Lightning fire head coach
Penguins land Morrow from Stars Devils’ Kovalchuk out 2 to 4 weeks
New Jersey Devils star Ilya Kovalchuk will be out two to four weeks after hurting The Tampa Bay Lightning fired coach Guy Boucher on Sunday. Assistants Martin Raymond and Dan Lacroix shared coaching responsibilities for Sunday night’s game at Winnipeg. “I’m not satisfied with the direction our hockey club is going,” general manager Steve Yzerman told reporters in Winnipeg. “This isn’t a reaction, a desperate act, to try to make the playoffs, although that is still our hope.” Tampa Bay is next to last in the Eastern Conference with a 13-17-1 record. Boucher was hired as the Lightning’s seventh coach on June 10, 2010. Boucher’s dismissal came one day after the Lightning fell behind by four goals in the first period of a 5-3 loss at Ottawa. The Lightning appear headed toward missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season after reaching the Eastern Conference finals during Boucher’s first year. The streaking Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward Brenden Morrow from the Dallas Stars on Sunday to bolster the team’s second line. Pittsburgh sent defenceman Joe Morrow, the team’s firstround pick in the 2011 draft, and a fifth-round choice this year to Dallas in exchange for Morrow and the Stars’ thirdround pick in the draft. The 34-year-old Morrow has 243 goals and 285 assists in 835 games, all with Dallas. Morrow will become a free agent at the end of the season. He waived his no-trade clause to move to the Penguins. The Penguins are hoping to pair Morrow with former Dallas teammate James Neal and reigning NHL MVP Evgeni Malkin on the team’s second line. Malkin remains out with an upper body injury but could return later this week. his right shoulder. The highscoring forward was injured in the third period of the Devils’ 2-1 victory over Florida on Saturday night. General manager Lou Lamoriello says he won’t need surgery. Kovalchuk was hurt when he slammed into the boards behind the Panthers’ net. He briefly remained down before skating off and did not return. Kovalchuk is second on the team with 10 goals and 27 points.
Kings’ Nolan fined for cross-checking
Los Angeles Kings forward Jordan Nolan was fined $1,436.94 by the NHL on Sunday for cross-checking Vancouver Canucks forward Henrik Sedin. The fine was the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement. As a first-time offender, the maximum Nolan could be fined was the lesser of $10,000 or one-half of his daily salary. No penalty was called on the play in the second period of the Kings’ 1-0 home loss Saturday night.
Iginla submits trade list, reports say
According to both RDS and TSN, 35-year-old Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla has submitted a list of four teams he is willing to waive his no-movement clause for a potential trade: the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, the Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks. Perhaps not coincidentally, the list includes the last four Stanley Cup champions. Hard to believe that, after 16 seasons, the smiling face of the franchise could actually leave, but the trade winds surrounding the captain gust more strongly by the hour — not the day. Before Sunday’s game, a relaxed Iginla told Sportsnet’s Roger Millions that the whole team is dealing with speculation and that he just wants to have fun. As fun as it might be to hook up again with Olympic linemate Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh is hard to fathom as a destination for Iginla after the Penguins acquired Morrow from the Stars. So Boston? Los Angeles? Chicago? Stay tuned. “I’m sure the media pays a lot more attention to that stuff than guys in the room do,” said the Flames’ Chris Butler. “It’s not like we’re sitting around asking Iggy if he is going to get traded. You know stuff is out there. There’s always rumours. There’s always some guy who overheard somebody who thinks they said something. We don’t pay too much attention to it, I don’t think.” Perhaps so, but the rest of the hockey world is sure paying attention. Iginla was the lead trending topic in all of Canada on Sunday and #freeIginla trended Friday night after yet another Flames loss in Columbus.