Cup Crazy's National Hockey League blog

Excitement in Winnipeg even for just a preseason game

2011-09-20T17:10:00.001-04:00

There is a lot of excitement and anticipation in Winnipeg even if it is just an exhibition game.

Fans in the Manitoba capital will be watching the re-born Winnipeg Jets for the first time tonight as they host the Columbus Blue Jackets in a split squad game. The first puck drops at 7:30 PM Central Time at MTS Centre.

The other half of each team will square off at Nationwide Arena in Columbus about 80 minutes sooner.

Even though the game doesn't count, it is a big deal for those that have waited 15 years for real NHL action. All you have to do is see the headlines coming out of Winnipeg and across Canada.

"It's a little surreal. It doesn't feel real yet to tell you the truth," Jets fan Edward Hucarewich said to CTV Winnipeg.

"I'm assuming it's going to be crazy in here. I think it's kind of the fans' first opportunity to show what they bring to the table and the excitement that they have for this team," Winnipeg Jets captain Andrew Ladd told CBC News.

CBC News posted two video stories today: "Jets excitement builds" and "Winnipeg prepares for Jets debut".

Yesterday was the start of when the media coverage really began to take off. An example was Global Winnipeg's Tamara Forlanski providing a glimpse at what has been happening in the city over the last few days (see video below).

Game coverage in Winnipeg is on TSN Jets and Sports Radio 1290.

NHL Live returns on September 19th

2011-09-16T18:00:00.000-04:00

You know the 2011-2012 National Hockey League regular season is right around the corner when NHL Live is ready to return.

Deb Placey and Bill Pidto will be the regular hosts with EJ Hradek returning as frequent contributor to the show. Leading up to opening night, expect plenty of season previews of all 30 teams with plenty of analysis, the latest news and of course interviews of players, coaches, general managers and hockey journalists from around the league. Fans will once again get the chance to interact with the hosts and guests with their calls, e-mails and tweets.

One notable change from last season is a renovated studio set above the floor of the NHL Powered by Reebok Store.

The season premiere is September 19th at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. You can see it on NHL Network or NHL.com.

video courtesy: NHL Network

Teemu Selanne to play for Ducks in 2011-2012 season

2011-09-15T17:00:00.000-04:00

Many fans especially in southern California wondered if veteran forward Teemu Selänne would play again or retire from hockey. We finally have an answer.

The 41-year-old Finnish superstar announced on a video clip at the Anaheim Ducks official web site he will play at least one more season with the team. According to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, it is for $4 million.

Teemu Selanne signs his new one-year contract with the Ducks (image courtesy: Anaheim Ducks)

Selanne had been working out over the summer following a June 29th arthroscopic operation on his left knee where loose cartilage was removed, he had not made his decision until today to return to the ice. Team physicals will be conducted tomorrow and then full Ducks training camp begins on Saturday at the Honda Center.

With 12 of his 18 National Hockey League seasons spent in Anaheim (including the last six), Selanne has 637 goals and 703 assists during regular season play over his career. He also represented his native Finland five times in the Winter Olympics, most recently in Vancouver just last year.

"I'm very happy that my knee has recovered from surgery and is ready for the season," Selanne said today. "I'm excited and optimistic about what this team can do and thankful to have another opportunity to play in Anaheim."

Selanne will also get at least one chance to make what could be a final visit to the very place he began his NHL career. The Ducks will play the re-born Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre on December 17th where fans are expected to give him a rousing welcome and possible goodbye as a player. One of his greatest achievements was accomplished while wearing the uniform of the original Jets, that being all-time NHL rookie records of 76 goals and 132 points during his inaugural 1992-1993 season.

Ducks general manager Bob Murray is thrilled to have Selanne back for another season.

"As he showed again last season, Teemu still has the drive, determination and skill to play at an elite level," Murray said today. "Most importantly for us, his passion comes from not just playing, but playing for the Ducks."

Selanne had 80 points in 73 games last season.

NEWS HYPERLINKS

National Hockey League official site (September 15):
Selanne announces, via video, 2011-2012 return

Anaheim Ducks official site (September 15):
He's Back: Ducks sign Selanne to one-year contract
Teemu Selanne's video message

Orange County Register's Ducks Blog (September 15):
Selanne will play with Ducks in 2011-2012

NHL Network's 2011 preseason broadcast schedule

2011-09-15T13:30:00.000-04:00

According to the official news release, the NHL Network will provide 80 hours of NHL preseason coverage (live and tape delay).

Seriously, what's up with so many Toronto Maple Leafs games?

NHL NETWORK (UNITED STATES)
2011 PRESEASON BROADCAST SCHEDULE
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

*delayed broadcast

SEPTEMBER 19TH
Ottawa at Toronto, 7:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 20TH
Philadelphia at Toronto, 7:00 PM
Calgary at Vancouver, 10:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 21ST
Detroit at Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM
Toronto at Philadelphia, 10:00 PM*

SEPTEMBER 22ND
Boston at Ottawa, 12:00 AM*
Chicago at Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 23RD
Vancouver at Edmonton, 12:00 PM*
Buffalo at Toronto, 7:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 24TH
Minnesota at Pittsburgh, 3:00 PM
Toronto at Buffalo, 7:00 PM
Anaheim at Vancouver, 10:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 25TH
Chicago at Detroit, 5:00 PM
San Jose at Vancouver, 9:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 26TH
Edmonton at Calgary, 12:00 AM*
New York Rangers at Philadelphia, 11:00 PM*

SEPTEMBER 27TH
New York Islanders at Calgary, 9:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 28TH
Toronto at Ottawa, 12:00 AM*
Vancouver at Anaheim, 10:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 29TH
Detroit at Chicago, 1:00 AM*
Carolina at Winnipeg, 3:00 AM*
Vancouver at San Jose, 10:30 PM

SEPTEMBER 30TH
Phoenix at Calgary, 2:00 AM*
New Jersey at Philadelphia, 4:00 AM*
Pittsburgh at Chicago, 8:30 PM

OCTOBER 1ST
Toronto at Detroit, 1:00 AM*
Nashville at Winnipeg, 4:00 AM*
Detroit at Toronto, 7:00 PM
Edmonton at Vancouver, 10:00 PM

OCTOBER 2ND
Chicago at Washington, 5:00 PM
Pittsburgh at Detroit, 9:00 PM*

San Jose Sharks announce two game time changes

2011-08-25T21:30:00.002-04:00

The San Jose Sharks announced two changed start times to their 2011-2012 regular season schedule. Both are in Eastern Time.

January 2 - at Vancouver, 8:00 PM
March 13 - at Calgary, 9:30 PM

Phoenix Coyotes announce five game time changes

2011-08-19T16:05:00.012-04:00

An update on the Phoenix Coyotes' 2011-2012 game schedule...

The Phoenix Coyotes announced today the following game time changes to the 2011-2012 regular season schedule.
All game times listed below are Arizona time:

Monday, October 10th at the Dallas Stars is now a 3:00 PM start (was originally 5:00 PM)

Monday, December 5th at the Chicago Blackhawks is now a
6:00 PM start (was originally 6:30 PM)

Thursday, December 15th vs. the Edmonton Oilers is now a
7:30 PM start (was originally 7:00 PM)

Tuesday, March 20 at the Dallas Stars is now a 5:00 PM start (was originally 5:30 PM)

Friday, April 6th at the St. Louis Blues is now a 4:30 PM start
(was originally 5:00 PM)

Rogers Sportsnet Ontario to air 29 Maple Leafs games

2011-08-18T23:20:00.000-04:00

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have all 82 of their regular season games shown on television, but here is the Rogers Sports Ontario portion of their 2011-2012 broadcast schedule.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will call Sportsnet Ontario home for 29 regular-season games in 2011/12 – more than any other Canadian broadcaster.

Sportsnet Ontario's Molson Canadian Leafs Hockey coverage gets underway on Monday, October 17th at 7:00 PM ET when the Leafs host the Colorado Avalanche. Coverage throughout the season features six divisional-rival games, including five against fellow Canadian teams.

"Toronto is a hockey-hungry market, and the appetite for Leafs hockey remains extremely strong," said Navaid Mansuri, Vice President of Finance & Sports Programming, Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. "Our goal is to expand the fan experience and make Hockeycentral the destination before and after Leafs games."

The Leafs made a series of summer moves to end its lengthy post-season drought, acquiring help on defence in Cody Franson and John-Michael Liles while addressing depth at the centre position by adding Matthew Lombardi. Once again, the team will look to sophomore goaltender James Reimer to stop pucks, the rookie won 20 games in his first season, including three shutouts.

Leafs fans are invited to join Hockeycentral 30 minutes before and immediately following every Leafs broadcast for all the latest news and analysis. Hockeycentral features popular analysts Nick Kypreos, a former Maple Leaf, Doug MacLean, a former general manager for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and host Daren Millard.

As an added bonus, Sportsnet will deliver to fans the Leafs pre-season game on Wednesday, September 21st at 7:00 PM (ET) when the Leafs face the Philadelphia Flyers.

ROGERS SPORTSNET ONTARIO
2011-2012 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS BROADCAST SCHEDULE
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

October 17 - Colorado at Toronto, 7:00 PM
October 30 - Toronto at Ottawa, 7:30 PM
November 3 - Toronto at Columbus, 7:00 PM
November 8 - Florida at Toronto, 7:00 PM
November 15 - Toronto at Phoenix, 7:00 PM
November 22 - Toronto at Tampa Bay, 7:30 PM
November 25 - Toronto at Dallas, 8:30 PM
November 27 - Toronto at Anaheim, 8:00 PM
December 6 - New Jersey at Toronto, 7:00 PM
December 9 - Toronto at Washington, 7:00 PM
December 13 - Carolina at Toronto, 7:00 PM
December 19 - Los Angeles at Toronto, 7:00 PM
December 27 - Toronto at Florida, 7:30 PM
January 3 - Tampa Bay at Toronto, 7:00 PM
January 10 - Buffalo at Toronto, 7:00 PM
January 17 - Ottawa at Toronto, 7:00 PM
January 24 - Toronto at New York Islanders, 7:00 PM
February 6 - Edmonton at Toronto, 7:00 PM
February 7 - Toronto at Winnipeg, 8:30 PM
February 14 - Toronto at Calgary, 9:00 PM
February 21 - New Jersey at Toronto, 7:00 PM
February 28 - Florida at Toronto, 7:00 PM
March 6 - Boston at Toronto, 7:00 PM
March 11 - Toronto at Washington, 5:00 PM
March 13 - Toronto at Florida, 7:30 PM
March 19 - Toronto at Boston, 7:00 PM
March 20 - New York Islanders at Toronto, 7:00 PM
March 27 - Carolina at Toronto, 7:00 PM
April 3 - Toronto at Buffalo, 7:00 PM

Colorado Avalanche announce five game time changes

2011-08-17T20:50:00.002-04:00

The Colorado Avalanche announced five changed start times to their 2011-2012 regular season schedule. They're in Eastern Time.

October 26 - at Calgary, 10:00 PM
November 15 - at Pittsburgh, 7:30 PM
November 23 - vs. Vancouver, 9:30 PM
November 26 - vs. Edmonton, 7:00 PM
February 22 - vs. Los Angeles, 9:00 PM

NHL releases full league-wide 2011 preseason schedule

2011-08-09T16:40:00.023-04:00

Even though I already posted separate blog entries for each of the 30 teams, I'll provide you the full 2011 NHL preseason schedule. The National Hockey League just did so on their official web site.

Here are a handful of highlights as mentioned in the news release:

Jets open their preseason schedule on September 20th
The new Winnipeg Jets make their preseason debut with a home-and-home split squad matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets. One half of their team will make their first appearance on the ice with a 7:00 PM Eastern Time game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Even though it is only an exhibition game that doesn't statistically count, the other half of the Jets team will skate in front of their home fans for the first time just 90 minutes later with an 8:30 PM game at MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

7 exhibition games in Europe
With four games scheduled, the New York Rangers will visit four countries in just 5 days. The other three NHL teams in the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings will each only have one preseason game in Europe, all on October 4th.

2011 Kraft Hockeyville exhibition game on September 26th
Conception Bay South, Newfoundland was selected to host the 2011 Kraft Hockeyville competition. It was originally supposed to be the site of an exhibition game between the Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets. Due to high ticket demand, the game was moved from the 600-seat Robert French Memorial Stadium. Instead, it will take place at Mile One Stadium in St. John's.

Neutral site hosts
These locations will be where neutral site games are played:
Albany, New York
Baltimore, Maryland
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Charlotte, North Carolina
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Kansas City, Missouri
Las Vegas, Nevada
London, Ontario
Orlando, Florida
Québec City, Québec
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

2011 NHL PRESEASON SCHEDULE
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

*split squad game

SEPTEMBER 19TH
Nashville at Florida, 3:00 PM*
Carolina at Buffalo, 7:00 PM
Ottawa at Toronto, 7:00 PM
Nashville at Florida, 7:30 PM*

SEPTEMBER 20TH
Philadelphia at Toronto, 7:00 PM
Winnipeg at Columbus, 7:00 PM*
Nashville vs. Washington (in Baltimore), 7:00 PM
Dallas at Montréal, 7:30 PM
Tampa Bay at St. Louis, 8:00 PM
Chicago vs. Edmonton (in Saskatoon), 8:00 PM*
Columbus at Winnipeg, 8:30 PM*
Minnesota at Edmonton, 9:00 PM*
Vancouver at Calgary, 9:00 PM*
Calgary at Vancouver, 10:00 PM*
Phoenix at Anaheim, 10:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 21ST
Toronto at Philadelphia, 7:00 PM
Washington at Columbus, 7:00 PM
Detroit at Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM
St. Louis vs. Tampa Bay (in Orlando), 7:00 PM
New Jersey vs. New York Rangers (in Albany, New York), 7:00 PM
Buffalo at Montréal, 7:30 PM
Boston at Ottawa, 7:30 PM
San Jose at Anaheim, 10:00 PM
Los Angeles at Phoenix, 10:00 PM*
Phoenix at Los Angeles, 10:30 PM*

SEPTEMBER 22ND
Chicago at Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM
Detroit vs. Philadelphia (in London, Ontario), 7:00 PM
Minnesota at St. Louis, 8:00 PM
Colorado at Dallas, 8:30 PM
Vancouver at Edmonton, 9:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 23RD
New York Islanders at Boston, 7:00 PM
Buffalo at Toronto, 7:00 PM
Nashville at Carolina, 7:00 PM
New York Rangers at New Jersey, 7:00 PM
Philadelphia at Detroit, 7:30 PM
Florida at Tampa Bay, 7:30 PM
Montréal at Ottawa, 7:30 PM
Washington at Chicago, 8:00 PM
Columbus at Minnesota, 8:00 PM
St. Louis at Colorado, 9:00 PM
Anaheim at San Jose, 10:30 PM

SEPTEMBER 24TH
Minnesota at Pittsburgh, 3:00 PM
Toronto at Buffalo, 7:00 PM
Ottawa at Montréal, 7:00 PM
New Jersey at New York Islanders, 7:00 PM
Tampa Bay at Florida, 7:30 PM
Winnipeg at Nashville, 8:00 PM
St. Louis at Dallas, 8:00 PM
Calgary at Edmonton, 8:00 PM
Anaheim at Vancouver, 10:00 PM
Phoenix at San Jose, 10:30 PM

SEPTEMBER 25TH
Chicago at Detroit, 5:00 PM
Buffalo at Columbus, 5:00 PM
Winnipeg vs. Carolina (in Charlotte), 5:00 PM
Boston vs. Montréal (in Halifax), 6:00 PM
Dallas at Colorado, 8:00 PM
Edmonton at Calgary, 8:00 PM
San Jose at Vancouver, 9:00 PM
Anaheim at Los Angeles, 9:30 PM

SEPTEMBER 26TH
Ottawa vs. Winnipeg (in St. John's), 4:00 PM
Columbus at Washington, 7:00 PM
New York Rangers at Philadelphia, 7:00 PM
Boston at Montréal, 7:30 PM

SEPTEMBER 27TH
Dallas at Florida, 7:30 PM
Toronto at Ottawa, 7:30 PM
St. Louis at Minnesota, 8:00 PM
Pittsburgh vs. Los Angeles (in Kansas City), 8:00 PM
Phoenix at Edmonton, 9:00 PM
New York Islanders at Calgary, 9:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 28TH
Washington at Nashville, 8:00 PM
Carolina at Winnipeg, 8:30 PM
Detroit at Chicago, 8:30 PM
Los Angeles at Colorado, 9:00 PM
Vancouver at Anaheim, 10:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 29TH
Rangers vs. Sparta Prague (in Prague, Czech Republic), 1:00 PM
Ottawa at Boston, 7:00 PM
New Jersey at Philadelphia, 7:00 PM
Minnesota at Columbus, 7:00 PM
Tampa Bay at Montréal, 7:30 PM
Colorado at St. Louis, 8:00 PM
Florida at Dallas, 8:30 PM
Phoenix at Calgary, 9:00 PM
Vancouver at San Jose, 10:30 PM

SEPTEMBER 30TH
New York Rangers vs. Frolunda (in Gothenburg, Sweden), 1:00 PM
Buffalo at Washington, 7:00 PM
New York Islanders at New Jersey, 7:00 PM
Columbus at Carolina, 7:00 PM
Toronto at Detroit, 7:30 PM
Edmonton at Minnesota, 8:00 PM
Pittsburgh at Chicago, 8:30 PM
Nashville at Winnipeg, 8:30 PM
Los Angeles at Anaheim, 10:00 PM

OCTOBER 1ST
Dallas at St. Louis, 2:30 PM
Detroit at Toronto, 7:00 PM
Philadelphia at New Jersey, 7:00 PM
Montréal vs. Tampa Bay (in Québec City), 7:00 PM
Boston vs. New York Islanders (in Bridgeport, CT), 7:00 PM
Carolina at Nashville, 8:00 PM
Colorado vs. Los Angeles (in Las Vegas, Nevada), 9:00 PM
San Jose at Phoenix, 10:00 PM
Edmonton at Vancouver, 10:00 PM

OCTOBER 2ND
Rangers vs. HC Slovan (in Bratislava, Slovakia), 11:00 AM
Pittsburgh at Detroit, 5:00 PM
Chicago at Washington, 5:00 PM

OCTOBER 3RD
New York Rangers vs. EV Zug (in Zug, Switzerland), 2:00 PM

OCTOBER 4TH
Anaheim vs. Jokerit (in Helsinki), 12:00 PM
Los Angeles vs. Hamburg (in Hamburg, Germany), 1:00 PM
Buffalo vs. Adler Mannheim (in Mannheim, Germany), 1:30 PM

2011 Boston Bruins preseason schedule

2011-08-03T17:00:00.006-04:00

The Boston Bruins announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

For their two neutral site preseason games, they're the home team on September 25th and the away team on October 1st.

The Bruins' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - at Ottawa, 7:30 PM
September 23 - vs. New York Islanders, 7:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Montréal (in Halifax), 6:00 PM
September 26 - at Montréal, 7:30 PM
September 29 - vs. Ottawa, 7:00 PM
October 1 - vs. New York Islanders (in Bridgeport, CT), 7:00 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

Boston Bruins official news release (August 3):
Bruins announce preseason schedule and critical dates

New England Sports Network (NESN) (August 3):
Boston Bruins release preseason schedule, full camp opens September 16th

Versus to become NBC Sports Network in January 2012

2011-08-01T17:15:00.020-04:00

First, it was a little known Outdoor Life Network.

Then it was shortened to just OLN.

September 25, 2006 - Comcast re-launched it as VERSUS.

January 28, 2011 - Comcast completed a $30 billion transaction with General Electric to create a joint venture company called NBCUniversal Media, LLC.

February 2, 2011 - Comcast acquires 51% majority ownership of NBCUniversal and integrates their sports networks into the newly-formed NBC Sports Group.

April 19, 2011 - The National Hockey League had their American national television contract extended for 10 years with NBC and VERSUS worth $2 billion.

And now, we arrive at TODAY...

Comcast just announced that VERSUS will be re-branded as the NBC Sports Network on January 2, 2012.

By no coincidence, it is on the day of the 2012 Winter Classic.

The NHL will soon make it 100% official with the New York Rangers visiting the Philadelphia Flyers in an outdoor game to be played at Citizens Bank Park.

In addition to the network name change, the NBC Sports Group will implement a redesigned NBC Sports logo, including the one above for the cable channel.

The idea behind the upcoming second re-launch in VERSUS' history is for Comcast and the NBC Sports Group to more uniformly bring the branding of all its sports networks together. This would be the NBC broadcast television network, two cable television networks, the 11 Comcast SportsNet regional sports networks as well as the digital platform.

"This effort is a major step towards a complete strategic alignment of all our platforms and businesses," NBC Sports Group chairman Mark Lazarus said. "This is more than just a name change for VERSUS. It's a complete repositioning of the brand to provide value for marketers, consumers as well as all our affiliates and distributors. We want anyone who comes into contact with any of our assets to immediately connect with the NBC Sports brand promise."

How does this effect the NHL and its broadcast media side of this sports league's business? Absolutely plenty.

VERSUS has seen steady growth in viewership and programming, but the new brand name is expected to heighten its profile further and even better compete with sports television powerhouse ESPN. When the NHL extended its television contract agreement with Comcast, the league powers that be had confidence in solidifying its presence on NBC and VERSUS. The NBC brand is more recognizable and will make its sports cable network available to even more viewers.

At the same time, cross-promotion will be a big key for the NHL as advertising can be done during NBC's National Football League broadcasts that include Sunday Night Football games, playoff contests and Super Bowl XLVI on February 5th. Even promos can air on Golf Channel, Comcast SportsNet regional cable networks and other Comcast-owned cable TV networks. More eyes seeing the NHL promos means more awareness of NBC's hockey coverage. In turn, more viewers can tune in to hockey games on NBC and NBC Sports Network as early as the 2011-2012 season.

