January 18th

IGINLA, LECAVALIER NAMED ALL-STAR CAPTAINS

Right wing Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames and center Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning have been named team captains for the 2008 NHL All-Star Game, Sunday, Jan. 27 at Philips Arena in Atlanta (6 pm ET) the National Hockey League announced today.

Iginla, making his fourth career All-Star game appearance, will lead the Western Conference. Lecavalier, skating in his third All-Star Game, will represent the East. Each player, on-pace to record a career-high scoring total this season, was voted to the starting lineups in All-Star fan balloting.

Iginla, 30, has played his entire 11-year NHL career with the Flames, serving as team captain since the start of the 2003-04 season. He became the franchise leader in career games with the club Nov. 29 with his 804th appearance, eclipsing the record set by Al MacInnis. Iginla has tallied 62 points in 2007-08 (32 goals, 30 assists), one point behind NHL leaders Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers (37-26--63), Lecavalier (28-35--63) and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins (20-43--63). Iginla has captured the Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal scorer (2002, 2004), the Lester B. Pearson Award as the NHL’s MVP as voted by the players (2002), the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer (2002) and the King Clancy Award for leadership and community service (2004).

The 27-year-old Lecavalier, drafted first overall by the Lightning in 1998, has played all eight of his NHL seasons in Tampa Bay. Lecavalier tallied a Lightning-record 52 goals to capture his first career Maurice Richard Trophy in 2006-07 and has continued his hot pace this season: his eight-game multiple-point scoring streak from Nov. 3-19 was the longest in the NHL since Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr in 1996 (10 games). In October, Lecavalier announced a $3-million commitment to construction of the new All Children’s Hospital in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., specifically for a state-of-the art facility that will be named the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.


CHICAGO GIVES SHARP EXTENSION

Playing alongside standout NHL rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews has boosted Patrick Sharp's point totals and on Thursday earned him a big pay raise.

The 26-year-old Chicago Blackhawks forward signed a four-year contract extension worth $15.6 million.

Sharp, who is earning $825,000 this season, would have become a restricted free agent July 1. His new deal will pay him an average $3.9 million annually, starting next season.

Sharp has already established career highs with 22 goals and 36 points this season. He had 20 goals and 35 points in 80 games last season.


CALGARY FINALIZES CUJO'S CONTRACT

Curtis Joseph is healthy and ready to make a playoff run with the Calgary Flames, as the club announced the signing of their new backup goalie to a one-year, $1.5-million contract Thursday.

Joseph agreed to the deal on Monday, but the Flames waited until the 17-year NHL veteran passed a medical and for the league to approve the contract before making it official.

Since a little more than half the season is gone he'll earn about $650,000 for the rest of the year.

The 40-year-old netminder led Canada to a Spengler Cup title last month, and his next NHL victory will tie him with Terry Sawchuck for forth on the all-time goalie career win list at 447.

In 913 regular-season NHL games with St. Louis, Edmonton, Toronto, Detroit, and Phoenix, Cujo has complied a 446-341-95 record. Last year with Phoenix he went 18-31-2 with a 3.19 Goals Against Average, and became an unrestricted free agent last summer after not re-signing with the Coyotes.

Joseph will be Mikka Kiprusoff's backup, who has started 47 of the team's 48 games this season.

To Make room on the roster, the Flames sent rookie backup goalie Curtis McElhinney to the American Hockey League's Quad City Flames. In five game this season he was 0-2-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .902 save percentage.


ADAMS TRADED TO 'HAWKS

The Carolina Hurricanes traded forward Craig Adams to the Chicago Blackhawks for a conditional draft pick.

Adams has posted two goals and three assists for five points in 40 games this season, and in seven NHL seasons with Hartford/Carolina has 33 goals and 77 points in 427 games. His best season was 2005-06, when Carolina won the Stanley Cup, in which he scored 10 goals and registered 21 points.

The ninth round (223rd overall) pick in the 1996 draft by the Hartford Whalers, trailed only Glen Wesley (696) and Rod Brind'Amour (522) in games played for the Hurricanes since they relocated to Raleigh, N.C., in 1997.


LEAFS LOSE BELL FOR 8 WEEKS

Mark Bell's first season with the Toronto Maple Leafs went from bad to worse as he had facial surgery Thursday that will sideline him for two months.

Bell sustained a broken orbital bone in a fight with Ryan Malone during the third period of a 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 3, and had to wait until the swelling subsided before it could be surgically repaired.

The 27-year-old forward has played just 26 games this season, posting two goals and five assists for seven points with 50 penalty minutes. He began the season serving a 15-game suspension from the NHL for his role in a drunk driving incident, and at season's end will serve six months in a California jail as part of a plea bargain.

Bell has compiled 85 goals and 179 points with 587 penalty minutes in 436 games over seven seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Maple Leafs, and was the eighth overall pick in the 1998 draft by Chicago.


RAMAGE SENTENCED TO 4 YEARS IN FATAL CRASH

Former NHL player Rob Ramage was sentenced Thursday in an Ontario court to four years in prison for his role in the death of ex-Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Keith Magnuson.

Magnuson died instantly on Dec. 15, 2003, when a rental car driven by Ramage, 48, veered into traffic and struck two vehicles near Vaughan, Ont., just north of Toronto.

Magnuson was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 56.

Ramage will be prohibited from driving for five years after he serves his term.

Ramage's lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said outside the courtroom that he would appeal both the conviction and sentence at the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Greenspan expects Ramage to be released so he can return to his family in St. Louis while awaiting the outcome of his appeal.

In October, Ramage was found guilty of five charges, including impaired driving causing death, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

The Crown requested a sentence of between three and five years.

Magnuson's family, which in November was awarded $9.5 million in a wrongful death lawsuit, asked the judge at a December sentencing hearing to give Ramage to community service instead of jail time so he could speak at schools about drinking and driving.

Ramage, captain of the Leafs from 1989 to 1991, also played for the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens during his 15-year NHL career.

He was freed on bail while awaiting sentencing.

Magnuson was a rugged defenceman for the Blackhawks from 1969-80, and coached the team for 1½ seasons. He played in 589 games over 11 NHL seasons, all with Chicago.