NHL Day 20

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/10/2012 (4813 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STAYING PUT

Anaheim Ducks’ star Bobby Ryan will not be part of the NHL’s European exodus.

“I’m going to handle things the way I think things should be handled,” Ryan told The Cherry Hill Courier-Post. “I’m going to continue to skate with the guys… whether it’s coming back here (to South Jersey) for a couple weeks at a time… I think it’s important to stay here (in the United States) and be part of the solution and not just run from it.”

ON THE MOVE

NHL player movement, some rumoured, some confirmed:

Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado, Djurgarden (Swedish Elite League)

Tom Wandel, Dallas, Severstal Cherepovets (KHL)

Tommy Wingels, San Jose, KooKoo (Finnish 2nd Division)

Jiri Hudler, Calgary, was released by HC Lev Prague (KHL) after suffering an abdominal injury.

HYPE MACHINE STALLS

No NHL team made a bigger splash this summer than the Minnesota Wild, who signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to 13-year, $98-million contracts. Since those blockbuster additions were announced the club has sold the equivalent of 4,000 new season tickets.

And now the buzz has gone silent.

“There’s so much hype and excitement in Minnesota, and for us, too,” Suter said. “It is frustrating, but we want what’s best for the players, for every player.”

“Everyone’s just wishing that this would be more for real and we were actually playing… but unfortunately that’s not the situation we’re in,” added Parise said. “So hopefully we’ll get it resolved soon.”

OOPS

The deal to televise KHL games on ESPN3 isn’t quite set in stone as reported earlier this week. The KHL announced games would be available on the American network beginning on Wednesday, but instead of the Dynamo-Ak Bars game there was a soccer game featuring youth players from FC Barcelona and VfL Wolfsburg.

It turns out the network and the KHL have reached an agreement in principle, but which games will be televised — and when — have ‘not yet been solidified’ an ESPN spokesperson told SI.com.

QUOTABLE

“I really don’t care, the main thing for me is hockey. I really like it here and if there isn’t a season there, then I’d be delighted to play it out here and try to do it as well as possible.” — New Jersey Devils’ star Ilya Kovalchuk, in an interview with RIA Novosti, on possibly playing an entire year in the KHL.

CANCELLATIONS

Eight pre-season games scheduled for Wednesday night were wiped out by the lockout.

HOCKEY NIGHT IN THE KHL

Alex Ponikarovsky of the Jets was held off the scoresheet, but his team — Donbass Donetsk — knocked off Dinamo Riga 4-2.

First-overall draft pick Nail Yakupov scored twice and again in the shootout to lead SKA Saint Petersburg to a 3-2 win over Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk.

— compiled by Ed Tait