And if that translates into higher TV ratings, bigger advertising revenue to follow and overall revenue for the NHL and its television partners. Certainly the potential is there. Whether or not Comcast's NBC Sports Group can deliver that remains to be seen.

NEWS HYPERLINKS

National Hockey League official news release (August 1):
VERSUS to be rebranded as NBC Sports Network

NBC Sports (August 1):
VERSUS to be rebranded as NBC Sports Network

Devils trade Brian Rolston to Islanders for Trent Hunter

2011-07-28T16:00:00.014-04:00

In a transaction I didn't see coming, the New Jersey Devils traded Brian Rolston to the New York Islanders for Trent Hunter in a swap of veteran forwards.

Certainly I could very easily bring up comparisons on age and salary alone. But it is very apparent the Devils were shedding a player in the twilight of his career who hasn't provided much bang for the buck since leaving the Minnesota Wild as a free agent following the 2007-2008 season.

Rolston's second tour of duty with New Jersey appeared to be rather a forgettable one. He scored 49 goals in 209 regular season games. If you add 3 goals in 12 playoff games over the 2009 and 2010 postseasons, he ended up with 52 goals in 221 games in the last three seasons wearing the red and black of the Devils. Rolston was a member of the Devils' 1995 and 2000 Stanley Cup championship teams.

But at age 38, what does Rolston bring to a young Islanders team? Leadership? Experience? Possible depth up front? Either way, don't expect much offense from him as he winds down his career. But remember that if you are a National Hockey League player, it's your all-around game that will allow you to have longevity in the league. This includes having to be successful on the defensive side of the puck.

Islanders general manager Garth Snow told Newsday's Katie Strang he likes the potential impact Rolston's leadership will bring to his hockey team.

"He's a winner that leads by example," Snow said. "He's a great addition to our locker room."

Hunter moves across the New York City metropolitan area from Long Island over to New Jersey with experience, but at only 31 years old, he's in the typical prime of one's career. Drafted in the sixth round back in 1998 by the Anaheim Ducks, Hunter didn't cement himself in the NHL until 2003 where he scored a career-best 25 goals in 77 regular season games. He only played 17 games last season before season-ending knee surgery back in February. Hunter hasn't been known much for his scoring, but he is expected to have enough offense to help the Devils out.

The two Atlantic Division rivals are each looking to return to the playoffs next spring. How much of a factor Rolston and Hunter will be remains to be seen.

NEWS HYPERLINKS

New Jersey Devils official news release (July 28):
Devils deal for Trent Hunter

New York Islanders official news release (July 28):
Islanders acquire Rolston from New Jersey

The Bergen Record's Devils page (July 28):
Devils trade Brian Rolston in three-team trade

Newark Star-Ledger's Devils page (July 28):
Devils trade Brian Rolston to Islanders

Long Island Newsday's Islanders page (July 28):
Isles trade for Brian Rolston

In Lou We Trust (July 28):
Brian Rolston traded to the Islanders...

Lighthouse Hockey (July 28):
Analysis: Brian Rolston-Trent Hunter trade...

Coyotes and Canucks swap February 2012 home dates

2011-07-27T15:00:00.007-04:00

The Phoenix Coyotes and Vancouver Canucks jointly announced they have swapped February 2012 home games during the upcoming 2011-2012 season.

Here is what the Coyotes posted on their official team web site:

The Phoenix Coyotes announced today that due to a scheduling conflict, the team's home game at Jobing.com Arena on Monday, February 13, 2012 versus the Vancouver Canucks has been moved to Tuesday, February 28, 2012. Start time for this game is set for 7:00 PM (Phoenix time). The Coyotes also announced that their road game at Vancouver which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, February 28th has been moved to Monday, February 13th. Start time for this game is 8:00 PM (Phoenix time).

The two Western Conference rivals will face other four times during the regular season.

NEWS HYPERLINKS

Phoenix Coyotes official news release (July 27):
Coyotes announce schedule changes

Vancouver Canucks official news release (July 27):
Canucks announce schedule changes for the 2011-2012 season

2011 Florida Panthers preseason schedule

2011-07-26T17:40:00.001-04:00

The Florida Panthers announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Florida Panthers today announced their six-game 2011 preseason schedule.

"We have put together a fantastic preseason schedule that has our club leaving Florida just once," said Florida Panthers executive vice president and general manager Dale Tallon. "This schedule gives our coaching staff valuable time to work with and prepare our players before the start of the season in October. Additionally, this schedule gives our fans ample opportunity to watch our team practice at home as well as to take in a special Hockey Day in South Florida doubleheader on September 19th."

Florida opens the preseason on Monday, September 19th with a doubleheader against the Nashville Predators that will take place on the Lexus Rink at the BankAtlantic Center. The first game will be played at 3:00 PM followed by the second game at 7:30 PM. Further information regarding the special events and promotions surrounding Hockey Day in South Florida will be announced at a later date.

Following the doubleheader, Florida will compete in a home-and-home set against the Tampa Bay Lightning (at Tampa Bay on Friday, September 23rd; vs. Tampa Bay on Saturday, September 24th). The Panthers host the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, September 27th before closing out the preseason with a trip to Dallas on September 29th.

The Panthers' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 19* - vs. Nashville, 3:00 PM and 7:30 PM
September 23 - at Tampa Bay, 7:30 PM
September 24 - vs. Tampa Bay, 7:30 PM
September 27 - vs. Dallas, 7:30 PM
September 29 - at Dallas, 8:30 PM

*doubleheader

NEWS HYPERLINKS

Florida Panthers official news release (July 26):
Panthers announce 2011 preseason schedule

South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Panthers blog (July 26):
Panthers open up preseason with home doubleheader on September 19th

Miami Herald's On Frozen Pond blog (July 26):
Florida Panthers finally unveil preseason schedule

Litter Box Cats (July 26):
Panthers (officially) release 2011 preseason schedule

BankAtlantic Center lower bowl seats to be red

2011-07-25T17:30:00.007-04:00

The Florida Panthers announced earlier today that the interior of their home arena will certainly look noticeably different when the 2011 preseason begins in September.

We have seen the team's commitment to returning to red as its primary color with the recent unveiling of the new home jersey. Next, Panthers fans will see brand new red lower bowl seats installed inside BankAtlantic Center.

image courtesy: Florida Panthers

Here is what the Panthers had to say in their news release:

Sunrise Sports & Entertainment announced today that the Florida Panthers in partnership with South Florida based and nationally acclaimed Zimmerman Advertising are converting every seat in the BankAtlantic Center's lower bowl to red. The change is in conjunction with the Panthers "We See Red" marketing campaign and return to red as the franchise's primary uniform color.

When the Panthers take the ice on opening night, October 15th in their new red home jerseys, all 8,689 lower bowl seats will be permanently changed to red as well. The seats are being changed to red as part of a multi-year marketing partnership between the Panthers and Zimmerman Advertising in which the Zimmerman logo will appear on the front of each lower bowl seat.

"While the 'We See Red' campaign signifies the passion, aggressiveness, commitment to winning and new blood in this Panthers team, fans will also see an aesthetic shift as well in our new jerseys, and thanks to Zimmerman Advertising, in all of the lower bowl seats at the BankAtlantic Center," said SSE president & COO Michael Yormark. "There's no doubt that with these changes and some other big announcements we have coming soon, that our fans will be 'seeing red' and enjoying a whole new in-game experience at the BankAtlantic Center this season."

"We look forward to the upcoming Panthers season given all the new changes and their 'See Red' attitude," said Jordan Zimmerman, chairman and founder of Zimmerman Advertising. "I wanted to make sure to be at every game personally and/or in spirit , so putting our company name on over 8,000 seats did just that."

Either way, it is a refreshing visual new look for Panthers fans to look forward to in addition to the free agent signings and trades general manager Dale Tallon has made so far this summer. Seeing red inside their home arena is what some Panthers fans already feel is a welcomed change.

Sharks announce 2011-2012 third jersey schedule

2011-07-20T18:00:00.002-04:00

The San Jose Sharks announced today when they will wear their alternate jersey for the upcoming 2011-2012 season.

The defending Pacific Division champions have primarily Thursday and Friday night games slated for their fans to see the team in action sporting the black alternate uniform. Only one Saturday game is on the alternate jersey schedule, that being on April 7th against the Los Angeles Kings.

Here is the full alternate jersey schedule as posted on the official team web site:

November 3 - vs. Pittsburgh
November 10 - vs. Minnesota
November 17 - vs. Detroit
December 1 - vs. Montréal
December 8 - vs. Dallas
December 15 - vs. Colorado
December 23 - vs. Los Angeles
January 5 - vs. Columbus
January 19 - vs. Ottawa
February 2 - vs. Dallas
February 10 - vs. Chicago
March 1 - vs. Buffalo
March 15 - vs. Nashville
March 22 - vs. Boston
April 7 - vs. Los Angeles

NOTE: The third jersey schedule subject to change.

2011 New York Rangers preseason schedule

2011-07-20T17:50:00.012-04:00

The New York Rangers announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the home team for the September 21st game.

From the team's official news release:

The New York Rangers announced their 2011 preseason schedule today, featuring four games in Europe and a total of seven games.

The Rangers 2011 preseason schedule will open with a pair of games against the New Jersey Devils, beginning on Wednesday, September 21st at Times Union Center in Albany, New York and continuing on Friday, September 23rd at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

New York will then match-up against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, September 26th at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia before traveling to four European countries for four exhibition contests in five days. The Rangers will face-off against HC Sparta on Thursday, September 29th in Prague, Czech Republic before heading to Gothenburg, Sweden to face Frölunda on Friday, September 30th. The Blueshirts will close out their 2011 preseason schedule with a back-to-back set vs. HC Slovan on Sunday, October 2nd in Bratislava, Slovakia and vs. EV Zug on Monday, October 3rd in Zug, Switzerland.

New York will open their 2011-2012 regular season schedule with a pair of games in Stockholm, Sweden against the Los Angeles Kings on Friday, October 7th and the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, October 8th.

The 2011 New York Rangers training camp begins with players reporting to the Madison Square Garden Training Center on Friday, September 16th.

The Rangers' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - vs. New Jersey (in Albany, NY), 7:00 PM
September 23 - at New Jersey, 7:00 PM
September 26 - at Philadelphia, 7:00 PM
September 29 - vs. HC Sparta (in Prague), 1:00 PM
September 30 - vs. Frölunda (in Gothenburg, Sweden), 1:00 PM
October 2 - vs. HC Slovan (in Bratislava, Slovakia), 11:00 AM
October 3 - vs. EV Zug (in Zug, Switzerland), 2:00 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

New York Rangers official news release (July 20):
Rangers announce 2011 preseason schedule

The Journal News' Rangers Report blog (July 20):
Official announcement of Rangers' preseason schedule

The Bergen Record's Ranger Rants blog (July 20):
Full preseason schedule revealed

2011 Philadelphia Flyers preseason schedule

2011-07-07T17:40:00.002-04:00

The Philadelphia Flyers announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the home team for the September 22nd game.

From the team's official news release:

The Philadelphia Flyers announced on Monday that the team will play a seven-game exhibition schedule prior to the start of the 2011-2012 season, featuring three games at the Wells Fargo Center and a game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Global Spectrum-managed John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario.

The Flyers are visiting the John Labatt Centre for the ninth time; however, it is the first time they'll play the Red Wings there. The arena is managed by Global Spectrum, a subsidiary of Flyers parent company Comcast-Spectacor. Global Spectrum manages more than 100 public assembly facilities around the world.

"London truly is our home away from home," said Comcast-Spectacor president and Global Spectrum chairman Peter Luukko. "The fan support in London for the Flyers is outstanding. The John Labatt Centre is a fantastic hockey arena that our players enjoy visiting. To be playing the Detroit Red Wings in London is a dream match-up for hockey fans in southwestern Ontario and eastern Michigan. It's going to be a terrific night of hockey in the City of London."

The Flyers' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20 - at Toronto, TBA
September 21 - vs. Toronto, 7:00 PM
September 22 - vs. Detroit (in London, Ontario), TBA
September 23 - at Detroit, TBA
September 26 - vs. New York Rangers, 7:00 PM
September 29 - vs. New Jersey, 7:00 PM
October 1 - at New Jersey, TBA

2011 Vancouver Canucks preseason schedule

2011-07-07T17:20:00.003-04:00

The Vancouver Canucks announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Vancouver Canucks released their 2011 pre-season schedule today featuring eight games beginning September 20th and concluding October 1st. The Canucks begin the pre-season with a split squad playing one game at home and one game away against Calgary on September 20th. Both games will begin at 7:00 PM Pacific Time. Vancouver will play the remaining six games both home and away against the Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks.

In total, the Canucks will play four pre-season games at Rogers Arena and four on the road. Each game features a Western Conference match-up: Anaheim (2), Calgary (2), Edmonton (2) and San Jose (2).

The Canucks' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20* - at Calgary, 9; vs. Calgary, 10:00 PM
September 22 - at Edmonton, 9:00 PM
September 24 - vs. Anaheim, 10:00 PM
September 25 - vs. San Jose, 9:00 PM
September 28 - at Anaheim, 10:00 PM
September 29 - at San Jose, 10:30 PM
October 1 - vs. Edmonton, 10:00 PM

*split squad games

2011 Dallas Stars preseason schedule

2011-07-06T17:00:00.002-04:00

The Dallas Stars announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Dallas Stars announced today that the club will play a total of seven pre-season contests in 2011, including three at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Dallas will begin training camp in Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), Canada, for the second consecutive year on Friday, September 16th. The Stars' first pre-season game will coincide with the team's trip back to Texas, playing at Montréal on Tuesday, September 20th.

The Stars begin the home portion of their pre-season schedule hosting the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, September 22nd. The Stars will also host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, September 24th and the Florida Panthers on Thursday, September 29th.

The Stars' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20 - at Montréal, 7:30 PM
September 22 - vs. Colorado, 8:30 PM
September 24 - vs. St. Louis, 8:00 PM
September 25 - at Colorado, 8:00 PM
September 27 - at Florida, 7:00 PM
September 29 - vs. Florida, 8:30 PM
October 1 - at St. Louis, 2:30 PM

2011 New Jersey Devils preseason schedule

2011-06-30T17:10:00.001-04:00

The New Jersey Devils announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the September 21st game.

From the team's official news release:

The Devils' six-game pre-season schedule, all vs. Atlantic Division opposition, will include three home games at Prudential Center: Friday, September 23rd vs. New York Rangers; Friday, September 30th vs. New York Islanders and Saturday, October 1st vs. Philadelphia. All three home games will get underway at 7:00 PM.

The road portion of the team's pre-season slate is set as follows: Wednesday, September 21st at New York Rangers (Albany, New York); Saturday, September 24th at New York Islanders and Thursday, September 29th at Philadelphia.

The Devils' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - vs. New York Rangers (in Albany, NY), 7:00 PM
September 23 - vs. New York Rangers, 7:00 PM
September 24 - at New York Islanders, 7:00 PM
September 29 - at Philadelphia, 7:00 PM
September 30 - vs. New York Islanders, 7:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Philadelphia, 7:00 PM

2011 New York Islanders preseason schedule

2011-06-30T17:00:00.005-04:00

The New York Islanders announced their upcoming 2011 preseason schedule. They are the home team for the October 1st game.

From the team's official news release:

The New York Islanders announced today the release of their 2011 preseason schedule. The Islanders will play five exhibition games in five cities across North America, including one game at Webster Bank Arena, the home of the Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

The Islanders will open their 2011 preseason on Friday, September 23rd at TD Garden against the Boston Bruins at 7:00 PM. The following night, Saturday, September 24th; the Islanders will host their Atlantic Division rivals, the New Jersey Devils at 7:00 PM at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The third game of the preseason is set for Tuesday, September 27th when the Islanders travel to the Scotiabank Saddledome to take on the Calgary Flames at 9:00 PM. The Islanders will then travel to the Prudential Center on Friday, September 30th for a 7:00 PM faceoff against New Jersey. The team's final preseason game is on Saturday, October 1st at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut at 7:00 PM against Boston.

The Islanders' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 23 - at Boston, 7:00 PM
September 24 - vs. New Jersey, 7:00 PM
September 27 - at Calgary, 9:00 PM
September 30 - at New Jersey, 7:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Boston (in Bridgeport, CT), 7:00 PM

2011 Nashville Predators preseason schedule

2011-06-29T17:20:00.005-04:00

The Nashville Predators announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the September 20th game.

From the team's official news release:

Nashville Predators president of hockey operations/general manager David Poile announced today that the Predators will open their eight-game 2011 preseason schedule with a franchise-first doubleheader at the BankAtlantic Center on Monday, September 19th. The eight preseason games are the most the franchise has played since the 2002-2003 campaign.

Nashville's preseason schedule includes three home games: Saturday, September 24th against Winnipeg; Wednesday, September 28th vs. the Washington Capitals and Saturday, October 1st against the Carolina Hurricanes. All three games at Bridgestone Arena will start at 7:00 PM Central Time.

In addition to their doubleheader in South Florida, the Predators will take part in the Baltimore Hockey Classic on September 20th at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, where they'll play the Washington Capitals and travel to Carolina (September 23th) and Winnipeg (September 30th) on consecutive Fridays.

The Predators' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 19* - at Florida, 3:00 PM and 7:30 PM
September 20 - vs. Washington (in Baltimore), 7:00 PM
September 23 - at Carolina, 7:00 PM
September 24 - vs. Winnipeg, 8:00 PM
September 28 - vs. Washington, 8:00 PM
September 30 - at Winnipeg, 8:30 PM
October 1 - vs. Carolina, 8:00 PM

*doubleheader

2011 Columbus Blue Jackets preseason schedule

2011-06-23T17:40:00.004-04:00

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Blue Jackets also announced their eight-game preseason schedule, which will include home games vs. Winnipeg on Tuesday, September 20th (7:00 PM), Washington on Wednesday, September 21st (7:00 PM), Buffalo on Sunday, September 25th (5:00 PM) and the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, September 29th (7:00 PM).

NOTE: The 2011 preseason schedule announcement is within the team's regular season schedule news release.

The Blue Jackets' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20* - vs. Winnipeg, 7; at Winnipeg, 9:30 PM
September 21 - vs. Washington, 7:00 PM
September 23 - at Minnesota, 8:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Buffalo, 5:00 PM
September 26 - at Washington, 7:00 PM
September 29 - vs. Minnesota, 7:00 PM
September 30 - at Carolina, 7:00 PM

*split squad games

2011 Colorado Avalanche preseason schedule

2011-06-23T17:30:00.005-04:00

The Colorado Avalanche announced their upcoming 2010 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the upcoming Frozen Fury 14 game on October 1st.

From the team's official news release:

In addition to its regular season schedule, the Avalanche also announced today its preseason schedule for 2011-2012. Colorado will play a total of six exhibition games, meeting Dallas, Los Angeles and St. Louis twice each. Colorado's preseason home dates are Friday, September 23rd vs. St. Louis; Sunday, September 25th vs. Dallas and Wednesday, September 28th vs. Los Angeles. The Avs will conclude the exhibition slate with the annual Frozen Fury matchup against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, October 1st at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The Avalanche's 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 22 - at Dallas, 8:30 PM
September 23 - vs. St. Louis, 9:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Dallas, 8:00 PM
September 28 - vs. Los Angeles, 9:00 PM
September 29 - at St. Louis, 8:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Los Angeles (in Las Vegas, Nevada), 9:00 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

Colorado Avalanche official news release (June 23):
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche regular season schedule

Denver Post's Avalanche page (June 23):
Avs open their season with rival Red Wings

NOTE: The 2011 preseason schedule announcement is within the team's regular season schedule news release.

2011 Montréal Canadiens preseason schedule

2011-06-23T17:15:00.004-04:00

The Montréal Canadiens announced their upcoming 2011 preseason schedule.

For their two neutral site preseason games, they're the home team on September 25th and the away team on October 1st.

From the team's official news release:

The Canadiens will play eight preseason games, including five at the Bell Centre, as the team will host Dallas, Buffalo, Ottawa, Boston and Tampa Bay. Three preseason games will also be played on the road: in Ottawa (September 23), in Halifax visiting Boston (September 25) and at Colisée Pepsi in Québec City against Tampa Bay (October 1).

NOTE: The 2011 preseason schedule announcement is within the team's regular season schedule news release.

The Canadiens' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20 - vs. Dallas, 7:30 PM
September 21 - vs. Buffalo, 7:30 PM
September 23 - at Ottawa, 7:30 PM
September 24 - vs. Ottawa, 7:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Boston (in Halifax), 6:00 PM
September 26 - vs. Boston, 7:30 PM
September 29 - vs. Tampa Bay, 7:30 PM
October 1 - vs. Tampa Bay (in Québec City), 7:00 PM

NHL releases 2011-2012 regular season schedule

2011-06-23T17:00:00.012-04:00

The National Hockey League announced their 2011-2012 regular season schedule today. Among the highlights as detailed in the league's official news release:

Season begins on October 6th (NHL Face-Off)
Three games in North America are slated to be played.

Compuware NHL Premiere series - October 7th and 8th
The Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers will participate. The games are in three European cities, which are Berlin, Germany, Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. See each team schedule for the which days and sites of each game.

Stanley Cup championship defense
The Boston Bruins open their new season on October 6th when they host the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden in Boston. It will be the Bruins' first hoisting of a Stanley Cup championship banner to their arena rafters in 39 years.

NHL returns to Winnipeg
After a 15-year absence, the highest brand of professional hockey returns to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Following the original team's exodus to Arizona in 1996, the former Atlanta Thrashers officially replaced them two days ago. The newly re-branded Winnipeg Jets host the Montréal Canadiens on October 9th at MTS Centre. It will be the only game on the league schedule that day.

