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Buffalo Sabres Announce Purchase Agreement

by @DaveDavisHockey on 02/01/11 at 02:34 PM ET
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From the Buffalo Sabres,

BUFFALO, NY (February 1, 2011)—The Buffalo Sabres today announced that Tom Golisano has reached an agreement to sell the Buffalo Sabres and its related companies to Terry Pegula. The agreement, completed at 1 p.m. today, is subject to certain closing conditions including review and approval by the National Hockey League. It is expected the NHL review process will take several weeks to complete.

Tom Golisano and Larry Quinn will hold a press conference on Thursday at Noon in HSBC Arena. There will be no further comment until the press conference.

Terry Pegula will not be at Thursday’s press conference.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Larry+Quinn, sale+of+Sabres, Terry+Pegula, Tom+Golisano,

Avs/Blues Game Postponed

by Paul on 02/01/11 at 02:28 PM ET
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ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues announced Tuesday that tonight’s game between the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche has been postponed due to severe weather conditions.

A new date for the game will be determined by the National Hockey League (NHL).

“Due to the concerns and safety of our fans, players and staff, in conjunction with the NHL and the city of St. Louis, we have postponed tonight’s game,” said Vice Chairman and CEO of St. Louis Blues Enterprises Mike McCarthy.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Ruff Turned Down Sabres Extension Offer Last Fall

by @DaveDavisHockey on 02/01/11 at 01:57 PM ET
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Things just keep getting more interesting in Buffalo in the midst of the pending sale of the team.

From Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News,

In the wake of today’s news that GM Darcy Regier received a two-year contract extension in the fall, it was natural to ask Lindy Ruff if he received the same treatment.

Ruff pulled a shocker after Tuesday’s practice in HSBC Arena when he revealed he also got an extension offer and turned it down. Understandably, Ruff wasn’t all that interested in the line of questioning so his answers were pretty cryptic when pressed by The News on the issue.

click here for the interview.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Darcy+Regier, Lindy+Ruff, Regier+contract+extension, Sabres+sale,

Final Thoughts on Raleigh and All-Star Weekend

by Jon Jordan on 02/01/11 at 01:44 PM ET
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The intent of my trip to Raleigh for coverage of All-Star Weekend was simple: Get a feel for the experience from a professional perspective as well as monitor the pulse of the fans, chat up some players I don’t get to see all that often and also those I see on a regular basis in a different element, do some networking and, as Boss Man Paul continually reminded me to do throughout the weekend, have a little fun.

Looking back, that final component is exactly what I’ll remember most about the adventure and my guess is that most that attended All-Star Weekend – be they fans, players, media, league execs, sponsors or those belonging to some other miscellaneous category – would probably say the same thing.

Raleigh, as many others have opined before me, did a wonderful job as a host. The locals were as excited for the event as they were prepared, welcoming, happy and proud of their city, as well they should be. I’d never spent any significant time in these parts in the past but it will definitely be worth another stop in the future.

This being my first big league event, I had consulted with several people who have experienced something of this nature in the past in the weeks leading up to the trip and, while a few cautioned that an occasion of this magnitude could be slightly intimidating at times, I didn’t find that to be true at all for myself and I’m not sure many other first-timers would say otherwise. The vibe, from the moment I picked up my credentials on Friday morning, was light-hearted. At the same time, the entire operation throughout the weekend was first-class. Kudos to the NHL, the city of Raleigh and the Carolina Hurricanes for pulling everything off in fine fashion.

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Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey, NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Cam+Ward, Eric+Staal, Henrik+Lundqvist, Jeremy+Roenick, Marc+Staal, NHL+All-Star+Game, NHL+SuperSkills, Patrick+Kane, Phil+Kessel, The+Guardian+Project, Tim+Thomas,

Report- Devils For Sale

by Paul on 02/01/11 at 01:32 PM ET
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via Michele Steele tweet,

BREAKING: NHL’s Devils for sale - person familiar tells Bberg News Devils owner Vanderbeek has hired Moag & Co to oversee sale

Michele works for Bloomberg and more tweets on this story…

added 1:35pm, via Curtis Eichelberger of Bloomberg,

Vanderbeek has hired investment bank Moag & Co. in Baltimore to oversee the sale of the National Hockey League club, and has sent out letters to prospective buyers soliciting interest, said the person, who has seen the letter and requested anonymity because the team hasn’t given him permission to discuss it.

