to play in the NHL this season.
 

Habs to start season with six rookies

Canadian Press

10/3/2005 7:59:25 PM

The Montreal Canadiens will begin the season with six rookies including captain of the Swiss national team Mark Streit, who beat out Ron Hainsey for the one open job on defence in Montreal.

''I'm very surprised and very happy,'' Streit said after getting the word. ''The first couple of days everything was so different, the hockey - everything - but after the first week I felt more comfortable and every day was a little better.

''There's still a lot of space to improve farther. I want to work even harder now.''

Streit, 27, has come a long way. He was the 262nd player selected in the 2004 entry draft.

Raitis Ivanans was the surprise winner of the enforcer's job over Peter Vandermeer, who along with Hainsey was assigned to the AHL farm team in Hamilton. Ivanans, 26, may have won the Habs job by taking on Ottawa bruiser Brian McGratton on Saturday.

The six-foot-three Latvian arrived in Canada at age 17 to play junior hockey in Aurora, Ont. He was never drafted. He had a tryout with Detroit four years and didn't make it. He was playing in the United Hockey League for a team in Illinois just two years ago.

GM Bob Gainey likes Ivanans' size.

''We're not a big team compared to other teams in the NHL, but we are a quick team and I think we can handle our own in the physical areas, in front of the net and in the corners,'' says Gainey. ''I don't see us being disadvantaged in size.''

Other rookies to start the season with the Habs are forwards Chris Higgins, Alexander Perezhogin and Tomas Plekanec, and goaltender Yann Danis, who will back up Jose Theodore until Cristobal Huet returns from a knee injury in late November or early December.

''You always need younger guys if you're going to be successful in the long term,'' said captain Saku Koivu. ''Now we have young guys and they're hungry.

''They want to show they belong in this league, and it drives us older guys to work harder to keep our spots.''

iggins, 22, an American who was Montreal's first pick and 14th overall in 2002, is a strong two-way player. He got into two NHL games in 2003-2004.

''I definitely knew I had the chance and that I had the ability and work ethic to grab a spot on the roster, but I had to put out a consistent effort every day,'' he said. ''Obviously, it worked out.'' Plekanec, 22, tied with Radek Bonk for the team scoring lead in the pre-season with eight points (4-4-8). The Czech left-winger adds speed to the right side.

Perezhogin, 22, is the Kazakh winger who was banned from the AHL for a year after slashing an opponent across the face during a playoff game in 2004. He played on a Russian team with Jaromir Jagr last winter.
 

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