2011 Stanley Cup Finals rematch
The Vancouver Canucks will visit Boston on January 7, 2012 to play the Bruins, the team that defeated them for the 2011 Stanley Cup championship.

2012 NHL All-Star Game
The Senators will be the host franchise with the game being played at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa on January 29, 2012.

5th edition of Winter Classic game
Even though there has not been a formal announcement yet, the game is expected to be played on January 2, 2012 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. In their second Winter Classic appearance and first time as the home team, the Flyers will host the Rangers.

no Heritage Classic
There will not be a Heritage Classic game for 2012.

national broadcast schedules
The national television schedules will be released at a later date.

NEWS HYPERLINKS

National Hockey League official news release (June 23):
Bruins-Flyers opener highlights schedule release
North American home openers for 2011-2012 season
2011-2012 schedule highlights
Team-by-team 2011-2012 schedules

Anaheim Ducks
2011-2012 Anaheim Ducks regular season schedule

Boston Bruins
2011-2012 Boston Bruins regular season schedule

Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres announce 2011-2012 regular season schedule

Calgary Flames
2011-2012 Calgary Flames regular season schedule

Carolina Hurricanes
Hurricanes 2011-2012 regular season schedule released

Chicago Blackhawks
2011-2012 Chicago Blackhawks regular season schedule

Colorado Avalanche
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche regular season schedule
Avalanche time changes
Avs open their season with rival Red Wings

Columbus Blue Jackets
Blue Jackets announce 2011-2012 regular season schedule

Dallas Stars
Stars' 2011-2012 schedule announced

Detroit Red Wings
Wings announce '11-12 schedule

Edmonton Oilers
2011-2012 Edmonton Oilers regular season schedule

Florida Panthers
Panthers announce 2011-2012 regular season schedule
Schedule is out

Los Angeles Kings
Kings announce 2011-2012 regular season schedule

Minnesota Wild
Wild 2011-2012 regular season schedule released

Montréal Canadiens
Habs unveil 2011-2012 calendar

Nashville Predators
Preds 2011-2012 season schedule released

New Jersey Devils
2011-2012 New Jersey Devils regular season schedule

New York Islanders
Islanders 2011-2012 regular season schedule released

New York Rangers
2011-2012 Rangers schedule announced

Ottawa Senators
Senators roll into Motor City to begin 2011-2012 slate

Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers 2011-2012 regular season schedule announced

Phoenix Coyotes
Coyotes announce 2011-2012 schedule
Coyotes announce schedule changes
Coyotes announce game time changes

Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins to begin 2011-2012 regular season with three-game road swing to western Canada

San Jose Sharks
Sharks release 2011-2012 schedule
Sharks announce additional changes to schedule

St. Louis Blues
Blues release 2011-2012 season schedule

Tampa Bay Lightning
Lightning announce 2011-2012 regular season schedule

Toronto Maple Leafs
Leafs release regular season schedule

Vancouver Canucks
Canucks release 2011-2012 regular season schedule
Canucks announce schedule changes for the 2011-2012 regular season

Washington Capitals
Capitals announce 2011-2012 regular season schedule

Winnipeg
Regular season schedule announced for Winnipeg NHL franchise

NBC Sports' NHL page (June 23):
Highlights and key dates from the newly announced 2011-2012 NHL schedule

2011 Toronto Maple Leafs preseason schedule

2011-06-23T16:50:00.002-04:00

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the September 21st game.

From the team's official news release:

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced their 2011-2012 preseason schedule Thursday, which features four games at Air Canada Centre and four on the road. The Maple Leafs will play one home and one road game against four different opponents, including the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings.

The Leafs will play their eight-game preseason schedule over 13 days, starting at home on Monday, September 19th at 7:00 PM against the Senators at Air Canada Centre. Home-and-home series will take place against the Flyers, Sabres and Red Wings, and a second meeting with the Senators will be played in the nation's capital. The Maple Leafs' preseason schedule concludes Saturday, October 1st when they host the Red Wings at 7:00 PM.

The Maple Leafs' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 19 - vs. Ottawa, 7:00 PM
September 20 - vs. Philadelphia, 7:00 PM
September 21 - vs. Philadelphia (in London, Ontario), 7:00 PM
September 23 - vs. Buffalo, 7:00 PM
September 24 - at Buffalo, 7:00 PM
September 27 - at Ottawa, 7:30 PM
September 30 - at Detroit, 7:30 PM
October 1 - vs. Detroit, 7:00 PM

2011 Calgary Flames preseason schedule

2011-06-23T13:10:00.004-04:00

The Calgary Flames announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the September 29th game.

From the team's official news release:

The Calgary Flames announced today their 2011 pre-season schedule which starts on Tuesday, September 20th with a two team/same day format against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Flames will play a total of six pre-season games (4 x home / 2 x away) against the Edmonton Oilers (2), Vancouver Canucks (2), New York Islanders (1) and the Phoenix Coyotes (1).

The Flames' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21* - vs. Vancouver, 9; at Vancouver, 10
September 24 - at Edmonton, 8:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Edmonton, 8:00 PM
September 27 - vs. New York Islanders, 9:00 PM
September 29 - vs. Phoenix, 9:00 PM

*split squad games

2011 Carolina Hurricanes preseason schedule

2011-06-23T10:50:00.003-04:00

The Carolina Hurricanes announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the home team for the September 25th preseason game.

From the team's official news release:

Jason Karmanos, vice president and assistant general manager for the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced the team's 2011 exhibition schedule.

The Hurricanes will open the preseason at Buffalo on Monday, September 19th at 7:00 PM. Carolina will then host Nashville at the RBC Center on Friday, September 23rd. On Sunday, September 25th, the Hurricanes will host Winnipeg at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, home of Carolina's American Hockey League affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. Following a game at Winnipeg on September 28th, the Hurricanes wrap up the preseason with a back-to-back set against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Raleigh on September 30th and at Nashville on October 1st.

The Hurricanes' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 19 - at Buffalo, 7:00 PM
September 23 - vs. Nashville, 7:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Winnipeg (in Charlotte), 5:00 PM
September 28 - at Winnipeg, 8:30 PM
September 30 - vs. Columbus, 7:00 PM
October 1 - at Nashville, 8:00 PM

2011 Winnipeg preseason schedule

2011-06-23T10:30:00.004-04:00

Winnipeg's NHL franchise announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the September 25th preseason game.

From the team's official news release:

True North Sports & Entertainment Limited today announced the seven-game 2011 NHL pre-season schedule for Winnipeg's newly acquired NHL franchise.

The franchise will play a pair of split squad games on Tuesday, September 20th against the Columbus Blue Jackets. One game will take place in Columbus with the other contest being played at MTS Centre. Game time here in Winnipeg will be 7:30 PM.

The new Winnipeg team will play both the Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators a pair of times. They will play each team once at MTS Centre (Carolina – September 28th & Nashville – September 30th), while Winnipeg will take on the Hurricanes at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina (September 25th) after facing the Predators in Nashville (September 24th). Both games at MTS Centre will get underway at 7:30 PM.

Winnipeg will also face the Ottawa Senators in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland as part of Kraft Hockeyville celebrations on Monday, September 26th. More details pertaining to that game are to come.

Winnipeg's 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20* - at Columbus, 7:30 PM; vs. Columbus, 8:30 PM
September 24 - at Nashville, 8:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Carolina (in Charlotte), 5:00 PM
September 26 - vs. Ottawa (in Conception Bay South, NL), TBA
September 28 - vs. Carolina, 8:30 PM
September 30 - vs. Nashville, 8:30 PM

*split squad games

2011 Anaheim Ducks preseason schedule

2011-06-22T18:05:00.002-04:00

The Anaheim Ducks announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Anaheim Ducks today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club's 2011 preseason schedule. The Ducks will compete in seven preseason contests before the start of the club's 2011-2012 regular season campaign in October.

The Ducks will open the 2011 preseason schedule with back-to-back contests at Honda Center, taking on the Phoenix Coyotes on September 20th (7:05 PM) and San Jose Sharks on September 21st (7:05 PM). The club will participate in home-and-home exhibition contests against San Jose, Vancouver and Los Angeles, and face Phoenix once in preseason competition. Following three consecutive road games in San Jose, Vancouver and Los Angeles from September 23-25, the Ducks will wrap up their exhibition schedule with home games on September 28th vs. Vancouver (7:05 PM) and September 30th vs. Los Angeles (7:05 PM).

The Ducks' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20 - vs. Phoenix, 10:00 PM
September 21 - vs. San Jose, 10:00 PM
September 23 - at San Jose, 10:30 PM
September 24 - at Vancouver, 10:00 PM
September 25 - at Los Angeles, 9:30 PM
September 28 - vs. Vancouver, 10:00 PM
September 30 - vs. Los Angeles, 10:00 PM

2011 Ottawa Senators preseason schedule

2011-06-22T16:40:00.004-04:00

The Ottawa Senators announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

They are the away team for the Kraft Hockeyville game on September 26th in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland.

From the team's official news release:

The Ottawa Senators announced today their 2011 pre-season schedule, which includes three home games, three road contests and one neutral-site meeting.

Ottawa fans will get their first chance to see the 2011-2012 Senators team on Wednesday, September 21st when the team hosts the Stanley Cup-champion Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Place. The Senators will then host the Montréal Canadiens on Friday, September 23rd and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, September 27th to conclude their home pre-season schedule.

The Senators open up their pre-season schedule with a road game in Toronto on Monday, September 19th. The team will then travel to Montréal for a meeting against the Canadiens on Saturday, September 24th. The final road trip sees the Senators visit Boston on Thursday, September 29th.

The Senators and Winnipeg's new NHL franchise are the featured teams for this year's Kraft Hockeyville game in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, which is set to take place on Monday, September 26th.

The Senators' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 19 - at Toronto, 7:00 PM
September 21 - vs. Boston, 7:30 PM
September 23 - vs. Montréal, 7:30 PM
September 24 - at Montréal, 7:00 PM
September 26 - vs. Winnipeg (in Conception Bay South, NL), TBA
September 27 - vs. Toronto, 7:30 PM
September 29 - at Boston, TBA

2011 St. Louis Blues preseason schedule

2011-06-22T16:20:00.003-04:00

The St. Louis Blues announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the September 21st preseason game.

From the team's official news release:

The St. Louis Blues announced Wednesday their 2011-2012 preseason schedule, with their opener on Tuesday, September 20th against the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:00 PM at Scottrade Center.

Overall, the eight-game schedule includes five games in succession from September 20th to September 24th as well as a home and road game with each of their four opponents: Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Colorado and Dallas.

The Blues' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20 - vs. Tampa Bay, 7:30 PM
September 21 - vs. Tampa Bay (site and time TBA)
September 22 - vs. Minnesota, 8:00 PM
September 23 - at Colorado, 8:00 PM
September 24 - at Dallas, 8:00 PM
September 27 - at Minnesota, 8:00 PM
September 29 - vs. Colorado, 8:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Dallas, 2:30 PM

2011 Tampa Bay Lightning preseason schedule

2011-06-22T16:05:00.004-04:00

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the home team for the September 21st preseason game.

From the team's official news release:

The Tampa Bay Lightning will play a total of six preseason games in 2011 the team announced today. They will play their lone preseason game at the St. Pete Times Forum on Friday, September 23 against the Florida Panthers.

The Lightning will kick off their preseason schedule in St. Louis on Tuesday, September 20th when they take on the Blues at Scottrade Center. The Bolts and Blues will meet again the next night with the location being TBD. The game was originally scheduled to be played at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg and is being changed due to the franchise relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers.

Tampa Bay will then play a back-to-back set with Florida on Friday, September 23rd at the St. Pete Times Forum and the next night at the BankAtlantic Center. The games will mark the first meetings between the intra-state rivals during the preseason since the 2005 season.

The Lightning will conclude the 2011 exhibition season with a pair of games in Québec against the Montréal Canadiens. On Thursday, September 29th the Bolts will travel to the Bell Centre in Montréal for their first preseason appearance since 2006. On Saturday, October 1st the Bolts will take on the Canadiens in Québec City, the province's capital, at the Colisée Pepsi. The visit will mark the Lightning's first game in Québec City since April 29, 1995, a regular season game against the Québec Nordiques. Tampa Bay lost that game, 4-1.

The Lightning's 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20 - at St. Louis, 7:30 PM
September 21 - vs. St. Louis, TBA
September 23 - vs. Florida, 7:30 PM
September 24 - at Florida, 7:00 PM
September 29 - at Montréal, 7:30 PM
October 1 - vs. Montréal (in Québec City), 7:00 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

Tampa Bay Lightning official news release (June 22):
Lightning announce 2011 preseason schedule

Tampa Tribune's Bolts Report blog (June 22):

St. Petersburg Times' Lightning Strikes blog (June 22):
Tampa Bay Lightning announces preseason schedule

FOX Sports Florida's Lightning page (June 22):
Lightning announce preseason schedule

Raw Charge (June 22):
Lightning are once again the traveling band of the preseason

2011 San Jose Sharks preseason schedule

2011-06-22T14:20:00.004-04:00

The San Jose Sharks announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The San Jose Sharks will open their six-game 2011 preseason schedule on September 21st in Anaheim against the Ducks. The Sharks first home game at HP Pavilion will be on September 23rd vs. Anaheim.

Besides the Ducks, the Sharks will play hosts to the Phoenix Coyotes (September 24th) and the Western Conference Champion Vancouver Canucks (September 29th). In addition to playing in Anaheim, the Sharks will visit Vancouver (September 25th) and Phoenix (October 1st).

The Sharks' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - at Anaheim, 10:00 PM
September 23 - vs. Anaheim, 10:30 PM
September 24 - vs. Phoenix, 10:30 PM
September 25 - at Vancouver, 9:00 PM
September 29 - vs. Vancouver, 10:30 PM
October 1 - at Phoenix, 10:00 PM

Nashville Predators unveil new logos

2011-06-22T13:30:00.010-04:00

Just hours before the 2011 NHL Awards commence in Las Vegas, the Nashville Predators unveiled a new logo set to represent their brand. The team didn't write a lengthy press release to describe the process that led to its final selection of logos to represent them for the 2011-2012 season. But it did provide a general summary of the representation of the logos.

The Nashville Predators will launch new logos and updated wordmarks at NHL Draft Weekend this weekend in Minnesota. This week's launch is the conclusion of a lengthy process which included fan focus group input, input from season ticket holders, meetings with the Reebok NHL design team, designed to showcase a more contemporary and aggressive look by streamlining the original logo with tweaks like shading on the teeth and adding a distinctive gold color band through the logo.

In addition to the team logo, the Preds also unveiled a new secondary logo designed to represent the Tennessee state flag and Nashville's music city heritage. The guitar pick shape recognizes the Music City heritage and influence, while the three stars signify the East, Middle and Western parts of the state in similar shape and design as the state flag.

The wordmark and secondary NP mark were both updated to remain consistent with the new color scheme, look, feel and font treatments showcased in the logos.

image courtesy: Nashville Predators

According to various sources covering the team, the Predators are expected to also unveil their new away jersey during the upcoming 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

In my opinion, I do like how the primary logo has been simplified by the shading and detailing elements. Some have thought the original version looked robotic in appearance. The teeth aren't as detailed as they previously. Remember during this year's playoff run that you saw Predators fans wearing gold T-shirts at Bridgestone Arena? Get used to that color as a more prominent part of the team color scheme. And if you have been paying attention to the look of the team's official web site, you will notice a preview of what could be the Predators' new home jersey with gold as the base color.

Either way, this is a change that Predators fans may embrace, but one of the brand logos that truly stands out is the new guitar pick secondary logo. The emphasis on Nashville's country music roots will help the team's identity. No other National Hockey League team uses this as a part of their brand.

For a closer view at the logos, see Ryan Porth's blog entry at Smashville 24/7.

As for the jerseys, time will tell after their unveilings if the fans will embrace them.

2011 Edmonton Oilers preseason schedule

2011-06-21T16:20:00.003-04:00

The Edmonton Oilers announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the away team for their September 20th split squad game in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

From the team's official news release:

The Edmonton Oilers will begin their 33rd season in the NHL with a eight-game pre-season schedule, including four games at Rexall Place and four on the road.

On September 20th, the Oilers open the 2011 pre-season with a split squad game versus the Minnesota Wild at Rexall Place and a road game in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Oilers will also entertain the Vancouver Canucks on September 22nd and the Calgary Flames on September 24th in the first of a home-and-home with their provincial rivals.

The Phoenix Coyotes visit Rexall Place on September 27th before the Oilers round out the pre-season with games in Minnesota (September 30th) and Vancouver (October 1st).

The Oilers' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20* - vs. Chicago (in Saskatoon), 8; vs. Minnesota, 9
September 22 - vs. Vancouver, 9:00 PM
September 24 - vs. Calgary, 8:00 PM
September 25 - at Calgary, 8:00 PM
September 27 - vs. Phoenix, 9:00 PM
September 30 - at Minnesota, 8:00 PM
October 1 - at Vancouver, 10:00 PM

*split squad games

2011 Phoenix Coyotes preseason schedule

2011-06-21T16:10:00.002-04:00

The Phoenix Coyotes announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

Phoenix Coyotes chief operating officer Mike Nealy today announced the Coyotes 2011 preseason schedule.

The Coyotes eight-game preseason schedule begins on Tuesday, September 20th at Anaheim. The Coyotes will then play split squad games against Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 21st at Jobing.com Arena and Staples Center.

Phoenix will then travel to Houston to play the Dallas Stars on Friday, September 23rd at Reliant Stadium, home to the Houston Texans (NFL). The Coyotes will also play at San Jose on Saturday, September 24th, at Edmonton on Tuesday, September 27th and at Calgary on Saturday, September 29th before returning home to close out the preseason slate against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, October 1st at Jobing.com Arena.

The Coyotes' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20 - at Anaheim, 10:00 PM
September 21* - vs. Los Angeles, 10; at Los Angeles, 10:30 PM
September 23 - vs. Dallas (in Houston), TBA
September 24 - at San Jose, 10:30 PM
September 27 - at Edmonton, 9:00 PM
September 29 - at Calgary, 9:00 PM
October 1 - vs. San Jose, 9:00 PM

*split squad games

2011 Los Angeles Kings preseason schedule

2011-06-21T14:50:00.004-04:00

The Los Angeles Kings announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the home team for the upcoming Frozen Fury 14 game on October 1st.

From the team's official news release:

The Los Angeles Kings today announced their preseason schedule for the 2011-2012 NHL season. The Kings are currently scheduled to play seven preseason games - including two at STAPLES Center on September 21st versus the Phoenix Coyotes and September 25th versus the Anaheim Ducks.

In addition to the two home games at STAPLES Center, the Kings will host the Colorado Avalanche at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on October 1st and the Kings will host the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Sprint Center in Kansas City on September 27th.

The Kings travel to Phoenix on September 21st (as part of a split-squad game), to Colorado on September 28th and to Anaheim on September 30th.

The Kings will also play one exhibition game in Germany before starting the 2011-2012 NHL regular season. The Kings on October 4th will play the special exhibition game at the O2 World Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany, against the Hamburg Freezers of the German Elite League. The Kings then open their regular season schedule with the following two games in Europe – on October 7th, the Kings will play the Rangers at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden while on October 8th, the Kings and Sabres will play each other at the O2 World Arena in Berlin, Germany. The Kings are the designated "home team" for both games.

Tickets for the two Kings preseason games at STAPLES Center are tentatively scheduled to go on sale August 18th. Tickets are currently on sale for the game in Las Vegas and in Kansas City.

The Kings' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21* - at Phoenix, 10; vs. Phoenix, 10:30 PM
September 25 - vs. Anaheim, 9:30 PM
September 27 - vs. Pittsburgh (in Kansas City), 6:00 PM
September 28 - at Colorado, 9:00 PM
September 30 - at Anaheim, 10:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Colorado (in Las Vegas, Nevada), 9:00 PM

*split squad games

2011 Minnesota Wild preseason schedule

2011-06-21T12:20:00.000-04:00

The Minnesota Wild announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Minnesota Wild released its preseason schedule today, and unlike last year, all seven games will take place in North America and in NHL arenas. Last year, the Wild closed out the preseason against Ilves Tampere in Finland before opening the season with two regular season games in Helsinki.

This year, the Wild will play seven times in September, including three home games against the Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers. The Wild will hit the road for four games in Edmonton, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Columbus.

While they won't count for squat in the standings, this year's friendlies will have some serious implications on the Wild's roster. During the news conference announcing the hiring of head coach Mike Yeo, it was made clear that the goal for this year is to become a younger, faster and more aggressive team that is tough to play against. That means several players that Yeo coached in Houston last year will be challenging veterans for full-time roster spots.

Plenty of players will see ice time as the team plays three games in three days from September 22nd to September 24th.

The Wild's 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20 - at Edmonton, 9:00 PM
September 22 - at St. Louis, 8:00 PM
September 23 - vs. Columbus, 8:00 PM
September 24 - at Pittsburgh, 3:00 PM
September 27 - vs. St. Louis, 8:00 PM
September 29 - at Columbus, 7:00 PM
September 30 - vs. Edmonton, 8:00 PM

2011 Buffalo Sabres preseason schedule

2011-06-21T12:15:00.002-04:00

The Buffalo Sabres announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Buffalo Sabres today announced their 2011 preseason schedule. The team will play seven games, including two at HSBC Arena. Ticket information for each home game will be announced at a later date.

