National Hockey League

The league was founded in 1917 in Montreal, Quebec, and its predecessor organization is the National Hockey Association which was founded in 1909. It started with four teams and now composed of 30 teams, 24 of which are located in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NHL attracts many highly skilled players from all over the world. Nowadays the league has a larger number of players from about 20 different countries. Canadians constitut over half of the players because both the sport and the league originated from Canada. Many American and European players have increased in the past 25 years, because the NHL continue to expand into the United States.

Sergei Shirokov joins in Canucks

Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis announced last week that the team has signed right wing Sergei Shirokov. He is a native of Moscow, being drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Shirokov recorded 41 points in 56 games with the KHL in 2008. He has also appeared in two World Junior Championships as a member of Russian team in 2005 and 2006. Shirokov registered 13 points in 12 games over two seasons.

Prospal and Messier come to Rangers

It is reported that the New York Rangers will acquire Mark Messier as a special assistant to President and General Manager Glen Sather and forward Vaclav Prospal."I couldn't be more thrilled with the opportunity to move back to New York with my family, to learn from Glen and to work for the Rangers," Said Messier.

Prospal had signed the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier this summer. He played for Rangers and scored 19 goals and 26 assists last year.

Artyukhin becomes a member of Ducks

On Aug,13 Anaheim Ducks announced that the National Hockey League has acquired right wing Evgeny Artyukhin from Tampa Bay Lightning. He was originally selected by Tampa Bay in the third round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, and played two seasons with the Lightning. In 145 career NHL games, Artyukhin has collected 33 points with 241 PIM. He has also appeared in 102 career American Hockey League contests.

Artyukhin appeared in his second NHL season with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008-09. He set career highs in goals, appearances and penalty minutes.

Sabres add Cody McCormick

Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced the team have agreed to add unrestricted free agent center Cody McCormick to a one-year contract. McCormick was selected by Colorado in the Fifth Round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

McCormick collected 12 points and 92 penalty minutes in 55 regular season games last season with Colorado Avalanche. He is a native of London appearing in 190 NHL games, collecting 30 points and 250 penalty minutes with Colorado. Now fans are going to put on the Sabres jerseys to support him.

Kyle Wellwood remains in Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis announced today the center Kyle Wellwood would remain in the team. In 263 NHL regular season games with Vancouver and Toronto, Wellwood has got 135 points and 18 penalty minutes.

Wellwood recorded 27 points in 74 games in 2008-09 with Vancouver. He finished career highs for 18 goals , 10 play goals and 3 goals in a single season. He also added six points in ten playoff games.Now fans can see him playing on the ice in his Canucks jersey.

Janis Foligno died of cancer

According to Sudbury Wolves' web site, it is reported that Janis Foligno died of cancer on July,27. She is Sudbury Wolves coach and GM Mike Foligno's wife and Ottawa Senators forward Nick Foligno and Buffalo Sabres Marcus Foligno's mother. The team said funeral arrangements are still being under discussion.

"Janis was a wonderful wife, mother, aunt and friend," said the club. "She was a great person to know, to talk to and to be with. She was a great friend of the game of hockey as well.Janis Foligno will be missed by everyone that knew her."

Recently Hossa is recovering

It is told that recently signed winger of Chicago Blackhawks Marian Hossa is recovering from a shoulder injury which he suffered a lot during the Stanley Cup game between Red Wings. The injury was first reported by the Daily Herald newspaper in suburban Arlington Heights.

After helping the Red Wings reach the Stanley Cup finals, Hossa signed a 12-year contract with the Blackhawks on July 1. Blackhawks hope Hossa will inject more energy to the team.

Colby Armstrong joins in Tharashers

According to Executive Vice President and General Manager of Atlanta Thrashers Don Waddell, the club have agreed to add free agent forward Colby Armstrong.He appeared in all 82 games for the Thrashers last season. The right wing recorded 10 points from March 21 through April 5.


