NHL Capsules: Team Alfredsson beats Chara in skills competition
OTTAWA (AP) — Patrick Kane's Superman cape and Zdeno Chara's blistering slap shot wasn't enough to beat Daniel Alfredsson and his team stocked with hometown favorites in the NHL All-Star skills competition Saturday night.
Team Alfredsson beat Team Chara 21-12, easily clinching the victory in the final-round shootout challenge. Alfredsson had one of his team's 10 shootout goals in outscoring Chara 10-3.
That was enough to get the hometown crowd on its feet, cheering on a Senators-stocked team that Alfredsson selected in the draft Thursday night.
"They can have as many showmanship points as they want, but they had some funny moments," Alfredsson said. "Obviously, the Chara slap shot was pretty spectacular, but I think we were steady. A lot of guys came through big for us. The goalies were really good in the shootout for us and it feels good to win it. It doesn't mean a whole lot, but still, you want to win."
Chara did break his own skills competition record for hardest shot with a blast at 108.8 mph. That bettered the mark of 105.9 he set in Raleigh last year.
"It's hard to believe," Calgary captain Jarome Iginla said. "I remember Al Iafrate was at 103 or something and that was a huge one. I remember I was so thrilled to break 100 once, 'Man!' We talk amongst us and when we break 100, we're all pretty happy. But now it doesn't even look that hard with 108."
The two teams will now face off Sunday in the All-Star game.
Chara gave his team a shot — literally and physically — by helping his team to a 3-2 win in the fifth round of the competition, cutting Alfredsson's lead to 11-9.
"I tried to do my best. Obviously I wanted to do it over here as well. I had great years in Ottawa and I'm happy I could do it," Chara said in an interview broadcast over the video scoreboard, which drew plenty of applause. Chara spent four seasons with the Senators before signing with the Bruins in 2006.
All four of Chara's shots actually bettered the record he set last year as well as his closest opponent, Team Alfredsson defenseman Shea Weber, whose best was 106 mph.
"It's a record that will be extremely hard for anybody else to beat — maybe himself," Alfredsson said.
Entertaining as the competition was for the soldout house, it was competing with troubling news regarding Sidney Crosby's status shortly after the event began. The Penguins announced that Crosby had a neck injury, which had fully healed, in addition to a concussion after he visited a doctor in California.
General manager Ray Shero said he was "optimistic" Crosby will play again this season after being limited to eight games.
Kane, the Blackhawks forward and Team Chara member, provided the entertainment value in the breakaway challenge. He wore Clark Kent glasses and had teammate Marian Hossa tie a Superman cape around his neck for Kane's second attempt. Kane's scored on his first shot, diving chest-first to the ice and using his left hand to glove the puck across to his stick to tap it in.
On his third chance, Kane used a mock puck shattered into pieces when he took a slap shot.
"I think it was fun. That's what these events are for, to be creative," Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos said. "Patrick Kane has a pretty creative personality, and we saw that tonight. You can see it in his play. He's one of the most exciting players in the game. Obviously, if you're going to do something like that, this is the event to do it, and the crowd seemed to like it."
Team Chara teammate Corey Perry also got a rise from the crowd by stopping at the blue line and throwing down his stick and gloves. He then pulled out a goalie ministick and drove in hunched over to deke past Blues goalie Brian Elliott.
"I didn't know where he was going to stop, if he was going to take off everything," Elliott said.
That wasn't enough to beat Kane in the only event that was determined by a fan vote. Kane earned 47 percent of the votes texted in, beating Perry who got 29 percent of the votes.
"He wouldn't tell me what he was going to do but he had some tricks up his sleeve," Perry said.
In the relay challenge, the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel showed remarkable skill in the passing portion, in being uncanny in their ability to thread a pass into nets spread across the neutral zone. And making the challenge even harder was that players had to flip the puck over a raised board laid across the ice to
Thanks in part to the Sedins, Team Alfredsson won both relays to score two points and earned an additional point finishing it in the fastest time — 2:08.376 — to build a 9-6 lead over Chara.
In selecting his team, Alfredsson made sure to have the home crowd on his side by not only picking his three Senators teammates, but also several players with Ottawa connections. That included Flyers forward Claude Giroux, who was greeted with a few cheers.
The loudest cheers came for Alfredsson, who was greeted by chants of "Alfie! Alfie! Alfie!" even before he stepped on the ice.