The Sabres will begin their preseason slate at home on Monday, September 19th when the Carolina Hurricanes visit HSBC Arena. The Sabres will then travel to Montréal to play the Canadiens on Wednesday, September 21st. The team will participate in a home-and-home series with the Toronto Maple Leafs starting at the Air Canada Centre on Friday, September 23rd and then at HSBC Arena on Saturday, September 24th. After a game on the road in Columbus the following day (Sunday, September 25th), the team will travel to Washington on Friday, September 30th to face the Capitals.

The Buffalo Sabres will also play an exhibition game against Adler Mannheim at SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany, on Tuesday, October 4th, as part of the 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere Challenge to complete the 2011 preseason schedule.

The Sabres' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 19 - vs. Carolina, 7:00 PM
September 21 - at Montréal, 7:30 PM
September 23 - at Toronto, 7:00 PM
September 24 - vs. Toronto, 7:00 PM
September 25 - at Columbus, 5:00 PM
September 30 - at Washington, 7:00 PM
October 4 - vs. Adler Mannheim (in Mannheim, Germany), TBA

2011 Detroit Red Wings preseason schedule

2011-06-20T13:10:00.004-04:00

The Detroit Red Wings announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the away team for their September 22nd game in London, Ontario.

From the team's official news release:

The Red Wings today announced their return to the ice with their 2011-2012 preseason schedule. The home lineup includes two Friday night contests vs. Philadelphia and Toronto and two Sunday afternoon tilts vs. Chicago and Pittsburgh.

The road swing includes a special contest vs. the Flyers in London, Ontario, at the John Labatt Centre.

On-sale dates for individual preseason games have not been announced.

The Red Wings' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - at Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM
September 22 - vs. Philadelphia (in London, Ontario), 7:00 PM
September 23 - vs. Philadelphia, 7:30 PM
September 25 - vs. Chicago, 4:00 PM
September 28 - at Chicago, 8:30 PM
September 30 - vs. Toronto, 7:30 PM
October 1 - at Toronto, 7:00 PM
October 2 - vs. Pittsburgh, 4:00 PM

2011 Washington Capitals preseason schedule

2011-06-20T12:30:00.005-04:00

The Washington Capitals announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Washington Capitals 2011 preseason schedule features seven games against four opponents and includes three games at Verizon Center. The Capitals will open their preseason schedule against the Nashville Predators in the Baltimore Hockey Classic at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore on September 20th.

The Capitals will begin their preseason road schedule on Wednesday, September 21st (7:00 PM) at Columbus versus the Blue Jackets before facing off against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on Friday, September 23rd (8:30 PM).

The team's preseason home opener at Verizon Center is Monday, September 26th (7:00 PM) against the Blue Jackets. The Capitals will then travel to Nashville on September 28th (8:00 PM) before returning home to face the Buffalo Sabres on September 30th (7:00 PM) and the Blackhawks on October 2nd (5:00 PM) at Verizon Center.

The Capitals were 5-1 in the preseason last year, and their all-time preseason record is 140-112-29-9.

The 1st Mariner Arena (formerly the Baltimore Arena) is Baltimore's largest indoor venue. The Capitals called Landover, Maryland home from 1974-1997. They played their home games at the Capital Centre before moving to downtown Washington, D.C. for the 1997-1998 season.

Audio from every preseason game will be broadcast live on WashingtonCaps.com.

The Capitals' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20 - vs. Nashville (in Baltimore), 7:00 PM
September 21 - at Columbus, 7:00 PM
September 23 - at Chicago, 8:30 PM
September 26 - vs. Columbus, 7:00 PM
September 28 - at Nashville, 8:00 PM
September 30 - vs. Buffalo, 7:00 PM
October 2 - vs. Chicago, 5:00 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

Washington Capitals official news release (June 20):
Capitals announce 2011 preseason schedule

Comcast SportsNet Washington (June 20):

Washington Post's Capitals Insider blog (June 20):

Washington Times' Capitals page (June 20):
Baltimore stop set during Capitals' preseason

Washington Examiner's Loose Pucks blog (June 20):
Caps announce preseason schedule

2011 Chicago Blackhawks preseason schedule

2011-06-20T12:15:00.005-04:00

The Chicago Blackhawks announced their 2011 preseason schedule. They are the home team for the preseason opener.

From the team's official news release:

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today the team's 2011 preseason schedule, which consists of seven games against National Hockey League opponents including one contest in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The Blackhawks will open their preseason slate with a matchup against the Edmonton Oilers at the Credit Union Centre on Wednesday, September 20th. The tilt will mark the second consecutive preseason the Blackhawks will participate in a neutral site contest, following the 2010 preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Chicago will also play home-and-home series during the 2011 preseason with their Central Division rivals, the Detroit Red Wings, as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. The Blackhawks will open their home preseason schedule on Friday, September 23rd when they welcome the Capitals to the United Center at 7:00 PM.

Game times and ticket information for the 2011 preseason will be announced at a later date.

The Blackhawks' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 20 - vs. Edmonton (in Saskatoon), 8:00 PM
September 22 - at Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM
September 23 - vs. Washington, 8:30 PM
September 25 - at Detroit, 4:00 PM
September 28 - vs. Detroit, 8:30 PM
September 30 - vs. Pittsburgh, 8:30 PM
October 2 - at Washington, 5:00 PM

UPDATE (July 11, 2011):
The Chicago Blackhawks announced their 2011 preseason schedule broadcast coverage. The September 25th and October 2nd games will air on WGN-TV. The September 28th and September 30th games will be on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

2011 Pittsburgh Penguins preseason schedule

2011-06-20T11:20:00.000-04:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced their 2011 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Pittsburgh Penguins will open their 2011 pre-season schedule Wednesday, September 21st against the Detroit Red Wings at CONSOL Energy Center. Game time is 7:00 PM.

It will be the first of three straight pre-season home games – also including Thursday, September 22nd against Chicago (7:00 PM) and Saturday, September 24th against Minnesota (3:00 PM).

The September 21st and 22nd games will be part of season ticket packages, with individual game tickets also going on sale to the general public.

The September 24th game vs. Minnesota will be the Penguins' second annual free game for kids. Details will be provided at a later date.

The Penguins also play pre-season road games at Chicago and Detroit, and a neutral site game against the Los Angeles Kings at Kansas City.

The Penguins' 2011 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - vs. Detroit, 7:00 PM
September 22 - vs. Chicago, 7:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Minnesota, 3:00 PM
September 27 - vs. Los Angeles (in Kansas City), 8:00 PM
September 30 - at Chicago, 8:30 PM
October 2 - at Detroit, 4:00 PM

Sports journalist and hockey fan Jon Moncrief dies

2011-05-22T01:10:00.004-04:00

Jon Moncrief made an impact as an inspired sports journalist and loved the game of ice hockey.

His father Jack revealed the sad news to friends and business contacts on Facebook that Moncrief had passed away early Thursday morning in Los Angeles of a pulmonary embolism. He was 42 years old.

Moncrief was a fixture in the two largest cities in the United States covering sports on radio, print media and internet programming. He dedicated his time as a hockey fan following the New Jersey Devils.

In the New York City media market, he hosted the SportsRock morning radio show in 1995 and 1996 at WRPR-FM, Ramapo College's on-campus radio station in Mahwah, New Jersey. It would come at the same time the Devils won their first Stanley Cup championship. Moncrief also worked for WFAN-AM as well as Regional News Network (RNN) in the early years of his career.

During his recent years spent in southern California's Los Angeles media market, Moncrief had been covering the Los Angeles Kings and Los Angeles Dodgers as a beat writer for examiner.com. He would provide his insight on both teams with news articles and even posting live Twitter updates from either STAPLES Center or Dodger Stadium of games in progress. Last summer, he also co-hosted the SoCal Sports Weekly radio show.

But for one of his most proud projects prior to his passing on Thursday was co-hosting Inside Sports, a weekly internet talk show that covered a variety of sports from golf, tennis and auto racing to of course the four major sports leagues in the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL). Moncrief and co-host/show founder Charles E. Smith, Jr. had interviewed a variety of athletes and sports personalities during the duration of its current run.

Smith had stated today that their time spent at Oak Creek Golf Club in Irvine, California was one of Moncrief's most finer moments. It was for Calypso on the Green, a charity tournament that took place on April 29th.

video courtesy: Inside Sports

Moncrief and Smith most recently participated last weekend in the second annual "KingsCast post-season roundtable", a webcast event that gathered bloggers and journalists from around the Los Angeles area to recap the Kings' 2010-2011 season.

video courtesy: KingsCast

After learning the news of Moncrief's death many members of the hockey community expressed their thoughts on the impact he made on them.

"What I'd like to say about Jon is that he was one of the nicest people I have every had the pleasure of knowing. I met him last year at Staples Center during the NHL draft. You could tell his passion for sports not just how he wrote, but how he talked about them. I had been a fan of his work for some time, so when he told me that he was a fan of my writing, I was truly honored and humbled. He really encouraged other writers to keep writing, keep finding their voice and not give up. I enjoyed our hockey chats even if he was razzing me about my team. It was always in good fun and is something I'm really going miss. I'm happy to have known him for the short time I did. It was an honor."
- Chelsea Alexander, contributing writer of Hockey Quarterly

"I sadly heard about Jon Moncrief. He was a guest on our show several months ago and he had such a passion for hockey. His passion was felt by all fans that read and or heard him speak about sports. Although I never met him personally, I have heard such nice things about him as a person who lived his dream and contributed to make the world a better place."
- David Isaac, co-host of Breakthrough Sports
KXXT-AM in Phoenix

"Most people knew Jon Moncrief as a sports writer, but he was so much more than that. He was a caring person and a loyal friend who always had a kind word and a smile for everyone he met. I will miss our conversations about hockey -- and life -- more than I can explain."
- Meg Jarrell, author of L.A. Kings Court

"Like many others, I met Jon through Twitter, then got to know him better via Facebook. He was always very kind and always ready to talk a little Kings hockey. When I traveled to Los Angeles for last year's NHL Entry Draft, he was one of very few writers who welcomed me and took me under their wing. In fact, a memory that makes me smile is someone posting a photo of me at the Draft on Facebook. Jon, who had been sitting behind me, commented that the Montreal radio guys next to me were being pretty loud, but that I handled it well. I only had to turn around to get a smile of encouragement, which meant more to a novice hockey writer covering her very first Draft at age 46 than he could ever have known. I didn't know Jon as well as others in the hockey world, but I am happy for the time that I did spend with him, online and in person."
- Su Ring, co-host of CCPT Hockey podcast on Blog Talk Radio

"I've known Jon for a little over a year now. I met him through Kings fans on Twitter. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the NHL Draft last June where he welcomed me with a big hug. He was such a kind soul - always something funny to say and always willing to go the extra mile to help others out. He was a great writer and human being. I know I didn't know him that long, but I was blessed to know him for the short time that I did. I was crushed when I heard the news this morning... He will be tremendously missed by all who knew him."
- Jennifer Shaw, contributing writer of View From My Seats

"My interaction with Jon was limited, but I did meet him in person a handful of times. He was always willing to shoot the breeze for a few minutes, a truly friendly hand that was always extended - a wonderful human being. Jon was a cornerstone of the Kings media community and was one of the heavies that you could count on seeing at practices, games and events. He will be missed."
- Jeremy Smith, author of The Throne Room

"He was just a phenomenal man. A huge sweetheart. An amazing sports writer. Just a truly genuine guy. Very friendly. Had a great sense of humor. Just an all around great guy. Last time he was in the hospital he was very optimistic about it and didn't let it stop him, a true fighter in that aspect. The first time I met him, you can just sense his enthusiasm about sports. I really don't know what to say. Nothing I say seems to do him any justice."
- Brianna Wells

The Los Angeles Kings organization issued a statement early Thursday afternoon on their official Twitter feed:

"The #LAKings are saddened to hear of the passing of LA hockey writer Jon Moncrief. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time."

Smith posted the news of Moncrief's passing on the show's official web site, its Facebook fan page and its official Twitter feed. It is expected that Smith will provide more information about Moncrief's funeral services in the coming days for Moncrief's loyal readers, listeners and viewers.

Do you want to help save the Phoenix Coyotes?

2011-03-28T17:50:00.019-04:00

Since this has been a very hot off ice topic lately (even though it's been a story for nearly two years), I would pass along important contact information for those who want to make their voices heard on the potential sale of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Monique Reaux of Coyotes Hip Check and Heather McWhorter of The Yotes Diva each list for you on their blogs where you can contact Arizona politicians, Phoenix television and radio stations, newspapers plus board members of The Goldwater Institute.

From Heather's list:

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

The Honorable Janice K. Brewer
Governor of Arizona
1700 West Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007
(602) 542-4331 (Governor's office number)
(602) 542-1381 (fax)

Tom Horne
State Attorney General of Arizona
2824 East Mission Lane
Phoenix, AZ 85028
(623) 850-3165
Tom Horne's Facebook page
Tom Horne's Twitter feed

United States Senator John McCain
John McCain's Facebook page
John McCain's Twitter feed
Washington office:
241 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2235 (main phone number)
(202) 228-2862 (fax)

Phoenix office:
5353 North 16th Street
Suite 105
Phoenix, AZ 85016
(602) 952-2410 (main phone number)
(602) 952-8702 (fax)

United States Senator Jon Kyl
Washington office:
730 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4521 (main phone number)
(202) 224-2207 (fax)

Phoenix office:
2200 East Camelback
Suite 120
Phoenix, AZ 85016-3455
(602) 840-1891 (main phone number)
(602) 957-6838 (fax)

Arizona Congressional District #4 (includes Glendale)
Congressman Ed Pastor
Washington office:
2465 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-4065

Phoenix office:
411 North Central Avenue
Suite 150
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 256-0551

LOCAL TELEVISION STATIONS AND NEWSPAPERS

FOX Sports Arizona
E-mail: fsarizona.feedback@fox.com
facebook.com/FOXSportsArizona
twitter.com/FOXSportsAZ

KTVK-TV
4343 East Camelback Road
Suite 130
Phoenix, AZ 85018
Phone: (602) 977-7700
Fax: (602) 224-2214
twitter.com/AZFamily

KPHO-TV
4016 North Black Canyon Highway
Phoenix, AZ 85017
(602) 264-1000
facebook.com/KPHOCBS5NEWS
twitter.com/KPHO

KSAZ-TV
511 West Adams Street
Phoenix, AZ 85003
(602) 257-1234
facebook.com/MyFOXPhoenix
KSAZ-TV Twitter list
Jude LaCava (sports anchor)

KPNX-TV and The Arizona Republic
200 East Van Buren Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 444-1212
Brahm Resnik (news anchor/reporter)
Arizona Republic letters to the editor

KNXV-TV
515 North 44th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(602) 273-1500
facebook.com/ABC15
twitter.com/ABC15

East Valley Tribune
1620 West Fountainhead Parkway
Suite 219
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) TRIBUNE
facebook.com/TribuneEV
twitter.com/evtrib

LOCAL RADIO STATIONS

KTAR-AM (Sports 620 KTAR)
7740 North 16th Street
Suite 200
Phoenix, AZ 85020
(602) 274-6200 (main phone number)
(602) 230-0620 (sports talk show call-ins)
Doug & Wolf
Sports Interactive
Gambo & Ash
facebook.com/Sports620KTAR
twitter.com/Sports620KTAR

KGME-AM (XTRA 910)
4686 East Van Buren Street
Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(602) 260-9191 (talk show call-ins)
Bickley & MJ
XTRA 910's Facebook page
Bickley & MJ's Facebook page
XTRA 910's main Twitter feed
Dan Bickley's Twitter feed
Mike Jurecki's Twitter feed
Mike Bauer's Twitter feed

KXXT-AM (Breakthrough Sports Radio)
Tolleson, AZ
(602) 296-3632
Breakthrough Sports Facebook page
Dave Isaac's Twitter feed
Greg Isaac's Twitter feed

KDUS-AM (The Fan AM 1060) and KUPD-FM
1900 West Carmen Street
Tempe, AZ 85283
(480) 838-0400 (KDUS-AM main phone number)
(602) 260-1060 (KDUS-AM call-in line)
(602) 260-9800 (Holmberg's Morning Sickness on KUPD-FM)
KUPD-FM Twitter feed
Kevin McCabe and Friends on KDUS-AM
Roc and Manuch's Calling All Sports on KDUS-AM
Roc and Manuch's Facebook page
Roc and Manuch's Twitter feed

KDKB-FM
1167 West Javelina Avenue
Mesa, AZ 85210
(480) 897-9300 (main phone number)
(602) 260-9393 (request line)
Brian "Sludge" Haddad's Facebook page
Brian "Sludge" Haddad's Twitter feed

MATTHEW HULSIZER

Matthew Hulsizer
Co-Founder/Chief Executive Officer
PEAK6 Investments, L.P.
141 West Jackson Boulevard
Suite 500
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 362-2401 (main company phone number)
info@peak6.com

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Heather and Monique also suggest contacting the National Hockey League world headquarters in New York City, even commissioner Gary Bettman himself among those you feel are most important for you to express your thoughts on keeping the Coyotes in Arizona.

National Hockey League
1251 Avenue of the Americas
47th Floor
New York, NY 10020
NHL's official Facebook page
NHL's official Twitter feed

GOLDWATER INSTITUTE

The Barry Goldwater Institute for Public Policy
500 East Coronado Road
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 462-5000

Darcy Olsen
President and Chief Executive Officer
dolsen@goldwaterinstitute.org

Clint Bolick
Director, Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation
cbolick@goldwaterinstitute.org

Carrie Ann Sitren
Staff Attorney
csitren@goldwaterinstitute.org

Goldwater Institute announces lawsuit against Glendale; Matthew Hulsizer vows to press forward

2011-03-16T23:35:00.018-04:00

If they haven't been already, the battle lines have now been drawn. It is safe to say, even inked.

The Goldwater Institute announced last night in a press release their plans to sue the city of Glendale, Arizona on the legality of the sale agreement between the National Hockey League, Phoenix Coyotes prospective owner Matthew Hulsizer and the municipality. The most important part of their statement read:

Under the pending deal, Glendale plans to borrow $100 million to help Mr. Hulsizer purchase the team. The bonds ostensibly will be repaid from parking revenues, but the city has pledged sales and excise taxes as well. According to Moody's Investor Service, the city's existing debt level already is three times higher than the typical city of its size. Additionally, the city will pay Mr. Hulsizer $97 million to manage the arena over the next five-and-a-half years.

The Goldwater Institute has determined the agreement violates two prohibitions of the Arizona Constitution, which requires that no Arizona government "shall ever give or loan its credit in aid of, or make any donation or grant, by subsidy or otherwise, to any individual, association, or corporation..." The Goldwater Institute prevailed in a similar case against corporate subsidies last year in the Arizona Supreme Court.

The first part of the clause is violated by Glendale's decision to provide its credit to make a payment to Mr. Hulsizer, who will use the proceeds to purchase the team. The city's credit rating was lowered by Moody's due to its debt overload, thereby increasing the cost of city borrowing. The second prohibition is violated because under the Arizona Supreme Court's decision in Turken v. Gordon (the CityNorth case), Mr. Hulsizer is not providing roughly proportionate value for the payments he will receive from the city.

In summary, The Goldwater Institute is arguing three things against this sales agreement.

*They believe taxpayer money will be used to raise $100 million toward the purchase of bonds to finance the sale to Hulsizer, therefore making this a gift.

*They believe Glendale already owns the parking rights for Jobing.com Arena and therefore cannot sell it to themselves.

*They contest there will be additional taxes for Glendale residents to pay to fund the Coyotes sale agreement.

DARCY OLSEN ON KPNX-TV's "SUNDAY SQUARE OFF"

Goldwater Institute president and CEO Darcy Olsen spoke with Brahm Resnik two days ago on KPNX-TV's "Sunday Square Off" to once again present her case against the city of Glendale.

video courtesy: KPNX-TV

Brahm started off the interview by asking Olsen if she was an obstructionist, as accused by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman eight days ago.

"I love hockey. Phoenix is full of hockey fans. We'd love to keep the Coyotes here, but it just can't be done on the backs of taxpayers," Olsen first said. "The Arizona Constitution has a ban on giving public money to private interests. And in this case, the taxpayers of Glendale would be essentially buying the Coyotes for a rich Chicago tycoon. We contend that's unconstitutional."

Since Olsen didn't answer the question, Resnik asked it again.

She replied, "If the law is in the way, I guess so."

After that, Resnik had mentioned how Bettman isn't convinced her organization would sue Glendale. Olsen repeated her statement that only within the last week had the municipality submitted 750+ more documents on the sale agreement. I have also heard her say the cliché mentioned on a number of other interviews she's done over the past two weeks, "If it looks like a duck, it walks like a duck. Does it talk like a duck?" If yes, then she said her organization would prevent Glendale from breaking the law.

Resnik next brought up the Goldwater Institute's ability to fund lawsuits. Olsen claims that a Glendale City Council member revealed they didn't even vote on going ahead with their lawsuit against her organization, one that was reportedly to be filed last week, but hasn't happened. She also accused Glendale of their lawsuit threat as a bullying tactic.

The next item was the Goldwater Institute's annual revenue records. Olsen admits that bump ups on their savings come from huge endowment gifts by donors. She says that the number of people who contribute money to their organization grew from 50 in 2003 to currently about 2,000 nationwide. Disputed is any claim they've received donations from Canadian interests in the last 6 to 12 months.

"I'm not aware of a penny coming from Canada," Olsen said. "No, not a single penny that I know of. Now we have a lot of people like you that are Canadian-Americans who live here that support The Goldwater Institute because they like our fight for limited government and free enterprise."

Surely, that put Resnik on the spot right there, didn't it? Let's move on to the next question he asked. He read a reader comment from the Arizona Republic which said Olsen has a winning argument, but isn't winnable in court. Her response was her telling Resnik that if the other side to a case like this one approached her organization about negotiating a re-worked sale agreement, the laws under the Arizona Constitution is not negotiable. Olsen says it's not about the amount of money involved, it's about principle.

