January 11th

LEIPOLD BUYS THE WILD

Craig Leipold agreed to purchase the Minnesota Wild, more then a month after selling the Nashville Predators to local investors.

Leipold is buying the majority shares of Bob Naegele and his group, who formed Minnesota Sports and Entertainment in 1997, the year St. Paul was awarded an NHL expansion franchise.

According to Minnesota Sports and Entertainment vice-chairman Jac Sperling, the deal is expected to take several months to close and is pending the approval of the NHL and the city of St. Paul. The MSE also owns the minor league Houston Aeros, the Minnesota Swarm of the National Lacrosse League, and the Xcel Energy Center.

Naegele, a Minnesota native, has seen the Wild sell out every game since the NHL returned in 2000, seven years after the North Stars defected to Dallas.

Leipold, who resides in Racine, Wi, completed the sale of the Predators on Dec. 7 for $193-million, and said he lost $70-million since Nashville began play in 1998.


CAPS SIGN OVECHKIN TO RECORD EXTENSION

Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin agreed to a 13-year, $124-million contract extension, the first $100-million deal in NHL history.

Considered one of the NHL's elite players, the Russian winger would certainly have attracted a lucrative offer sheet had he become a restricted free agent on July 1.

In the final year of an entry level three year contract, Ovechkin's base salary this season is $984,200, but $3.83-million if you account for bonuses.

The contract, which he negotiated by himself without an agent, breaks down to $9- million in each of the first six years and $10-million annually over the final seven.

The number one overall pick in the 2004 draft has totalled 130 goals and 250 points in 206 games, and has 32 goals and 52 points thru 43 games this season.

The former Calder Trophy winner is now committed to Washington through the 2020-21 season.


'HAWKS TRADE JOHANSSON FOR DRAFT PICK

The Chicago Blackhawks traded Swedish defenceman Magnus Johansson to the Florida Panthers.

The 34 year-old rookis has played 18 games for the Blackhawks this season after being signed as a free agent over the summer.

In exchange, Chicago picked up Florida's seventh-round pick in the 2009 draft.

Prior to playing in the NHL, Johansson captained his hometown team of Linkoping in the Swedish Elite League. He scored 92 points in 149 games with Linkoping, leading the team to the SEL finals in 2007.

Florida's blue-line has been plagued by injuries, with Branislav Mezei, Noah Welch, Mike Van Ryan and Cory Murphy all currently out of the lineup.


GETZLAF, KOPITAR, GABORIK ADDED TO WEST ALL-STAR ROSTER

Centers Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings and Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche -- three of the NHL's brightest young stars all under the age of 23 -- headline the 16 players named to the Western Conference roster for the 2008 NHL All-Star Game, Sunday, Jan. 27 at Philips Arena in Atlanta.

Getzlaf, 22, leads the Ducks in scoring with 48 points (17 goals, 31 assists) in 44 games and has posted a team-best +20 rating. Kopitar, 20, is the Kings' leading scorer with 40 points (17 goals, 23 assists) in 44 games, while Stastny, 22, paces the Avalanche with 44 points (15 goals, 29 assists) in 43 contests. Each will be making his All-Star Game debut.

Four other players added to the Western Conference roster will be making their first All-Star Game appearance: goaltender Manny Legace of the St. Louis Blues, defenseman Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks and forwards Shawn Horcoff of the Edmonton Oilers and Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks.

Joining Legace in the Western Conference net is goaltender Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings, who will be making his second career All-Star appearance and first since 1996. Osgood has posted a 19-2-1 record, leads all goaltenders with a 1.68 goals-against average and ranks second in save percentage at .932.

Rounding out the goaltending corps is Evgeni Nabokov of the San Jose Sharks, selected to his second career All-Star Game. Nabokov, the only NHL goaltender to have appeared in each of his club's games this season, leads the NHL in victories (23-12-6) and ranks fourth in goals-against average (2.01) and shutouts (five) in 41 appearances.

Others named to the Western Conference roster are defenseman Ed Jovanovski of the Phoenix Coyotes, Chris Pronger of the Ducks and Sergei Zubov of the Dallas Stars; and forwards Jason Arnott of the Nashville Predators, Marian Gaborik of the Minnesota Wild, Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Sharks' Joe Thornton.

The roster additions were selected by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department, after consultation with League General Managers.

The players selected join the five players voted by fans to the starting lineup: forwards Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk and defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom of the Red Wings, and forward Jarome Iginla and defenseman Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames. Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo, also voted to the starting lineup in fan balloting, will not play.

The head coach of the Western Conference All-Stars will be the Red Wings' Mike Babcock, making his first career All-Star Game coaching appearance. Babcock's assistant is Sharks head coach Ron Wilson.


BE SURE TO LOG ONTO WWW.MYFOXHOCKEY.COM SATURDAY FOR THE HOPKINS VS EDINA GIRLS/BOYS HOCKEY DOUBLEHEADER, WITH THE GIRLS GAME STARTING AT 5PM AND THE BOYS ABOUT 730PM