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Lehkonen out at least 4-6 weeks for Avalanche with broken finger

Published

2 years ago

March 14, 2023

Artturi Lehkonen could miss the remainder of the regular season for the Colorado Avalanche with a broken finger.

Lehkonen is expected to be out 4-6 weeks after he was injured in the second period of an 8-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. He had two goals and an assist in his first game at Bell Centre since he was traded from the Canadiens to the Avalanche on March 21, 2022.

“I feel like we are losing our most fierce competitor every night,” Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar said Tuesday. “This guy just goes to war. He’s such a big key for us on the forecheck so it’s going to be a big hole to fill. Luckily we have a lot of depth so hopefully somebody can come up, nobody is going to fill the exact same hole but everybody’s going to have to take a little bit of it.”

Lehkonen has career highs in goals (20), assists (29) and points (49) in 62 games this season.

“He’s one of our identity guys no question,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “This is one of the hardest working guys on the ice in every single game he plays. He’s an all-situation guy, power play, penalty kill, 5-on-5, he’s playing on our top line or top two lines every night. When it comes to the competitiveness and the passion he plays with, he sets the bar for our team.

“We are going to miss him there’s no question but it is what it is. On the bright side, it’s his top hand, he’s going for surgery first thing in the morning and we hope to be able to get him back and with an injury like a finger at least you can skate, stay in shape so making sure when you get the all clear, you’re basically ready to go.”

Colorado plays its final regular-season game April 14.

The Avalanche are also without forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Darren Helm, defensemen Erik Johnson and Kurtis MacDermid and goalie Pavel Francouz.

“We have a lot of complete players and [Lehkonen is] probably the most complete with the way he defends and forechecks,” Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said. “Twenty goals already this season as well. You can’t replace a guy like that. We’re just going to have to try to tighten up even more defensively with him out.”

Forward Alex Galchenyuk was recalled from Colorado of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. He has no points in four NHL games this season, and 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in 33 AHL games.

“Experienced guy,” Bednar said. “He’s put in a lot of work on his game so we had a look at him earlier in the season. We want to see him again. … He’s been one of their top producers, a guy that can help chip in so time to take a look at him.”

The Avalanche next play at the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Colorado (37-22-6) is third in the Central Division, four points behind the second-place Minnesota Wild and seven points behind the first-place Dallas Stars.

NHL.com independent correspondent Dave McCarthy contributed to this report

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Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

15 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

22 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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