"It looks to be a case of taxpayers buying this team for a Chicago tycoon," she added.

Okay, so Olsen won't change her mind in suing even if the sale agreement is re-negotiated. But if the new deal doesn't cost any new sales taxes, it sounds like she would be on a witch hunt against the city of Glendale and nothing more.

In finishing up her reply to this particular issue, Olsen said that Glendale taxpayers have seen their city's budget debt three times the average size for its population while ignoring the needs of its citizens by attempting to buy the Coyotes.

Resnik then made a point to ask if opposing the sale and letting the Coyotes move out of town would send Glendale into a financial crisis much worse than where they currently stand. Olsen argued a point many outside media outlets including those in Canada have repeated numerous times is that the Coyotes have never turned a profit in their 15 years in Arizona. She believes that just getting a new owner would not be enough to turn the financial fortunes of the hockey franchise around.

Here are two questions I could easily ask in response.

In order to be a successful professional hockey franchise, do the Coyotes have to turn a profit? If the team generates enough revenue for the city of Glendale to match or exceed what has been done so far, isn't that reason enough to keep the Coyotes where they are?

In response to Resnik's question about replacing the revenue lost by any departure of the Coyotes, Olsen repeated her claim she made on March 9th to Toronto's CJCL-AM (Sportsnet Radio FAN 590) Prime Time Sports show host Bob McGown that other sports arenas without main tenants can still make money. She also pointed out that Tohono O'odham Nation's proposal for a gaming casino within city limits would help reduce Glendale's fiscal deficit. However, for someone that is supposed to be adequately educated about the state tax code, Olsen should know that Native American tribes on their reservations are tax exempt. Tohono O'odham Nation has its reservation occupy 4,460 square miles of land in southwestern Arizona. So, if they were to get their casino plan approved, they would have to annex land within Glendale's borders.

Therefore, Tohono O'odham Nation would not contribute to Glendale's coffers on money made on their casino, yet the city would have to take taxpayer money out of their budget to pay for basic infrastructure services such as water and sewer lines. Glendale has fought the tribe on the casino proposal for about as long as this Coyotes ownership saga.

GLENDALE RESIDENTS EXPRESS SUPPORT OF COYOTES SALE AT TOWN HALL MEETING

Meanwhile, Glendale mayor Elaine Scruggs hosted a town hall meeting last night at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Glendale. When the topic of the stalled Coyotes sale agreement was brought up for discussion, nearly all were in favor of the deal moving forward.

"We trust the mayor, the council and city staff in every other aspect of the operation of Glendale, and we should trust them here," Glendale resident Gail Meyers told Jeff Dempsey of The Daily News-Sun. "It would be a giant step backward for Glendale if this deal doesn't go through."

In reaction to finding out that The Goldwater Institute plans to sue her city, Scruggs said, "The market valuation is done and the bonds are out on the market," she said. "You all know the ups and downs, turns and twists we've been through and the council feels we have a good agreement."

Obviously if the bonds don't sell, mayor?

"The team will leave for Canada," she said. "We can argue forever, but it is what it is. This is how things are done in the bond market."

Notice how Scruggs sounded certain the team would "leave for Canada" if the deal doesn't happen? Does she know something we don't know? Is she sure it is indeed Canada where the Coyotes would go if they can't stay in Arizona?

Jeff Dempsey did mention in his article that Scruggs might explore the possibility of having Jobing.com Arena host a minor league team should the Coyotes move out of Arizona. But the Glendale mayor may have to keep in mind that the latest reincarnation of the Phoenix Roadrunners as an ECHL team had to cease operations at the US Airways Center two years ago. If that minor league team could not successfully operate in downtown Phoenix for a sustained period of time, skeptics may question the viability of one in Glendale.

MATTHEW HULSIZER VOWS TO PRESS FORWARD WITH CLOSING SALE

During yesterday's 5:00 PM Mountain Time newscast, KSAZ-TV sports anchor Jude LaCava offered some interesting information on how Hulsizer has reacted to the news of The Goldwater Institute lawsuit and what his next step will be.

video courtesy: KSAZ-TV

Can the Coyotes overcome this latest development?

"They plan to weather this," LaCava told news anchor John Hook. "I was on the phone with Matthew Hulsizer and I can tell you he is going to continue to march forward. This franchise has had a 15-year history here going back to downtown Phoenix. But I think right now the question is, what is the legality of their suit and will we finally see a close of this sale."

LaCava then talked about other challenges The Goldwater Institute has made to other major projects in the Phoenix area such as a spring training stadium for the Chicago Cubs in eastern suburb of Mesa, Arizona. His point was this organization is generally against the funding of sports facilities using any amount of taxpayer money whatsoever. In regards to this case, LaCava wonders where the donations to The Goldwater Institute are coming from.

But what if the sale is blocked and the Coyotes leave?

"Your development (Westgate City Center) takes a major hit for many years to come. I think the implications to this are huge," LaCava explained. "Let me say this to fans out there and even if you're not a hardcore fan. Is there a bigger development project when it comes to sports in the entire state than the West Valley? We've had national championships and we've had the Super Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium."

LaCava also told Hook, "This is a key part of this hub (Jobing.com Arena) that I think mayor Scruggs says we have to figure out how to make it work. And I think right now Matthew Hulsizer is simply saying, give me a chance to flip this thing. He expressed a real confidence to me in saying I can better manage that arena, I can better manage this hockey team that's getting better and make it more relevant."

Both LaCava and Hook agree this lawsuit symbolizes a drawing in the sand by the Goldwater Institute's conservative point of view, no more public money.

"I think the bottom line that people need to know is Matthew Hulsizer is plotting on. He hopes to complete this bond sale I'm told within the next two to three days. Let's see if that happens," LaCava concluded.

According to LaCava, Olsen turned out an interview at that Phoenix television station. No word as to why she did so.

So in summarizing the last few days, The Goldwater Institute will not back down from their stance on this sale agreement and sue the city of Glendale as it moves forward. There is public support from across the Phoenix metropolitan area and the state of Arizona. That includes those most affected, the Glendale taxpayers. Hulsizer isn't afraid of the pending lawsuit and instead will continue to do his best to buy the Phoenix Coyotes.

Whether or not the bonds sell and the franchise sale is completed, that remains to be seen. The end game to this entire ownership saga may not be done until after the season. For Coyotes fans and the players, hopefully it won't effect on-ice performance in the event the team qualifies for the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs.

My latest thoughts on Phoenix vs. Winnipeg hockey flame war

2011-03-10T13:00:00.010-05:00

Normally I don't do opinion pieces here, but I feel I had to make an exception. However, what I wrote below will NOT change how I post about both sides of THIS issue. That is I will continue to do so from an unbiased perspective. Let me get started.

Since the "No, this situation is nothing like Winnipeg, Quebec or Hartford" article was posted on the Five For Howling blog last night, I have seen the predictable. That would be an internet flame war between fans of two separate countries and two separate cities. There are plenty more that have been very understanding and respectful, therefore the troublemakers have been fewer in number than many realize.

My hometown team is the New York Rangers. They are my first love and remain as such. I fell in love with hockey during the second half of my high school years even though the first game I ever watched on television was when I was just 9 years old. By the time I went to college, hockey overtook all other sports and has been far and away #1 ever since.

Back then, the National Hockey League did not readily make available to American viewers games played in Canada, including those memorable ones when Wayne Gretzky played in Edmonton. If you were lucky to have cable television, you'd get to see an occasional game. Otherwise you resorted to game highlights on ESPN. But I did appreciate how much hockey is a religious part of the Canadian way of life. I get it, hockey reigns supreme there. But what some up there don't understand is, just because it is not regarded the same way or at the same level in the United States, it doesn't mean there are not plenty of those who love the NHL at least as much.

That said, I now bring up the debate between the old city and the current one. I remember seeing Winnipeg Jets games on television, especially when the Rangers played them at Winnipeg Arena. They were special to watch, about as much as when they played the other Canadian teams. There is something about seeing those particular games where you appreciate it more than others, perhaps because they are played in another country and see how they celebrate the game. Just look at the TV ads alone and it gives you that impression...

I recall very clearly when the Jets were on the brink of leaving Winnipeg. I hated it. I was going to miss their White Outs, that unique goal horn (which is still played at MTS Centre) and the painting of Queen Elizabeth II hanging from its rafters. During the final game, I knew I'd miss seeing the Jets because of their fan support as well.

However, when I heard the Jets were moving to Phoenix, I was absolutely overjoyed that is where the team was headed. My personal connection to that city is one of the driving reasons why I love the Phoenix Coyotes. I nearly moved to Arizona when I was just 7, but my family's business decided to stay in the New York City area. I love hockey, the NHL and seeing it come to Phoenix was a dream come true. Yes, I wish it wasn't the Jets, but I could not be picky back then. It was a team that called Phoenix home. The Coyotes continued the White Out tradition and it was done out of respect to the Jets years. Some diehard Jets fans will dispute that claim.

So from the beginning dating back to July 1, 1996, I have also been a Phoenix Coyotes fan. I've gone through the ups and downs with the team. When they were doing well, big crowds at US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix. When the Coyotes' fortunes went south, so did the attendance. Obviously due to business reasons, the Coyotes couldn't continue to play downtown and eventually went to nearby Glendale. I was again happy the Coyotes could open a new chapter in club history with a re-branding and new arena. But the wins didn't follow. I grew frustrated like every other Coyotes fan there. Jets fans obviously began to give Arizonans the "I told ya so" where they think people don't support the Coyotes or hockey doesn't work there.

It is bad business decisions, a very poorly run franchise in especially recent years by Jerry Moyes, the lack of marketing and especially poor on-ice performance is what has pushed the Coyotes to where they are today... on the brink of either being saved or complete collapse where they have to move again. Since Moyes made his disgraceful move to put the team into Chapter 11 bankruptcy AND the Jim Ballisie debacle, Jets fans as well as Canadian fans in general PLUS their print and broadcast media have done their part to campaign for the Coyotes to move back north, that including Winnipeg. So we are where we are.

Even before the Coyotes were facing the threat of relocation, I have supported Winnipeg in seeing the NHL return there. I have followed the Return of the Jets Campaign run by Darren Ford. While Phoenix fans don't think kindly of him, I do appreciate his efforts and hope his dream becomes a reality. But there is one thing I don't want. NOT AT THE COYOTES EXPENSE. My next dream would be one day we see both Phoenix and Winnipeg with teams and even develop a healthy rivalry, similar to the one between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild... the "old team vs. new team" thing. I feel like lately I have had to be a peacemaker between those that salivate at a Jets return and those vehemently wanting the Coyotes to stay in Phoenix. Without any shred of doubt, I support the Coyotes staying FIRST and won't ever change.

So for a final note, I say to the Canadian media, its talking heads, SOME Canadian fans and the minority of Winnipeg hockey fans need to back the hell off. You are ruining the reputation of the good people from there. Stop with the onslaught of slander toward Phoenix, Glendale and the state of Arizona. Your support of The Goldwater Institute exists for only one reason, for them to kill the Coyotes sale to Matthew Hulsizer and in turn move the team back to Winnipeg. We see this with the "Support the Goldwater Institute, bring home the Jets!" Facebook group. That MINORITY gives Winnipeg, the province of Manitoba and the rest of Canada a bad name. We appreciate your love for the NHL and wanting it to return to your city. BUT don't troll the Phoenix Coyotes' Facebook page, the Arizona Republic web site and any other internet site that covers THIS hockey team. It makes Arizona-based hockey fans and others like me who live elsewhere even more determined to see this team stay AND not see you get what you want. Stay patient and leave Phoenix fans alone. That includes you Gary Lawless, David Shoalts, Damien Cox, Howard Bloom and a number of others from a media standpoint. The fans? You too. You want the NHL to come back? Stay patient and stop the maddening venom you spew at Phoenix. It makes you deserve a team that much less. Save yourselves from a worsening reputation and back off if you know what's best for ALL of us fans. That way, there is no bloodbath in the years to come with or without NHL teams in BOTH cities.

Gary Bettman updates media on stalled Coyotes sale

2011-03-09T01:20:00.017-05:00

In what likely was to simply cool off all the relocation talk coming from north of the border, National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman flew to Phoenix and scheduled a press conference. He addressed the media prior to tonight's Phoenix Coyotes home game against the Vancouver Canucks at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona. It would be to provide an update on the stalled sale of the Coyotes to prospective owner Matthew Hulsizer.

video courtesy: Phoenix Coyotes

"There is a deal structure for Matthew Hulsizer to buy the Coyotes from the league. There are arrangements in place approved by the city of Glendale that would enable the Coyotes to live happily ever after in Jobing.com Arena," Bettman said in his opening statement. "And that would ensure that the arena doesn't go dark and it would protect the future of people who have businesses and jobs at (Westgate City Center)."

After thanking the city of Glendale, Hulsizer and the Coyotes organization for their dedication and patience through this difficult time, he then did the same for the fans in which he said:

"I finally want to thank the Coyotes fans for their tenaciousness and their support. And I know there are a lot more of them than this club gets credit for."

The commissioner then identified what has been holding up the sale transaction to this point.

*The bonds haven't yet been put up for sale for investors despite an A1 rating.

*The Goldwater Institute has "placed a cloud" on the bond cost and the legality of the franchise sale agreement.

Bettman ended his opening remarks by saying:

"We're not yet done. We haven't given up and we're not giving up. For anyone suggesting that we're not still committed to Glendale, you have not been following what we have done for the past two years. And our commitment remains as strong as ever. But time is running out and we're getting close to the end."

However, he then added there isn't a firm deadline.

"I will not today say when the end is. And I will not today set a deadline. But at some point, we may have no choice but to begin pursuing our other alternatives. Most simply stated, this situation must be resolved."

Bettman then opened the news conference up for questions for reporters to ask. Among those that he answered were the following:

*He was told within the last 72 hours that there have been numerous meetings between the parties involved over the last few months and thousands of documents submitted to answer the Goldwater Institute's questions about the sale agreement.

*He sent a message to the Goldwater Institute they should step down because it appears to be more of a leverage play on their part to hold up the transaction from being completed.

*The pursuit of the bonds being sold is ongoing. It is getting more expensive the longer Goldwater Institute drags out the process. Bettman believes it will cost taxpayers more money if these bonds are issued at a higher price than it should be without the delay.

*The NHL isn't in the position to tweak the sale agreement and stated that particular matter is between the city of Glendale and Hulsizer. It has been understood there has no focus on changing the terms of the deal.

*He claims Goldwater Institute will only meet with them if it is by a public news conference. They won't do it that way. Negotiations should not be done by media events.

*No specific deadline will be announced because it would give the Goldwater Institute the opportunity to just "wait out the clock" and kill the sale agreement. Bettman questioned if they have a bonafide case for a lawsuit against the city of Glendale.

*The commissioner is confident based on what information was provided, the documentation of what entity owns the land (parking rights) around Jobing.com Arena is clear. He believes that Goldwater Institute's dispute of the land ownership is just a smokescreen.

*There are other options besides the rumored frontrunner of Winnipeg as a relocation option. Bettman would not name them, especially because his top priority is Glendale, Arizona.

*The the Goldwater Institute's sending of letters to the bond agencies is under question for an unknown motivation. One possible reason is to scare off investors to finance the sale.

*According to Bettman, it is Glendale's decision if they decide to sue the Goldwater Institute, not the NHL.

*The bonds would all be sold together to fund the sale agreement, not in pieces.

*What ownership party is responsibility for operating losses for the 2010-2011 season depends on what particular point in time is identified.

*Bettman is standing firm on his belief that with the right owner under the terms of this sale agreement, the Coyotes as a business entity will succeed. He also believes an economic recovery in the Phoenix area will be a beneficial factor.

*The NHL is not in a position to speculate if the terms of the sale agreement were changed that it would accelerate it toward completion. The deal was struck. It is just the impediment on Goldwater Institute's part that has blocked it from being closed.

All and all, this was basically just as Bettman stated. It was give the public an update as to where the league stands while the completion of the sale agreement has been stalled. At the same time, it appeared that he also wanted to state clearly what is keeping it from being finalized.

Winnipeg television coverage of possible NHL return

2011-03-08T18:15:00.013-05:00

With the future of the Phoenix Coyotes in doubt, many hockey fans in Winnipeg continue to believe more than ever that the National Hockey League may return to their city.

For now, those people can only hope. The local media has certainly stepped up its coverage in this developing story out of Glendale, Arizona. Will the Coyotes stay or will they have to move back to Canada? We may find out soon.

Let's take a look at what has been discussed by television news networks over the last week. First, we have The Sports Network's (TSN) coverage on their SportsCenter show last Wednesday. NHL insider Bob McKenzie talked about the what ifs that lie ahead and not to misread what is unfolding in both Phoenix and Atlanta concerning their teams.

video courtesy: The Sports Network (TSN)

Three days later, there is The Hotstove segment from Saturday night's Hockey Night in Canada broadcast when the Chicago Blackhawks visited the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pierre LeBrun addressed it at the very start to show host Ron MacLean.

video courtesy: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

"It's never been closer to reality than it is right now, Ron." LeBrun said. "But it is not a done deal. Those poor folks in Winnipeg, they've been through this so many times. The next 7 to 10 days in Glendale, Arizona is the most critical since they've ever been in the desert."

Then last night on CBC Manitoba's 6:00 PM Central Time newscast, they had a report on the possibility of an NHL return.

"Don't get overexcited," Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman cautioned. "A fool would underestimate (NHL commissioner) Gary Bettman at this point. He has shown several times he has been able to escape what looked to be terminal situations."

Darren Ford of The Return of the Jets Campaign added, "In what might be the perfect storm for us being that there is two franchises in trouble at the same time and only one place to put it. It's Winnipeg, Manitoba."

So while it has become urgent in Arizona to get a sale agreement done, Winnipeggers and Manitobans will have to remain patient if there is any chance whatsoever seeing the NHL return. If it is not their old team coming back, certainly other possibilities will exist. Stay tuned in the coming days, weeks and months.

Radio interviews on NHL future in Phoenix and Winnipeg

2011-03-04T16:45:00.006-05:00

For those of you that are interested in hearing two people in charge of their respective campaigns to have a National Hockey League team in their city, you are in for a treat today.

The ongoing ownership saga in Arizona has had its wild twists and turns. During this week, it has been no different. The situation has been tenuous to say the least in Glendale, Arizona in regards to the future of the Phoenix Coyotes. A lengthy fight between Glendale city officials and the Phoenix-based taxpayer watchdog group The Goldwater Institute could derail hopes of selling necessary city bonds to complete the sale of the team to Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer.

As a result, speculation has run rampant higher than it ever has since United States Bankruptcy Court Judge Redfield T. Baum ruled in favor of the NHL taking over control of the Coyotes in 2009. Should the sale agreement collapse, the team may be forced to relocate in time for next season in which Winnipeg is a possible destination.

To hear what each representative of their campaigns have to say, tune in to the following radio shows in Phoenix and Winnipeg respectively:

Approximately 5:30 PM Eastern Time (3:30 PM in Phoenix)
KXXT-AM (Phoenix)
Breakthrough Sports with Dave and Greg Isaac
Heather McWhorter
President of the Coyotes Coalition

5:00 PM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time (4:00 to 6:00 PM in Winnipeg)
CFRW-AM (Winnipeg)
SportsRadio 1290's The Hustler and Lawless Show
Darren Ford
Founder of The Return of the Jets Campaign

Click on the hyperlinks for each site to listen to their interviews.

2011 NHL trade deadline day is here

2011-02-28T07:50:00.008-05:00

The day is finally here. This is an fantasy hockey player's wet dream. It's the NHL trade deadline, 2011 style.

Today is the day hockey fans around the world watch closely to see if their favorite team makes a trade... or two... or three (okay, not necessarily that many, but you get my point)... where they are either looking to bolster their roster to make a serious run at a Stanley Cup title or simply to execute a fire sale in building for the future.

This is when NHL owners and general managers pull their hair out and have a couple of coffee pots on standby. The weight of their teams falls on their shoulders to do what is best for their employer. This is the proving ground where their salaries are deserving or not when they were hired.

How many trades will be made by the deadline which is at 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time? No one knows for sure, but there will be some made by then. What will be funny is that if there are so few to make this day not worth getting up in the morning and follow TSN, CBC, Rogers Sportsnet, The Score or even the NHL Network and the league office running NHL.com's trade deadline page, all those employees reporting to work extra early will be just a little bit aggravated. ESPN has a trade deadline tracker you can follow. Not to say FOX Sports won't be paying any attention, but if you don't need the extensive marathon coverage those Canadian networks provide, you always have that American source to check out anytime. SB Nation (which partnered up with Yahoo!) also has their trade deadline page with a number of team bloggers keep us updated.

Additional reliable online sources you can access include:

Spector's Hockey
The Fourth Period
Kukla's Korner
James Mirtle's Twitter feed
Sean Leahy's Twitter feed

Lyle Richardson (who is a very reputable journalist that runs the Spector's Hockey site) has listed a few more sources you can access for all your trade deadline need for juicy trade rumors and actual deals. But I highly recommend Lyle as someone that will be bringing you instant analysis on his blog that is also accessible at FOX Sports' NHL page.

NHL Network's NHL Live! radio show will be on the air for two extra hours today from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time for Canadian viewers. Then a special edition of NHL On The Fly will follow at 6:00 PM. For more details, see the NHL's February 25th press release. This is in addition to TSN and Rogers Sportsnet providing their usual trade deadline day coverage.

Here are a few transactions that were finalized since yesterday that likely have made an impact on today's trade deadline:

The Anaheim Ducks traded forwads Stefan Chaput and David Laliberte to the Boston Bruins for forward Brian McGrattan and defenseman Sean Zimmerman.

The Chicago Blackhawks signed signed defenseman Brent Seabrook to a five-year, $29 million contract extension.

