2009-2010 NHL Season

[Goodfellas]

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma was thrilled to get a call from President Barack Obama congratulating him on his team's Stanley Cup championship.

But the coach says he was a bit worried when he got the call Thursday on his cell phone while in Las Vegas. He told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his charger wasn't working and his phone's battery was almost out of power. But it lasted long enough for the brief phone call.

He says he was excited when the president told him that he'd like to have the team visit the White House in the fall.

[Goodfellas]

MONTREAL (AP) -- Hockey Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur has been given a one-year suspended sentence, fined $100 and ordered to donate $10,000 to charity for giving contradictory testimony during his son's 2007 bail hearing.

Quebec Court Judge Claude Parent sentenced Lafleur on Thursday in Montreal.

The prosecution had suggested a conditional sentence to be served in the community while his lawyers had asked for a fine.

Lafleur is appealing the guilty verdict handed down on May 1. He has also filed a $3.5-million civil lawsuit against the Montreal police and the Crown over the warrant used to arrest him.

The 57-year-old Lafleur won five Stanley Cups in 14 seasons in Montreal.

[Goodfellas]

CHICAGO (AP) -- Blackhawks assistant general manager Rick Dudley has resigned after three years in that position.

Dudley spent four years in Chicago's hockey operation department, the last three as assistant GM.

"Rick has informed me that he has resigned from his position with the Blackhawks to pursue other opportunities," general manager Dale Tallon said in a statement released Thurs

[Goodfellas]

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins signed offensive-minded defenseman Alex Goligoski to a three-year, $5.5 million contract.

Goligoski split time last season between the team's AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre and the NHL, where he had six goals and 14 assists in 45 regular season games. He didn't appear in the Stanley Cup finals for Pittsburgh.

Goligoski is expected to remain with the NHL team next season.
The Penguins have three defensemen who will become unrestricted free agents if they are not signed by July 1: Rob Scuderi, Hal Gill and Philippe Boucher.

[Goodfellas]

A golf-resort developer put nearly two dozen NHL stars on ice -- taking millions they had invested with him and blowing it on parties packed with porn stars, hookers and his baseball buddies, including ex-Yankees Roger Clemens and Reggie Jackson, according to two explosive lawsuits filed yesterday. The 19 former and current stick-handlers -- including an all-star roster of Rangers and Islanders -- are demanding that Las Vegas-based golf-course mogul Ken Jowdy return the $25 million they invested, plus fork over $15 million in damages for failing to build two luxury resorts in Mexico that are seven years behind schedule.
New York Post

[Goodfellas]

Islanders GM Garth Snow said yesterday that he has made his decision and knows who it's going to be. "I made up my mind a while ago," Snow said yesterday at the Coliseum. "This is a big moment. We'll get a special player." The consensus is that the Isles will pick the center John Tavares, but the defenseman Victor Hedman and forward Matt Duchene clearly remain possibilities. And Snow reiterated yesterday that he does not "envision" trading the pick.
New York Post

[Goodfellas]

Add another name to the list of possible candidates to succeed Brent Sutter as Devils coach: former Flyer captain, Whaler and Hurricane Kevin Dineen. Dineen has coached the AHL's Portland Pirates since the 2005-06 season, and joins Jacques Lemaire, John MacLean, Peter Laviolette, Guy Carbonneau, Bob Hartley, Mike Haviland and Kirk Muller among potential candidates. Though a decision is expected shortly, Lemaire told The Post that he still hasn't made up his mind as to what he'll do, making clear however, that returning to coach the Devils intrigues him. He refused to declare whether he has been offered the job, or even interviewed for it. It is believed, however, that Lemaire has made initial exploratory inquiries about the team next season.
New York Post

[Goodfellas]

With free agency set to begin in two weeks, Sergei Fedorov's future with the Washington Capitals remains unsettled. Fedorov, who was in Las Vegas to present the Hart Trophy at the NHL Awards Show, reiterated his desire to return for another season in Washington but acknowledged that he doesn't know where he will end up. The 39-year-old center declined to go into details about his negotiations with the Capitals, but did say that his recent trip to Russia was not made with the intention of trying to secure a deal with a team in the Kontinental Hockey League as previously believed.
Washington Post

[Goodfellas]

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Keith Tkachuk, the savvy forward who helped lead the St. Louis Blues to the playoffs for the first time since 2004, will be back for another year.

