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Blackhawks name Dudley assistant GM
TSN.ca Staff
7/24/2006 11:58:12 AM

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have named Rick Dudley as an assistant general manager.

"Rick has a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge," said Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon. "He's been a valuable asset to our organization. Rick's been successful at every aspect of the game of hockey and I trust and respect his input."

"I've enjoyed working with Dale Tallon and Stan Bowman and the direction this team is going," said Dudley. "Our club is headed in the right direction with the promising youth we have in the organization and the commitment to building a Cup winner. I'm excited to be a part of what's going on here in Chicago."

Dudley joined the Blackhawks in December of 2004 as Hockey Operations Consultant and was elevated to Director of Player Personnel prior to the 2005-06 season.

Dudley, 57, joined the Blackhawks after serving as the General Manager of the Florida Panthers for two seasons from 2002-03 to 2003-04. Prior to joining the Panthers, Dudley spent two and a half seasons as Senior Vice-President and General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Before joining the Lightning, Rick served as General Manager of the Ottawa Senators for the 1998-99 season.

The Toronto native played six seasons with the Sabres from 1972-73 to 1974-75 and 1978-79 to 1980-81, recording 70 goals and 94 assists in 279 games.
 

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Penguins sign Ronald Petrovicky
Sports Ticker
7/24/2006 1:37:58 PM

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) - The Pittsburgh Penguins added another right wing, signing Ronald Petrovicky on Monday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Petrovicky, 29, played the last two seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers and ranked second on the team with 109 hits in 2005-06. He recorded eight goals and 12 assists in 60 games.

The 5-11, 190-pound Petrovicky also played six games for Slovakia at the Torino Olympics last February.

The Penguins signed right wing Jarkko Ruutu to a two-year, $2.3 million contract earlier in the month.

Petrovicky recorded career highs of 16 goals and 15 assists with the Thrashers in 2003-04.

A ninth-round pick by Calgary in 1996, Petrovicky has 38 goals and 48 assists along with 401 penalty minutes in 311 NHL games with the Flames, New York Rangers and Thrashers.
 

Canucks sign free agent winger Bulis
TSN.ca Staff
7/24/2006 2:46:49 PM

The Vancouver Canucks have bolstered their forward lines by signing free agent Jan Bulis to a one-year, $1.3-million contract.

Bulis, 28, scored a career-high 20 goals and tied his career best with 40 points in 2005-2006. At 6-foot-1, 208 pounds, the eight year NHL veteran is a reliable two-way player and has produced 222 points in 473 career games with the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens.

A second round pick of the Capitals in 1996, Bulis was acquired in a 2001 trade that sent Richard Zednik and a first-round pick to Montreal with Trevor Linden, Dainius Zubrus and a second-round pick going to Washington.
 

Predators ink Erat to two-year deal
Canadian Press
7/24/2006 2:48:47 PM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CP) - The Nashville Predators have come to terms with restricted free-agent forward Martin Erat on a two-year contract.

The 24-year-old scored a career-high 20 goals last season and matched career bests in points (49) and games played (80).

The native of Trebic, Czech Republic, represented his country at both the 2006 Winter Olympics and the world championships.

Erat has 139 points in 263 career games with the Predators to rank seventh on the franchise's all-time scoring list.
 

Canucks ink Goren to one-year deal
Sports Ticker
7/24/2006 3:52:41 PM

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Ticker) - The Vancouver Canucks re-signed right wing Lee Goren on Monday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Goren, 28, split the 2005-06 season between the Canucks and Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League. He had one goal and two assists in 28 games with the Canucks and 22 goals and 19 assists in 42 games with Manitoba.

A third-round pick of the Boston Bruins in 1997, Goren played in 35 games over two seasons with the Bruins and scored four goals. He also played in two games for the Florida Panthers in 2003-04 before signing with Vancouver.
 

Sabres face rising payroll this summer
Associated Press
7/24/2006 4:05:03 PM

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Last year, the Buffalo Sabres were the model for how a small-market team can function in the NHL. With a payroll of just $29 million US, $10 million below the league-wide salary cap, the Sabres came within a game of reaching the Stanley Cup final.

That on-ice prosperity, however, has brought some off-ice financial pain this off-season, as the team continues to get stung by the high price of success. Buffalo's bottom line took another big hit Sunday after an arbitrator awarded co-captain Daniel Briere a one-year, $5-million contract. The Sabres can reject the award, but would risk losing the player who many feel has become the face of the franchise.

Buffalo general manager Darcy Regier was unavailable Monday to comment on the team's financial plight. Over the next 11 days, Regier and the Sabres will go to arbitration with seven more players, including last season's leading scorer Maxim Afinogenov.

Unless Regier can sign the Russian to a long-term deal, another hefty award could be in line. Afinogenov registered 73 points, far surpassing his previous career high of 40 points collected in 2001-02, while making just under $1.1 million.