Besides, he has earned 51 points in 100 games over two seasons with the Thrashers. In 281 career NHL games with Pittsburgh and Atlanta, Armstrong has recorded 149 points and one assist in five Stanley Cup Playoff games with Penguins.

Danis joins in Devils

Devils have announced to the media that they have signed goalterder Yann Danis. "Yann Danis is a goaltender with five years' experience on the professional level," said Devils' President Lou Lamoriello. "He will give us depth at that position as we head into training camp."

After spending last season with the New York Islanders,Danis joins the Devils. He appeared in 31 NHL career games, and joined the Islanders as a free agent on July 2, 2008 after four-plus seasons with the Canadiens' organization.

Havlat joined in Minnesota Wild

Martin Havlat is joining the Minnesota Wild now. It is reported that Havlat and the team have agreed to a six-year deal."We are excited to add the speed and scoring of Martin Havlat to our lineup," Fletcher said. "He is a terrific two-way player."

In 81 games with the Blackhawks this season, Havlat scored 29 goals and 48 assists for 77 points. He was originally selected by the Ottawa Senators in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He had 169 goals and 227 assists for 396 points in 470 career regular-season games with the Senators and Blackhawks. He spent the last three seasons with BlackHawks, and played just 91 games in his first two seasons in Chicago after joining the Blackhawks in 2006.

Maple Leafs acquires Mike Komisarek

The General Manager of Toronto Maple Leafs Brian Burke decided to continue to sign free-agent defenseman Mike Komisarek. It is told that the five-year deal is worth about $22.5 million. "We are extremely pleased to add a player with Mike’s ability and leadership qualities to our lineup," Burke said. "He’s a respected competitor in this League and we know that he will bring his hard-nosed approach to our team on a consistent basis."

In 66 games with Montreal last season Komisarek scored 2 goals and 9 assists for. Komisarek led Montreal with 191 hits and 207 blocked shots. He was voted to the starting lineup of the Eastern Conference for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game. In 361 career NHL games, Komisarek has 12 goals, 46 assists and 58 points with 496 minutes penalties. Maple Leafs also acquired other players such as
Garnet Exelby and Colin from Atlanta Thrashers.

Bettman was invited by the Yankees

In order to check out the Yankee Stadium for the 2010 Olympic game,Commissioner Gray Bettman was invited by the Yankees and toured the new Yankee Stadium.He also told the fans to turn into his radio show "The NHL Hour".

However,Bettman told the media that the National Hockey League had not decided which city was lucky enough to host the celebrating outdoor game on New Year's Day."This was extremely preliminary," Bettman said. "To suggest we're even at the embryonic stage would be an exaggeration."

Shawn Belle sign contract with Canadiens

Defenseman Shawn Belle signed a one-year contract with Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey for 2009-10 season last Wednesday. Still some finacial terms of the deal weren not known.

Shawn Belle got 13 points with 93 penalty minutes in 60 regular-season AHL games with the Hamilton Bulldogs.He also represented Canada at the World Junior Chamionship and had won the silver medal in 2004 in Finland.The gold medal was achieved in the United States.He is a native of Edmonton,in 9 NHL games,he has got 1 assisting point and a plus-4 rating with Minnesota in 2006.

Gary Roberts is going to retire from NHL

After a 21-year career including 1224 games,910 points and a Stanley Cup title,Linghting's left wing Gary Roberts told the media about his retirement."Today, I am officially announcing my retirement from the National Hockey League," said Roberts. "I am extremely grateful for having had the opportunity to be a part of this great league. The game has been so good to me and I will always be thankful for having had so many years doing what I loved to do."

"Gary has done everything we could have asked or expected of him this year," said Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton. "Although we wish things had been better to date for the club, we are extremely grateful to Gary for his contributions both on and off the ice. His leadership, professionalism and guidance will be felt for years because our young players were able to watch, listen and learn from one of the true greats of the game."