Murray, a native of Regina, Saskatchewan, has over 100 games of NHL experience split between Phoenix, Florida, Montreal and the New York Rangers. Murray was originally drafted by the Rangers in the 3rd round (79th overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Christensen, 25 (12/17/83), split the 2008-09 season with Anaheim and Atlanta, combining for 7-21=28 points with 20 penalty minutes (PIM) in 64 games. Christensen also appeared in eight Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Ducks, collecting 0-2=2 points.

McLeod, who turns 25 this Friday, scored 15 goals with five assists and 162 penalty minutes in 79 games during his second NHL season in 2008-09.  He was one of four NHL players with at least 15 goals and 150 PIM and became only the second player in Avalanche history to reach both marks in a single year (Chris Simon, 1995-96).  McLeod led Colorado with 194 hits and shared the club lead in game-winning goals with three.

Woods, 41, served as Hershey’s head coach last season and guided the Bears to a Calder Cup championship in six games against the Manitoba Moose. He was an assistant coach with the Bears and helped current Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau lead the Bears to a Calder Cup title in 2006. Woods was appointed head coach of the Bears when Boudreau was hired by the Capitals on Nov. 22, 2007.

Gelinas will be responsible for following and evaluating prospects drafted by Nashville. The Shawinigan, Quebec native will work with players on all levels throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, assisting them with their maturation process into an NHL player by focusing on nutrition, off-ice workouts and conditioning, practice habits and game performance.

Continue reading "Martin Gelinas Named Director of Player Development For Nashville"

Brown, 23 (6/24/85), appeared in 28 games for the Ducks in 2008-09, scoring 2-1=3 points with 60 penalty minutes (PIM). A native of Northbrook, IL, Brown made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in 2009, collecting 0-2=2 points with 25 PIM in 13 games against San Jose and Detroit. Acquired from Vancouver in exchange for defenseman Nathan McIver on Feb. 4, 2009, Brown earned 2-2=4 points with 145 PIM in 48 games overall with the Ducks and Canucks in 2008-09.

NEW YORK, N.Y. (June 8, 2009)-VERSUS, the exclusive cable television home of the National Hockey League (NHL), garnered a 2.8 national HH rating and averaged 3,448,431 viewers for its Game 4 telecast of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final on Thursday, June 4, when the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings at Mellon Arena to even the series 2-2.  The game, which peaked at a 3.4 HH rating between 10:15 and 10:30 p.m., was the highest-rated and most-watched Stanley Cup Final game on cable since 2002.  VERSUS, for the 8:00-10:45 p.m. time period, was the top-rated cable network in the country among all key male demos. 

Continue reading "Watching Versus Game 4"

Continue reading "Compuwars Is Sponsor For NHL Premiere Games"

McElhinney spent his first full season in the NHL during the 2008-09 campaign, and earned his first NHL win against the Edmonton Oilers.

“Greg has been a valuable and loyal member of our organization,” said Burke. “We appreciate the dedication of the Marlies’ coaching staff and we wish them well in their future endeavours.”

The Edmonton Oilers signed 2007 first round draft pick Alex Plante to an entry level contract on Thursday.

The Calgary Hitmen defenceman, who was drafted 15th overall, will collect an averge of $1.075 million over the course of the deal.

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Gustafsson, 19, is a 6’2”, 194-pound native of Karlskoga, Sweden, who spent most of this season with Bofors IK of Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan league, recording 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 25 games. He also played for his junior team, Frolunda, and recorded seven points (three goals, four assists) in five playoff games.

Gustafsson’s father, Bengt, played 629 games for Washington from 1979-89, recording 555 points (169 goals, 359 assists). He ranks fifth all-time in Capitals points and goals and sixth in assists.

Defenceman Erik Karlsson, the Ottawa Senators’ first-round pick in the 2008 entry draft, has signed an entry-level contract with the club.

Karlsson, 18, recently completed his second season with the Frolunda HC Indians of the Swedish Elite League, recording five goals and five assists in 45 games. He also added a goal and two assists in 11 playoff games.

Senators forward Dany Heatley, who’s playing for Canada at the IIHF World Hockey Championship in Switzerland, wasn’t surprised the Senators signed the promising blueliner.

“He’s a great offensive defenceman, I think it was just a matter of time before we signed him,” said Heatley. “I’m looking forward to seeing him at camp.”

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This past season, Dalton helped the 16th seed Bemidji State Beavers earn their first Frozen Four berth in school history and became the lowest seeded team to reach a Frozen Four in NCAA tournament history. In 31 games during the regular season, Dalton compiled a 19-11-1 record with a College Hockey America Conference best 2.19 Goals Against Average and a .921 Save Percentage.

The 22-year-old sophomore from Clinton, Ontario spent the 2005-2006 season with the Bozeman IceDogs of the North American Hockey League and the 2006-2007 season with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League before joining Bemidji State in for the 2007-2008 campaign.

Stastny, 26, has played in 34 games this season with the Blues, registering seven points (three goals, four assists) along with 20 penalty minutes.  He also recorded 19 points (12 goals, seven assists) and 21 penalty minutes in 30 regular season games with Peoria.  Stastny has four points (two goals, two assists) in three playoff games this season with the Rivermen and is looking to make his NHL postseason debut.

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed forward Colin Wilson, the club’s first choice (seventh overall) in the 2008 Entry Draft, to a three-year entry-level contract.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs continued to troll the free agent waters on Tuesday, signing prospect Robert Slaney to a three-year entry level contract.

Slaney, 20, just finished his fourth year as a member of the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, and was 10th overall in scoring for the season with 36 goals and 45 assists.

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Continue reading "Versus First Round Playoff Coverage"

In keeping with team policy, additional terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Pearce, 22, spent the past four seasons with Notre Dame of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. In 2008-09, he was a finalist for the CCHA player of the year. He finished the season 30-6-3 with a 1.68 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and eight shutouts.

He led the nation in wins and shutouts, was second in goals-against average, and fifth in save percentage. He was selected as the CCHA scholar-athlete of the year. Pearce backstopped the Irish to both the CCHA regular-season and playoff titles this season. He was also named the CCHA’s best goaltender in 2007-08.

Pearce is currently with the Grand Rapids Griffins on an amateur tryout. He is scheduled to backup goalie Jimmy Howard tonight when the Griffins face-off against the Hamilton Bulldogs at Van Andel Arena.