NHL Capsules: Rebuilt Blackhawks look to get tougher in 2011
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks hope to reclaim the Stanley Cup in 2011-12 by adding a splash of physical and experienced players to a core of younger and highly skilled stars.
And the look of the Blackhawks’ new lineup came into focus Friday as the team opened its sold-out annual convention at a downtown Chicago hotel.
Chicago held on to restricted free-agent left wing Michael Frolik by signing him to a three-year, $7 million contract, then signed unrestricted free-agent defenseman Sami Lepisto to a $750,000, one-year deal.
Frolik, 23, had three goals and six assists in 28 games with Chicago last season after being acquired from Florida in February. Lepisto, 26, had four goals and 12 assists in 70 games with Phoenix and Columbus.
Meanwhile, general manager Stan Bowman said the team would no longer attempt to re-sign restricted free agent defenseman Chris Campoli, who played well for Chicago after being acquired from Ottawa on Feb. 28.
Bowman had said he wanted to keep Campoli, a smooth-skating 26-year-old who had a goal and six assists in 19 games after arriving in Chicago. But Campoli wanted more money than the Blackhawks were willing to pay him in his role.
"It was apparent from the beginning that their salary demands were just not in concert with where we see him fitting in with our team," Bowman said. "He’s not going to be back with us."
The Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup in 49 years in 2010 with a quick, slick, high-scoring team. But they slipped badly last season and squeaked into the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.
Bowman began shaking up the team at the NHL draft late last month. He dealt defenseman Brian Campbell — and his $7.1 million annual salary — to Florida for forward Rostislav Olesz, and traded forward Troy Brouwer to Washington for a 2011 first-round draft pick.
A week later, Bowman acquired rugged, 31-year-old defenseman Steve Montador from Buffalo, then signed him to a four-year contract. Montador, who was set to become a free agent, had a career-best plus-16 rating with the Sabres, along with give goals and 21 assists.
When free agency opened on July 1, Bowman signed forwards Andrew Brunette, Jamal Mayers, Dan Carcillo and Brett McLean, and defenseman Sean O’Donnell.
Brunette, 37, has 706 points in 1,032 NHL games and could end up playing with some of the Blackhawks stars — including Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa — on one of the team’s top two lines.
Kane will have surgery on his left wrist but expects to be ready for the start of the season.
Mayers, Carcillo and O’Donnell are role players known for their physical styles. Carcillo, who earned the nickname "Car Bomb" with Philadelphia, also carries the tag of "agitator."
Bowman said his goal has been to make the Blackhawks "harder to play against," as well as a team that can alter the flow of a game with more than just offensive bursts.
"It seemed like if we scored a goal, we would be able to change the momentum of games, but it was our only mechanism to get going when things weren’t working from the start (last season)," Bowman said. "Sometimes you need to have other players that contribute different things.
"You need to be able to change the momentum, and that’s usually with guys who play a certain (physical) style. That’s why we’ve added all those payers while we’ve kept all our top guys."
Coach Joel Quenneville says he’s looking forward to deploying new options this season.
"We got some experience, some size, some toughness," he said. "We got a lot of guys with motivation behind as well.
"We’ve got a great core, and those (new) guys should complement our team and the game we’re looking to play."
The 39-year-old O’Donnell said he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help the Blackhawks back to the Cup.
"Anyway I can help the team do that, and get this team back on top, I would be happy to do," he said.
Devils sign 1st-round pick D Larsson
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The New Jersey Devils signed Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson, the No. 4 pick in last month’s NHL draft, on Friday to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello announced the deal during a conference call, hours before a league deadline for players under contract in Europe to sign in order to be eligible to play in North America in the upcoming season.
Lamoriello says Larsson, the top defenseman chosen in the draft, received a signing bonus but not any individual rookie bonuses.
"Getting a young player to understand and agree to (no rookie bonuses) and also his representation, this young man is as mature as he can get at his age," Lamoriello said of the 18-year-old Larsson. "He made a decision to forego all of those bonuses to get this signed, to get his career under way and to become a Devil and just get ready for training camp
Larsson will likely play in either the NHL or AHL this season.
"If that’s the best thing for his development," Lamoriello said. "If we thought that something else was, then we’d do that, but it’s our intention and it’s his intention to be in North America."
Larsson is the fifth player chosen in the first round to reach a deal with his new team.
Blackhawks star Kane has fractured wrist
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane has a fractured left wrist and will need six to eight weeks to recover.
