Tuesday Roundup

Red Wings avoid arbitration with blueliner Dandenault

DETROIT (AP) -- The Red Wings have re-signed restricted free agent Mathieu Dandenault to a one-year contract, general manager Ken Holland announced Tuesday.

Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 27-year-old defenseman had until Tuesday to sign with the team in order to avoid salary arbitration.

"We're very happy to sign Mathieu for another season and to avoid going to arbitration," Holland said in a statement released by the Red Wings.

"We felt he took a big step in development, especially in the second half of last season. He has steadily improved from playing at forward into a solid NHL defenseman and we expect he will continue to improve."

Dandenault was drafted by Detroit as the team's second choice (49th overall) in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot, 200-pound defenseman is a native of Sherbrooke, Quebec and has spent his entire NHL career as a Red Wing.

Last season, Dandenault notched four goals, had 15 assists and logged 64 penalty minutes in 74 games.

Also on Tuesday, the team signed Swedish prospect Niklas Kronwall to a two-year contract, assistant general manager Jim Nill said.

Kronwall, 22, was drafted by Detroit as the team's first choice (29th overall) in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

The 5-foot-11, 178 pound defenseman is a native of Stockholm, Sweden and spent the last four seasons playing for Djurgardens IF Stockholm of the Swedish Elite League.

Sharks re-sign five restricted free agents

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- The San Jose Sharks re-signed centers Alyn McCauley and Mark Smith, left wing Marco Sturm, goalie Miikka Kiprusoff and forward Miroslav Zalesak on Tuesday.

McCauley had three goals and seven assists in 16 games with San Jose after being acquired from Toronto on March 5. Before the deal, McCauley had six goals and nine assists in 64 games with the Maple Leafs.

Sturm set a career-high last season with 48 points (28 goals, 20 assists). He was one of six Sharks to appear in all 82 games, another career-high.

Kiprusoff was 5-14-0 with a 3.25 goals-against average in 22 games last season. Zalesak had one goal and two assists in 10 games with San Jose.

Smith had a career-high with 15 points with four goals and 11 assists in 75 games last season.

McCauley signed a three-year deal. Kiprusoff's and Zalesak's contracts were both for one year. Terms of Sturm's and Smith's contracts were not immediately available.

New general manager Doug Wilson said last week it was his goal to get everyone signed by training camp so contracts aren't a distraction.

Bruins sign defenseman Girard, left wing Grosek

BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Bruins have signed defenseman Jonathan Girard and left wing Michal Grosek to one-year contracts, the team announced Tuesday.

Meanwhile, free agents Hal Gill, Brian Rolston and Bryan Berard have filed for salary arbitration before the deadline Tuesday at midnight, meaning they'll be with Boston next season.

Girard, 23, was Boston's first pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played his first full season in the NHL last year, scoring six goals and recording 16 assists. Grosek, 28, signed as a free agent with Boston last summer and had two goals and 18 assists in 63 games.

"Jonathan's made huge progress and we expect him to have a more significant role with the team this season," said Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell. "Michal is a big power forward who gives us some strength up the middle, as he can also play center."

O'Connell said he was pleased defensemen Gill and Berard and center Rolston opted for arbitration.

"It makes [new coach] Mike Sullivan's planning for training camp a lot easier knowing that they will be under contract and in camp," he said.

Winger Sergei Samsonov is also eligible for arbitration, but hadn't told the team his decision as of mid-afternoon Tuesday.

Lightning ink four, including D Lukowich, RW Roy

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Lightning avoided salary arbitration by re-signing defenseman Brad Lukowich and forward Andre Roy to multiyear deals Tuesday.

The Lightning also re-signed defenseman Darren Rumble, an unrestricted free agent, to a one-year deal and agreed to terms with forward Evgeni Artukhin. The team's third-round selection in the 2001 entry draft got a three-year rookie contract.

Financial terms of the contracts were not released.

"Brad Lukowich and Andre Roy played very important roles in our division championship last season, and Darren Rumble provided us with invaluable veteran depth when we had injury problems along the blue line last season," general manager Jay Feaster said.

Lukowich had a goal and 14 assists in 70 games last season, his first with the Lightning. Roy set career highs with 10 goals and 17 points in 62 games while leading the team with 119 penalty minutes.

Rumble split last season between Tampa Bay and Springfield, going scoreless in 19 games with the Lightning. He had five goals and 17 assists in 33 games with Springfield.

