NHL Capsules: Islanders draft Tavares No. 1 overall
MONTREAL - The New York Islanders kept everyone guessing, including John Tavares himself, right up until they made the high-scoring center the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft.
The Islanders chose Tavares, an 18-year-old junior star with the London Knights, with the first overall pick Friday night ahead of 6-foot-6, 220-pound Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman, the top-ranked European prospect.
The Tampa Bay Lightning took Hedman and the Colorado Avalanche followed with forward Matt Duchene, the first three selections going as expected.
The Philadelphia Flyers made the biggest trade of the night by acquiring All-Star defenseman Chris Pronger from Anaheim in a multi-player trade.
Tavares, a 6-foot, 185-pound native of Oakville, Ont., led the Ontario Hockey League with 58 goals this season and broke Peter Lee's 33-year-old league record of 213 career goals.
"He's an offensively gifted hockey player," Islanders general manager Garth Snow said. "Whether it's shooting the puck or distributing it, he sees the puck at a different level than any other young player that I've seen in this draft."
Snow kept the team's draft intentions a closely guarded secret right until he announced Tavares' name to the Bell Centre crowd. He was the team's fourth No. 1 pick overall, and the first since they made Rick DiPietro the first goalie selected first overall in 2000.
"Yeah, I had no idea, just like everybody else," Tavares said. "I didn't know what their decision would be but it was obviously a great moment for me, a special feeling."
Tavares' selection was immediately celebrated by Islanders fans, who were shown on the Bell Centre video scoreboard gathered for a team draft party at Nassau County Coliseum, the team's arena in Uniondale, N.Y.
"I didn't see it but I heard things and obviously they are really interested in having me, and I definitely have the support of the fans and the community - that's huge," Tavares said. "I'm very thankful to be going there and I appreciate the opportunity to be part of Long Island. It's going to be great and I can't wait to get things going knowing where it's headed. It's going to be a great future for all of us."
The expansion Islanders chose Billy Harris No. 1 overall in 1972 and followed that one year later by selecting Denis Potvin, a Hall of Fame defenseman who captained the team to four straight Stanley Cups from 1979-80 to 1982-83.
"We were focused as a group on getting the best available player, a player that's going to fit in well with the other building blocks that we have in the locker room," Snow said. "I'm happy that our fans are happy because that was a player that we had identified early on."
Snow also made a pair of deals with Columbus and Minnesota, packaging draft picks to trade up from a second first-round pick at 26th to the 12th choice overall, where he selected Oshawa Generals defenseman Calvin de Haan.
Hedman joins a Lightning squad that drafted center Steven Stamkos first overall last season.
"My goal is to play with the Tampa Bay Lightning next season," Hedman said. "I'm going to work hard this summer to make the team next year."
In exchange for Pronger and center Ryan Dingle, the Ducks reacquired right wing Joffrey Lupul and received defenseman Luca Sbisa along with two first-round draft picks and another conditional pick.
After Duchene was picked third by Colorado, his favorite team growing up, Atlanta selected center Evander Kane of the Vancouver Giants, followed by Los Angeles, which chose Brandon Wheat Kings center Brayden Schenn, the younger brother of Toronto defenseman Luke Schenn, who went fifth overall to the Leafs last year in Ottawa.
The embattled Phoenix Coyotes delivered the first surprise of the first round when they drafted Swedish defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson with the sixth pick.
Toronto GM Brian Burke was subjected to a chorus of boos from the Montreal Canadiens fans filling the upper reaches of the arena before he announced center Nazim Kadri, Tavares' Knights teammate, with the seventh selection.
Right wing Scott Glennie, Brayden Schenn's Brandon linemate, was chosen eighth by Dallas. Ottawa drafted 6-foot-5, 220-pound defenseman Jared Cowen of the Spokane Chiefs with the ninth pick, followed by Edmonton, which took Swedish center Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson to complete the top 10.
The Minnesota Wild, which dealt its No. 12 pick to the Islanders, made defenseman Nick Leddy of Eden Prairie, Minn., the top American drafted with the No. 16 selection, which they acquired from New York in their trade of draft picks along with the 77th and 182nd picks overall.
"You never really know what can happen but I'm just happy that they picked me and I can be one of the hometown guys," said Leddy, whose parents, Mike and Vicky, were on hand to share the moment as part of a group of about 10 family and friends.
Other U.S. prospects drafted early included 6-foot-2, 202-pound center Chris Kreider, a native of Boxford, Mass., selected 19th by the New York Rangers, defenseman John Moore of Chicago, taken 21st by Columbus, followed immediately by University of Minnesota center Jordan Schroeder, who was selected 22nd overall by Vancouver.
The Canadiens drew the loudest cheer of the evening when they selected center Louis Leblanc, a Montreal native, with the 18th pick.
The Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins capped the opening round with another roar from the crowd, selecting 6-foot-4, 205-pound defenseman Simon Despres to the delight of his considerable contingent of family and friends in the stands.
Wild go wild for local player
MONTREAL - Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher's first draft pick in his new job will make quite an impression with fans in the state.
