Around the NHL

New Year guaranteed to be happy for lucky 23

TWENTY-THREE Canadian male hockey players will be breaking open the bubbly for more than just ringing in the New Year.

The International Ice Hockey Federation announced that the Canadian men's roster for the Vancouver Olympic Games will be announced on Dec. 31. The roster will include 20 skaters and three goaltenders.

The United States will make its roster announcement on Jan. 1 during the Winter Classic outdoor game at Fenway Park in Boston, featuring the Philadelphia Flyers and Bruins.

The NHL, the NHLPA and the IIHF member national associations agreed on Jan. 1 as a deadline to announce the Games' rosters. However, as a result of injuries, teams have until Feb. 15 to make their irreversible roster decisions.

Belarus is the first of the 12 men's Olympic teams to unveil its roster on Dec. 23, with the United States capping off the announcements nine days later.

Russia will unveil a Christmas present of its own, introducing its team on Dec. 25.

Other announcements are Sweden (Dec. 27); Slovakia, Norway and Latvia on Dec. 29; and the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and Switzerland on Dec. 30.

Lehtonen back on disabled list

ATLANTA -- Thrashers goaltender Kari Lehtonen is expected to miss six to eight weeks after undergoing a second round of back surgery.

Lehtonen has not played this season as a result of his first round of surgery on July 20, when doctors repaired a herniated disc.

The team said Wednesday that Lehtonen had another surgery last Friday in Rochester, N.Y., to remove edges of bone that were applying pressure to nerve roots in his back at two locations.

With Lehtonen missing the start of the season, 22-year-old Ondrej Pavelec has a 5-3-1 record as Atlanta's starting goaltender.

Skating at Fenway pricey proposition

TWO months before the NHL holds its annual Winter Classic on New Year's Day, the Boston ice-builders plan to have the ice up and ready for use at Fenway Park.

The plan is to have the Red Sox and Bruins rent out the ice for corporate events, reports the Boston Globe.

The price tag?

A sizzling $7,500 or $10,000 for each one-hour session.

Sam Kennedy, executive vice-president of the Red Sox, says in spite of the steep price folks are booking times at the fabled park.

"But this is not a financial windfall, by any stretch of the imagination," said Kennedy to Boston.com. "I think it would be wrong to portray the Red Sox as being out to make a bundle on this."

He might be right. According to the Globe report, the NHL is charging Fenway $16,000 per day to keep the rink up and running.

Green dominant defenceman again

BY all accounts, Washington Capitals defenceman Mike Green had a hugely disappointing end to last season.

Green was a non-factor during much of the post-season, that ended with the rival Pittsburgh Penguins ousting the Caps in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

But Green is back to being dominant. In fact, so much so that head coach Bruce Boudreau has a message for Team Canada general manager Steve Yzerman.

"If I'm Stevie Yzerman, I'm looking at him as one of your top pair," Boudreau said to NHL.com when asked whether Green should be considered for the Olympic hockey team.

Green entered Wednesday's game in New Jersey on a nine-game point streak and was tied for second among defencemen with 11 assists and 13 points.

"It's one of those things that happened," he said of the playoff disappointment. "You get disappointed if you don't play your best, but it happens and you live and you learn."

-- From the news services

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 5, 2009 C7