Flames avoid arbitration, re-sign center Yelle

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- The Calgary Flames re-signed center Stephane Yelle and agreed to terms with right wing Matt Davidson on Tuesday.

Yelle, 29, had 10 goals and 15 assists last season, when he was the only Flames player to appear in all 82 games. He earned $1.2 million last season. Terms of the new deal were not announced.

Yelle, who earned two Stanley Cup rings with Colorado, has 168 points in 587 NHL games. Calgary acquired him on Oct. 1, 2002, in the multiplayer trade that sent Derek Morris to the Avalanche.

Davidson, 25, saw limited action with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season, scoring four goals and assisting on five. In 48 AHL games with Syracuse, he had 18 goals and 16 assists.

In 46 career NHL games, the 6-foot-3, 196-pound forward has five goals and seven assists. Davidson was Buffalo's fifth choice, 94th overall, in the 1995 draft.

Flyers sign 2002 first-round pick Pitkanen

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Defenseman Joni Pitkanen signed a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

The Flyers had to sign Pitkanen before midnight on Tuesday or else the 19-year-old player would've been obligated to return to his team in Finland next season.

Pitkanen was picked in the first round -- fourth overall -- of the 2002 draft. He had five goals and 15 assists in 35 games last season with Karpat Oulu, Finland.

Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said he is hopeful Pitkanen will make the roster this season.

"Joni is probably rated as the best young defenseman outside the NHL," he said.

Pitkanen had a goal and five assists in seven games as Finland won its second consecutive bronze medal at this year's world junior championships. He was selected as the tournament's best defenseman.

Kings sign D Grebeshkov to three-year contract

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Kings have signed defenseman Denis Grebeshkov, their first-round pick in 2002, to a three-year contract.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Grebeshkov, 19, helped Yaroslavl win the Russian Super League championship last season. He had seven assists in 46 games.

"We are pleased to have Denis under contract with the Kings," said Kings general manager Dave Taylor. "He is a very intelligent player who moves the puck well from his defensive position and someone who has had a tremendous amount of success in Europe at a very young age. We look forward to continuing his development here in North America."

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Grebeshkov was also a member of the Russian National Junior Team that won gold medals at the 2002 and 2003 World Junior Championships.

The Kings on Tuesday also agreed to terms with defenseman Martin Strbak. He represented his native Slovakia at the 2003 World Hockey Championship earning a bronze medal with fellow Kings Ziggy Palffy and Lubomir Visnovsky.

Hurricanes sign RW Heerema to one-year deal

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Right wing Jeff Heerema has signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced Tuesday.

Terms of the deal were not released.

Heerema made his National Hockey League debut last season and scored three goals in ten games with the Hurricanes before a wrist injury ended his year.

Prior to being called up from Lowell of the American Hockey League, Heerema led the Lock Monsters with 15 goals and 17 assists in 36 games.

The native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, was Carolina's first-round pick, and 11th overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

Former Habs coach takes job with Pens' AHL team

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins have named former Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien to guide their American Hockey League affiliate - the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Therrien was fired as Canadiens coach on January 17, less than a year after leading them to the Eastern Conference semifinals. He had been working as a scout for the Canadiens since February.

"Michel's success as a head coach at all levels and his ability to communicate a manager Craig Patrick. "He has a tremendous record as a head coach in junior hockey, working primarily with young prospects."

Therrien, 39, posted a 77-91-22 record in parts of three seasons with Montreal. He led the Canadiens to an upset of top-seeded Boston in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals in 2001-02 before they fell to Carolina in the semifinals.

Therrien spent four seasons as a coach in the AHL with Fredericton and Quebec, compiling a 115-124-22 record, including a division title with Quebec in 1999-2000.

Devils sign five prospects

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The New Jersey Devils signed five of their top prospects Tuesday: defenseman Matt DeMarchi and forwards Ahren Nittel, Thomas Pihlman, Ilkka Pikkarainen, and Aleksander Suglobov. All five will attend September's training camp.

DeMarchi, 22, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound defenseman, was a member of Minnesota's 2002 and 2003 NCAA championship teams.

Nittel, 19, will be attending his second Devils' training camp. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound forward split the 2002-03 season between Windsor and Oshawa, where he recorded 20 goals and 11 assists for 31 points and 55 penalty minutes in 42 OHL games.