The team disclosed the injury Friday, saying it was discovered recently during his offseason training. Blackhawks team Dr. Michael Terry said Kane will have surgery on Tuesday to repair a scaphoid fracture. Both Terry and Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said Kane is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp.
"It was a little sore, and he got it checked out and it was one of those things where it needed to be fixed," Bowman said. "You never want to have injuries, but if you’re going to have them, summertime is the best time." Kane apparently sustained the injury in the second-to-last game of the regular season.
He appeared in all of the Blackhawks’ seven playoff contests in a first-round loss to Vancouver, recording one goal and five assists.
"It was just one of those things that was kind of bothering me for a while," said Kane, who appeared at the Blackhawks’ annual convention on Friday with a cast on his left wrist and forearm. "I just wanted to get it checked out, hoping that doctors would tell me that it was bruised or sprained, and I would take a couple of weeks off and that would be it.
"You never like the idea of surgery, but it’s not something that’s going to affect my game once the season comes," he added. "It’s definitely something we wanted to fix and it’s good we’re doing it now."
Devils sign 1st-round pick D Larsson
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The New Jersey Devils have signed Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson, the No. 4 pick in last month’s NHL draft, to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello announced the deal during a conference call Friday, just hours before a league deadline for players under contract in Europe to sign in order to be eligible to play in North America in the upcoming season.
Lamoriello says Larsson, the top defenseman chosen in the draft, received a signing bonus but not any individual rookie bonuses. The 18-year-old Larsson is expected to play in either the NHL or AHL this season.
Larsson is the fifth player chosen in the first round to reach a deal with his new team.
Winnipeg adds Huddy, Flaherty, Borgford to staff
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — The Winnipeg Jets added Charlie Huddy, Wade Flaherty and Tony Borgford to their coaching staff Friday.
Huddy will be an assistant coach, a job he’s held in the NHL the last 12 years with the New York Rangers, Edmonton and Dallas. Huddy also spent 18 seasons in the league as a defenseman, winning five Stanley Cups with the Oilers.
Flaherty will be Winnipeg’s goalie coach after three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks. He appeared in 120 NHL games with San Jose, the New York Islanders, Tampa Bay, Florida and Nashville.
Borgford will keep his job as the club’s video coach after working with the Atlanta Thrashers since the team’s inception in 1999.
Hurricanes reach deals with 3 players
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes have reached deals with forward Chris Durno, left wing Brett Sutter and defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti for one-year contracts.
Durno, 30, signed a two-way deal for $525,000 on the NHL level and $105,000 on the American Hockey League level. There is a guarantee of at least $140,000 for the season.
Sutter, 24, re-signed for $525,000 on the NHL level or $75,000 in the AHL with a guarantee of at least $105,000.
Sanguinetti, 23, agreed to a deal that will pay him $600,000 in the NHL and $62,500 at the minor-league level.
Sabres agree to deals with Persson, Turnbull
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Sabres have reached agreements to re-sign defenseman Dennis Persson and forward Travis Turnbull each to one-year contracts.
Persson, the Sabres first-round pick in the 2006 draft, has spent the past two seasons in the minors. He has five goals and 21 assists for 26 points in 132 career games in the American Hockey League. Persson was called up to Buffalo three times last season, but did not play a game for the Sabres.
Turnbull has spent the past two-plus seasons in the minors. He missed 59 games last season due to a shoulder injury.
Capitals re-sign D Alzner to 2-year contract
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Defenseman Karl Alzner re-signed with the Washington Capitals on Friday, agreeing to a $2.57 million, two-year contract.
The 22-year-old Alzner will make $1.3 million next season and $1.27 in 2012-13 — salaries he figures are lower than perhaps he might have deserved.
"For me, personally, I think that there was a little left on the table," Alzner said in a conference call with reporters.
He played in all 82 games in 2010-11, his first full season in the NHL, with two goals, 10 assists and 24 penalty minutes.
"I knew there was probably a 98 percent chance I’d be back," said Alzner, taken by Washington with the No. 5 overall pick in the first round of the 2007 draft.
Still, he added, "It’s a big relief. I’m happy that it’s done."
Also Friday, the Capitals re-signed right wing Francois Bouchard to a one-year contract.
Bouchard had 12 goals and 12 assists in 74 games with the AHL’s Hershey Bears last season. He was a second-round draft pick in 2006.
