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

Flames sign defenceman Marchment

TSN.ca Staff

10/11/2005 1:49:14 PM

The Calgary Flames have added a little toughness to the blueline.

Veteran defenceman Bryan Marchment has agreed to a one year deal with the the Flames. He's expected to be in Calgary on Wednesday.

''We're giving up too many goals - it's real simple,'' coach and GM Darryl Sutter said Tuesday. ''That experience will help us.''

A source tells the Canadian Press the deal is worth between $450,000 and $500,000 US.

Marchment attended the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp last month as a free agent but was not offered a contract. The Toronto native had one goal, three assists, a plus-4 rating and 106 penalty minutes in 75 games with the Leafs in 2003-04.

"I'm not the general manager and I'm not the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I just know that as a player, I'm very happy to be going to the Calgary organization," Marchment told the Fan 590, an all-sports radio station in Toronto. "I'm more just excited about playing hockey than anything."

Flames captain Jarome Iginla is pleased to have a player of Marchment's reputation on the blue line.

''It's always nice to have another guy that other players are aware of when he's on the ice,'' said Iginla.

Marchment, a first round pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 1987, has also played for Chicago, Hartford, Edmonton, Tampa Bay, Colorado and San Jose. The rugged blue-liner has 39 goals, 140 assists and 2,232 penalty minutes in 889 career games.

(Files from the Canadian Press were used in this report)
 

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Semin may be on the way to Washington

TSN.ca Staff

10/12/2005 9:54:42 AM

The Washington Capitals could get an unexpected addition this season.

After almost two seasons of avoiding the Capitals, Russian forward Alexander Semin may have no choice but to play for the NHL team due to problems with his Russian Super League squad.

The Washington Times reports Semin's club, Lada Togliatti, is experiencing financial difficulties which has already led to the firing of the team's general manager and some of its coaches. The purge is expected to continue with a number of high paid players the first to be targeted.

Semin is the highest paid player on Lada, making the equivalent of $2-million - tax free. His deal also includes the use of a car and a condo.

The former 2002 first round pick's relationship with the Capitals has been a rocky one. First, he refused to report to the minors at the end of the 2003-04 season citing a military obligation in Russia which prevented him from leaving. The Capitals did not buy the story and promptly suspended him.

This year, he reportedly told team officials he would be at training camp along with fellow Russian Alexander Ovechkin. But while Ovechkin showed up, Semin did not and the suspension continued.

The Times quotes an unnamed Capitals official as saying even if Semin is available, they're not sure they want him on the team under any circumstance.

Semin is under contract to the Capitals for two more seasons. His options outside of the NHL are limited due to the suspension, which is recognized by the IIHF.
 

Marian Gaborik return on hold

Associated Press

10/12/2005 1:38:12 PM

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota Wild forward Marian Gaborik's groin injury could keep him out of the lineup for another 10 days.

Gaborik has not played this season. He initially hoped to return to the lineup Wednesday night against Vancouver, but coach Jacques Lemaire said at the team's morning skate that Gaborik was not ready.

''Marian won't be playing this week,'' Lemaire said. ''I think he will start probably on the next road trip.''

That doesn't begin until Oct. 22 at St. Louis, and Gaborik would miss at least four more games.

Lemaire said the team is playing it cautious with its most dynamic player to ensure the injury does not linger throughout the season.

''He feels ready to play, but I think it's important he takes time to heal well and be able to get into full practices,'' Lemaire said.

Gaborik was being patient.

''I'll take it day-by-day,'' he said. ''I'm excited to play, obviously, but they don't want to rush it and I don't want to rush it.''
 

Thornton to get treatment for back spasms

Canadian Press

10/12/2005 4:19:23 PM

SUNRISE, Fla. (CP) - The Boston Bruins will face the Florida Panthers on Thursday night without the services of their top two centres.

Star centre Joe Thornton has joined Alexei Zhamnov (shoulder) on the shelf. The Bruins sent Thornton, who is suffering from back spasms, home to Boston on Wednesday to get examined.

Thornton missed the final five minutes of the Bruins' 4-2 win over Tampa Bay on Monday and is listed as day to day. Thornton has no goals and four assists in four games this season.

''One of the strengths of our team is our versatility,'' head coach Mike Sullivan told the Boston Globe and Boston Herald. ''Every team at some point goes through a rash of injuries. It's important that the team has the ability to play through those without missing a beat.

