Month: July 2009

OTTAWA – Alex Kovalev admits he was “disappointed” to leave Montreal, but feels he can be a missing piece of the puzzle in helping the Ottawa Senators rebound from their own disappointing times

CALGARY – The Calgary Flames re-signed centre Jamie Lundmark and picked up winger Jason Jaffray on Tuesday.Lundmark scored eight goals with eights assists in 27 games with the Flames last season and added 15 goals and 37 assists in 54 games with the team’s AHL affiliate in Quad City

TORONTO – Jonas Gustavsson signed a US$900,000, one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, but GM Brian Burke isn’t about to hand the coveted free-agent goaltender a starting job

PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Penguins forward Maxime Talbot underwent surgery to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder Tuesday, and his recovery is expected to take four to five months

Movements in the world of hockey Monday:National Hockey LeagueATLANTA THRASHERS-Signed D Joel Kwiatkowski, F Jason Krog, G Drew MacIntyre and G Peter Mannino

CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks resolved some of the administrative problems surrounding their restricted free agents by signing five of those players on Monday

ATLANTA – Defenceman Joel Kwiatkowski and forward Jason Krog have signed deals to return to the Atlanta Thrashers.Kwiatkowski, 32, recorded five assists in 18 games with Atlanta during the 2007-08 season and has played in 282 career NHL games with five teams

TORONTO – Francois Beauchemin has seen what Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has been able to accomplish so far this summer and feels confident about one thing

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues have re-signed forward B.J. Crombeen.The 25-year-old Crombeen was claimed off waivers from Dallas on Nov. 18, 2008, and made his Blues debut three days later

OTTAWA – Bryan Murray isn’t worried at all about Alex Kovalev’s reputation for dazzling talent but inconsistent effort.The Ottawa Senators general manager gave the slick Russian winger a US$10-million, two-year deal Monday, believing Kovalev will bring a dimension to his team that was sorely lacking last season

NEW YORK – The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with Chris Higgins, a restricted free agent acquired last week in a six-player trade that sent Scott Gomez to the Montreal Canadiens

VANCOUVER, B.C. – It’s been a wild ride for goaltender Andrew Raycroft, going from a can’t-miss rookie in Boston to being booed unmercilessly in Toronto

LONDON – Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin, winner of the NHL’s most valuable player award the past two seasons, is offering his help to organizers of the first Winter Olympics in his native Russia

VOORHEES, N.J. – Chris Pronger expects to help Philadelphia win a Stanley Cup this season and beyond.Working out a contract extension with Philadelphia before the potential free agent plays his first game with the Flyers is already a priority for the former NHL MVP

MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens named Pierre Groulx goaltending coach and Perry Pearn assistant coach to round out their coaching staff Monday

MONTREAL – Alex Kovalev’s days with the Montreal Canadiens are over.General manager Bob Gainey has told a Montreal radio station that the smooth-skating Russian won’t be playing for the team next season

TORONTO – New York Rangers winger Nikolai Zherdev and forward Jiri Hudler of the Detroit Red Wings are among 20 players who have elected salary arbitration, the NHL Players’ Association announced Sunday night

LOS ANGELES – Captain Canada is going Hollywood.The Los Angeles Kings have acquired left-winger Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defencemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing and a fifth-round draft pick in 2010, the team announced Friday