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Bay Area News Group

Posted: 07/17/2013 05:29:03 PM PDT

Updated: 07/17/2013 05:29:05 PM PDT

SAN JOSE -- Owen Nolan and Evgeni Nabokov head a list of San Jose Sharks alumni expected to play in a charity exhibition game Friday at Sharks Ice in San Jose.

Others former Sharks expected to play against the Russia Gazprom Export are Curtis Brown, Alex Korolyuk, Dave Maley and Andrei Zyuzin. Former NHL players for the Russian team will include Alex Kovalev, Alexei Yashin, Valeri Bure and Andrei Kovalenko. Phil Esposito will drop the first puck.

The game will begin at approximately 6 p.m., with warmups at 5:30.

San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 07.18.2013

714568 San Jose Sharks

Pavelski contract talks haven't been extensive

July 17, 2013, 3:00 pm

Staff

The Sharks and Joe Pavelski are currently discussing a contract extension for the 29-year-old forward, but nothing is imminent, Pavelski’s agent Dan Plante indicated to CSNCalifornia.com.

Appearing on Yahoo! Sports Talk Live on July 10, Sharks general manger Doug Wilson said negotiations with Pavelski began “basically the same time as Logan [Couture’s]." Couture agreed to a five-year, $30 million contract extension with the Sharks on June 17.

Pavelski enters the final year of a four-year, $16 million contract in 2013-14.

The two sides were expected to meet in Chicago in the near future according to Wilson, but now those meetings aren’t expected to take place due to the "timing of things." Still, “we will get something figured out I am sure,” Plante said.

Pavelski was tied for third on the Sharks in scoring in 2013 with 31 points (16g, 15a), and led the team in scoring in the playoffs with 12 points (4g, 8a). In 2011-12, he broke the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career and tied for the team lead with Couture with 31.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.18.2013

714569 Toronto Maple Leafs

Leaked schedule suggests NHL returning to Olympics

By: Kevin McGran Sports reporter, Published on Wed Jul 17 2013

If the NHL goes to Sochi, the league will take a 17-day break to accommodate the Winter Olympics, the Star has learned.

A source told the Star that a leaked copy of the Florida Panthers’ 2013-14 NHL schedule suggests the league is going to take time off in February to accommodate the Games.

The Panthers are not commenting on the schedule that is making its way through Twitter but a copy of it was obtained by the Miami Herald.

On it, the Panthers play Feb. 7 and then again Feb. 27.

The NHL is expected to announce its participation in the Olympics this week and release a full schedule.

The Olympics announcement had been expected on Monday. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Star it could come any day this week.

It is quite possible the NHL has two schedules on the go, one that would accommodate the Olympics and one that would have no Olympic participation if an agreement can’t be reached with the International Ice Hockey Federation and the International Olympic Committee.

One of the big disagreements is NHL access to highlights from the Olympics featuring NHL players.

Toronto Star LOADED: 07.18.2013

714570 Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL headshot rule not working: study

By: Theresa Boyle Health, Published on Wed Jul 17 2013

The NHL’s three-year-old rule on illegal hits to the head isn’t working and tougher sanctions are needed to reduce concussions, concludes new research led by Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital.

The study, published online Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE, found that the number of head injuries has actually increased since the rule that made targeting an opponent’s blindside illegal came into effect in the 2010-2011 hockey season.

“It is very clear that we haven’t come very far. The problem is still a huge problem and it hasn’t had the effect that people were hoping it would,” said lead author and neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Cusimano.

During the 2009-2010 hockey season — a year before the controversial Rule 48 came into force — there were 77 concussions, suspected concussions and facial fractures, the study found. But the following season, that number jumped to 120, and the season after, it increased even more — to 126.

Researchers looked at data from official game records and team injury reports.

They also found that more than 64 per cent of concussions were caused by bodychecking, while only 28.4 per cent of events that led to concussions were called “illegal,” resulting in the aggressor being given a penalty, fine or suspension.

