NHL: Player News and Rumors (Thread finished)

Avalanche re-sign Svatos to one-year deal
TSN.ca Staff
9/5/2006 4:46:02 PM

The Colorado Avalanche announced the signing of forward Marek Svatos to a one-year deal on Tuesday.

"Marek played a key role in the team's success last season," said Avalanche Executive Vice President and General Manager Francois Giguere. "He had an outstanding year and scored several key goals. Along with Alex Ovechkin, Dion Phaneuf and Sidney Crosby, Svatos was a part of the outstanding and exciting new brand of NHL players that made their debut last year. We are expecting him to be a huge offensive contributor to our team again this season."

Svatos, 24, distinguished himself early in his rookie year with a hat trick in his second game of the season (sixth career game), the fastest to begin a career since Dean Sylvester's hat trick four games into the 1999-2000 campaign for the Vancouver Canucks.

Svatos played in 61 games, recording 32 goals and 18 assists before a fractured shoulder sidelined him for the remainder of last season. At the time of his injury, his 32 goals trailed only Ovechkin among rookies and his 50 points ranked him third behind Ovechkin and Crosby.

Despite his injury, his goal mark would hold up, ending the season tied with Joe Sakic for tops on the club. Svatos finished the season ranked third among NHL rookie goal scorers and second only to Anton and Peter Stastny in goal scoring among franchise rookies (both scored 39 in 1980-81). His 12 power play goals matched Anton Stastny's mark (1980-81) for most by a rookie.

Svatos' four-point effort versus Calgary on October 10 equaled the Avalanche rookie record set by Milan Hejduk during the 1998-99 season. The franchise mark for points in a game stands at eight set by Peter and Anton Stastny during the 1980-81 season.

Svatos made his Olympic debut with Slovakia at the 2006 Winter Games, playing in all six games. The Kosice, Slovakia native was Colorado's 10th selection (227th overall) in the 2001 Entry Draft.
 

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Ovechkin says he's not ready for 'C'
Canadian Press
9/5/2006 5:58:18 PM

TORONTO (CP) - Alexander Ovechkin has told Washington he's not ready to captain the Capitals.

Both the Washington Post and Washington Times speculated in July that head coach Glen Hanlon was considering handing the captaincy to Ovechkin, chosen last season's top rookie in the NHL. Fellow phenom Sidney Crosby is reportedly a candidate for captain in Pittsburgh.

Ovechkin says it won't happen for him this season.

"This year I'm not ready because my English isn't good enough," the Russian superstar told The Canadian Press in an interview Tuesday.

He was quick to add that he's more than ready to be a leader, but feels a captain has to be able to communicate his feelings with teammates.

"If I need to say something to the team . . . it's hard," said Ovechkin. "The captain is very important, you must be a leader all the time."

Jeff Halpern was the Caps captain. He's now with Dallas.

Ovechkin, who turns 21 on Sept. 17, continues to improve his English at a remarkable rate since arriving in North America for his rookie NHL season last year. But it's still not quite at a level where he feels fully comfortable.

His ever-present smile often makes up for his struggles with the language. He has a tremendous sense of humour but can't always deliver his punch lines.

"Sometimes I want to joke but my English isn't perfect. Sometimes people are wondering what I'm talking about," he said with a laugh.

He was cracking jokes again Tuesday while at the Hockey Hall of Fame for a news conference to announce that he, along with Alexander Steen of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Andrew Ference of the Calgary Flames, were joining Right To Play, an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that reaches out to underprivileged children around the world.

Ovechkin, a hot commodity as one of the game's rising stars, could have had his pick of any charity but chose Right To Play. It's all part of the maturing process as the Moscow native realizes just much he'll be wanted as a pitch man in years to come.

"I you have a chance to help people, you have to help. Because I know I'm lucky," he said of his decision to pick Right To Play.

He cites some of the poor children in his own native country who need help.

"They need clothes, equipment, they need everything," he said. "I want to help children in Russia, first of all, because Russia is my country and my home. I know lots of small children who don't have anything in Russia and I help them, give them my old skates, my old clothes."

Ovechkin will also help in Washington this season, donating eight tickets per game for underprivileged children to attend all 41 home dates.

"I love children," said Ovechkin.

Once his charitable work was out of the way, the conversation with reporters quickly shifted to Evgeni Malkin, who officially signed with Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Malkin and Ovechkin aren't considered close friends although they obviously know each other from being teammates at the Turin Olympics and past world junior championships.

"He was my roommate at the Olympics, he's a good guy and a good teammate. But if I meet him in the corner ...," Ovechkin smiled, hinting that he won't think twice knocking the Penguins rookie on his back.

