NHL Capsules: 'Risky,' ‘reckless' Ovechkin suspended 2 games

ARLINGTON, Va. — Alex Ovechkin’s latest on-ice indiscretion netted him a two-game suspension, a sore right knee and a new level of concern from his coach about his "pretty reckless" ways.

The league’s reigning two-time MVP was suspended for two games without pay by the NHL on Tuesday for a knee-to-knee hit on defenseman Tim Gleason in Monday night’s 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Ovechkin’s first NHL suspension will cost him $98,844.16 in salary. He’ll sit out Thursday against Florida and Saturday at Philadelphia, although his sore knee might have kept him out of one of the games anyway.

"I regret that this has happened," Ovechkin said in a statement released by the team. "I’m glad that Tim wasn’t injured because I never ever want to see anyone get hurt."

The initial concern was Ovechkin would be sidelined longer — with a serious knee injury. The hit on Gleason was scary, but the Russian forward was back on the ice Tuesday morning in a red Capitals track suit about 25 minutes before the start of practice. He skated for less than five minutes but did not move at full speed. The Capitals said he was day to day with a sore knee.

"It’s not a bad injury," Ovechkin said. "I thought it was going to be worse, but thank God I can walk, I can skate. Of course, it’s a little bit sore, but it’s not that serious."

Ovechkin was given a 5-minute major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct for the hit on Gleason, the second time in three games he’s been ejected. Last week he was whistled for a 5-minute boarding major and game misconduct for a hit on Patrick Kaleta of the Buffalo Sabres.

Before hearing of the suspension, Ovechkin tried to plead his case. He said he didn’t have time to pull back when Gleason changed directions while attempting to push the puck out of the Hurricanes’ zone.

"I can do nothing about it," Ovechkin said. "It’s just a moment of the game. I turned and realize I don’t have time to stop."

Ovechkin was more defiant when asked about his style of play. No one scores goals better, but he also loves to hit. He leads the Capitals with 18 goals, 30 points — and 44 penalty minutes. He missed six games earlier this season with an upper body injury, the first time in his career he’s had an injury that cost him more than one game.

"I just play my game and I just enjoy my time and I enjoy my life," Ovechkin said. "It’s me, and it is what it is."

"I play risky," he said. "I won’t try and hit and make some people get hurt, but people sometimes turn right away and I don’t have time to realize and stop. What can you do? You can do nothing."

Coach Bruce Boudreau isn’t so sure anymore. After two years of essentially letting Ovechkin be Ovechkin, Boudreau said it might be time for a heart-to-heart talk.

"He’s pretty reckless," he said. "It’s hard telling a guy that scores 60 goals a year to change the way he plays. At the same time, I don’t want to see him getting hurt. Maybe he has to pick his spots a little better. The open-ice hits, you just look around the league. It’s not only the hitter, it’s the guy that gets hit. ... It’s something that will have to be addressed by us, I guess. ... Not only as a coach, but as somebody who admires him, I just don’t want him to put himself in harm’s way, so we’ll see."

Boudreau said Ovechkin isn’t trying to play dirty.

"Alex plays hard," Boudreau said. "All the time. I don’t think there’s a malicious bone of him trying to hurt anybody. He just plays hard and he plays to win every shift. And it’s a really fine line between taking that away from him, and I don’t see how you can take it away other than talking to him and saying, ‘We don’t want to put you in that situation any more.’ But when he gets out there, he just wants to win so badly he does whatever we can for that team to succeed."

Sale of Canadiens to Molson brothers approved

MONTREAL — With their 100th anniversary only days away, the Montreal Canadiens are under new ownership, led by a familiar name with city roots more than twice the team’s age.

The Molson family won approval of their purchase of the storied franchise from the NHL board of governors Tuesday, becoming the fourth group of Molsons to own the club since the 1950s.

Geoff Molson and brothers Andrew and Justin are the lead investors in a partnership group that reportedly paid $575 million for the Canadiens, the Bell Centre — the team’s 21,273-seat downtown arena — and the Gillett Entertainment Group, a concert promotion company.

"We’re really proud to be here today as the new owners," said Geoff Molson, who will be the chairman and chief executive officer. "We’re part of the seventh generation of the Molson family that has been in this city for 223 years. We’re young and we’re ambitious and we’re really looking forward to being part of this."