“These professionals are in an occupation where we know there is a high risk, and we know that there is something that could be done to reduce that risk. As a doctor, I have to say something about that because those people end up being my patients,” Cusimano said.

Cusimano said Rule 48, which was amended in 2011-2012 to encompass all intentional hits to the head, is open to too much interpretation and clearer language is needed. For example, it states that checks to the head are illegal if the head is targeted and/or is the principal point of contact.

Cusimano said it would make more sense if it stipulated as illegal any manoeuvres leading to injury of a player’s head.

It also needs to come with a harsher penalty — to both the offending player and his team, he said, adding that two minutes in the penalty box is insufficient.

“If someone takes a person’s head out in soccer, they are usually ejected from the game and the team has to play with one fewer player for the whole game. That is an example where there is a severe penalty and the team feels it as a whole,” he said.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said officials from the league wanted to take a close look at the study before commenting.

Jonathan Weatherdon, spokesperson for the NHL Players’ Association, said his organization wanted to do the same.

Cusimano said he hopes the new evidence will lead to some positive changes.

“It’s time to do something about this so next year or the year after we don’t see another group of players sustain (concussions) needlessly,” he said.

Tougher rules for NHL players would end up protecting younger players as well, Cusimano said.

“There is a spillover effect on hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of kids …. Those kinds of rules are often adopted by other hockey leagues because they want to emulate the pros,” he said.

Asked why he thought concussions had increased since the rule came into effect, Cusimano said that could be explained by natural statistical variations. The important thing, he said, is that number of concussions didn’t decline.

Toronto Star LOADED: 07.18.2013

714571 Toronto Maple Leafs

New head of MLSE determined to drag Leafs out of the past

Michael Traikos | 13/07/17 | Last Updated: 13/07/17 8:35 PM ET

It has been 46 long years since the Maple Leafs won their last Stanley Cup. Tim Leiweke, the new head of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, would sooner stop dwelling on that, along with the team's other past glories.

Peter Redman/National PostIt has been 46 long years since the Maple Leafs won their last Stanley Cup. Tim Leiweke, the new head of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, would sooner stop dwelling on that, along with the team's other past glories.

Wally Stanowski is 94 years old, but his memory still works like a steel trap. Ask him if he remembers the two Stanley Cups he won with the Maple Leafs, and the oldest living member of the team starts reciting the odd speech that Conn Smythe gave after Toronto lost the first three games to Detroit in the 1942 final.

“Smythe said the little man wanted you to win,” Stanowski said with a laugh. “The little man from up north and from the west and from the east. That was who we were fighting for. And we came back and won four straight.”

Those were wonderful times, he said. They were times to be remembered, honoured and cherished.

And for the past 70 or so years they have been. But if Tim Leiweke has his way, that will soon change. The recently hired head of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment no longer wants to sell the team on the past. He wants to put it in a time capsule and bury it in the sand.

“I don’t want the players walking in the hallways of the Air Canada Centre and seeing pictures from 1962,” Leiweke told Bloomberg News earlier this week. “Get rid of those pictures and tell (the players), ‘This is your legacy.’ ”

Leiweke’s point is that rather than dwelling on the black-and-white memories of a six-team league, the franchise should be focused on making its own history. That is what he did in Los Angeles, where he celebrated six combined championships with the NBA’s Lakers and NHL’s Kings.

It is, of course, a line of thinking that runs the risk of alienating not only alumni but also fans whose love affair with the team is passed from generation to generation.

“You want my opinion on it? Well, I think he’s lost his brain,” says Stanowski. “You can’t bury the past.”

You want my opinion on it? Well, I think he’s lost his brain. You can’t bury the past

To Stanowski, it sounds a lot like when Harold Ballard sold the old Cup banners that used to hang from the rafters of Maple Leafs Gardens. But to Dick Duff, who won championships with Toronto in 1962 and 1963, it sounds like a team that simply wants to look forward and start creating its own memories.

“It’s a new time and maybe they can add to that wall or put something up,” Duff said. “It would be nice if they could. It was nice to have our time and hopefully these guys can make it their time.”

