Brandon’s Salvador named Devils’ captain

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This article was published 18/01/2013 (4709 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEWARK, N.J. — Defenceman Bryce Salvador has been named the captain of the New Jersey Devils.

Coach Pete DeBoer announced the appointment after practice on Thursday, adding that Patrik Elias and Ilya Kovalchuk will remain the alternate captains.

Salvador, born and raised in Brandon, replaces Zach Parise, who signed with Minnesota as a free agent after last season.

Salvador, who signed a three-year, $9.5 million pact in July, had four goals and 14 points in the post-season after a regular season in which he failed to find the net once. He teamed up with Marek Zidlicky to form the Devils’ top defensive pairing.

Salvador played all 82 regular-season games for the Devils last season, a year after missing the entire season with a rare, inner-ear concussion.

More Grapes on HNIC

TORONTO — The 60th season of Hockey Night in Canada kicks off this weekend with twice as much Grapes and plans for a cross-country tour.

The long-delayed return of the Saturday night staple will feature an expanded in-studio panel of analysts, plans to visit each of the seven Canadian NHL cities, and an extra dose of Don Cherry commentary that will air during the later game out of the West.

The tweaks are all meant to make “Hockey Night in Canada” a more truly national broadcast, said host Ron MacLean.

“We met with the seven Canadian NHL team presidents last year and they thought, ‘Is there more you can do? We just feel like we don’t get enough of Hockey Night in Canada because it all happens out of the CBC building in Toronto.”‘

Cherry said the planned tour — in which he and MacLean expect to introduce games from the ice — is a long time coming.

“What is this, Hockey Night in Canada or is it Hockey Night in Toronto?” said Cherry, sporting a black suit and tartan tie for a round of interviews at CBC headquarters.

Another apology from NHL

NEW YORK — With hockey set to return after a four-month lockout, the NHL is apologizing again.

Echoing last week’s remarks by commissioner Gary Bettman, the NHL is using full-page newspaper ads Thursday to tell fans it’s sorry for the lockout that delayed the season and trimmed the schedule from 82 games to 48. The season starts Saturday.

The ad says: “Like you, we’ve missed NHL hockey.”

The league is thanking fans for their patience and apologizing for the lost games.

The ad says the league is “committed to earning back your trust and support” with “hard work and unwavering dedication.”

The ad is running in about 40 newspapers across the United States and Canada.

— from the news services