Malkin's arrival, barring any legal blocking from his Russian club, means the already fired-up rivalry with Pittsburgh will be further spiced up. Ovechkin realizes that but hopes people realize there are other players on the ice.

"Last year was very hard. The games against Pittsburgh were always about Ovechkin against Crosby and who would win (the rookie of the year). Last year is gone now," said Ovechkin. "I hope Malkin has a good season but when we play against Pittsburgh, it's not Ovechkin against Crosby and Malkin, it's Washington against Pittsburgh."

Ovechkin has been in Toronto since Aug. 9 to step up his workouts. He also had his wisdom teeth pulled out, which he didn't like much.

"But I liked it when they put me out, that felt good," he said with a laugh.

"I spent a great summer in Moscow and also went to France, Cyprus and Turkey," he added excitedly. "It was an unbelievable summer. But right now I must work hard because this year will be very hard. I want to make the playoffs."
 

Oilers sign young talent
Sportsnet.ca News
September 05, 2006

The Edmonton Oilers have signed forward Alexei Mikhnov and defenceman Mathieu Roy to one-year contracts.

Mikhnov, the Oilers' first choice in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, joins the Oilers after playing the last nine seasons in Russia. The 6'5", 218-pound, native of Keiv, Ukraine scored 14-8-22 with 18 penalty minutes in 40 games with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Russian Superliga in 2005-06. With his 22 points, the 24-year-old left winger tied for third in goal scoring and was 10th in scoring on the Yaroslavl roster as he helped his team to a third place finish in the standings.

Mikhnov made his international debut for Russia at the 2006 IIHF World Championship in Riga, Latvia. He scored 4-2-6 in seven games for the Russian national team to rank second in goals and third in points.

Making his Superliga debut with Yaroslavl in 1997-98, Mikhnov has scored 39-38-77 with 70 PIM in 235 games in six seasons in Russia's top league. He has also played for Dynamo Moscow, Ufa and Novosibirsk during his tenure in the Superliga.

Mikhnov has made three post-season appearances, scoring 4-4-8 with 10 PIM in 21 playoff games. He led Yaroslavl in playoff scoring in 2006 with 4-4-8 in 11 games.

Roy begins his fourth professional season with the Oilers' organization in 2006-07. The 6'2", 214-pound native of St-Georges, Quebec was the Oilers 10th choice (7th round), 215th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Roy appeared in 50 games with Hamilton of the American Hockey League in 2005-06, scoring 3-16-19 with 82 PIM to finish fourth in scoring among Bulldogs' defencemen. The 23-year-old blueliner made his NHL debut with the Oilers last season, appearing in one game with Edmonton. Roy made his NHL debut versus the St. Louis Blues in a 5-4 shootout loss on February 12, 2006 at Rexall Place and was scoreless in 13 minutes of playing time.

Roy has scored 6-40-46 with 196 PIM in 131 career AHL games over three seasons since making his pro debut with the Toronto Roadrunners in 2003-04.
 

Ricci still recovering from neck surgery
TSN.ca Staff
9/6/2006 9:02:17 AM

Mike Ricci may be on the Phoenix Coyotes training camp roster but there are concerns the veteran center may not be ready to take to the ice when players take to the ice next week.

Ricci is still recovering from surgery he had back in June to repair a protruding disk in his neck. While the surgery eliminated the pain he was suffering, the recovery has kept him inactive for six weeks and he is behind in his off-season conditioning.

"He'll probably begin the year on the injured reserve list," general manager Mike Barnett tells the Arizona Republic. "...We have to be smart about this."

Ricci is expected to be given medical clearance to skate sometime this week.
 

Taylor named new Lightning captain
Canadian Press
9/6/2006 9:35:02 AM

TAMPA, Fla (CP) - Veteran centre Tim Taylor is the new captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tampa's assistant captains will be Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards, the team announced Wednesday.

"From the time we brought Tim into the organization he has consistently brought a quiet, steady leadership influence, unnoticed by the outside, but respected in the locker-room," Lightning head coach John Tortorella said in a statement.

"With the new additions to the team this year, we look for just that in Tim, his steady, honest influence in re-cultivating the tightness needed in the locker-room for us to continue our success on the ice.

Lecavalier had served as an assistant captain the past three seasons, and Taylor wore the "A" the second half of last season following the departure of previous captain Dave Andreychuk.

Taylor, 37, appeared in all 82 regular season games for the Lightning in 2005-06 and played in all five games during the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs.

He had seven goals and 13 points, leading the team in faceoff percentage.

The 12-year NHL veteran from Stratford, Ont., was acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on June 30, 2001. He has also played for the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins.
 

