NHL - News

Montreal - There are significant changes coming to the Canadiens. GM Marc Bergevin announced Thursday that they will name a captain by the end of training camp and that Alex Galchenyuk will move from left wing to center. The Canadiens did not replace Brian Gionta as captain when he left to sign as a free agent with the Buffalo Sabres last summer. They instead went with four alternate captains last season: defensemen Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban, center Tomas Plekanec and left wing Max Pacioretty. Bergevin would not say whether it will be one of those four players who will be named captain or if there might be another candidate considered. He said the decision to name a captain after the leadership-by-committee approach last season was that the Canadiens are ready to have one, and the decision may have been rushed if they chose one last season. The decision to move Galchenyuk to center might have been the bigger news of the day. Galchenyuk was the No. 3 pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, and ever since that day Bergevin and coach Michel Therrien have maintained he would one day become a center. Galchenyuk has at times played center with the Canadiens, but most of his ice time has come at left wing. With Galchenyuk, 21, starting his fourth NHL season, Bergevin said the time was right to find out if he is able to play in the middle full-time.

Marc Bergevin: "Last year we made the decision that we weren't ready [to name a captain]. But the way our group of leaders, as a whole, learned and evolved, we feel today that we're ready. Centerman is a hard position to learn. There's a lot of responsibility as a centerman, offensively and defensively. There's signs that hockey people, our staff, look for, and we felt that he wasn't ready at the time. Now we feel that he is getting really close, and it's time for us to know and for him to know if he can really fill that role."
At the end of last season, Bergevin said he wasn't sure if Galchenyuk ever would become a full-time center, the first time publicly he had raised that possibility. Bergevin said the same thing when he met with the media on July 2, and Therrien also said it at his charity golf tournament last month. However, Bergevin said Thursday he and Therrien met with Galchenyuk in Florida prior to the draft in late June to tell him that he would play center this season and that he should prepare accordingly.
Alex Galchenyuk: "It's really huge, especially for a young player like me, to come in knowing your role, knowing your position, just to be confident [in] yourself and to come into games knowing what you have to do and not worry about what position you have to play out there. But at the end of the day I still have to prove I'm good for the job and that I can help the team win."
Moving Galchenyuk to center creates a competition for the three other spots in the middle. The Canadiens have Plekanec, David Desharnais, Lars Eller and Torrey Mitchell, who all played center last season. One of them will have to go to the wing to accommodate Galchenyuk's move. Galchenyuk played 12 games at center last season and had four goals and nine points playing between Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher. Desharnais was the one who moved to left wing at the time, and he scored four of his 14 goals in those 12 games.
David Desharnais: "I'm not surprised, [Galchenyuk] is a good player and eventually he was going to move to center. I was able to play on the wing last season. Personally, I will do whatever the coach asks me to do. I'm comfortable on the wing with my experience last season. We have a very good team and everyone can play everywhere. I just want to help the team win."
Therrien did not reveal which center would be moved to the wing, but the important thing is that Galchenyuk no longer will be playing there unless he is unable to do the job at center. Canadiens players report for physicals and testing Sept. 17.
"I don't want Alex to lose any confidence. I think that's a big part of having success as a player. But we're at a time in his career where we have to go to the next level. This is what I shared with Alex and he embraced the challenge. He's looking forward to it and I can't wait for training camp to start." Therrien said.

Toronto - Today former Leaf defenceman Borje Salming was inducted into the Toronto Maple Leafs ‘Legends Row’. On Thursday night, the team announced that his fellow countryman, Mats Sundin, would be added to the monument alongside him. Acquired in a trade with the Quebec Nordiques on June 28, 1994, after originally being drafted first overall in the 1989 NHL draft, Sundin would spend 13 seasons in a Maple Leafs uniform scoring more goals (420) and points (987) than any other player in the historic team’s record books. His quiet leadership and strong work ethic were only matched by his prolific scoring ability during his 11 years as Leafs captain. Following his retirement in 2009, Sundin was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012, his first season of eligibility, and became just the second Swedish-born player, following Salming, to join the Hall.
Detroit - Brad Richards has looked at the Red Wings with respect from afar.
Richard signed a one-year free agent contract July 1 which guarantees $3 million in salary and could reach $4 million with performance bonuses. Richards, 35, helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup last season. He had 12 goals and 37 points in 76 games and three goals and 14 points in 23 playoff games. He also won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, when he had a League-leading 26 points in 23 games and won the Conn Smythe Trophy. Richards has 288 goals and 904 points in 1,058 games in a 15-season NHL career; he also played for the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers. Richards would be projected as Detroit's No. 2 center, but with Pavel Datsyuk's availability in question after ankle surgery on June 26, Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said the plan is for Richards to start the season as the No. 1 center.
Brad Richards: "I've obviously admired this team for a long time and no different the last few years. Even though they hadn't made a long run (in the playoffs), they're right there, so that's always an impression. I'm very excited to be a Red Wing and play with some of these great players. Obviously I know what I'm brought here to do and what I want to do and now it's up to me to go and do it. I just came in [Thursday] with a friend and family will come in next week. I wanted to get a skate in. I haven't skated this week, just packing the house. It's good to get a sweat and meet some of the guys. It'll make tomorrow a little easier."
Chicago defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final last season. The Red Wings lost their Eastern Conference First Round series to the Lightning in seven games.
"I just played a team that they had on the ropes in the Finals. This league's so tough, so crazy, bounces here, momentum here. Watching that series from afar, everybody kind of thought Detroit had them … kind of thought the Wings were going to close that series out. They didn't; that shows you how close it is. I don't see why [Detroit] can't compete. It's a young team that has a little more experience again. That's always valuable."