After trading down from the 12th overall pick to No. 16, Fletcher chose defenseman Nick Leddy, who was Mr. Hockey in Minnesota last season.
Leddy is a puck-moving defenseman who led Eden Prairie high school to the big-school state championship last season.
"It's going to be awesome," Leddy said of joining the team that plays just about 20 minutes from where he grew up. "I've watched those guys my whole life."
Fletcher took over for the fired Doug Risebrough in May. Risebrough was often resistant to drafting Minnesota-born players, something that irked the passionate local fan base.
"It should be a source of pride for all the people in Minnesota," Fletcher said. "This is a homegrown kid. ... We judged him to be one of the best players in the world for kids under the age of 20.
"It should be a source of pride, but it certainly wasn't a determining factor."
BUSINESS AS USUAL
Don Maloney didn't allow himself to be distracted from the job at hand during the first round of the draft. Hours after Jerry Reinsdorf submitted a $148 million bid to purchase the Coyotes and keep them in Arizona, the team's general manager set about improving the roster.
"We have to do our job," he said. "If we do, it's a great sports town - people will show up, people will support us. We have to show them something too.
"We're happy we're still breathing and hopefully we can do some good things."
The Coyotes hope they made a step in that direction by selecting Swedish defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson sixth overall. He played for Leksand in his country's second division last season.
Ekman-Larsson will remain in Sweden next season and hopes to put on some muscle. He's currently 6-foot-2, 176 pounds.
"We've got to fatten him up," Maloney said.
The 18-year-old has no qualms about joining an organization in turmoil. The Coyotes filed for bankruptcy and nearly were sold and moved to Hamilton, Ontario.
"It's the biggest day of my life so far," said Ekman-Larsson.
Maloney was quick to caution that there are still some issues to be worked out before Reinsdorf's offer is accepted. The offer calls for a new Jobing.com Arena lease with the city of Glendale and unspecified new agreements with other creditors, including the NHL, which has been funding the club
Maloney's biggest task is finding a way to get the Coyotes into the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
"We have some holes that we think we can fill with some value players," he said.
Fans chanted "Hamilton! Hamilton!" as the Coyotes delegation went to the podium during the first round. Unlike past years, coach Wayne Gretzky wasn't part of the group on the stage.
Maloney indicated the coach's future with the franchise was no more uncertain than any other employee.
"He's a great hockey mind and we've got to get through this period," said Maloney. "Once the ownership gets here, then everybody will get together and talk and see what the future holds quite frankly for all of us, including Wayne."
HOMETOWN PICK
Fans at the Bell Centre erupted in cheers as the Canadiens selected local forward Louis Leblanc with the 18th overall pick Friday night.
Leblanc opted to skip major junior hockey and played last season in the U.S. Hockey League with Omaha, where he had 28 goals and 39 assists. He plans to attend Harvard in the fall.
The 6-foot, 178-pound forward is known as a hard worker with offensive skill.
He grew up in the Montreal suburb of Kirkland, and Montreal fans were thrilled to see the team select a French-Canadian in the first round, which they hadn't done since they chose Eric Chouinard in 1998.
"It was impressive," the 18-year-old said, looking nervous in his Canadiens jersey as he was beseiged by reporters. "I had goosebumps.
"They were my team growing up and to get to wear this jersey is unreal."
Leblanc helped Canada's under-18 team win gold at last summer's Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in the Czech Republic.
THE NEXT SAKIC?
During his childhood days, Matt Duchene had a fistful of heroes. Among them was Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche.
"I am a Montreal Canadiens fan, but I grew up really liking Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche as well," Duchene said. "He was kind of the guy that I liked before Sidney Crosby came along.
"Obviously, Sakic is still going strong in the NHL," said Duchene, a native of Haliburton, Ontario. "I think he's probably the biggest class act in the league. He's a great ambassador of the game as well."
The Avalanche took strides to bring the 18-year-old center together with Sakic by making Duchene their first-round choice and third overall pick in the draft.
"You look in my room, and I have the jerseys of Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy and Peter Forsberg and I had an inkling they would draft me," Duchesne said. "When the time came, I started getting excited and my heart started pounding."
Duchene had six winning goals last season and directed the Brampton Battalion to the Ontario Hockey League final.
"If I had one bad game or shift, I didn't get down on myself," he said. "I stayed confident, and that was the key."
Flyers get defenseman Pronger from Anaheim
PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Flyers made the biggest early splash at the NHL draft when they acquired star defenseman Chris Pronger on Friday.
Pronger and prospect Ryan Dingle went from the Anaheim Ducks to Philadelphia for forward Joffrey Lupul, defenseman Luca Sbisa, first-round picks in 2009 and 2010 and a conditional third-round pick in 2010 or 2011.
The 34-year-old Pronger, who had 11 goals and 37 assists in 82 games last season, is going into the final year of a contract that will pay him $6.25 million next season.
"I wouldn't say I'm surprised," Pronger said. "When you hear it persistently over and over again, you figure it's probably going to become reality and you start planning.