ESPN reports the Ottawa Senators signed defenseman Chris Phillips to a three-year, $9.25 million contract extension.

We'll see how things pan out between now and the end of tonight when any trades made by the deadline are announced. I'd be shocked if more than a few big names get moved today, but again, we shall see. Enjoy your trade deadline day and may your favorite team not disappoint you.

NHL unveils 2010-2011 national television schedule

2010-08-25T19:50:00.003-04:00

Ever since the 2008-2009 regular season schedule was unveiled on July 15th, fans have waited to see how the national television schedule would take shape. Now we have a clear view of what it looks like.

Earlier today, the National Hockey League made the announcement on their official web site with a breakdown of schedules for each of the network carriers.

Over 300 games will be televised nationally as all 30 teams will make at least one appearance during the 2010-2011 season on either NBC, CBC, Le Réseau des Sports (RDS), Versus or The Sports Network (TSN).

The NHL Network plans to show 75 games in the United States and 40 across Canada. No full broadcast schedule has been finalized for both the NHL Network and NBC, but will be announced soon.

Here is the breakdown of what is in store for each of the national television broadcasters...

After signing a new six-year broadcasting contract with the NHL on June 3, 2008, TSN will show 70 games during the 2008-2009 regular season, all in high definition. They provide a complete list of the NHL on TSN games that are on tap and even have a brief video to preview it. With the launch of TSN 2 on August 29, 2008, games may also been seen there on what was called the TSN "alternate feed". This would especially be the case during days of doubleheader coverage when the first game may not end before the second game is scheduled to begin. For the first time in 10 years, TSN will also show preseason games this fall with each of the six Canadian NHL teams each making one appearance.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has 69 games planned for their regular season Hockey Night in Canada coverage, including 25 of them being all-Canadian matchups. The network that has traditionally shown NHL games on Saturday nights for over 50 years will have a new theme song after CBC's broadcast rights to its very famous predecessor had expired. CTVglobemedia, Inc. acquired the rights to "The Hockey Theme" on June 9, 2008. As a result, TSN and RDS will now feature the song in their NHL broadcasts starting this fall. CTVglobemedia owns Canadian Television (CTV) and a share of TSN and RDS. "The Hockey Theme" will also be featured during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Speaking of RDS, the French-language broadcast network will show all 82 Montréal Canadiens games across all of Canada. They will also showcase for Francophone viewers the 57th NHL All-Star Game in Montréal on January 25, 2009 as part of the Canadiens' centennial season anniversary celebration. CBC and Versus will show the game for Anglophone viewers.

Versus will broadcast 56 games in their fourth season of national cable television coverage in the United States, including October 5, 2008 when the second day of two NHL Premiere games in Europe are played. The New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning square off in Prague, Czech Republic while the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins play in Stockholm, Sweden. In addition to their full list of games they plan to air, Tom Layberger highlighted what he felt was his top 13 games to watch.

American viewers will have NBC once again provide over-the-air national television contests starting on New Year's Day with no fewer than 10 games in 2009. The second edition of the Winter Classic kicks off their fourth season of coverage with an Original Six matchup between the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks from Wrigley Field in Chicago. CBC and RDS will show the game for Canadian viewers. The Rangers and Penguins face off in Pittsburgh during NBC's second broadcast of the season scheduled for January 18, 2009. The remaining 8 games in the following 10 Sundays are "flex games" in which the league and NBC will finalize which games they'll show on those days.

Regardless, you'll have plenty of hockey to watch during the 2008-2009 season. Go get NHL Center Ice if you really want to be a couch potato and make sure you have the television schedule in front of you so you can keep up.

New Jersey Devils to send AHL and ECHL affiliate teams to Atlantic City for 5 games

2010-08-24T19:00:00.054-04:00

Earlier today, the New Jersey Devils announced they will send their two minor league teams to Atlantic City for a combined five games during the upcoming 2010-2011 season.

The American Hockey League's Albany Devils will play four regular season contests at Boardwalk Hall (formerly the Atlantic City Convention Hall) and the ECHL's Trenton Devils will play one game there against the Wheeling Nailers.

The four opponents the Albany Devils face will be the Adirondack Phantoms, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears and the Norfolk Admirals.

The Press of Atlantic City was the first news source to confirm the scheduled games after a news conference was held inside Boardwalk Hall to make the announcement. New Jersey Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek and general manager Lou Lamoriello were on hand along with state and local dignitaries.

New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello, New Jersey lieutenant governor Kim Guadagno and Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek at today's press conference.
(image courtesy: Danny Drake/The Press of Atlantic City)

"Bringing these games to Atlantic City is a positive family friendly addition to the region and will provide southern New Jersey hockey fans a chance to see one of the state's many great sporting teams - the New Jersey Devils hockey teams development squad," New Jersey lieutenant governor Kim Guadagno said. "I am glad I could be a part of today's announcement and hope to see more creative public-private ventures like this one developing in Atlantic City in the coming months."

The objective of holding these games in Atlantic City was made clear from Vanderbeek himself.

"We are not North Jersey's team, we are not Central Jersey's team and we are certainly not the team in the strip of land between New York and Philadelphia," Vanderbeek said during the press conference. "This is New Jersey's team and we really need to and want to embrace everybody from this state. We really want to expand our reaches."

Last winter, the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority finalized an agreement with Caesars Atlantic City to bring the games to Boardwark Hall, an historic venue that opened in 1929. Lamoriello had made a tour of the facility in April and was impressed. It later led to joining a partnership to hold the event.

"I was really rather flabbergasted," Lamoriello told MSG Network's Anthony Fucilli. "It was an easy decision."

An announcement was made last year that Boardwalk Hall would be the host venue to the 2011, 2012 and 2013 ECAC Hockey men's championship.

New Jersey Devils radio play-by-play announcer Matt Loughlin, team owner Jeff Vanderbeek and general manager Lou Lamoriello express the significance of having five minor league games in Atlantic City for the organization.
(video courtesy: NHL Productions)

Two Sports Blog Nation hockey writers provided their thoughts as to what these five games could mean for the future of hockey in the Garden State.

Travis Hughes of Broad Street Hockey brought up the territorial issue of what regional team South Jersey sports fans support most. His blog entry headline "Devils invade Flyers country..." couldn't be more clear.

"Atlantic City, Atlantic County and the Southern Jersey Shore, as you may know, sits deeply in the Philadelphia media market and is certainly considered Flyers territory," Hughes wrote. "There are Devils fans here, to be sure, but anybody telling you that this area is anything but orange and black is lying to your face."

Understood. It is widely known that the state of New Jersey has been viewed as being split in two for the sports media coverage and sports fan loyalties to the two major cities it's adjacent to. The northern half has been considered for New York City with primarily the southern half for Philadelphia. When it comes to television markets, the Big Apple has its reach go as far south as Ocean County. But the Devils continue to have the challenge of building a large fan base in New Jersey with the presence of their nearby Atlantic Division rivals in the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.

Boardwalk Hall is located 54 miles southeast of Philadelphia (specificly the Wells Fargo Center). But communities situated on the northwest side of the Atlantic City area do fall within the Philadelphia Flyers broadcast territory, that according to the National Hockey League Constitution.

Hughes acknowledged Vanderbeek's marketing strategy.

"This whole thing seems like the part of a larger strategy for the Devils. Along with their Jersey's Team marketing slogan, which debuted two seasons ago, they're certainly making a concerted effort to expand their reach outside of North and Central Jersey. If they were to move their farm team to South Jersey and get involved in the local hockey community - the rink in AC, by the way, is the Flyers Skate Zone - there's no disputing they could develop a fan base here. Vanderbeek knows that."

But a very fair question raised by Hughes was if the Devils have the intention of trying to place a minor league affiliate in Atlantic City sometime down the road.

"It really does seem like they're interested. The key word in that sentence is interested, of course, and there's no guarantee that these five games will be successful here," Hughes said. "After all, the ECHL's Boardwalk Bullies won a Kelly Cup in 2003 and wound up leaving town just two years later. Bad marketing and poor attendance did them in."

John Fischer of In Lou We Trust believes it is far too early to draw that conclusion either.

"I'm not really convinced," Fischer said. "The Devils are in Albany for the next 5 seasons; and as far as I know, there's no rumblings about the Devils wanting to move Trenton. I'm not sure how going from Trenton to Atlantic City would be an improvement, Trenton is in 'Flyers Country' as much as AC as far as I know. Plus, a lot can happen in 5 seasons. Who knows, perhaps Albany takes to this version of the Devils' AHL affiliate and gives them reason to stay there longer?"

However, the Devils are more focused on efforts to showcase the sport to new fans, not re-locating their minor league teams. At the same time, Vanderbeek hopes this event can provide an overall boost to the city's economy. One idea has the Devils possibly sponsoring rinks and youth teams in southern New Jersey.

New Jersey Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek announces his two minor league affiliates will play 5 games at Boardwalk Hall during the upcoming 2010-2011 season.
(image courtesy: Danny Drake/The Press of Atlantic City)

"We really look forward to coming down here and playing these games. We hope this is the start of something very big," Vanderbeek said. "I was able to see the re-birth the first time of Atlantic City because the casinos opened up a year and a half later. We really hope we're a part of a new renaissance here that really allows for entertainment for all walks of life."

Lamoriello also sees this as a new opportunity for the organization. He explained how this event came together.

"For us, it's a different experience. And also we tried very hard to work with the American Hockey League to get teams from the local area," he said. "For example, in playing Adirondack and playing Wheeling and playing Wilkes-Barre. So it was something that we tried to get all fans coming together."

(video courtesy: MSG Network)

The New Jersey Devils will have their AHL affiliate back in Albany, New York after a four-year absence. They originally ran the Albany River Rats from 1994 to 2006 before the Carolina Hurricanes became the parent club through last season. The River Rats just relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina to become the AHL's Charlotte Checkers. The Albany Devils took their place in New York State's Capital District with their arrival from Lowell, Massachusetts.

After the Trenton Titans entered the ECHL in 1996, the minor league franchise would later be purchased by the New Jersey Devils and become their new ECHL affiliate. With the Sun National Bank Center as their home arena, they've been the Trenton Devils since May 18, 2007.

Guadagno is responsible for promoting tourism across New Jersey. She told those that attended the press conference how much hockey has had an impact on her as well, including the formation of friendships over the years. She has a son who plays youth hockey in Red Bank, New Jersey.

"I know certainly my family has made friends for life and I'm proud to be here to stand up with the Devils," she said. "I'm almost amazed to be standing up here with the Devils six months into my tenure as the lieutenant governor to tell you how grateful we are for this sport of hockey."

If the five games are well attended, the New Jersey Devils will attempt to schedule a 2011 NHL preseason game in Atlantic City.

Lamoriello added, "Anytime you can spread hockey throughout the state or anywhere, we have to be excited about it."

Tom Gulitti of The Bergen Record originally reported on this news story four days ago and now has provided the list of the scheduled games (start times are in Eastern Time).

Albany Devils (AHL)
December 5, 2010 - vs. Adirondack, 4:00 PM
December 12, 2010 - vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 4:00 PM
February 4, 2011 - vs. Hershey, 7:00 PM
February 27, 2011 - vs. Norfolk, 4:00 PM

Trenton Devils (ECHL)
January 23, 2011 - vs. Wheeling, 4:00 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

New Jersey Devils official news release (August 24):
Devils development teams take to the ice at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall

American Hockey League official news release (August 24):
Devils to play four games in Atlantic City

Trenton Devils official news release (August 24):
Devils in Atlantic City

The Bergen Record's Fire & Ice blog (August 24):
Albany Devils and Trenton Devils to play games in Atlantic City

In Lou We Trust (August 24):
Albany Devils to play 4 games in Atlantic City in 2010-2011; Trenton Devils to play 1

Broad Street Hockey (August 24):
Devils invade Flyers country, bring five minor-league games to Atlantic City

The Press of Atlantic City's sports page (August 25):
Devils may see a future with shot on Boardwalk in Atlantic City

CBC to air 10 AHL games during 2010-2011 season

2010-08-19T18:10:00.005-04:00

If you are a fan that feels Saturday nights aren't enough to satisfy your craving for hockey all weekend long, then the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has listened.

You don't have just Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts of National Hockey League games on your viewing schedule anymore.

Entering its 75th anniversary season, The American Hockey League announced earlier today that it has finalized a broadcasting agreement for select 2010-2011 regular season games to air on CBC for 10 Sunday afternoons.

"We're tremendously excited that CBC, with its distinguished excellence in hockey broadcasting, will be helping us celebrate our historic 75th anniversary this season," AHL president and chief executive officer David Andrews said. "Viewers across Canada will be treated to the skill and excitement of the best young professionals in our sport."

CBC Sports executive director Scott Moore echoed the same sentiments.

"We're looking forward to featuring the stars of hockey's future with the AHL on CBC," Moore said.

The 10 games will feature teams affiliated with one of the six Canadian-based NHL teams. They are the Abbotsford Heat, Binghamton Senators, Hamilton Bulldogs, Manitoba Moose, Oklahoma City Barons and Toronto Marlies.

The first game on the AHL on CBC schedule will be on October 17th when Toronto hosts Binghamton at 1:00 PM Eastern Time from Ricoh Coliseum.

All games will be streamed live and also available on-demand at CBCSports.ca.

AHL on CBC 2010-2011 Broadcast Schedule
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

October 17 – Binghamton at Toronto, 1:00 PM
October 24 – Oklahoma City at Hamilton, 1:00 PM
November 21 – Hamilton at Toronto, 1:00 PM
December 12 – Toronto at Hamilton, 1:00 PM
January 16 – Toronto at Abbotsford, 2:00 PM
January 23 – Abbotsford at Manitoba, 1:00 PM
February 27 – Manitoba at Toronto, 1:00 PM
March 6 – Hamilton at Toronto, 1:00 PM
March 27 – Abbotsford at Manitoba, 1:00 PM
April 3 – Manitoba at Toronto, 1:00 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

American Hockey League official news release (August 19):
CBC to air 10 AHL games in 2010-2011

CBC Sports' hockey page (August 19):
CBC, AHL strike broadcast deal

Abbotsford Heat official news release (August 19):
HEAT to play on CBC

Binghamton Senators official news release (August 19):
B-Sens featured on CBC's "AHL on CBC"

Hamilton Bulldogs official news release (August 19):
Four 'Dogs games to be broadcast live on CBC

Manitoba Moose official news release (August 19):
Moose to play as part of "AHL on CBC"

Oklahoma City Barons official news release (August 19):
Barons featured on CBC broadcast

Toronto Marlies official news release (August 19):
7 Marlies games to be broadcast live on CBC

Ducks to unveil latest alternate jersey on November 26th

2010-08-18T18:00:00.006-04:00

It has been speculated for a while and now the Anaheim Ducks made rumor into fact.

During pregame warmups of their November 26th home game against the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, the Ducks will unveil a brand new alternate jersey. It will be the fourth alternate jersey in team history and the first one under the current brand.

"After introducing a new name, logo and colors to our fans four years ago, we felt it important to give our original look due time to establish itself in the market," Ducks vice president of sales and marketing Bob Wagner said in the team's news release. "At this point, we're excited to introduce an additional look for the team in 2010-2011, one we feel confident our fans will embrace."

Coinciding with the ownership change in which Henry and Susan Samueli bought the team from the Walt Disney Company where they were called the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, a new color scheme and uniforms were implemented on June 22, 2006. Gone was the famous duck billed mask and crossed hockey sticks logo. No more eggplant, jade and silver. Instead, it would be black, metallic gold and white as the main colors with orange as an accent color (to represent Orange County) as part of the re-branding. The use of an "Anaheim Ducks" wordmark graced the front of the new jerseys with the letter D in the shape of a duck's footprint.

So what will the new alternate jersey look like. There are no hints of its design, but according to the Ducks, it will put an alternative spin on the tradition colors and logo and be a tribute to its past.

2010 New Jersey Devils preseason schedule

2010-07-15T17:40:00.007-04:00

The New Jersey Devils announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

The team did not issue an official news release, but Tom Gulitti of The Bergen Record posted all needed information on his Fire & Ice blog this morning:

The Devils announced their six-game preseason schedule this morning.

It begins with a rematch of last season's playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, September 21st at Wachovia Center. The Devils then have a home-and-home with the Rangers: They visit Madison Square Garden on Thursday, September 23rd and host the Rangers at Prudential Center on Saturday, September 25th.

The Flyers visit Prudential Center on Tuesday, September 28th before the Devils finish up with a pair of exhibition games against the Islanders. The Devils host the Isles on Friday, October 1st and visit Nassau Coliseum on Saturday, October 2nd.

All their preseason games — home and road — start at 7:00 PM.

The Devils' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - at Philadelphia, 7:00 PM
September 23 - at New York Rangers, 7:00 PM
September 25 - vs. New York Rangers, 7:00 PM
September 28 - vs. Philadelphia, 7:00 PM
October 1 - vs. New York Islanders, 7:00 PM
October 2 - at New York Islanders, 7:00 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

The Bergen Record's Fire & Ice blog (July 15):
Devils announce preseason schedule

2010 Buffalo Sabres preseason schedule

2010-07-08T17:30:00.004-04:00

The Buffalo Sabres announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

They are the home team for the Kraft Hockeyville game on September 28th. Please note that Dundas is officially part of the city of Hamilton, Ontario.

From the team's official news release:

The Buffalo Sabres today announced their 2010 preseason schedule. The team will play six games, including two at HSBC Arena. Start times and ticket information for each home game will be announced at a later date.

The Sabres will begin their preseason slate at home on Saturday, September 25th when their cross-border rivals from Toronto visit HSBC Arena. The same teams will also square off two days later at the Air Canada Centre on September 27th. For the second time in three years, Buffalo was selected to participate in the NHL's Kraft Hockeyville game. This year, the contest against the Ottawa Senators will be held in Dundas, Ontario on Tuesday, September 28th. The Sabres will then travel to Montréal to play the Canadiens on September 30th before concluding with a pair of games against the Philadelphia Flyers - October 1st at Philadelphia and October 3rd in Buffalo.

The Sabres will begin their 40th anniversary campaign on the road when they travel to Ottawa to open the 2010-2011 regular season against the Senators on Friday, October 8th.

The Sabres' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 25 - vs. Toronto, 7:00 PM
September 27 - at Toronto, 7:00 PM
September 28 - vs. Ottawa (in Dundas, Ontario), TBD
September 30 - at Montréal, 7:30 PM
October 1 - at Philadelphia, 7:00 PM
October 3 - vs. Philadelphia, 6:00 PM

2010 Philadelphia Flyers preseason schedule

2010-07-06T17:00:00.004-04:00

The Philadelphia Flyers announced their 2010 preseason schedule. They are the home team for the September 23rd game.

From the team's official news release:

The defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers have announced their schedule for the 2010 preseason, which features three games at the Wachovia Center and one contest at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario. The eight-game preseason slate opens at home with the Flyers taking on their Atlantic Division rival New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, September 21st at the Wachovia Center at 7:00 PM.

For the seventh consecutive season, the Flyers will travel to London, Ontario to play at the John Labatt Centre and for the second consecutive year, they will face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, September 23rd. The John Labatt Centre is operated and managed by Global Spectrum, the public assembly facility management subsidiary of Flyers' parent company, Comcast-Spectacor.

"For the past six seasons, the Flyers have considered the John Labatt Centre our 'home away from home'," said Comcast-Spectacor president and Global Spectrum chairman Peter Luukko. "The John Labatt Centre is a terrific hockey building and all of our players enjoy visiting every preseason. A match-up with the Leafs in London is a dream match-up for hockey fans in western Ontario. It's going to be a terrific night of hockey and a very memorable one for the city of London."

The Flyers own an all-time record of 4-2 and have outscored their opponents by a 21 to 14 margin in the previous six contests. The Flyers record in London is as follows: Toronto Maple Leafs (2009; 0-4 L), New York Islanders (2008; 4-0 W), Ottawa Senators (2007; 4-0 W), Pittsburgh Penguins (2006; 1-2 L), Atlanta Thrashers (2005; 8-6 W) and Washington Capitals (2003; 4-2 W).

The Flyers' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - vs. New Jersey, 7:00 PM
September 23 - vs. Toronto (in London, Ontario), 7:00 PM
September 24 - at Toronto, 7:00 PM
September 25 - at Minnesota, 8:00 PM
September 28 - at New Jersey, 7:00 PM
September 29 - vs. New York Islanders, 7:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Buffalo, 7:00 PM
October 3 - at Buffalo, 6:00 PM

2010 free agent season is finally here

2010-07-01T12:00:00.003-04:00

I will simply repeat what I said a year ago today with a few little tweaks here and there get make it time relevant to the present day.

The day is finally here. With the 2009-2010 season, the annual NHL Awards and 2010 NHL Entry Draft all done, the one main event left before a quiet two months of summer is of course the first day of the free agent season.

Many fans (including me) will eagerly be monitoring the transaction wires, the National Hockey League web site and team web sites, plus the reliable sports news pages. At noon today, that starting gun will sound (figuratively) and stressed out, sleep-deprived team general managers will scramble to grab the player or players they want by spending millions of dollars to do so.

No one knows for sure who will go where as speculation has been running high with some high profile players eligible to test the market.

You can certainly tune in to TSN, Rogers Sportsnet, The Score or even the NHL Network for the latest signings and possibly trades as this first day of the free agent season has arrived. For American viewers, NHL Network will show a 4-hour simulcast of TSN's extensive coverage starting at 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time following NHL Live.

Before then, you can always pay attention to a handful sources that I expect will be constantly bringing us up to speed as the signings are announced and they include:

Spector's Hockey
The Fourth Period
Kukla's Korner
James Mirtle's From The Rink hockey blog
Inside Hockey

As I said at the trade deadline, Lyle Richardson (who is a very reputable journalist that runs the Spector's Hockey site) is someone I highly recommend to bringing you instant analysis on his blog that is also accessible at FOX Sports' NHL page.