In an e-mail, Vanderbeek said he was traveling and wouldn’t be available to talk until later today

added 3:20pm, via Craig Custance tweet,

Have been told now by multiple sources that the Devils ownership sale story isn’t accurate.

added 5:35pm, from Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice,

“As Managing Member of the New Jersey Devils, it is not my desire to sell the team,” Vanderbeek said in the statement. ” My partner, Brick City, and I have different visions for the franchise. While Brick City has a right, under our partnership agreement, to explore a sale and Moag and Co. has been retained to assist in these effort, I anticipate maintaining a controlling interest.”

more

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Stars Of The Week

by Paul on 02/01/11 at 01:06 PM ET
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      NEW YORK (February 1, 2011)—Carolina Hurricanes center Eric Staal, Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick and New York Islanders right wing Michael Grabner have been named the NHL ‘Three Stars’ for the week ending Jan. 30.

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Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

What Direction Will Some Teams Take

by Paul on 02/01/11 at 12:44 PM ET
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As the season heads into the final stretch tonight, our experts (Scott Burnside, E.J. Hradek and Pierre LeBrun) separate a few of the contenders from the pretenders:Pacific Division: San Jose Sharks

Burnside: Pretender

After supposedly getting the playoff monkey off their backs last spring by advancing to the Western Conference finals, the Sharks have struggled through an up-and-down season that has seen them flirt with the idea of missing the playoffs altogether. We don’t think that’s going to happen, but we don’t see the Sharks being the kind of team that can simply turn on the playoff switch and take their game to another level.

more pretenders and contenders…

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Friedman’s Thoughts

by Paul on 02/01/11 at 11:59 AM ET
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from Elliotte Friedman of CBC,

• In 1999, the Senators waited 64 days between suspending Alexei Yashin for not reporting, and then suspending him for the season. New York will have to follow similar protocol to have Nabokov’s deal carry over to next year, but I can’t imagine it will be that long because we’re talking March 30. If he doesn’t show up soon, the goalie will be shut down so he can’t walk in for Game 78 and say, “Hey, I’m ready to play.”

• One of the biggest second-half stories will be recoveries of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby being cleared for light workouts isn’t reason for optimism yet, because concussions can play havoc with this step. Malkin told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette yesterday his knee was 100 per cent, but there are skeptics who feel he’ll need surgery. We’ll see.

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Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Elias Not A Fan Of The ASG Draft

by Paul on 02/01/11 at 11:56 AM ET
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from Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger,

Selected by Team Staal with only five other players remaining, Elias said the process had a built-in insult factor for those who are bypassed until the end.

“I didn’t enjoy it (much). The fans and media enjoy it. Whoever is going last is going to hear it for a long time,” Elias said today. “It’s not right. The guys are top players and you don’t want to put guys in that position.”

He was relieved not to be picked last.

“Kind of,” he said.

Phil Kessel was the last pick and received a car for it. Elias said he would not have wanted to get a car for being last, although he was able to crack jokes during the draft.

“One was when they called the rookies up on the stage and we were still sitting there,” Elias recalled. “I said, ‘Holy (cow), the rookies are going before us. That’s not good.’ “

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils, NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: 2011+All-Star+Game, Patrik+Elias,

Cody Hodgson Gets His Shot

by Paul on 02/01/11 at 11:46 AM ET
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from Gordon McIntyre of the Vancouver Province,

It was an unpredictably long, uneven road for Cody Hodgson since the June 20, 2008, NHL entry draft at Ottawa’s Scotiabank Place.

Now, finally, after so much hype and so many hurts, Hodgson has been called up by the Canucks and is slated to be in the lineup tonight against the Stars.

Hodgson was Mike Gillis’s first draft pick and it’s easy now to forget there was much controversy when the new general manager chose the Brampton star instead of Everett power forward and North Vancouver-born Kyle Beach with the 10th pick.

It seems almost laughable now neither has played an NHL game while others from that draft class have been standouts, such as Tyler Myers (12th overall), Steven Stamkos (1), Drew Doughty (2) and Jordan Eberle (22), to name a few.

Then there’s Matt Duchene, Hodgson’s Battalion teammate in the OHL, who went third in the 2009 draft and is starring with the Avalanche.

Disappointed he didn’t make the Canucks as an 18-year-old, Hodgson returned to Brampton and led the team in scoring with 43-49-92, 12 points behind OHL scoring leader John Tavares.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Vancouver Canucks | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Cody+Hodgson,

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