NHL News and Notes | Suite101.com

Posted by
Heather Engel
Aug 17, 2009

Welcome to the Suite101 Hockey blog. Here you’ll find quick news snippets, rumor, a round-up of links from the media outlets covering the NHL and its teams, and more.

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And with that, let’s get down to business.

While all the gathered players were anxious to hit the ice for their first day together as potential United States Olympians at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver in February, media gathered at the Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodbridge, Illinois for the first press conference of the mini-camp, where Patrick Kane would make a statement on his arrest – along with his cousin – last week in his hometown of Buffalo.

Kane’s appearance at the podium was brief, maybe a minute, if that long, and no questions were asked. He informed the media that due to the pending legal proceedings, he couldn’t discuss anything further on the incident and offered an apology.

“Because I put myself in being in the wrong position at the wrong time, I've caused a lot of pain for family, my hometown of Buffalo, the city of Chicago, the Chicago Blackhawks and obviously the great fans we have here in Chicago. And for that part, I sincerely apologize,” he said.

Team USA Director of Communications Dave Fischer and General Manager Brian Burke made it be noted that the Monday morning press conference would be the first and last discussion of the incident over the course of the three-day camp.

Winter Classic 2010 Ticket Information

The NHL sent out a media advisory stating it would make an important announcement regarding the 2010 Winter Classic in Boston on Monday, August 17 around noon. Many believed the league would give details on when fans can buy the likely few tickets that will be available.

And they did. Well, kind of; it takes a few clicks to get that info. The announcement itself that was posted on NHL.com was for fans to sign up for Winter Classic email alerts. That news story brings you to a page to choose your country (Canada and the US only). Both pages have a small field to enter your email address, above which it mentions that the ticket draw contest opens to the general public on September 15th at 12 PM (noon) EDT.

If you click on the link for information for the US, below the main image is a link to the press release on the ticket draw registration. The link to information for Canada features the usual small print below the image, and a link to the contest rules.

Free Agents Still Available

Here’s a list of some of the names still on the market (in alphabetical order) as of the morning of August 17. It’s a mix of mid-range talents, players at the tail end of their careers, and others who have yet to put up the points to match the dollars they’re likely seeking.

Maxim Afinogenov
Derek Armstrong
Marc-André Bergeron
Todd Bertuzzi
Blair Betts
Radek Bonk
Francis Bouillon
Kyle Calder
Mike Comrie
Mathieu Dandenault
Marc Denis
Greg de Vries
Steve Eminger
Robert Lang
Manny Malhotra
Dominic Moore
Rob Niedermayer
Michael Peca
Taylor Pyatt
Miroslav Satan
Dennis Seidenberg
Martin Skoula
Mats Sundin (Quite a change from last summer when his future was all the buzz)
Petr Sykora
Alex Tanguay
Kevin Weekes
Nikolai Zherdev