Players voting on the labor deal
NHL players will have 36 hours from Thursday night until Saturday morning to vote on the new labor deal that would end the four-month lockout.
NHL players will have 36 hours from Thursday night until Saturday morning to vote on the new labor deal that would end the four-month lockout.
The players' association announced that electronic voting would begin Thursday at 8 p.m. and would last until Saturday at 8 a.m. If a majority of the more than 700 players choose to accept the deal that NHL owners unanimously ratified Wednesday, training camps will open Sunday and a 48-game regular season will begin Jan. 19.
Running start
ESPN.com identified the seven hottest players returning to the NHL from Europe and Russia. Topping the list - Flyers fans will love this - is the Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin, who had 65 points in 37 games in the KHL.
Also on the list are Ottawa's Sergei Gonchar, Colorado's Semyon Varlamov, the New York Islanders' John Tavares, Detroit's Damien Brunner, Boston's Tyler Seguin, and Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman.
Jackets' top pick out
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray, the second overall pick in the NHL draft last summer, underwent surgery to repair a dislocation of his left shoulder. He faces up to a six-month recovery.
Murray, 19, captain of the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips, was injured Nov. 16 game. He had appeared in 23 games this season, with two goals and 15 assists, and 14 penalty minutes.