George Gillett Jr., who bought the team and the arena for $275 million in 2001, put the team up for sale in the spring. The Colorado-based businessman co-owns Liverpool of the English Premier League and he and his partner, Tom Hicks, are looking for investors to inject new capital in order to reduce the soccer club’s debt load.

When the Molson company put the Canadiens up for sale eight years ago, no local buyer was willing to risk what was deemed a steep price for a team that paid most of its expenses in U.S. dollars but took in what were then weak Canadian dollars at the gate.

The opportunity to regain control of the team proved compelling to a new generation of Molsons.

"It’s been five decades we’ve been involved with this team," Molson said. "It’s in our soul, it’s in our blood, and we always wanted to once again become the owners of this team."

The Canadiens have won a record 24 Stanley Cups since they were founded on Dec. 4, 1909, including their first in 1916 as an original member of the National Hockey Association, the NHL’s predecessor. They will celebrate their 100th anniversary on Friday when they host the Boston Bruins.

"As owners, we will be right there with management and the team, building and battling toward our next Stanley Cup," Molson said.

The Molson group also bought the 19.9 percent held by the Molson-Coors brewery, which will remain a sponsor.

Molson said the decision to invest family money directly in the team was a popular one within the clan.

"The support system has been great," Molson said. "We have a big family, as you can imagine. We’ve been in Canada for a long time and I’ve been well surrounded by all of my family members."

The ownership group includes Bell, Canada’s largest communications company, and the Woodbridge Company, owned by the Thomson family, which controls Thompson Reuters. Both have large stakes in CTVglobemedia (Bell 15 percent, Woodbridge 40 percent), whose television holdings include TSN and its French-language cousin RDS, which broadcasts Canadiens games.

Others in the group are the Quebec Labour Federation solidarity fund; Michael Andlauer, a French-born, Montreal-raised businessman who owns the Canadiens’ top farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs; and Luc Bertrand, former head of the Montreal Stock Exchange. Two-thirds of the partnership is based in Quebec.

The National Bank Financial Group is a participant and is leading the banking syndicate, which includes the Desjardins Group and Scotiabank.

Bruins ink F Marc Savard to 7-year extension

BOSTON — The Bruins have signed forward Marc Savard to a seven-year contract extension that would keep him in Boston through the 2017 season. Financial terms of the deal, announced Tuesday, were not disclosed.

Savard scored 25 goals with 63 assists last year and led the Bruins in scoring for the third straight year since he signed as a free agent in the summer of 2006. He also led the team in playoff scoring the past two years while making the last two All-Star Games.

Savard has twice finished in the league’s top 10 in scoring with at least 95 points. He has four goals and six assists this season.

Savard will be approaching his 40th birthday when the contract expires.

D Klesla out a month with possible torn groin

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed Rostislav Klesla on injured reserve after the defenseman sustained a lower body injury in a game against St. Louis.

Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson announced the move on Tuesday.

Klesla was injured in a mid-ice collision with the Blues’ Barret Jackman during the first period of the Blue Jackets’ 5-2 victory Monday night. He is believed to have torn a groin muscle and is expected to be sidelined for at least a month.

Klesla lay on the ice for 5 minutes and did not put any weight on his left leg when he was helped off.

Columbus brought up defenseman Mathieu Roy from the team’s AHL affiliate in Syracuse to replace Klesla.

Wild’s Miettinen recovered from swine flu

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild are beginning to get healthier.

Right wing Antti Miettinen has returned after missing the last three games with what was diagnosed as swine flu. Coach Todd Richards said Tuesday he believes Miettinen will play Wednesday against Nashville.

Right wing Martin Havlat has missed the last four games because of a hamstring injury and defenseman Marek Zidlicky was out of the last game due to an upper-body injury. But both players are expected to play against the Predators.

Defenseman Kim Johnsson is questionable for Wednesday. The Wild are still missing three players including defenseman Brent Burns with concussion symptoms.

Sharks claim defensman Jay Leach off waivers

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks have claimed defenseman Jay Leach off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens.

General manager Doug Wilson says the move Tuesday will add depth to San Jose’s defense. Leach has played in seven games with Montreal this season, posting five penalty minutes and an even rating.

In 35 career NHL games with Montreal, New Jersey, Tampa Bay and Boston, Leach has one assist and 33 penalty minutes.