''We have players who can play multiple positions, so guys can step in and fill roles. (Patrice) Bergeron has played terrific at centre. He's a natural centre just by his skill set anyway. But he's probably one of the most versatile players we have.

''(Shawn McEachern) is another guy who can play centre and play the wing. Tom Fitzgerald can play centre and wing. Travis Green can play centre or wing. All of these players have played different positions over the course of their careers. It makes my job a little bit easier.''
 

Jackets rookie Brule out six weeks

Canadian Press

10/13/2005 12:08:09 AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio (CP) - Gilbert Brule has suffered a fractured sternum and will be out of the Columbus Blue Jackets' lineup for at least six weeks.

Brule, 18, suffered the injury during the Blue Jackets home-opener Friday against Calgary, a Columbus spokesman said Wednesday. It was Brule's second NHL game.

The five-foot-10, 175-pound forward took a hard hit during the game from Calgary Flames defenceman Roman Hamrlik, who is six foot two and 210 pounds.

Brule's father, Chris, who was in Columbus to watch the game, said it was one of the hardest hits he'd ever seen.

"It was a welcome-to-the-NHL hit," Chris told the Vancouver Sun.

Columbus drafted Brule, from Vancouver, sixth overall in the 2005 NHL entry draft.

He had one assist in his NHL debut against the Washington Capitals. He had two goals and three assists in six pre-season games.

Brule, who signed a three-year contract with Columbus earlier this month, can still be assigned to his junior club, the Vancouver Giants, after he recovers from his injury. The first year of his contract kicks in once he plays 10 NHL games.
 

Bruins re-sign defenceman Boynton

TSN.ca Staff/CP

10/13/2005 11:42:23 AM

BOSTON (TSN.ca/CP) - Restricted free agent Nick Boynton has signed a one-year deal with the Boston Bruins, accepting an offer that had been on the table for more than a month worth $1.75-million.

Boynton and Bruins GM Mike O'Connell were only $150,000 apart on a new deal for several weeks but neither side seemed willing to budge. On Thursday, Boynton phoned his agent Anton Thun and decided to end the stalemate by accepting the Bruins offer.

The 26-year-old all-star defenceman is the last notable restricted free agent to re-sign after Ilya Kovalchuk signed a $32-million, five-year deal with the Atlanta Thrashers last weekend.

"We are very pleased to have Nick signed," O'Connell said in a release. "He is one of the best young defencemen in the game, is a leader in our dressing room and we expect that he will play a big part in our team's success this season."

Boynton, a native of Nobleton, Ont., played in his first NHL all-star game in 2003-04 when he had career highs of six goals and 24 assists in 81 games. He has 72 career points (17-55) in 245 career games.

How Boynton fares now after missing all of training camp and the first week of the regular season remains to be seen. He's been in the Boston area over the last 10 days skating every day at Harvard as well as the Bruins practice facility.

"He'll be fine," Thun said Thursday. "He's in great shape."

During the lockout last season, Boynton played nine games with Nottingham in England, notching a goal and three assists.
 

Moore lawsuit dismissed in Colorado

Canadian Press

10/13/2005 5:58:06 PM

DENVER (AP) - Former Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore should consider Canada if he wants to take Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi to court over an attack that left him with a broken neck, a judge ruled Thursday.

Denver district Judge Shelley Gilman dismissed Moore's lawsuit, agreeing with lawyers for Bertuzzi, the Canucks and others that because the hit happened in Canada and because Moore and all the defendants are Canadian citizens or businesses headquartered in Canada, any case would be better handled there.

"British Columbia bears the most significant relationship to Moore's claims," Gilman wrote. She also said a new state law prohibited her from allowing the case to continue.

Moore hasn't played since the March 8, 2004, game in which Bertuzzi grabbed him from behind, punched him in the head and drove his head into the ice. Moore, who suffered three fractured vertebrae in his neck, a concussion and other injuries, testified earlier this month that after months of physical therapy, he has begun training in hopes of rejoining the Avalanche.

He was seeking unspecified damages from the Canucks, team owner Orca Bay Hockey Limited Partnership, Bertuzzi, coach Marc Crawford, former general manager Brian Burke and former Canucks player Brad May, who now plays for the Avalanche.