By comparison, Team Chara was certainly the "visiting" team, especially when featuring three members of Ottawa's provincial rival Toronto Maple Leafs. There were loud choruses of boos for Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and Dion Phaneuf.
NHL commissioner: Plan B for Coyotes is premature
OTTAWA (AP) — Price is not holding up the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes, and it's premature to discuss a Plan B for the franchise's future, according to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Speaking after the NHL's Board of Governors meeting on Saturday during the All-Star weekend in Ottawa, Bettman remained hopeful a deal can be reached with one of three prospective buyers to keep the league-controlled Coyotes in Glendale, Ariz.
"We hope, based on the things that are ongoing, to have a sale in place before the end of the season that would keep the team in Glendale," Bettman said. "I don't see any reason to discuss a Plan B at this point."
He disputed concerns raised by Glendale officials that the NHL's asking price — believed to be around $170 million — might be holding up the sale. Bettman said the price hasn't been an issue with any of the three groups interested in purchasing the team.
On other topics, Bettman acknowledged a longstanding rift between New Jersey Devils owners Jeff Vanderbeek and Ray Chambers. Describing the franchise as stable, Bettman said the NHL is attempting to resolve the dispute by having one or the other assume control.
As for labor talks, Bettman said he intends to open informal discussions with the NHL Players' Association soon, but adds no timetable has been set for formal talks. The current deal expires in September.
The Coyotes remain the NHL's most pressing concern. The league has been operating the club for the past two seasons, with Glendale kicking in $25 million in each of the past two years to help keep the team afloat.
Two groups known to have expressed interest in the Coyotes are one led by former San Jose Sharks president and CEO Greg Jamison, and another by Chicago sports mogul Jerry Reinsdorf. Without providing names, Bettman on Thursday revealed there is also a third group that's shown "serious" interest in the team.
Bettman on Saturday declined to shed any new light on the third group and who might be involved.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly described the third group as "legitimate."
"They've been working at it for a while," Daly said. "They've been spending money, they've been doing due diligence. So those are all positive signs. It doesn't mean they're going to buy the franchise so we'll see how it plays out."
Bettman said there's no timetable for completing a sale, and the commissioner also sent a message to any North American market interested in luring the Coyotes by saying the league's not making any assurances.
"We've told anybody in any market who's asked, who doesn't have a team, 'Don't do anything on planning on having a team because we're not making anybody any promises of anything,'" Bettman said.
Bettman didn't mention what communities he was referring to, but his statement came before a large contingent of French-Canadian media and amid speculation that Quebec City might be the latest Canadian city in line to regain a franchise after the Nordiques relocated to Denver in 1995.
The Jets returned to Winnipeg last summer after relocating from Atlanta.
The dispute among the Devils' owners has been growing for more than a year, which Bettman acknowledged has resulted in "some difficult consequences in terms of the operation of the club."
Bettman said the NHL is attempting to resolve the dispute. Without being specific, Bettman also said the league might have to consider other alternatives to handling the matter.
The owners have been at odds because they have different visions for the team. Vanderbeek had been adamant that he would keep part of the franchise.
On the bright side, Bettman said the sale of the St. Louis Blues to prospective buyer Tom Stillman is proceeding on track. Stillman is a Blues minority owner who has signed a purchase agreement to buy the franchise from Dave Checketts.
Bettman was optimistic the sale could be completed in "the not too distant future," but declined to provide a better timetable because of what he called the "magnitude" of the deal, and also because it requires NHL approval.
"We think it's on a timely track, so we're pretty optimistic that based on everything we're hearing, including from Tom, this should be a go," Bettman said.
As for labor talks, Bettman said the league is remaining patient in part because NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr is only entering his second year on the job and still assessing the needs of his members.
"We're ready and we have been ready, but the union has had some work to do," Bettman said. "We're being patient. I'm not concerned about the time frame."
Fehr spoke later and expects a timetable for talks to be established within the next few weeks. He prefers having players present at what he called "the really significant sessions" of labor talks, but said that doesn't mean negotiations will have to wait until the season's over.
Fehr is meeting with Bettman in Ottawa this weekend, though that's not unusual because he said the two meet regularly.
Bettman also announced next year's All-Star game will be held in Columbus, Ohio, on the final weekend of January.