"Keith is a veteran leader who played a key role with our club's success this past season," Blues president John Davidson said Friday. Terms were not disclosed.

Tkachuk, 37, is a five-time All-Star who has spent eight of his 17 NHL seasons with the Blues, though he was traded to Atlanta for 18 games at the end of the 2006-07 season before re-signing with St. Louis.

In 2008-09, he had 25 goals, 24 assists and 61 penalty minutes. He has 525 goals and 508 assists for his career, along with 2,163 penalty minutes.

Tkachuk has scored 20 goals or more in 15 of his 17 seasons. Last season, the Melrose, Mass., native became just the seventh U.S.-born player to reach 1,000 career points, and just the fourth player with 1,000 points and 2,000 penalty minutes for his career. He led the NHL with 52 goals in 1996-97, the first American-born player to do so.

Tkachuk ranks high on several lists for the Blues -- eighth in points (395), sixth in goals (195), seventh in game-winning goals (28) and fourth in power play goals (91).

[Goodfellas]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- The Phoenix Coyotes have traded the rights to center Steven Reinprecht to Florida for left wing Stefan Meyer.
The Coyotes are in bankruptcy proceedings and made the deal because they did not plan to re-sign Reinprecht, a pending unrestricted free agent.

The 33-year-old Reinprecht scored 14 goals with 27 assists in 73 games with the Coyotes last year. He has 120 goals and 214 assists in 552 career NHL games with Los Angeles, Colorado, Calgary and Phoenix.

The 23-year-old Meyer appeared in four games for the Panthers in 2007-08.

The Coyotes also re-signed left wing Petr Prucha to a two-year contract.
Terms were not disclosed.
The 26-year-old Prucha scored six goals and had 13 assists in 47 games with the Coyotes and New York Rangers last season. He joined Phoenix on March 4 in the deal that sent defenseman Derek Morris to the Rangers.

[Goodfellas]

Sun sources have confirmed the NHL and Calgary Flames have put the wheels in motion to host a New Year's Day Winter Classic game at McMahon Stadium this coming season. National Hockey League officials have visited the home of the Stampeders in anticipation of holding a game there, but have not yet put a contract in place with the McMahon Stadium Society to hold an outdoor game Jan. 1, 2010. McMahon holds more than 35,600 fans for football games, but with the Grey Cup game scheduled for Nov. 29, extra bleachers will have seating for more than 45,000.
Calgary Sun

[G-Roy]

thats what its all about. I wish the nhl awards voting wasnt before the playoffs, I think the outcome may have been a littl edifferent.

[Goodfellas]

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Veteran Swedish defenseman Kenny Jonsson, a two-time Olympic champion and former NHL player, is retiring from hockey after 19 seasons.

"I made the decision when I felt that I didn't have the motivation to start dryland training [this offseason]," Jonsson said.

The 34-year-old Jonsson, who was captain of the Swedish team that finished third at the world championship in May, spent the last four seasons with Swedish club Rogle, where he started his career.
Jonsson played in 705 NHL games, compiling 64 goals and 207 assists in 10 seasons, mostly with the New York Islanders.

[Goodfellas]

The Rangers could be presented with the chance to acquire Dany Heatley this week. We're told that though the team is not on the winger's list of preferred options, he likely would not block a trade to New York. If GM Glen Sather could make the deal without yielding Marc Staal, Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Michael Del Zotto or Evgeny Grachev, it's a no-brainer.
New York Post

[Goodfellas]

Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios is slated to meet with general manager Ken Holland in the next few days to talk about his future. Chelios, the league's oldest active player at 47, didn't talk to reporters after the annual team photo last week. He had declined to talk about his future during the playoffs, but made it known he wanted to continue to play. Holland said he had a good talk with Chelios when they were on the same flight to Las Vegas last week to attend the NHL awards. Although it's unclear where Chelios will play, he will have a role with the U.S. program for the 2010 Olympic team. Chelios told ESPN.com on Saturday that USA GM Brian Burke has asked him to join the club in an off-ice role.
Detroit Free Press