As good as the past has been, you have to travel back to 1967 to find anything worth remembering. This is not the Montreal Canadiens, who have won 10 Stanley Cups in the expansion era, the last two in 1985 and 1993. The Leafs’ recent history has seemed more like an anchor than a motivator to players.

“It has been since the ’60s that they had those four terrific teams,” said Pat Quinn, who began his playing career with the Leafs and later coached and managed the team. “Since that time, we’ve had some good times in Toronto and some not-so-good times. But you’re asking the wrong guy. I was coach and manager, not decorator.”

Former GM Brian Burke often told players that they did not have to answer for the years that came after 1967. At the same time, he and former coach Ron Wilson still understood the role that the franchise played in the city and the NHL. Wilson used to quiz players on Leafs history and both made it clear that the Maple Leaf on the front of the jersey was not just another logo.

“Burke invited me to drop the puck there two years ago,” says Stanowski. “He’s the only one who tried to do something. I admired him.”

Those invites might be less frequent with Leiweke in charge. But if the trade-off is an invitation to a Stanley Cup parade, fans — and alumni — might not mind.

“Tim’s a sharp guy,” Quinn said. “He had a lot to do with the building of that L.A. franchise, so he might have some good thoughts there. Maybe you do cut the (cord).”

National Post LOADED: 07.18.2013

714572 Toronto Maple Leafs

Under-the-radar prospect Petter Granberg makes an impression on Leafs

Michael Traikos | 13/07/17 | Last Updated: 13/07/17 2:59 PM ET

TORONTO — Shortly after their prospects camp ended last week, Toronto Maple Leafs director of scouting Dave Morrison sent out an email to coaches and management within the organization to share his excitement regarding the team’s drafted players.

Two weeks later: The Toronto Maple Leafs

“You’d be happy with what you saw here,” he wrote.

One player, in particular, stood out. He was steady in his own end, physical when he needed to be and generally looked like a man among boys. According to Morrison, he was about as NHL-ready as they come.

No, he was not talking about Morgan Rielly. While the fifth-overall selection of the 2012 draft has a legitimate shot at making the team out of training camp, another lesser-known defenceman might actually be what head coach Randy Carlyle is looking for to fill out the his top six.

His name is Petter Granberg. And if you do not yet know the name, you soon will. Granberg, who turns 21 next month, has won a world junior championship, a world hockey championship and a Swedish Elite League title with Skelleftea, all in the last 18 months. He is looking to build on that success with the Leafs.

“I think Petter’s going to put himself in that position,” Morrison said. “How soon is tough to tell, because until he actually gets into North American action, you just don’t know. I would say all the ingredients are there to get there, so it might not take long at all.

“Put it this way: he was on the top pairing with [Alex] Edler [against Canada at the world championship] and they played most of the game against [Steven] Stamkos’s line.”

Until he actually gets into North American action, you just don’t know. I would say all the ingredients are there to get there, so it might not take long at all

Granberg, who Morrison calls a “meat and potatoes” type player, is built in the same mold as former Leaf Luke Schenn. There is nothing flashy about his game. He will not rush the puck up the ice or skate out of a position to deliver a big hit. But the 6-foot-3, 209-pound defender, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, is someone coaches can trust to defend a one-goal lead and make life miserable for opposing forwards.

During the world tournament in May, when he was the second-youngest player on Sweden’s roster, Granberg was used in a shutdown role. In last week’s prospects camp, he was paired with Rielly in scrimmages, and the two were the perfect combination of skill and strength.

“I like the physical game. It’s no problem to me,” Granberg said. “I like to be the hardest player to play against. But it’s a different game on the small rinks, so you have to adapt.”

The transition from playing in Europe to North America could take time. For that reason, it is likely that Granberg will start the season with the Toronto Marlies. But with the Leafs looking to offset the amount of puck-movers on the roster, do not be surprised if he finds a way onto the roster.

