NHL - Central Division - News

St Louis

* Martin Havlat and Dainius Zubrus have been invited to St. Louis on professional tryouts.
Martin Havlat, 34, spent last season with the New Jersey Devils where he registered 14 points (five goals, nine assists) and 10 penalty minutes in 40 regular season games. Originally drafted by Ottawa in the first round (26th overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft he went on to be named to the 2000-01 NHL All-Rookie Team in his first season. Overall, he has appeared in 14 seasons, including stints with Ottawa, Chicago, Minnesota and San Jose. The Mlada Boleslav has dressed in 788 career regular season games, accumulating 593 points (241 goals, 352 assists) and 404 penalty minutes.
Dainius Zubrus, 37, also spent last season with the New Jersey Devils, where he posted 10 points (four goals, six assists) and 42 penalty minutes in 74 regular season games. Originally drafted by Philadelphia in the first round (15th overall) of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, the Elektrenai, Lithuania, native is a veteran of 18 seasons, including stints with Philadelphia, Montreal, Washington and Buffalo.
* Paul Stastny has been placed on injured reserve with a broken right foot. He is scheduled to be re-evaluated in five weeks. Stastny, 29, suffered the injury in the second period of the Blues' 4-3 win in Vancouver on Oct. 16.* Jaden Schwartz is also on injured reserve after he suffered a fractured left ankle during practice Friday. Following the injury, Schwartz was transported to the Washington University Orthopedic Center, where Dr. Matt Matava and Dr. Jeremy McCormick performed successful surgery on the ankle. Schwartz is scheduled to be re-evaluated in 12 weeks.

Chicago

The Blackhawks have recalled forward Tanner Kero (CARE-oh) from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.
Kero, 23, has eight points (6G, 2A) in five games with the IceHogs this season. Earlier this week, the centerman was named CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 25 with three goals, an assist and a plus-5 rating over three tilts. Kero’s six goals rank third in the AHL and eight points are tied for 10th.

Winnipeg

October 27, 2015 will be a milestone night for Jets captain Andrew Ladd.
When he laces up his skates to battle the Los Angeles Kings tonight, the 29-year-old will be playing in his 700th career NHL game. In his career, Ladd has amassed 187 goals and 426 points. But according to head coach Paul Maurice, Ladd’s durability may be even more impressive than his point totals. Ladd has only missed five regular season games since the Jets relocated to Winnipeg in 2011. All the credit Ladd would want on an evening like this one is likely two points in the standings for his team. The Jets and Kings played three times last season, with the Jets winning two of them. Ladd scored twice in the final meeting, a 5-2 win on March 1.
Los Angeles comes into MTS Centre riding a five-game win streak. That stretch has powered them to a 5-3-0 record, good enough for second place in the Pacific Division. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick did not take the team’s optional morning skate. Should he get the start, he comes in just as hot as his team. He stopped 66 of 68 shots in his two wins last week.

Colorado

After serving a three-game suspension from the NHL, Barrie is set to make his return to the Avs lineup on Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers and looks to help the club get back in the win column. Barrie was handed the first suspension of his NHL career after the league's Department of Player Safety determined he interfered with and charged Anaheim Ducks defenseman Simon Despres during an Oct. 16 contest.

Nashville

* Mattias Ekholm has signed a six-year, $22.5 million contract that carries an average annual value of $3.75 million. In his second full NHL campaign in 2014-15, the Borlange, Sweden, native doubled his rookie point total (7g-11a-18pts from 1g-8a-9pts), improved plus/minus rating by 20 points (+12 from -8) and increased his average ice time by more than two minutes (19:00 from 16:49).
Nashville's seventh choice, 102nd overall (fourth round), in the 2009 Entry Draft, Ekholm has represented Sweden in the past two World Championships, and also earned a bronze medal at the 2010 World Junior Championship, tying for the tournament lead with a +10 rating, and helped the Tre Kronor win the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament* Miikka Salomaki (MEE-kah SA-loh-MA-kee) has been re-called from Milwaukee (AHL). Salomaki, 22, scored a goal in his lone NHL game to this point, a 3-2 overtime victory vs. the Dallas Stars on Jan. 8, 2015. This season, the Raahe, Finland, native has two points (1g-1a) in three games for the Admirals, bringing his career AHL total to 70 points (28g-42a) in 116 games since the 2013-14 season, when he tied for fifth among league rookies with 50 points (20g-30a). Prior to making the jump to the North American professional scene, the 5-11, 208-pound left wing played three seasons with Karpat Oulu of the Finnish Elite League (2010-13), the same club that produced Predators netminder Pekka Rinne. Nashville’s second choice, 52nd overall (second round), in the 2011 Entry Draft, Salomaki helped Finland to a silver medal at the 2014 World Championship, and played in three consecutive World Junior Championships from 2011-13, as well as a pair of World Under-18 Championships in 2010 and 2011, earning a bronze medal in the latter.
* The Predators will play their next four games on the road as the team’s home, Bridgestone Arena, hosts the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards.* Viktor Arvidsson has been sent down to Milwaukee (AHL). Arvidsson, 22, was recalled last week, and logged 7:40 in the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, his fourth NHL contest of the season.