Enjoy the long anticipated July 1st day and may your favorite team not disappoint you. Happy Canada Day to everyone north of the United States border.

2010 Toronto Maple Leafs preseason schedule

2010-06-24T17:15:00.003-04:00

Two days after the regular season schedule was released by the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced their upcoming 2010 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the September 23rd game.

From the team's official news release:

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced their 2010-11 preseason schedule Thursday, which features five games at Air Canada Centre and four on the road. For the second straight season, the Maple Leafs will play at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario against the Philadelphia Flyers. They will host the Flyers, Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings while the Ottawa Senators will play twice at Air Canada Centre.

Toronto's first preseason game will be on Tuesday, September 21st against Ottawa at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs will play their nine-game preseason schedule over 12 days, which includes two games at home in two nights to start it off versus division rival, Ottawa. Home-and-home series will take place against the Red Wings, Sabres and Flyers and a third meeting versus the Senators will be played in the nation's capital. The Maple Leafs' preseason schedule concludes on October 2nd and the team will open the regular season October 7th at home against the Canadiens.

All nine preseason and 82 regular season Leafs games will be broadcast LIVE on television as well as the radio on The Home of The Leafs - AM 640.

The Maple Leafs' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - vs. Ottawa, 7:00 PM
September 22 - vs. Ottawa, 7:00 PM
September 23 - vs. Philadelphia (in London, Ontario), 7:00 PM
September 24 - vs. Philadelphia, 7:00 PM
September 25 - at Buffalo, TBD
September 27 - vs. Buffalo, 7:00 PM
September 29 - at Ottawa, 7:30 PM
October 1 - at Detroit, 7:00 PM
October 2 - vs. Detroit, 7:00 PM

2010 NHL Awards winners

2010-06-23T21:10:00.001-04:00

Here are you 2010 NHL Awards winners. Any that surprise you?

Calder Memorial Trophy
Tyler Myers

Frank J. Selke Trophy
Pavel Datsyuk

Art Ross Trophy
Henrik Sedin

Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
Steven Stamkos and Sidney Crosby

Ted Lindsay Award
Alexander Ovechkin

Jack Adams Award
Dave Tippett

Georges Vezina Trophy
Ryan Miller

William M. Jennings Trophy
Martin Brodeur

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
Jose Theodore

King Clancy Memorial Trophy
Shane Doan

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
Martin St. Louis

Messier Leadership Award
Sidney Crosby

James Norris Memorial Trophy
Duncan Keith

NHL Foundation Player Award
Ryan Miller

Hart Memorial Trophy
Henrik Sedin

2010 San Jose Sharks preseason schedule

2010-06-22T17:50:00.003-04:00

The San Jose Sharks announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The San Jose Sharks today announced their preseason schedule for the 2010-2011 campaign. San Jose currently has six preseason games scheduled, including three at HP Pavilion at San Jose.

San Jose will visit Anaheim, Phoenix and Vancouver before heading to Europe, where they will open their 20th NHL season in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere and NHL Face-Off on October 8th against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Ericsson Globe Arena.

The Sharks' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 22 - at Anaheim, 10:00 PM
September 24 - vs. Anaheim, 10:30 PM
September 25* - at Phoenix, 10; vs. Phoenix, 10:30 PM
September 28 - at Vancouver, 10:00 PM
September 29 - vs. Vancouver, 10:30 PM

*split squad games

2010 Colorado Avalanche preseason schedule

2010-06-22T13:10:00.000-04:00

The Colorado Avalanche announced their upcoming 2010 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the upcoming Frozen Fury 13 game on October 2nd.

From the team's official news release:

In addition to its regular season schedule, the Avalanche also announced today its preseason schedule for 2010-2011. Colorado will play seven exhibition games, the team's most preseason contests since 2003-2004, when they also had seven. The Avs will face the same three opponents, meeting Dallas (three times), Los Angeles (twice) and St. Louis (twice).

Colorado's preseason home dates are Wednesday, September 22nd vs. Los Angeles, Sunday, September 26th vs. St. Louis and Tuesday, September 28th vs. Dallas. All preseason home games will start at 7:00 PM. The Avs will conclude the exhibition slate with the annual Frozen Fury matchup against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, October 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The Avalanche's 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - at St. Louis, 8:00 PM
September 22 - vs. Los Angeles, 9:00 PM
September 24 - at Dallas, 8:30 PM
September 26 - vs. St. Louis, 9:00 PM
September 28 - vs. Dallas, 9:00 PM
September 30 - at Dallas, 8:30 PM
October 2 - vs. Los Angeles (in Las Vegas, Nevada), 9:00 PM

*split squad games

2010 Montréal Canadiens preseason schedule

2010-06-22T13:00:00.004-04:00

The Montréal Canadiens announced their upcoming 2010 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the October 2nd game.

From the team's official news release:

But before the puck drops on the 102nd season in Montréal, Habs fans have seven preseason games (including five at home) to look forward to beginning September 22nd. Québec City will also be welcoming NHL hockey back to the Colisée, with an October 2nd game between the Habs and Islanders on the docket.

The Canadiens' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 22 - vs. Boston, 7:30 PM
September 24 - vs. Ottawa, 7:30 PM
September 25 - at Ottawa, 7:00 PM
September 26 - vs. Minnesota, 7:00 PM
September 27 - vs. Florida, 7:30 PM
September 30 - vs. Buffalo, 7:30 PM
October 2 - vs. New York Islanders (in Québec City), 7:00 PM

NHL releases 2010-2011 regular season schedule‏

2010-06-22T12:50:00.084-04:00

2010 Anaheim Ducks preseason schedule

2010-06-21T19:30:00.009-04:00

The Anaheim Ducks announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Ducks announced on Monday the club's 2010 preseason schedule. The Ducks will compete in seven preseason contests before the start of the club's 2010-2011 regular season campaign in October. The NHL will release the complete 2010-2011 regular season schedule tomorrow (June 22).

The Ducks will open their preseason schedule with back-to-back contests at Honda Center, taking on the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday, September 21st and San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, September 22nd (both 7:05 PM start times). The club will participate in home-and-home exhibition contests against San Jose, Vancouver and Los Angeles, and face Phoenix only once in preseason competition.

The Ducks' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - vs. Phoenix, 10:00 PM
September 22 - vs. San Jose, 10:00 PM
September 24 - at San Jose, 10:30 PM
September 25 - at Vancouver, 10:00 PM
September 28 - at Los Angeles, 10:30 PM
October 1 - vs. Vancouver, 10:00 PM
October 3 - vs. Los Angeles, 8:00 PM

2010 Los Angeles Kings preseason schedule

2010-06-21T19:05:00.004-04:00

The Los Angeles Kings announced their 2010 preseason schedule. They are the home team for the upcoming Frozen Fury 13 game on October 2nd.

From the team's official news release:

The Los Angeles Kings today announced their preseason schedule for the 2010-2011 NHL season. The Kings are currently scheduled to play six games overall - including two at STAPLES Center on September 23rd versus the Phoenix Coyotes and September 28th versus the Anaheim Ducks.

Click here for the preseason schedule.

In addition to the two home games at STAPLES Center, the Kings will host the Colorado Avalanche at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on October 2nd and the Kings will travel to Colorado on September 22nd, Phoenix on September 23rd (as part of a split-squad game) and Anaheim on October 3rd.

The Kings' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 22 - at Colorado, 9:00 PM
September 23* - at Phoenix, 10; vs. Phoenix, 10:30 PM
September 28 - vs. Anaheim, 10:30 PM
October 2 - vs. Colorado (in Las Vegas, Nevada), 9:00 PM
October 3 - at Anaheim, 8:00 PM

*split squad games

2010 New York Islanders preseason schedule

2010-06-21T17:30:00.004-04:00

The New York Islanders announced their upcoming 2010 preseason schedule. They are the home team for the October 2nd game in Québec City.

From the team's official news release:

The New York Islanders announced today the release of their 2010 pre-season schedule. The Islanders will play 5 games in 5 locations, including games in Saskatoon and Québec City and the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

On Wednesday, September 29th, the Islanders will open the pre-season with a pair of split squad games. The first matchup will take place at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon when they face off against the Calgary Flames. The Islanders second split squad game will take place at the Wachovia Center against the defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers that same night. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM local times.

The Islanders' third game of the preseason is set for 7:00 PM on Friday, October 1st as they'll travel to the Prudential Center to take on the New Jersey Devils.

The following night, Saturday, October 2nd, the Islanders will close out their pre-season with another pair of split squad games. One Islander team will complete the back end of a home-and-home series with New Jersey, Saturday night at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, while a second squad will take on the Montréal Canadiens at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City. Face off for both games is set at 7:00 PM.

The Islanders' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 29 - at Philadelphia, 7; vs. Calgary (in Saskatoon), 9
October 1 - at New Jersey, 7:00 PM
October 2 - vs. Montréal (in Québec City), 7; vs. New Jersey, 7

2010 Vancouver Canucks preseason schedule

2010-06-21T15:20:00.004-04:00

The Vancouver Canucks announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Vancouver Canucks released their 2010 pre-season schedule today featuring eight games beginning September 21st and concluding October 1st. The Canucks begin the pre-season with a split squad playing one game at home and one game away against Calgary on September 21. Both games will begin at 7:00 PM local time. Vancouver will play the remaining six games both home and away against the Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks.

In total, the Canucks will play four pre-season games at General Motors Place and four on the road. Each game features a Western Conference match-up: Anaheim (2), Calgary (2), Edmonton (2) and San Jose (2).

The Canucks' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21* - at Calgary, 9; vs. Calgary, 10:00 PM
September 22 - vs. Edmonton, 10:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Anaheim, 10:00 PM
September 26 - at Edmonton, 8:00 PM
September 28 - vs. San Jose, 10:00 PM
September 29 - at San Jose, 10:30 PM
October 1 - at Anaheim, 10:00 PM

*split squad games

2010 Edmonton Oilers preseason schedule

2010-06-21T14:45:00.004-04:00

The Edmonton Oilers announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Edmonton Oilers will begin their 32nd season in the NHL with a six-game pre-season schedule, which includes four games at home at Rexall Place and two on the road.

Edmonton will open the 2010-2011 pre-season with a date in Vancouver against the Canucks on Wednesday, September 22nd. The next night, newly appointed general manager Steve Yzerman and his Tampa Bay Lightning will be at Rexall Place to start a four-game homestand.

Sunday, September 26th will see the Canucks visit Rexall Place, followed by the Phoenix Coyotes facing off against the Oilers on Wednesday, September 29th.

The 2010-2011 pre-season concludes with a home and home "Battle of Alberta". The Oilers host the Calgary Flames on Friday, October 1st and make a trip down south to faceoff against the Flames at the Pengrowth Saddledome on Sunday, October 3rd.

The Oilers' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 22 - at Vancouver, TBD
September 23 - vs. Tampa Bay, 9:00 PM
September 26 - vs. Vancouver, 8:00 PM
September 29 - vs. Phoenix, 9:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Calgary, 9:00 PM
October 3 - at Calgary, TBD

2010 Washington Capitals preseason schedule

2010-06-21T12:20:00.005-04:00

The Washington Capitals announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Washington Capitals 2010 preseason schedule features six games against three opponents and includes three games at Verizon Center.

The Caps play their first preseason game on the road at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, September 22nd, at the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team's preseason home opener at Verizon Center is Tuesday, September 28th at 7:00 PM against the Boston Bruins.

In addition to playing both Columbus and Boston twice, the Caps also have a home-and-home series with the Nashville Predators, beginning with a road game at Nashville on Saturday, September 25th at 7:00 PM.

The Capitals were 4-2 in the preseason last year and their all-time preseason record is 135-111-29-9.

Audio from every preseason game will be broadcast live on WashingtonCaps.com. The complete 2010-2011 NHL regular season schedule will be released tomorrow.

The Capitals' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 22 - at Columbus, 7:00 PM
September 25 - at Nashville, 8:00 PM
September 28 - vs. Boston, 7:00 PM
September 29 - at Boston, 7:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Columbus, 7:00 PM
October 3 - vs. Nashville, 12:30 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

Washington Capitals official news release (June 21):
Capitals announce 2010 preseason schedule

Comcast SportsNet Washington (June 21):
Caps open season October 8th; preseason sked released

Washington Post's Capitals Insider blog (June 21):
Caps announce preseason schedule

2010 Boston Bruins preseason schedule

2010-06-21T12:10:00.005-04:00

The Boston Bruins announced their 2010 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the September 23rd preseason game.

From the team's official news release:

Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli announced today the club will spend a portion of their 2010-2011 preseason in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as part of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Challenge, highlighted by an exhibition game in Belfast against the Belfast Giants Select on Saturday, October 2nd at 7:00 PM local/2:00 PM ET. Chiarelli also announced the team's full preseason game schedule and training camp critical dates. Training camp practice times and locations, as well as all television broadcast and radio information, will be released at a later date...

The Bruins will face the Canadiens at the Bell Centre in Montréal in their first preseason game on Wednesday, September 22nd at 7:30 PM. They will then play the Florida Panthers on Thursday, September 23rd in Rochester, New York at 7:00 PM. Boston's first home game at the TD Garden will take place Saturday, September 25th at 7:00 PM against the Florida Panthers...

They will wrap up their domestic portion of their 2010-2011 preseason with a home and home series against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, September 28th at the Verizon Center in Washington at 7:00 p.m. and on Wednesday, September 29th at the TD Garden in Boston at 7:00 PM.

Following their home game against the Capitals on September 29th, the team will depart for Belfast, Northern Ireland where they will stay until Sunday, October 3rd. The Bruins will play one exhibition game in Belfast on Saturday, October 2nd against the Belfast Giants Select at 7:00 PM local/2:00 PM ET. Belfast Giants Select is a unified team comprised of an All-Star selection of the best of the UK Elite League players from each team. Ticket sales and broadcast information for this game will be released at a later date. The team will head from Belfast to Prague, Czech Republic on Sunday, October 3rd and stay in the Czech Republic until Sunday, October 10th. The Bruins will play one exhibition game in Liberec, Czech Republic on Tuesday, October 5th against HC Liberec at 7:00 PM local/1:00 PM ET.

The Bruins' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 22 - at Montréal, 7:00 PM
September 23 - vs. Florida (in Rochester, New York), 7:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Florida, 7:00 PM
September 28 - at Washington, 7:00 PM
September 29 - vs. Washington, 7:00 PM
October 2 - vs. Belfast Giants Select (in Belfast), 2:00 PM
October 5 - vs. HC Liberec (in Liberec, Czech Republic), 1:00 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

Boston Bruins official news release (June 21):
Bruins release preseason schedule

New England Sports Network (NESN) (June 21):
Bruins to spend preseason...

Boston Globe's Bruins Blog (June 21):
Preseason schedule set for 2010-2011

David Poile sums up Predators' pre-draft trades

2010-06-19T17:50:00.001-04:00

Nashville Predators president of hockey operations and general manager David Poile was busy today completing two important trades just days before the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

First, he sent Dan Hamhuis to the Philadelphia Flyers and re-acquired Ryan Parent in return. Then he would ship team captain Jason Arnott to the New Jersey Devils for Matt Halischuk. Nashville received two 2011 draft picks as a result of the two deals.

Predators radio play-by-play announcer Tom Callahan spoke with Poile to provide some insight as to why he made the trades.

video courtesy: Nashville Predators

Jason Arnott returns to Devils

2010-06-19T16:55:00.017-04:00

First it was Bobby Holik before he retired. Then it was Brian Rolston who has come back. Now it is Jason Arnott.

Jason Arnott played 6 of his 16 NHL seasons with the Devils.
(image courtesy: New Jersey Devils)

New Jersey Devils president, chief executive officer and general manager Lou Lamoriello brought back one of the team's past Stanley Cup heroes in a trade with the Nashville Predators this afternoon.

The Devils sent forward Matt Halischuk and a 2011 second round draft pick to the Predators. Arnott was Nashville's captain last season.

As the player who scored the championship winning goal in the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals against the Dallas Stars, Arnott returns to New Jersey at age 35. He put up just modest statistics in a Predators uniform for the 2009-2010 campaign, tallying 19 goals and 27 assists for 46 points in 63 games.

Arnott has career milestones within reach. Entering this fall, he has 383 goals and 490 assists for 873 points in 1,099 games. He also has recorded 1,176 penalty minutes in 16 National Hockey League seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Devils, Stars and Predators. After his next three goals are scored, he would have 100 regular season tallies in a Devils uniform.

Will he provide a boost to the Devils up front? Remember when Arnott was a force when Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora were his linemates during that championship run?

"Jason Arnott is a player who brings size, strength and experience to our hockey club," Lamoriello said in the team's official news release. "There is no question he strengthens our center ice position."

Sykora may be long gone, but Arnott could team up with Elias again to rekindle some magic they had on the ice. Believe it or not, that was 10 years ago. Regardless of whether or not they'll be paired together again, Arnott will be called upon to produce for former teammate John MacLean, the Devils new head coach.

Flyers acquire rights to Dan Hamhuis

2010-06-19T14:15:00.004-04:00

In preparation to re-tool their roster with the 2010 NHL Entry Draft less than a week away, the Philadelphia Flyers swapped defensemen with Nashville Predators. They acquired the rights to pending free agent Dan Hamhuis for Ryan Parent.

Philadelphia also received a 2011 conditional draft pick from Nashville in the trade.

The Flyers have until July 1st to sign Hamhuis to a contract, otherwise he will hit the market as an unrestricted free agent.

"Our intention is to get him signed prior to [July 1], and that is what our aim is at this point in time," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said in the team's official news release. "The sooner that we get going on trying to get this done, the better."

Hamhuis has been a solid defenseman in his six National Hockey League seasons, all with the Predators. In 483 games, he accumulated 161 points (32 goals and 129 assists) in that span. Holmgren does like the potential of Hamhuis strengthening what is already regarded as one of the top defense corps in the league.

"Dan Hamhuis is a good all-around defenseman," Holmgren said. "He's a guy who can play lots of minutes and he can play in a lot of different situations, from power play to killing penalties. He is another athlete we'd like to add to our team to continue to improve our defense."

Meantime, Parent was the opposite when it came to his overall health. He was a disappointment in 102 games over four seasons with the Flyers. Injuries sidelined him for stretches at a time and never gained a permanent spot in the lineup. Ironically, Parent heads back to the team that drafted him. The 2005 #18 overall draft pick was sent along with Scott Hartnell to Philadelphia in the Peter Forsberg trade on February 15, 2007. Parent has just 1 goal and 6 assists with 36 penalty minutes so far in his young career.

In the event the Flyers sign Hamhuis, don't be surprised if they have to pay him in upwards of at least $5 million per season.

2010 Nashville Predators preseason schedule

2010-06-18T11:30:00.003-04:00

The Nashville Predators announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

Nashville Predators president of hockey operations/general manager David Poile announced today that the Predators will open their 2010 preseason schedule by hosting the Carolina Hurricanes on September 23rd at 7:00 PM CT.

Nashville's six-game preseason schedule includes two other home games: Saturday, September 25th against the defending President's Trophy winning Washington Capitals (7:00 PM) and Monday, September 27th against its closest geographical rivals, the Atlanta Thrashers (7:00 PM).

The 2010-2011 Nashville Predators rookie training camp is scheduled to open Monday, September 13th with veterans reporting on Friday, September 17th with testing and physicals. The Predators' first day on the ice will be Saturday, September 18th at the Centennial Sportsplex. The 2010-2011 NHL regular-season schedule will be announced on Tuesday, June 22nd.

The Predators' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 23 - vs. Carolina, 8:00 PM
September 24 - at Carolina, 7:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Washington, 8:00 PM
September 27 - vs. Atlanta, 8:00 PM
September 29 - at Atlanta, 7:00 PM
October 3 - at Washington, 12:30 PM

2010 Ottawa Senators preseason schedule

2010-06-18T10:40:00.004-04:00

The Ottawa Senators announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

They are the away team for the Kraft Hockeyville game on September 28th. Please note that Dundas is officially part of the city of Hamilton, Ontario.

From the team's official news release:

The Ottawa Senators announced today their 2010-2011 pre-season schedule, which includes three home games, four road matches and one neutral-site meeting.

Hockey Country will get its first chance to see the 2010-2011 Senators on Saturday, September 25th, when they play the Montréal Canadiens at Scotiabank Place. The Senators will then host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, September 29th and the New York Rangers on Saturday, October 2nd to wrap up their pre-season schedule.

The Senators open up their pre-season schedule with three road games. Ottawa will play back-to-back games in Toronto against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday, September 21st and Wednesday, September 22nd. The Senators will then travel to Montréal for a meeting against the Canadiens on Friday, September 24th. The fourth road trip sees the Senators take on the Rangers in New York City on Friday, October 1st.

The Senators and Buffalo Sabres will be this year's featured teams for the Kraft Hockeyville game in Dundas, Ontario on Tuesday, September 28th. They will play at the J.L. Grightmire Market Street Arena.

The Senators' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - at Toronto, 7:00 PM
September 22 - at Toronto, 7:00 PM
September 24 - at Montréal, 7:30 PM
September 25 - vs. Montréal, 7:00 PM
September 28 - vs. Buffalo (in Dundas, Ontario), TBD
September 29 - vs. Toronto, 7:30 PM
October 1 - at New York Rangers, 7:00 PM
October 2 - vs. New York Rangers, 7:00 PM

2010 Calgary Flames preseason schedule

2010-06-17T22:40:00.003-04:00

The Calgary Flames announced their 2010 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the September 29th game.

