HOCKEY ON THE WIRE
Heading out
Claude Giroux and Danny Briere are bound for Germany.
The Philadelphia centres have signed with Eisbaren Berlin of Germany’s top league for the duration of the NHL lockout.
Giroux was third in NHL scoring last season with 93 points.
Four of the five top scorers have headed overseas. Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk have signed with teams in the Russian-based KHL while Jason Spezza is in Switzerland.
Backlund packing
Flames centre Mikael Backlund is packing up for Sweden.
The 23-year-old hasn’t played since hurting his shoulder in a mid-season fight with Andrew Alberts of the Vancouver Canucks and the lockout was further lengthening his inactivity.
The solution is signing a twomonth deal with Vasteras, his hometown club, which competes in the Allsvenskan, one notch below the elite league.
Ladd staying
Andrew Ladd won’t be heading to the Russian-based KHL after all.
The news came a little over 12 hours after Avangard Omsk announced Ladd’s signing.
He told the Winnipeg Free Press he had a change of heart because his wife Brandy is pregnant.
“I couldn’t really justify leaving her by herself,” Ladd said.