Gagne won't report to camp without deal
TSN.ca Staff
9/6/2006 11:33:56 AM

When the Flyers open training camp on September 15th, they will be without forward Simon Gagne, unless they can agree to a new contract with the restricted free agent.

"I talked with my agent, and we think it would be too dangerous to go to camp with no contract," Gagne told the Philadelphia Inquirer yesterday, referring to Bob Sauve. "Basically, we want a contract before I go to camp. If not, I'm not going to go."

Clarke and Sauve talked yesterday, but the two sides reportedly remained far apart and Clark said that his latest offer was final.

"If Clarkie said that, I don't know, but we're comfortable with what we're asking," Gagne told the Inquirer. "I'm not sure we're that far apart, but it looks like on their side they don't want to move.

"We moved a little bit a couple of weeks ago, and, like I said, we're comfortable with what we're asking when you look around at what other players around the league have signed for. My agent and Clarkie talked today but nothing really improved."

Sauve told the paper that the length of the contract, a three year deal, had been worked out, but the two sides remained "a ways away" when it came to salary.

Sauve also conceded that time was running out. "Do I feel good about still having a week to negotiate? Not really," he told the Inquirer.

Earlier in the off-season, another Sauve client, Alex Tanguay inked a three-year deal with the Calgary Flames with an average yearly salary of $5.25 million.

Gagne is reportedly asking for $5 million to $6 million a year.

With files from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
 

From Sportsnet.ca

Hockey Hearsay
September 06, 2006

Matvichuk won't be ready
New Jersey Devils defenceman Richard Matvichuk won't be ready for the start of the season.

According to the New York Post, Matvichuk is still recovering from surgery on his back, where surgeons removed part of a lower spinal disk on June 9 to help repair a herniated disk.

"The first six weeks, you can't lift much more than a pound," the 33-year-old told the Post.

The Devils can be expected to place Matvichuk and his $1.3 million salary on the long-term-injury list, meaning the team can replace the portion of his salary represented by his absence against the salary cap.
 

Report: Dowd to sign with Devils
TheFourthPeriod.com
September 6, 2006

According to the Newark Star-Ledger, veteran forward Jim Dowd is close to signing a deal that would bring him back to the Devils.

Dowd, 37, is hopeful a deal can be reached.

"I've talked to Lou," he told the Star-Ledger. "We're still working on it."

A veteran of 589 NHL games along with 71 playoff matches, Dowd finished last season with the Colorado Avalanche after being traded from the Chicago Blackhawks on March 9.

Meanwhile, restricted free agent Brian Gionta isn't sure whether he will report to training camp, which opens for physicals on Sept. 14, if he doesn't have a new contract.

"I'm confident something will be done. That's why I'm here," Gionta told the Star-Ledger. "If I'm not signed, I've got to weigh my options (about reporting). It comes down to what is best for you as a player."
 

Lupul deal on the way?
TheFourthPeriod.com
September 6, 2006

The Oilers are still working on a deal with Joffrey Lupul, who was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in the Chris Pronger trade, reports the Edmonton Sun.

"We don't have anything on the go at this present time," Oilers Assistant GM Scott Howson told the Sun.

"We'll continue to talk over the next couple of days."

According to the paper, the Oilers are hoping to have the 22-year-old winger signed by the start of training camp.

"We're going to do everything we can to get him signed," Howson said. "We want to get him signed by training camp, but we're not going to overpay him to get it done."
 

Bryzgalov inks two-year deal with Ducks
Canadian Press
9/6/2006 3:09:19 PM

ANAHEIM, Calif. (CP) - Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who assumed the role of Anaheim's No.1 goaltender for the NHL playoffs last spring, has re-signed with the Ducks for US$2.36 million over two years.

The 26-year-old Russian will earn $1 million this season and $1,362,500 in 2007-08, a raise over the $465,000 he made last season.

Bryzgalov led the league in goals-against-average (1.46), save percentage (.944) and shutouts (3) during the 2006 playoffs. He played 11 games and helped the Ducks eliminate Colorado and Calgary.

He had a shutout streak of 249 minutes 15 seconds that was the second-longest in post-season history, and he also tied the NHL record for consecutive shutouts (3). He was the first rookie goalie with consecutive playoff shutouts since 1945.

In Anaheim's four-game series sweep of the Avalanche, Bryzgalov posted a 0.93 GAA and had a .967 save percentage. In the first-round, seven-game series versus Calgary, Bryzgalov shut out the Flames in Calgary to give the Ducks the Game 7 victory.

In the regular season, the six-foot-three, 208-pound netminder had a 2.51 GAA and a .910 save percentage while going 13-12-1. He was drafted by Anaheim in the second round, 44th overall, of the 2000 entry draft.
 

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