NHL - Central - News

St Louis - The Blues are hopeful center Jori Lehtera will be available for the start of the regular season after he had successful ankle surgery last week. It's expected Lehtera will need 6-8 weeks to recover after he had surgery on his right ankle Aug. 4, the Blues said Monday. Lehtera sustained the injury during the last week of the regular season after taking a puck off his ankle, but he played through it. Lehtera played in the Western Conference First Round against the Minnesota Wild, a series Minnesota won in six games. Lehtera missed one game during the Stanley Cup Playoffs because of a wrist injury sustained near the end of Game 4. The Blues open the regular season at home Oct. 8 against the Edmonton Oilers. If his recovery takes six weeks, Lehtera would miss 1-2 weeks of training camp, which is scheduled to begin in mid-September.

Lehtera, who on July 1 signed a three-year contract extension reportedly worth $14.1 million that will keep him in St. Louis through the 2018-19 season, began experiencing pain when in skates while training during the summer in his native Finland. The Blues decided surgery was necessary to avoid a prolonged absence. Lehtera, 27, had 14 goals and 44 points in 75 games in his first NHL season in 2014-15. Should Lehtera's injury cause him to miss part of the regular season, Robby Fabbri, the Blues' first-round pick (No. 21) at the 2014 NHL Draft, would have a chance to make the roster out of training camp. The Blues already have David Backes, Paul Stastny and Kyle Brodziak at center. Patrik Berglund, who played on the wing much of last season, could fill the void in the middle if Lehtera misses time during the regular season.
Doug Armstrong GM: "We were hopeful with time the ankle would settle down and be ready. [Lehtera] was still sore, and we opted for surgery now so he would be available to us for the regular season."
Dallas - Stars owner Tom Gagliardi had one very good reason to add Antti Niemi to Kari Lehtonen on their goaltending depth chart. The Stars signed Niemi to a three-year contract on June 29 after acquiring him in a trade with the San Jose Sharks. He is expected to compete with Lehtonen for the No. 1 job, though it is more likely they will split time almost evenly.
"I think it is pretty hard on Kari when we give him a night off and we never win. Kari had an off year, and while we don't think that will happen again, our backups haven't been good enough since I have been here [2011]. So we discussed the 1A/1B view because there are so few backups now… We knew we had to get deeper in goal, the 1A/1B thing, and that's why we went after Niemi. He was at the top of our list along with another guy. We got our first choice. I think the key to the Niemi deal is that he is a Finn, and he and Kari know each other. I think they are going to work well together. I think we have the best tandem in the League now. From the goaltending perspective, we did a great job. What's key is we didn't give up any assets to get him unless you want to include a seventh-round pick (in the 2015 NHL Draft)."
Lehtonen, 32 on Nov. 16, was 34-17-10 last season with a 2.94 goals-against average and .903 save percentage. In five-plus seasons with Dallas, he is 154-101-38 with a 2.58 GAA and .915 save percentage.
Niemi, 32 on Aug. 29, was 31-23-7 last season with a 2.59 GAA and .914 save percentage. In five seasons as the Sharks' starting goalie, he was 163-92-35 with a 2.40 GAA and .917 save percentage. Each is signed through the 2017-18 season.
In five seasons with Lehtonen as Dallas' starter, the primary backups (Andrew Raycroft, Richard Bachman, Dan Ellis/Tim Thomas, Jhonas Enroth/Anders Lindback) were 36-38-2, but 14-23-1 the past two seasons.

Colorado - The Avalanche announced that the team will hold its annual Burgundy/White Game on Sunday, Sept. 20, at Magness Arena on the campus of the University of Denver. Puck drop is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The Burgundy/White Game features all Avalanche players competing in a three-period, intra-squad scrimmage. DU will be hosting the event for the second consecutive year and for the sixth time overall, more than any other location. Magness Arena was also the site of the contest in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2014.
The Air Force Academy has hosted the Burgundy/White Game on five occasions (2007-09, 2011, 2013). The first three contests were played at the World Arena in Colorado Springs (1998-2000), while the 2010 game was held at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo.