February 28th

BETTMAN TESTIFIES NHL IS STEROID-FREE

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told a U.S. House subcommittee on Wednesday that hockey is not plagued by steroid use among its players.

Bettman joined his major-league counterparts — baseball commissioner Bud Selig, NBA commissioner David Stern and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell — in Washington where he testified that only one player has tested positive for steroid use in the 2½ years since the NHL resumed play after the 2004-05 lockout.

"As a historical matter, the many years that NHL players have been tested in international competition, as well as recent testing under our program, suggests that performance-enhancing drugs had never been part of the culture of the NHL and that instances of use by our players have been extremely rare," Bettman told the House subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection during his opening remarks. "This is not surprising when one considers the alleged benefits of steroid use, significant large muscle development, are not consistent with playing hockey at the highest level of the sport, and the resulting bulkiness attributable to steroid use simply is not the desired characteristic of skilled NHL players."

Bettman went on to outline the NHL's drug-testing policy, in which a player is suspended 20 games for a first violation, 60 games for a second violation and a permanent ban for a third violation.

Paul Kelly, head of the NHLPA, echoed Bettman's sentiments, saying that "the stakes are high and we are fully committed to seeing that drug use has no place in hockey."

Before the league commissioners and other union heads had a chance to speak, members of the subcommittee delivered their opening statements, with some supporting the idea of the U.S. federal government legislating standard drug-testing policies for pro sports leagues.

Wednesday's panel is not connected to the House committee that held hearings on Jan. 15 on former Senate majority leader George Mitchell's investigation into drugs in baseball and where Roger Clemens denied on Feb. 13 that he had used steroid and human growth hormone as alleged in the Mitchell report.


SENS FIRE PADDOCK

John Paddock didn't last a full season as Ottawa'a head coach, as he was let go Wednesday after back-to-back shutout losses.

After a torrid 15-2 start, the Senators won just 21 of their next 47 games (21-20-6), including being shut out on consecutive nights: 5-0 at home to Toronto on Monday, and 4-0 in Boston on Tuesday.

Assistant coach Ron Low was also let go, with assistant coach Greg Carvel, Eli Wilson, Randy Lee and Tim Pattyson staying on.

Bryan Murray, who left the bench last season to take over as general manager when John Muckler was let go, will coach for the balance of the season.

Paddock had been with Ottawa for six years, serving as an assistant coach and as head coach with the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y. He was returning to the NHL as a head coach after a 13-year absence. He coached the Winnipeg Jets between 1991 and 1994.

Murray led the Senators to the Stanley Cup final last season in his second year as the team's coach. He boasted a 100-46-18 record in two seasons behind Ottawa's bench and has 665 wins in an NHL coaching career that began in 1981. He ranks fourth on the all-time wins list.

As general manager, Murray was unable to swing a major deal by Tuesday's deadline. He obtained Martin Lapointe, whom he coached in Detroit, in exchange for a draft pick.

Earlier in the month, he sent defenceman Joe Corvo and forward Patrick Eaves to Carolina for veterans Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore, who both won a Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006.


CATS GRANT KILGER LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Just one day after the Florida Panthers acquired Chad Kilger acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Panthers granted him a leave of absence due to personal reasons.

Kilger flew back to Toronto after meeting with Jacques Martin, the Panthers coach and general manager, and team officials said it wasn't known when he would return.

Martin is expected to talk about Kilger's situation later today. Kilger missed five games earlier this season after being granted a leave of absence by the Maple Leafs.

Kilger has 10 goals and seven assists in 53 games with Toronto this season.


CANADIAN WOMEN'S HOCKEY PLAYER ACCUSED OF PUNCHING LINESMAN

A player on the Université de Moncton's women's hockey team is facing a possible suspension after an accusation that she punched a linesman three times.

Josianne Bisaillon, a first-year defenceman for Aigles Bleues, is accused of hitting the official at the end of a playoff game on Saturday. Moncton, the defending champions of Atlantic University Sport, lost 3-2 to Nova Scotia's Saint Mary's University Huskies and is out of the playoffs.

"Within women's hockey, we have not had an incident like this before," said Jennifer Myers, chair for women's hockey with Atlantic University Sport.

Myers said the organization has contacted Hockey Nova Scotia and Hockey Canada for advice on how they've dealt with similar situations.

There's a range of consequences that could be handed down, said Darren Cossar, executive director for Hockey Nova Scotia.

Atlantic University Sport officials will be reviewing a video of the incident on, Myers said. A decision whether to disclipine the player should be made before next week.

Since the season is over for Moncton, any suspension Bisaillon might receive would be served at the beginning of next season. According to Aigles Bleues coach Denis Ross, Bisaillon doesn't remember exactly what happened during the incident.

The shoving started near Saint Mary's net in the final seconds of the game and then continued after the final buzzer, which is when the alleged assault on the female linesman took place.

All sides are depending on the video to determine what happened.


PLAYOFF STANDINGS

(RANK-TEAM--PTS--RECORD)

WEST

1-DETROIT*--90--42-17-6
2-DALLAS*--85--40-22-5
3-MINNESOTA*--75--35-24-5
4-ANAHEIM--79--36-23-7
5-SAN JOSE--76--34-21-8
6-CALGARY--75--33-22-9
7-VANCOUVER--73--32-22-9
8-COLORADO--72--33-26-6
-------------------------------------------------------
9-NASHVILLE--72--32-25-8
10-PHOENIX--69--32-27-5
11-COLUMBUS--67--29-27-9
12-CHICAGO--66--30-27-6
13-ST LOUIS--66--28-25-10
14-EDMONTON--63--29-30-5
15-LOS ANGELES--56--26-34-4

EAST

1-NEW-JERSEY*--80--37-21-6
2-OTTAWA*--78--36-22-6
3-CAROLINA*--71--33-28-5
4-PITTSBURGH--79--36-21-7
5-MONTREAL--77--34-21-9
6-BOSTON--72--33-23-6
7-NY RANGERS--72--32-24-8
8-BUFFALO--71--31-24-9
-------------------------------------------------------
9-PHILADELPHIA--69--31-25-7
10-NY ISLANDERS--67--30-27-7
11-WASHINGTON--66--29-27-8
12-TORONTO--65--28-28-9
13-FLORIDA--64--28-30-8
14-ATLANTA--62--29-31-4
15-TAMPA BAY--57--25-31-7

(* DIVISION LEADER)


TODAYS NHL SCHEDULE (Central Time)

(4) PENGUINS @ (6) BRUINS 6pm
(2) SENATORS @ (9) FLYERS 6pm
(7) RANGERS @ (3) HURRICANES 6pm
(10) ISLANDERS @ (14) THRASHERS 6pm
(10) COYOTES @ (13) BLUES 730pm
(12) BLACKHAWKS @ (2) STARS 730pm
(15) KINGS @ (14) OILERS 8pm