Also scheduled for upcoming arbitration hearings will be forwards J.P. Dumont and Tim Connolly, as well as defenceman Toni Lydman. Those three key players combined to make nearly $4.6 million last season.

The Sabres have given big raises to defencemen Brian Campbell (two years, $3 million) and Henrik Tallinder (four years, $10.25 million), as well as forward Ales Kotalik (three years, $7 million). Buffalo also signed free-agent defenseman Jaroslav Spacek to a three-year, $10-million deal to help offset the loss of Jay McKee, who inked a four-year, $16-million contract with St. Louis.

Co-captain Chris Drury is already signed for $3.15 million, which means the trio of Briere, Drury and Spacek will gobble up 26 per cent of this year's salary cap of $44 million.

And all that doesn't even include star goaltender Ryan Miller, who remains unsigned. Miller refused arbitration in the hopes of securing a lucrative, long-term deal after making $501,600 as a rookie last season.

"We're not going to be up against it, but we're higher than we thought we would be," Regier said after signing Campbell. "The cost of doing business has gone up."
 

Islanders sign Asham, avoid arbitration
TSN.ca Staff
7/24/2006 5:39:01 PM

The Islanders have agreed to terms with forward Arron Asham on a one-year contract worth $950,000 to avoid arbitration.

"We're very happy to have Arron signed for next season," said Islanders general manager Garth Snow. "With Arron back and the signing of Brendan Witt and Chris Simon, we have added a lot of grit, tenacity and character to our lineup. And like Witt and Simon, Arron brings a lot to the table. He is a talented player that can contribute in many ways."

This season will be Asham's fourth with the Islanders and eighth overall in the NHL. Last season, the 28-year old Asham played in 63 games and tallied 24 points with 103 penalty minutes. He missed the last 18 games of the season with a sprained ankle.

In 341 NHL games, Asham has posted 47 goals with 55 assists for 102 points and 390 penalty minutes.

"Being an Islander means a lot to me and I did not want to be anywhere else but Long Island," said Asham. "I love the additions we made to the lineup and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to play for Ted Nolan."

The 5-foot-11, 209-pound Asham was originally drafted by Montreal in the third round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. He spent five seasons in the Canadiens organization prior to being traded to the Islanders along with a fifth round draft selection in the 2002 draft for Mariusz Czerkawski in June of 2002.
 

Sharks re-sign Mark Smith
TSN.ca Staff
7/24/2006 6:07:47 PM

The San Jose Sharks have re-signed centre Mark Smith to a one-year deal, $700,000 that he was awarded in arbitration.

The 28-year-old Smith set career highs last season with nine goals and 15 assists in 80 games. He also led the Sharks in faceoff percentage (51.9%).

Originally drafted in the ninth round by the New York Islanders in 1997, Smith has career totals of 19 goals and 34 assists in 282 games.
 

Avalanche sign Klee, Stastny
TSN.ca Staff with Sports Network files
7/24/2006 6:19:02 PM

The Colorado Avalanche have signed defenceman Ken Klee and forward Paul Stastny. Stastny was signed to a multi-year contract while no terms were disclosed on the contract for Klee.

Klee scored three goals and dished out 12 assists in 74 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils last season. He added one goal is six playoff games with the Devils.

In 710 career NHL games with the Maple Leafs, Devils, and Washington Capitals Klee has totals of 50 goals and 105 assists.

''Ken gives us another strong, experienced defenseman to solidify our blueline corps,'' said Avalanche executive vice president and general manager Francois Giguere. ''He has demonstrated year after year that he can be counted on to take quality minutes and play a solid defensive game and we'll be counting on him to do that for us this season.''

Stastny, 20, was Colorado's second-round pick in the 2005 draft. He has played two seasons at the University of Denver and has tallied 36 goals and 62 assists in 81 games at the school. His father, Peter Stastny, started out his Hall-of-Fame career with the Quebec Nordiques, who moved to Colorado prior to the start of the 1995-96 season, as a free agent in 1980.
 
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Predators update Vokoun's status
TSN.ca Staff
7/24/2006 10:25:06 PM

The Nashville Predators issued a statement regarding the status of goaltender Tomas Vokoun on Monday. Vokoun has been undergoing treatment for a blood condition called pelvic thrombophlebitis.

''Today Tomas had a follow-up appointment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in which his status was reviewed,'' said executive vice president and general manager David Poile. ''The information that we received indicates that his situation has stabilized and was likely a result of a childhood accident as opposed to a more recent development. While we will continue monitoring his status, there will be no on-going treatment of the condition. Tomas will no longer be taking blood-thinning medication and he has been given complete clearance to return to action.''

An MRI scan in April found blood clots throughout Vokoun's abdomen and pelvic area. Vokoun was hospitalized immediately and put on blood thinning shots and pills to reduce the life-threatening clots.
 

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