Pihlman, 20, was second in scoring on JyP Jyvaskyla (Finland) with 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points and 58 penalty minutes in 53 regular-season contests last season.

Pikkarainen, 22, joins the Devils after spending the past three seasons with HIFK Helsinki (Finland). He posted 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points and 40 penalty minutes in 47 games, while his three-season totals show 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 points in 105 career games.

Suglobov, 21, spent most of the past three seasons in the Russian Elite League. He split the 2002-03 season between Neftekhimik and Yaroslavl, and posted four goals and two assists for six points and 16 penalty minutes in 23 regular-season appearances.

Maple Leafs re-sign defenseman Jackman

TORONTO (Ticker) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed defenseman Ric Jackman on Tuesday after the 25-year-old appeared in 42 games last season.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Jackman had two assists last season and did not score a goal. He was not on Toronto's playoff roster. In eight games with St. John's of the American Hockey League, Jackman collected two goals and six assists.

Blue Jackets sign C Hartigan, D Gusjkov

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Columbus Blue Jackets signed center Mark Hartigan to a one-year contract and defenseman Alexander Gusjkov to a multiyear deal on Tuesday.

Terms were not disclosed.

Hartigan, a finalist for the 2002 Hobey Baker award as the top player in college hockey, split last season between the Atlanta Thrashers and the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Chicago. He had five goals and two assists with the Thrashers and 15 goals and 31 assists with Chicago.

Gusjkov was selected by the Blue Jackets in the seventh round of the 2003 draft. He had 10 goals and 17 assists last season with Yaroslavl in the Russian Elite League.

Predators sign Russian center Platonov

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Nashville Predators signed Russian center Denis Platonov on Tuesday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Platonov, 21, had eight goals and nine assists in 47 games last season with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Hockey League. He led Kristall Saratov in scoring with 32 points during the 2001-02 season.

Platonov was selected by Nashville in the third round of the 2001 draft.

Former Blizzard exec. hopes to revive Huntington hockey

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A former executive of the defunct Huntington Blizzard wants to have an Atlantic Coast Hockey League team ready in the city for the 2004-05 season.

Mark Williams casually met with ACHL owners and operators at the league meetings over the weekend in Knoxville, Tenn. He didn't attend any formal business sessions.

"We made it clear we want to put a team in Huntington the next season," Williams said.

Williams represented a prospective ownership group that wants to put a team in Huntington's Big Sandy Superstore Arena.

Williams told the Charleston Daily Mail the ownership group could have from four to seven people.

ACHL Commissioner Jim Riggs said the league would welcome the team.

"We understand Mark still has some work to do there," Riggs said. "If things had happened a little faster, maybe we'd have gotten in there this coming season, but it's important to have a comfort level with Mark and his owners and the building there, so we're glad to wait for them."

Williams met last week with an arena official in preliminary discussions about a lease.

The Blizzard played in Huntington from 1993-2000. In its final season, the team ranked last in the East Coast Hockey League in attendance despite making the playoffs and setting a club record for victories.

"The ECHL is too high-priced for a city like Huntington," Williams said. "We had fairly strong support with the Blizzard, especially on the corporate sponsorship side. If we can get that again, on a budget of $1 million or less, we can break even or make money."

The ACHL currently has teams in Knoxville; Winston-Salem and Fayetteville, N.C.; Huntsville, Ala.; and Tupelo, Miss. It plays a 60-game regular season, limits rosters to 17 players and has a $6,400 weekly salary cap.

Wild to keep Kurtz as radio play-by-play man

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Radio play-by-play announcer Bob Kurtz is keeping his job with the Minnesota Wild.

Kurtz on Monday agreed to a multi-year contract extension and will continue to serve as the Wild's play-by-play man on WCCO Radio.

Negotiations continue with radio analyst Tom Reid. The Wild signed TV analyst Mike Greenlay to a two-year contract extension earlier this month.

Next season will be Kurtz's fourth with the team.

Before calling Wild games, he worked with New England Sports Network in Boston for 11 years.

He was the lead television announcer for the Minnesota North Stars for seven seasons on KMSP (1979-84) and KXLI (1987-88). Kurtz also did play-by-play for the Minnesota Twins on KMSP from 1979-86 and could be heard on University of Minnesota hockey, football and basketball broadcasts in 1988-89. During that time, he also worked as sports director at KSTP radio.

 

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.