"I'm very excited. The fans are passionate about hockey. The style of play the Flyers play certainly fits mine. They've got some great young talent. I hope to help them win a Stanley Cup."
General manager Paul Holmgren said he targeted the 6-foot-6 Pronger because he wanted to add some intimidation to his defense.
"I think Chris Pronger is still one of the top defensemen in the league," Holmgren said. "I think he makes everyone around him better. He's a winner, he's won a championship. He's a tremendous character player, he works hard. I wanted a guy who would make life miserable for the other team. Chris is one of those guys."
Pronger was the second overall pick in the 1993 draft and broke into the league that year with the Hartford Whalers. He was traded to St. Louis after the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season and spent nine years with the Blues.
He was dealt to Edmonton in 2005 and helped the Oilers get to the Stanley Cup finals in 2006, where they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.
Pronger would get his championship the next season. The Oilers sent Pronger to the Ducks after he requested a trade, and Anaheim went on to win the 2007 Stanley Cup over the Ottawa Senators in five games.
In 1,022 career games, Pronger has 142 goals and 464 assists for 606 points.
Lupul, 25, returns to Anaheim after scoring 25 goals and 25 assists in 79 games with the Flyers last season. He'll make $4.25 million next season in the first year of a four-year contract extension he signed last July.
Lupul was taken seventh overall in the 2002 draft by Anaheim and broke into the league in 2003-04 with the Ducks, scoring 31 goals and adding 21 assists. He was traded to Edmonton in 2005, where he spent one season before being dealt to Philadelphia.
In 372 career games, Lupul has 102 goals and 109 assists.
The 19-year-old Sbisa was taken 19th overall by Philadelphia in the 2008 draft. The defenseman played 39 games with the Flyers last season.
Scott Niedermayer tells Ducks he'll be back
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Scott Niedermayer has told the Anaheim Ducks he intends to return next season.
The defenseman, who turns 36 in August, informed general manager Bob Murray of his decision Thursday evening. Murray called Niedermayer "irreplaceable" after the Ducks were eliminated by Detroit in the second round of this season's playoffs.
A Ducks spokesman said the team hopes to sign Niedermayer to a new contract soon.
Reinsdorf group offers $148 million for Coyotes
PHOENIX - A group led by Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has offered to buy the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes for $148 million and keep the team in Arizona.
The offer, submitted in bankruptcy court documents on Friday afternoon, is $64.5 million less than the bid by Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, who wants to move the franchise to Southern Ontario.
Reinsdorf's offer calls for a new Jobing.com Arena lease with the city of Glendale and unspecified new agreements with other creditors, including the NHL, which has been funding the club.
Friday was the deadline set by Judge Redfield T. Baum for potential buyers who would keep the team in Arizona to submit purchase applications to the NHL.
-- Andrew Bagnato
NHL veteran Lemieux becomes American citizen
PHOENIX - As he's done at NHL games for more than 20 years, Claude Lemieux put his hand on his heart Friday as he listened to the Star Spangled Banner.
But this time, Lemieux did it as an American citizen.
Holding a small American flag, the Canadian-born NHL veteran took the citizenship oath before a federal judge in Phoenix.
The 43-year-old with four Stanley Cup titles from three teams said he has no enmity toward Canada, but wanted to share citizenship with his family and vote in the country he has called home for 20 years.
"My wife and my children are all proud to be Americans," he said before the ceremony. "Today when we walk out we can all say we're Americans, and that means a lot to me and to them as well."
Three of Lemieux's four children are American citizens, he said. He lives with his second wife and their two children in the Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley.
The native of Buckingham, Quebec, left a five-year retirement in December to sign with the San Jose Sharks, where he had one assist in 18 games.
He is among the top 100 in career goals scored with 379 in 21 NHL seasons.
While playing for the New Jersey Devils, Lemieux won the 1994-1995 Conn Smythe Trophy, given to the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Montreal Canadians took Lemieux in the second round of the 1983 NHL draft, launching a career that took him to the Devils, the Colorado Avalanche and the Phoenix Coyotes before his temporary retirement.
A U.S. resident for 20 years, Lemieux was one of 99 people from 32 countries who took the citizenship oath at a federal courthouse Friday.
"There probably are a lot of people (in Canada) who will react negatively, and there are a lot of people who will understand and respect my decision," he said. "It has nothing to do with what I think about the great country where I was born."
Lemieux was unsure whether he would be able to retain his Canadian citizenship.
-- Jonathan J. Cooper
Red Wings wants new arena lease from city
DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings want a new deal to play at Joe Louis Arena.
The team says it will not exercise an option to renew its lease at the arena, but wants to continue talks with the city on a new deal. Ilitch Holdings Inc. President and Chief Executive Christopher Ilitch said Friday that the current lease is 30 years old and not competitive to other arena leases in the NHL or professional sports.
He says the team is looking for a new lease that is "fair and equitable for all parties."
The team had until next Tuesday to notify the city of its intentions before a 20-year option automatically kicked in.
Ilitch said the team will continue evaluating all options for a new arena.