I like to be the hardest player to play against. But it’s a different game on the small rinks, so you have to adapt

Carlyle prefers low-risk defencemen he can trust. It is the reason why Mark Fraser, Mike Kostka and Korbinian Holzer all won spots in the lineup ahead of Jake Gardiner and John-Michael Liles, and the reason Rielly, another offensive defenceman, might be returned to junior this season to round out his game and get more experience.

If that happens, Granberg could be the stay-at-home type Carlyle is seeking.

“Petter is a PK guy, he’s 5-on-5, 4-on-4,” said Jim Hughes, the Leafs director of player development. “He’s a pure defender.”

National Post LOADED: 07.18.2013

714573 Winnipeg Jets

Tangradi planning to up his totals

By: Tim Campbell

Posted: 07/17/2013 1:00 AM

With a whole run of newness behind him, left-winger Eric Tangradi is sure he'll be a more relaxed and confident player when he returns to the Winnipeg Jets this fall.

The 24-year-old from Philadelphia, acquired by the Jets from Pittsburgh early in the shortened 2013 season, will do so with a new two-year contract signed on Tuesday.

The restricted free agent, who had filed for salary arbitration, got his first-ever one-way deal, to pay him $650,000 next season and $700,000 in 2014-15.

"Absolutely, I think I can do that," Tangradi said Tuesday, asked if he's got more in him than the one goal and four points he registered for Winnipeg in 36 games of mostly a fourth-line role.

"I think I've built a foundation as far as being a big, strong power forward and now the next step is to put the puck in the back of the net.

"I had a lot of chances to do so last year. I think I put pressure on myself to do it."

Talking about his challenge ahead, Tangradi sounded pretty focused on Tuesday.

"As far as the summer goes, I'm doing a lot of shooting and I want to be more consistent," he said. "With a year under my belt there, I think it will help me and I won't stress over whether they all go in. I'm pretty confident I'll be more relaxed when it comes to that."

He said he was eager to return.

"After the way things went in Winnipeg, I wanted to return from the day I left at the end of the season," Tangradi said. "I was eager to jump back on board.

"Sometimes these things take a little time, but I'm glad it's done, whether it was right after the season or today."

Also Tuesday, the Jets announced they had come to an agreement with restricted free-agent centre Patrice Cormier, who had 10 games with the Jets last season but has managed only 40 NHL games in his injury-delayed career.

The 2008 second-round draft pick by New Jersey, traded to Atlanta in the Ilya Kovalchuk trade, missed nearly half the 2012-13 AHL season with St. John's while injured.

Tuesday's deals leave Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff still with restricted free agents Zach Bogosian, Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler, Anthony Peluso, Paul Postma and Zach Redmond to sign.

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 07.18.2013

714574 Winnipeg Jets

Never, ever give up the dream

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 07/17/2013 1:00 AM

AT 22, University of Alaska-Anchorage forward Matt Bailey is emphatic he still wants to be a pro hockey player.

So the undrafted right-winger from Oakbank is attending an NHL development camp for the second straight summer --last year in Washington and this time with the hometown Winnipeg Jets.

"I think the biggest thing for me is just learning," Bailey said Tuesday at the MTS Iceplex. "I feel like I've still got some room to grow and every opportunity I get to continue my growth and learn as a player is great. At the same time, it's nice to see how you match with some of these guys, and also get to meet the GM and some of the coaches."

Bailey is doing a couple of summer courses towards his marketing degree but will return for his senior year in Anchorage.

"Graduating means a lot more to me now," Bailey said. "You don't appreciate that as much when you're a freshman or sophomore. Now that I'm close, it'll be good to have that degree in my back pocket."

The industrious winger, who had seven goals and 19 points last season, returns to a program that has a new coach, Matt Thomas, and hopes it is past some controversy.

Bailey is enthusiastic for the coming year, in part because he's become a big fan of Anchorage.

"Lots of new changes in Alaska and everyone's pretty excited about it," he said. "Anchorage is beautiful. It's probably not what most Canadians would think of when you think Alaska. It's a city of about 300,000, on the coast, the winters are mild -- you don't even have to plug in your car. I've had a great experience there."