From the team's official news release:

The Calgary Flames announced their 2010 pre-season schedule today which starts on Tuesday, September 21st against the Vancouver Canucks with home-and-home games with split squads on the same day.

The Flames will face the New York Islanders on Wednesday, September 29th in Saskatoon at the Credit Union Centre for the second consecutive year.

The Flames will play a total of seven pre-season games (4 x home / 3 x away) against the Edmonton Oilers (2), Vancouver Canucks (2), New York Islanders (1), Phoenix Coyotes (1) and the Tampa Bay Lightning (1).

The Flames' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21* - vs. Vancouver, 9; at Vancouver, 10:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Tampa Bay, 9:00 PM
September 28 - vs. Phoenix, 9:00 PM
September 29 - vs. New York Islanders (in Saskatoon), 9:00 PM
October 1 - at Edmonton, 9:00 PM
October 3 - vs. Edmonton, TBD

*split squad games

2010 Phoenix Coyotes preseason schedule

2010-06-17T20:20:00.001-04:00

The Phoenix Coyotes announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

Phoenix Coyotes president and chief operating officer Douglas Moss announced today the Coyotes 2010-2011 preseason schedule.

The Coyotes will open the eight-game preseason schedule on Tuesday, September 21st when they travel to Anaheim to take on the Ducks at 7:00 PM. Phoenix will play two split-squad preseason home games at Jobing.com Arena on Thursday, September 23rd vs. Los Angeles and Saturday, September 25th vs. San Jose.

In addition to their road game on September 22nd at Anaheim, the Coyotes will also play at Los Angeles (split-squad) on September 23rd and at San Jose (split-squad) on September 25th, at Calgary on September 28th and at Edmonton on September 29th.

The Coyotes will conclude their preseason schedule when they face off against Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) at Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia on October 6th in an exhibition game as part of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Challenge.

The Coyotes will officially announce their 2010-2011 regular season schedule on Tuesday, June 22nd.

The Coyotes' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - at Anaheim, 10:00 PM
September 23* - vs. Los Angeles, 10; at Los Angeles, 10:30 PM
September 25* - vs. San Jose, 10:00 PM; at San Jose, 10:30 PM
September 28 - at Calgary, 9:00 PM
September 29 - at Edmonton, 9:00 PM
October 6 - vs. Dinamo Riga (in Riga, Latvia), TBD

*split squad games

2010 Tampa Bay Lightning preseason schedule

2010-06-17T16:10:00.004-04:00

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced their 2010 preseason schedule. They are the home team for the September 22nd preseason game.

From the team's official news release:

The Tampa Bay Lightning will play six preseason games in 2010, including one at the St. Pete Times Forum. Highlights of the schedule include a match-up with the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba on September 22nd as well as a home-and-home series with the Florida Panthers on October 1st and 2nd. Prices and a ticket on-sale date for the preseason game at the St. Pete Times Forum will be announced at a later time. All full season ticket holders will receive the game as part of their ticket plan free of charge.

The Lightning will open the 2010 preseason on Tuesday, September 21st at the American Airlines Center in Dallas against the Stars. The team will then head to Winnipeg for a showdown with the Blackhawks, marking the second consecutive year Tampa Bay has played at the MTS Centre. The Bolts will then play in Edmonton, Alberta when they take on the Oilers at Rexall Place on September 23rd before continuing the preseason on September 25th against the Calgary Flames at the Pengrowth Saddledome. The Lightning will then return to Florida to take on the Panthers in Sunrise on October 1st and play their only home game of the preseason against Florida on October 2nd.

This year will mark the sixth time in the previous five years the Lightning will take on the Dallas Stars. Conversely, 2010 will mark the first time in franchise history the Bolts will play the Blackhawks and Flames during the exhibition season and just the second time they will play the Oilers. It will also be the first time since 2005 that the Lightning and Panthers will square off during the preseason.

The Lightning's 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - at Dallas, 8:30 PM
September 22 - vs. Chicago (in Winnipeg), 8:00 PM
September 23 - at Edmonton, 9:00 PM
September 25 - at Calgary, 9:00 PM
October 1 - at Florida, 7:30 PM
October 2 - vs. Florida, 7:30 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

Tampa Bay Lightning official news release (June 17):
Lightning announce 2010 preseason schedule

Tampa Tribune's Bolts Report blog (June 17):
Lightning announce preseason schedule

St. Petersburg Times' Lightning Strikes blog (June 17):
Another long road trip highlights the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2010-11 preseason sked

Raw Charge (June 17):
Lightning announce pre-season schedule

2010 Florida Panthers preseason schedule

2010-06-17T16:00:00.002-04:00

The Florida Panthers announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Florida Panthers today announced their seven game 2010 preseason schedule.

Florida opens the preseason on Tuesday, September 21st with a game against the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center, followed by contests in Rochester against the Boston Bruins (September 23rd), in Boston (September 25th) and in Montréal (September 27th).

The Panthers host two preseason games on Wednesday, September 29th against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:30 PM and Friday, October 1st against the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:30 PM. Single game tickets for both preseason games are scheduled to go on-sale in September.

Florida closes out the preseason with a game in Tampa Bay against the Lightning on October 2nd.

The Panthers' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - at Carolina, 7:00 PM
September 23 - vs. Boston (in Rochester, New York), 7:00 PM
September 25 - at Boston, 7:00 PM
September 27 - at Montréal, 7:30 PM
September 29 - vs. Carolina, 7:30 PM
October 1 - vs. Tampa Bay, 7:30 PM
October 2 - at Tampa Bay, 7:30 PM

NEWS HYPERLINKS

Florida Panthers official news release (June 17):
Panthers announce 2010 preseason schedule

South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Panthers page (June 17):
Less travel in Panthers' 2010-2011 preseason schedule

2010 Dallas Stars preseason schedule

2010-06-17T15:50:00.000-04:00

The Dallas Stars announced their 2010 preseason schedule. It is a bit strange the Stars have TWO preseason home games against the Colorado Avalanche.

From the team's official news release:

The Dallas Stars announced today that the club will play a total of six pre-season contests in 2010, including four at American Airlines Center.

Dallas will begin the home portion of its pre-season schedule hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, September 21st. The Stars will also host the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, September 24th; the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, September 25th; and the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, September 30th.

The Stars' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - vs. Tampa Bay, 8:30 PM
September 24 - vs. Colorado, 8:30 PM
September 25 - vs. St. Louis, 8:00 PM
September 28 - at Colorado, 9:00 PM
September 30 - vs. Colorado, 8:30 PM
October 2 - at St. Louis, 8:00 PM

2010 Columbus Blue Jackets preseason schedule

2010-06-17T15:30:00.009-04:00

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Columbus Blue Jackets will play a nine-game preseason schedule, including four home games at Nationwide Arena, prior to their 10th National Hockey League season, the club announced today. The Blue Jackets' home schedule features visits from three Eastern Conference opponents – Washington Capitals (September 22nd), Pittsburgh Penguins (September 24) and Atlanta Thrashers (October 2) – as well as the Minnesota Wild (September 28). The club's final preseason game will be against a unified team comprised of two Swedish teams - the Malmö Redhawks and Rogle BK - Malmö, Sweden on Tuesday, October 5.

The Blue Jackets' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - at Atlanta, 7:00 PM
September 22 - vs. Washington, 7:00 PM
September 24 - vs. Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM
September 25 - at Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM
September 28 - vs. Minnesota, 7:00 PM
September 30 - at Minnesota, 8:00 PM
October 1 - at Washington, 7:00 PM
October 2 - vs. Atlanta, 6:00 PM
October 5 - vs. Malmo/Rogle BK (Malmö, Sweden), 1:00 PM

Daniel Briere injures arm in Binghamton car accident

2010-06-17T14:25:00.000-04:00

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports this afternoon that Philadelphia Flyers forward Daniel Briere injured an arm as a result of a motor vehicle accident in Binghamton, New York.

Tim Panaccio of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia (CSNPhilly.com) stated on his Twitter feed that Briere and his son's injures were not serious.

Check out the breaking news article from Sam Wood for more details:

Flyers forward Danny Briere escaped serious injury this morning when his SUV collided with a tractor-trailer near Binghamton, New York, police said.

Briere and his 9-year-old son Cameron were headed north on I-81 about 12:30 a.m. just north of the Pennsylvania state line.

Briere, driving a 2010 Land Rover, was passing a tractor-trailer when he became drowsy and drifted into the right-hand lane and sideswiped the big rig, said Sgt. Steven Barlow, spokesman for the New York State Police.

The truck swerved. Briere's Land Rover crashed into a guardrail. The big rig jackknifed and tipped on its side blocking all northbound traffic for about five hours.

Briere and his son received minor injuries. The star center was treated at a Binghamton hospital for an unspecified arm injury. Cameron Briere complained of neck pain. The driver of the truck was not injured.

2010 Atlanta Thrashers preseason schedule

2010-06-17T14:15:00.002-04:00

The Atlanta Thrashers announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Atlanta Thrashers have announced their six-game 2010 preseason schedule, featuring three games at Philips Arena against the Columbus Blue Jackets (September 21), Carolina Hurricanes (September 25) and Nashville Predators (September 29). Additionally, the Thrashers will travel to Nashville, Carolina and Columbus for preseason match-ups with the Predators (September 27), Hurricanes (October 1) and Blue Jackets (October 3).

The Thrashers' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - vs. Columbus, 7:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Carolina, 7:00 PM
September 27 - at Nashville, TBD
September 29 - vs. Nashville, 7:00 PM
October 1 - at Carolina, 1:30 PM
October 3 - at Columbus, 6:00 PM

2010 Carolina Hurricanes preseason schedule

2010-06-17T14:05:00.000-04:00

The Carolina Hurricanes announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

Jason Karmanos, vice president and assistant general manager for the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced the team's 2010 exhibition schedule.

The Hurricanes will open the preseason at the RBC Center on Tuesday, September 21st at 7:00 PM against the Florida Panthers. Carolina will then play games on three consecutive nights, Thursday, September 23rd at Nashville, Friday, September 24th against the Predators and Saturday, September 25th at Atlanta. The Hurricanes will travel to South Florida to face the Panthers on Wednesday, September 29th before hosting the Thrashers in Raleigh on October 1st.

Following their game on October 1st, the Hurricanes will travel to St. Petersburg, Russia for an exhibition game against SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) at Ledovy Arena on October 4th as a part of the 2010 NHL Premiere Challenge.

The Hurricanes' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 21 - vs. Florida, 7:00 PM
September 23 - at Nashville, 8:00 PM
September 24 - vs. Nashville, 7:00 PM
September 25 - at Atlanta, 7:00 PM
September 29 - at Florida, 7:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Atlanta, 1:30 PM
October 4 - at SKA St. Petersburg (in St. Petersburg, Russia), TBA

2010 Detroit Red Wings preseason schedule

2010-06-17T12:10:00.003-04:00

The Detroit Red Wings announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Red Wings will help the Pittsburgh Penguins christen, sort of, its new arena this September.

The Penguins' new home, CONSOL Energy Center, will first host seven concerts in August and September, including a pair of sold out dates by legendary musician and former Beatle Paul McCartney on August 18-19.

The Red Wings will play a part in the arena's first sporting event when they play the Penguins on September 22 at 7:00 PM EDT.

The Pens announced their 2010-2011 pre-season schedule on Wednesday.

Perhaps a strange coincidence is the odd number of the seating capacity for the new CONSOL Energy Center, which is posted on the arena's website as 18,087. Pens captain Sidney Crosby wears #87.

Either way, the Penguins have added 1,147 seats over capacity of their old home, Mellon Arena, which used to seat 16,940 fans.

The Red Wings will host the Pens in a pre-season game on October 3rd at Joe Louis Arena.

The Red Wings' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 22 - at Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM
September 24 - vs. Chicago, 7:00 PM
September 25 - at Chicago, 8:00 PM
September 26 - vs. New York Rangers, 5:00 PM
September 29 - at New York Rangers, 7:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Toronto, 7:00 PM
October 2 - at Toronto, 7:00 PM
October 3 - vs. Pittsburgh, 5:00 PM

2010 New York Rangers preseason schedule

2010-06-17T11:45:00.002-04:00

The New York Rangers announced their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

New York Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather announced the 2010 pre-season schedule today, featuring three games at Madison Square Garden and a total of six games in 10 days.

The Rangers 2010 pre-season schedule will consist of three home-and-home sets, opening against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, September 23rd, before traveling to Newark on Saturday, September 25th.

New York will then head to Detroit to face the Red Wings on Sunday, September 26th, before returning home for the second of their two matchups on Wednesday, September 29th.

The Rangers will wrap up their pre-season schedule with back-to-back games against the Senators, Friday, October 1st in New York and Saturday, October 2nd at Ottawa.

The 2010 New York Rangers training camp begins with players reporting to the Madison Square Garden Training Center on Friday, September 17th.

The Rangers' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 23 - vs. New Jersey, 7:00 PM
September 25 - at New Jersey, 7:00 PM
September 26 - at Detroit, 5:00 PM
September 29 - vs. Detroit, 7:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Ottawa, 7:00 PM
October 2 - at Ottawa, 7:00 PM

Devils name John MacLean as new head coach

2010-06-17T11:30:00.002-04:00

If you are on Twitter or have been reading any media news feeds, then you know by now that the New Jersey Devils have decided on a new head coach. He is a familiar name.

When he addresses the media at the Prudential Center this afternoon, John MacLean officially gets his first chance to run a National Hockey League coaching staff.

Their official news release is already posted. Here are the first three paragraphs:

The Devils have scheduled a 2:00 p.m. press conference to announce John MacLean as their new head coach.

MacLean, 45, takes over behind the Devils' bench after serving one season as the head coach of their American Hockey League affiliate in Lowell. He guided the AHL Devils to a franchise best mark of 39-31-4-6 in 2009-2010, including their only playoff appearance in four seasons.

He replaces Jacques Lemaire, who retired after one season in his second stint as Devils head coach.

MacLean has spent the last eight seasons as a member of the Devils' coaching staff with the last seven as an assistant coach. He played 14 of his 19 seasons in New Jersey with two stops late in his career with the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars. He ranks #1 on the Devils' all-time goal scoring list with 347 during his playing career.

Interestingly enough, he will potentially end up coaching five former teammates who are still active NHL players. They are Martin Brodeur, Patrick Elias, Jay Pandolfo and Brian Rolston from New Jersey and Jamie Langenbrunner while in Dallas.

2010 Chicago Blackhawks preseason schedule

2010-06-16T18:10:00.005-04:00

The Chicago Blackhawks announced their 2010 preseason schedule. They are the away team for the preseason opener.

From the team's official news release:

The 2010 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks announced today the team's 2010 preseason schedule, which consists of seven games against National Hockey League opponents including one contest in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The Blackhawks will open their preseason slate with a matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on Wednesday, September 22nd at 7:00 PM. Chicago then battles their Central Division rival, the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, September 24th at Joe Louis Arena, before hosting Detroit for the 2010 preseason opener at the United Center on Saturday, September 25th. The Blackhawks travel to Pittsburgh to face off against the Penguins at the brand-new CONSOL Energy Center on Tuesday, September 28th, and the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center on Thursday, September 30th. Chicago rounds out the preseason schedule by hosting Pittsburgh on Friday, October 1st, and St. Louis on Sunday, October 3rd at the United Center.

The 2009-10 Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers to secure the fourth Stanley Cup championship in franchise history and first since 1961. The club established franchise records during the regular-season for points (112), wins (52), and road wins (23) en route to the organization's first division title in 17 years.

Game times and ticket information for the 2010 preseason will be announced at a later date.

The Blackhawks' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 22 - vs. Tampa Bay (in Winnipeg), 8:00 PM
September 24 - at Detroit, 7:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Detroit, 8:00 PM
September 28 - at Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM
September 30 - at St. Louis, 8:00 PM
October 1 - vs. Pittsburgh, 8:30 PM
October 3 - vs. St. Louis, 6:00 PM

Wild re-sign James Sheppard to 1-year, $803,250 deal

2010-06-16T15:45:00.002-04:00

According to Minnesota Wild beat writer Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, James Sheppard accepted the team's qualifying offer and re-signed with the Wild for next season with a $803,250 base salary.

Russo originally reported it at $841,500, but later made the correction. See the information from his revised article:

James Sheppard got a head start on accepting his qualifying offer just like the Wild got a head start on tendering them to its resticted free agents. Sheppard's agreed to a one-year deal worth $803,250 (corrected; had to correct because he got a 5 percent mandated raise since his prior year salary was over 660K and under a $1 million. Originally thought it was a mandatory 10 percent bump).

According to the Wild's news release, Minnesota also made qualifying offers to:

Guillaume Latendresse
Josh Harding
Anton Khudobin
Nate Prosser
Matt Kassian

2010 Pittsburgh Penguins preseason schedule

2010-06-16T12:30:00.007-04:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced their 2010 preseason schedule. The team also revealed that their home games will now begin at 7:00 PM Eastern Time unless noted in the upcoming season schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Pittsburgh Penguins will open their 2010 preseason schedule with the first hockey game ever played at CONSOL Energy Center – Wednesday, September 22nd against the Detroit Red Wings at 7:00 p.m.

The team announced its six-game preseason schedule, which includes home-and-home matchups with Detroit, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

The other home games are Saturday, September 25th against Columbus and Tuesday, September 28th against Chicago - both starting at 7:00 p.m.

The Penguins' 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 22 - vs. Detroit, 7:00 PM
September 24 - at Columbus, 7:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Columbus, 7:00 PM
September 28 - vs. Chicago, 7:00 PM
October 1 - at Chicago, 8:30 PM
October 3 - at Detroit, 5:00 PM

2010 Minnesota Wild preseason schedule

2010-06-11T17:20:00.006-04:00

The Minnesota Wild is the first National Hockey League team to announce their 2010 preseason schedule.

From the team's official news release:

The Wild will play six of its seven preseason games in just over a week's time, starting with a visit from the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, September 22nd and ending with a visit from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, September 30th. The Wild will then cap the preseason during its first-ever trip overseas with a Compuware NHL Premiere exhibition game against Ilves Tampere, the most decorated club in Finnish Elite League history, in Tampere, Finland on Monday, October 4th at 11:00 a.m. (CDT).

The preseason lineup also includes a visit from the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, September 25th and a road trip to Montréal on Sunday, September 26th. The Wild will twice face the Blues (September 22nd at Xcel Energy Center, September 24th at Scottrade Center) and the Blue Jackets (September 28th at Nationwide Arena, September 30th at Xcel Energy Center).

The Wild's friendly with Ilves Tampere at Tampereen Jaahalli Arena will be the first exhibition game against a non-NHL opponent. It will be the club's final tuneup before taking on the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere at Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland on Thursday, October 7th.

The Wild's 2010 preseason schedule is as follows:
(game start times are in Eastern Time)

September 22 - vs. St. Louis, 8:00 PM
September 24 - at St. Louis, 8:00 PM
September 25 - vs. Philadelphia, 8:00 PM
September 26 - at Montréal, 7:00 PM
September 28 - at Columbus, 7:00 PM
September 30 - vs. Columbus, 8:00 PM
October 4 - vs. Ilves Tampere (in Tampere, Finland), 12:00 PM

Glendale insures up to $25 million for Phoenix Coyotes operations through 2010-2011 season

2010-05-12T18:15:00.001-04:00

Another twist and turn to the ongoing ownership saga had led to recent fever pitch rumors running rampant about the future fate of the Phoenix Coyotes. Following Monday's reports that the Ice Edge Holdings investors group had broken off talks with Glendale, Arizona city officials on negotiating a new arena lease agreement, speculation surfaced about whether or not the franchise would be leaving town. Among the possible destinations was none other than the Coyotes' original home, that being Winnipeg, Manitoba.

However, one big step in a positive direction was made during last night's Glendale City Council meeting. The National Hockey League provided the latest development with a news bulletin at 1:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time this morning:

The Phoenix Coyotes might be finished with the 2010 NHL playoffs, but the team's success continued Tuesday night. The Glendale city council voted 7-0 Tuesday night in favor of guaranteeing the League up to $25 million to keep the Coyotes in Jobing.com Arena for the 2010-2011 season.

"The amount is capped at $25 million to recoup expenses of any operating loss," explained NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, who attended the meeting in Glendale. "A key point here is this is nothing more than an insurance policy in case there is no (sale) of the team this summer. No money changes hands if there is a successful transaction."

Daly said the next few days will be important to "paper and document" Tuesday night's vote and give proper authority to Glendale city manager Ed Beasley. Both Beasley and Daly told the Glendale council that a sale of the Coyotes is expected by the end of June.

Beasley informed the council both Chicago sports franchise owner Jerry Reinsdorf (approved as a buyer by the Glendale council in April) and the Ice Edge Holdings (a group of Canadian and U.S. investors) are still talking to the city about buying the Coyotes.

Daly confirmed both Reinsdorf and Ice Edge remain as potential buyers and, while emphasizing Glendale will look to initially work with these two purchase groups, said it was possible that another buyer wanting to purchase the team and keep it in Glendale might emerge.

The NHL bought the team out of bankruptcy last September, making it known that it intended to find a buyer that would keep the franchise in Arizona. On the ice, the team's stellar regular season (a fourth-place finish in the Western Conference) and a thrilling seven-game playoffs series with defending conference champion Detroit led to a string of sellouts and a well-timed surge of fan support and excitement for the franchise.

"The Coyotes' success absolutely helped (with Tuesday's unanimous vote and the up-to-$25 million guarantee)," Daly said. "The way fans embraced the club and filled up the arena in both the regular season and postseason showed the team is a viable business entity here in Arizona."

So for now, should a new owner not be found by June 30th, the assurance of any short term operating losses will be covered by the city of Glendale (Phoenix's neighboring northwest suburb) while the NHL maintains ownership of the club.