"Steve was disappointed by the decision," Moore's lawyer, Tim Danson, told TSN. "He has instructed us to launch an appeal of the decision and we're confident that we will get a different disposition on appeal.

"Our position is that Denver, Colorado is still the appropriate jurisdiction for the trial to take place."

Moore's lawyers argued that he was a Colorado resident when he was injured and when he filed the lawsuit, giving him the right to seek damages in Colorado. They also said events leading up to Bertuzzi's hit started during a game in Denver on Feb. 16, 2004, when Moore hit Canucks captain Markus Naslund, leaving him with a concussion.

After the February game, Bertuzzi, May, Crawford and Burke met in Denver and planned Bertuzzi's hit as retaliation, according to Lee Foreman, Moore's lawyer. The lawsuit accused Bertuzzi and the other defendants of civil conspiracy, assault, battery and negligence.

Foreman argued that the formation of the alleged conspiracy in Denver, and the fact that Moore received medical treatment in Denver, was enough to allow Moore to pursue his lawsuit in Colorado. The judge disagreed.

"The statements allegedly made by the defendants in Colorado do not rise to the level of tortious or unlawful acts," which would be required to prove a conspiracy, she wrote.

Lawyer Mike O'Donnell, who represents the Canucks and Crawford, said the judge accepted all the arguments the defendants made.

"The team is pleased, and coach Crawford is pleased, that this case will go forward - if at all - in the Canadian courts," he said.

Gilman wrote that she was required to dismiss the case under a 2004 state law enacted in response to a large number of cases filed by non-residents. The law was designed to ensure Coloradans have access to the courts by limiting access by non-residents.

Factors she had to consider included Moore's residency and citizenship, the fact that he could file his case in Vancouver, the fact that the injury occurred in Canada and the fact that most witnesses are in Canada. She also had to consider whether Colorado law would apply to Moore's claims, and concluded that was highly unlikely for most or all the claims.

Burke's lawyer, Scott Barker, said his client was not in Denver when the alleged conspiracy was formed.

"The ruling doesn't address the merits of the claims," Barker said. "But even taking the allegations of the complaint as true, they don't establish a sufficient connection with the state of Colorado."

Bertuzzi's lawyer, Roger Tomasch, was out of the state and unavailable for comment, his receptionist said.

Bertuzzi faced up to 18 months in prison after Vancouver authorities charged him with assault. He pleaded guilty, and was then sentenced to probation and community service.

Bertuzzi was reinstated to the NHL in August after being indefinitely suspended and missing 13 regular-season games and the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2004, giving up about $502,000 in salary. He is due to earn about $5.2 million this season.

Moore is an unrestricted free agent, but he has said the Avalanche plan to sign him to a new contract once his doctors clear him to play again.
 

Report: Minor league union could sue NHL

TSN.ca

10/13/2005 1:58:10 AM

The NHL could be facing a lawsuit from minor professional hockey players.

According to a report in the Toronto Star, the Professional Hockey Players' Association, whose members play in the ECHL and AHL, claim they 'are suffering injury every day' under the current NHL collective bargaining agreement.

The group has threatened to launch an antitrust lawsuit over a provision in the CBA that limits the salaries of players in the minors.

Currently, players that are in the minors that make more than $75,000 are subject to NHL waivers when they are called up.

"This rule has the effect of imposing a wage ceiling of $75,000 in the AHL... which also has the affect of suppressing wages for all players in the AHL," Union lawyer Jeffrey Kessler wrote to the NHL.

NHLPA spokesperson Jonathan Weatherdon said in a statement that they are "reviewing the correspondence."

With files from the Toronto Star
 


Coyotes place Ricci on injury reserve

TSN.ca Staff

10/14/2005 8:52:32 AM

The Phoenix Coyotes have placed centre Mike Ricci on the injury reserve list retroactive to Saturday after breaking his nose in the Coyotes' home opener against the Minnesota Wild.

The Coyotes lost Ricci with 8:29 left in the third period when teammate Boyd Devereaux deflected a slap shot by Wild defenceman Nick Schultz into Ricci's face.

To keep the roster at 23, the Coyotes activated centre Petr Nedved on Thursday who suffered a groin injury in late September. Nedved collected a goal and an assist against the Nashville Predators in his return.
 

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