-- John Wawrow
Columbus to host NHL All-Star game in 2013
OTTAWA (AP) — In a season in which very little has gone right for the Blue Jackets, general manager Scott Howson was able to deliver something positive: Columbus has landed the 2013 NHL All-Star game.
"We haven't had a lot of good news here since the season started. This is really a nice piece of news for us to start building some momentum," Howson said Saturday after attending the NHL Board of Governors meeting during the All-Star festivities in Ottawa.
"It's phenomenal for our market. It's phenomenal for our team," Howson said, noting the event will bring tens of millions of dollars to the city. "The attention it brings to your city, the attention it brings to your team, it just raises your profile. It's a tremendous event."
The Blue Jackets (13-30-6) entered the All-Star break with the NHL's worst record and have already gone through a coaching change after Scott Arniel was fired three weeks ago. And only the Tampa Bay Lightning (165) have allowed more goals this season than Columbus (163).
Commissioner Gary Bettman formally announced the Blue Jackets would host the game.
"We're looking forward to bringing our All-Star celebration to Columbus," Bettman said. "The Blue Jackets did a great job of hosting the NHL Draft in 2007, and I have no doubt they will raise the bar even higher when they welcome our All-Star celebration next January."
In their 11th NHL season, the Blue Jackets, who play in Nationwide Arena, had applied for hosting rights in 2013, 2014 or 2015. Next year's All-Star weekend will be Jan. 26-27 and will mark the third straight year a city has hosted the game for the first time. Raleigh, N.C., home of the Carolina Hurricanes, hosted the game last year and this year's game is Sunday in Ottawa.
"The Blue Jackets are honored to host the 2013 All-Star celebration in Columbus as we believe our city offers a truly unique setting for this special event," said Blue Jackets majority owner John P. McConnell. "As much as it is a showcase for the NHL's best players, it is also a celebration of hockey fans and having it in Columbus
-- John Wawrow
Penguins: Crosby dealing with neck injury
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby isn't just dealing with the lingering effects of a concussion. A California doctor says the Pittsburgh Penguins' star also is recovering from a neck injury. And Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, said he can't rule out the possibility that the injury could be to his vertebrae.
"There's been speculation that I really can't comment on at this point," Brisson said Saturday night at the All-Star game skills competition in Ottawa. "I can't rule it out. I don't know. I'm not a radiologist."
Brisson also said he didn't consider the findings to be a setback.
Crosby visited with neurological spine specialist Dr. Robert S. Bray in Los Angeles this week as he continues treatment for symptoms that resurfaced during a loss to Boston on Dec. 5.
The 2009 league MVP missed more than 10 months after sustaining head shots in consecutive games in early January 2011. He returned on Nov. 21 and had 12 points in eight games before the symptoms resurfaced following a physical game against the Bruins.
The team says Bray found Crosby did have a concussion after taking shots to the head in successive games last January. Bray also discovered an unspecified neck injury, though Bray told the team the neck injury is "fully healed."
The team said Bray's findings will be evaluated by independent specialists.
General manager Ray Shero said at the All-Star game in Ottawa that Crosby had returned from California and that he was "optimistic" Crosby will play again this season.
"He's back in Pittsburgh now, hopefully we'll see next week where he is and we'll get the reports from California and compare notes to what's been done so far," Shero said.
Brisson said Crosby both looked and felt good while skating on his own last week, but there's no timetable as to when the player might be ready to play.
"Sidney's doing his best to be back playing as quick as he can and first of all safe," Brisson said. "His goal is to play hockey, and he'll play. The sooner the better."
The Canadian web site sportsnet.ca, citing unidentified sources, reported Crosby visited with a doctor in Utah, where an MRI revealed an abnormality in two vertebrae in Crosby's neck.
The 24-year-old Crosby acknowledged earlier this month he was still experiencing headaches and motion problems. He traveled to Atlanta recently to visit with Dr. Ted Carrick, a chiropractic neurologist who successfully treated Crosby last summer.
Crosby has been cleared for light exercise and skated with his teammates during a road trip through Florida two weeks ago.
The Penguins entered the All-Star break on a seven-game winning streak. Pittsburgh returns to practice Monday and will host Toronto on Tuesday night.
The team has stressed Crosby will not play until he is ready.
"The thing with Sidney is we want to continue to look to see how we can get this under control and manageable so he can return to play," Shero said. "As I said before he's not (playing) until those symptoms resolve but hopefully have him back at some point here soon."
-- Will Graves