Some chow, some chatter

ON-ICE evaluation is always taking place but at the summer development camp, the man running the practice part of the prospects' day reiterated Tuesday that the Jets are stressing support system this week and not just performance.

St. John's IceCaps coach Keith McCambridge said Tuesday the week is about: "An opportunity to skate around the ice and an opportunity to sit during dinner, just get to know the players."

He said several times during an interview Tuesday that it's important to keep in mind that July is different than December or February for players and coaches.

"I'm being very aware that it is the middle of summer and that Player A, he might have been on the ice for two weeks and Player B, maybe just a couple of days before," McCambridge said, noting that the players looked much fresher Tuesday, since Monday's on-ice session came after a morning of rigorous fitness testing.

Still, the once-a-day on-ice sessions are not simply a recreational skate, McCambridge said.

"To work on a skill set," he said, asked for the point of the practices. "To define exactly how we want defencemen to read whenever they have pressure on the blue-line."

The Jets also announced Tuesday that they have new AHL contracts with Yasin Cisse, 21, Will O'Neill, 25, Blair Riley, 27, and Ryan Schnell, 24, for the 2012-13 IceCaps.

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 07.18.2013

714575 Winnipeg Jets

Sitting pretty between pipes

By: Tim Campbell

Posted: 07/17/2013 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 07/17/2013 9:07 AM | Updates

Heisinger high on goalies of future

FOR those who know him, Jets assistant GM Craig Heisinger is a realist's realist, someone who's tempered about games and players.

But even he likes what he sees in the stable of Jets prospect goalies.

"I think we have some depth in goal coming," he said. "It looks like it. I don't think it's Connor (Hellebuyck) alone. Connor's team might have been a little more high-profile. But I think there's a foundation that we're trying to build with goalies."

CONNOR HELLEBUYCK

Age: 20

2012-13: U-Mass Lowell standout as freshman, took team to Frozen Four with some impressive stats during the season.

JUSSI OLKINUORA

Age: 22

2012-13: Continued to shine during second year at Denver (NCAA), decided to turn pro and finished the season in St. John's.

JASON KASDORF

Age: 21

2012-13: Excellent freshman year (14-5-2) at RPI, the Winnipegger proved he was just no throwaway draft pick.

JAMIE PHILLIPS

Age: 20

2012-13: Got his feet wet in NCAA play at Michigan Tech after solid tier-2 junior seasons.

ERIC COMRIE

Age: 18

2012-13: Second WHL season with Tri-City was stopped mid-year by two hip surgeries; already has 39 WHL wins to his credit.

-- Campbell

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Quick, state the biggest improvement to the Winnipeg Jets' organization since the city's return to the NHL 25 months ago.

If you didn't say goaltending depth, you just fell down on a breakaway.

The Jets have gone from "Yes, We Have No Bananas," when they moved from Atlanta to a large bunch of potential puckstoppers as their 2013 summer development camp continued this week.

None of them will be running Ondrej Pavelec out of town in the next few months but when it comes to the longer-term future, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and his scouts are probably sleeping quite a bit better since their 2012 draft.

That's when they pulled goalies Connor Hellebuyck and Jamie Phillips with two of their last three picks and Hellebuyck, a 20-year-old from Commerce, Mich., turned into one of the brightest lights of the 2012-13 college hockey season.

'He's a big kid, very athletic and very competitive and he works at it. He takes every opportunity to compete and he made the most of his chance'

-- assistant GM Craig Heisinger on Connor Hellebuyck

The 6-4 netminder, a freshman, took over the nets at University of Massachussets-Lowell and posted a 1.37 goals against average, a .952 save percentage and a record of 20-3-0 with six shutouts as the Riverhawks soared all the way to the NCAA's Frozen Four.

Hellebuyck also turned in a 3.65 grade-point average as a member of the Hockey East all-academic team and was the MVP of the league's playoff tournament and a full-season, second-team all-star.