The Origin of National Hockey League

NHL is a professional ice hockey league consisting 30 teams which are located throughout North America. It is one of the North American major professional sports leagues. Also the Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, being awarded to the champion team at the end of each season every year. There are an increasing number of hockey fans now wearing their favorite hockey jersey and supporting their favorite teams and players.

Stephane Yelle is acquired by Hurricanes

President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes Jim Rutherford announced that the team has agreed to add center Stephane Yelle on a one-year contract.

In 2008-09, Yelle scored seven goals and 11 assists in 77 regular-season games with Boston Bruins. He has scored 92 goals and 165 assists,collecting 458 penalty minutes in 921 career NHL regular-season games with Colorado, Calgary and Boston. Yelle was originally drafted by New Jersey in the eighth round in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. On behalf on the Avalanche he won the Stanley Cup in 1996 and 2001.

The coming of 2010 Winter Classic

The National Hockey League announced a piece of important information which is about the 2010 NHL Winter Classic on Aug. 17. The NHL's annual outdoor game will begin on New Year's Day with the Boston Bruins.

Last season's 2009 Bridgestone/NHL Winter Classic attracted 5.6 million North American TV audience and more than 750,000 visitors gathered on NHL.com. In 2008 the Eastern Conference rivals also received the SportsBusiness Journal "Sports Event of the Year" award for its inaugural edition. In 2008, the NHL Winter Classic between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins sold out the 74,000 tickets in just 20 minutes. Last year's Winter Classic received more than 240,000 ticket requests between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings.

Gregory Stewart sign Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey announced on August,10 that the signing of forward Gregory Stewart to a one-year contract has been confirmed. In his first AHL debut, Stewart collected 17 points and 137 penalty minutes in 69 games with Hamilton.

In 2008-09, he registered one point with 32 penalty minutes in 20 contests with Montreal Canadiens. He also scored 17 points with 170 penalty minutes in 51 AHL games. Stewart played in two NHL games and two AHL games in 2008-09.

Olympic Orientation Camp opens

The U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Orientation Camp opened to the general public from Aug. 17, to Aug. 18, at the Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge, Illinois.The camp is designed to help to get ready for the 2010 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team which will begin from Feb. 12 to 28, 2010, in Vancouver.

In addition, USA Hockey club revealed the three versions of the new brand Olympic hockey jerseys that the team will wear during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games on Aug. 17. There are 34 players being invited to the camp,and they were divided into two groups. Each group will practice for one hour everyday.

Nokelainen joins in Ducks for the 2010-11 season

Nokelainen was originally acquired by New York Islanders in exchange for center Ben Walter on Sept. 11, 2007, recording career highs in 10 points, and 19 penalty minutes in 2007-08. Recently Ducks announced that they have signed center Petteri Nokelainen to a one-year deal till the 2010-11 NHL season.

Center Nokelainen, who was acquired from Boston in exchange for defenseman Steve Montador on March 4, 2009, made his Anaheim performance on Mar. 6 and scored his first goal as on March 11 vs. Vancouver. He also appeared in nine Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Brent Flahr was made assistant general manager by Minnesota Wild

Harding appeared in 19 games with the Wild in 2008-09,and in 58 NHL games for Minnesota in parts of four seasons."Brent is one of the top talent evaluators in the NHL and was an integral member of Anaheim's scouting staff on their 2007 Stanley Cup team," said Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher.

Before joining the Senators, he spent four seasons working for the Anaheim Ducks and helped to lead Ducks to get the 2007 Stanley Cup. From 1996 to 2003, Flahr served in a number of positions, including the general manager's assistant and scouting and video coordinator. He was also the director of hockey operations for the Panthers’ AHL affiliate.

Andre Deveaux joins in Maple Leafs

President and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs Brian Burke announced to the media that the club has signed forward Andre Deveaux to a one-year contract. Deveaux's 2008-09 season can be devided into the Maple Leafs season and AHL’s Toronto Marlies season. In 21 games with the Maple Leafs he collected 1assist and 75 penalty minutes. He became the first Bahamian native to play in the NHL and recorded his first NHL point on December 23 against Dallas.

In 38 games with the AHL team he got 14 goals and 11 assists. He ranked second in the team and added 3 assists and 14 penalty minutes for the team.

Chicago Blackhawks sign Danny Bois

Danny Bois will play for the Blackhawks for about one year, according to the contract he has signed with Blackhawks.Bois ranked third on the American Hockey League’s Binghamton Senators with 149 penalty minutes while collecting 24 points in 66 regular-season games.

He got career highs in goals 18, assists 17, points 35 in 2005-06 with Binghamton. Bois also skated for four seasons with London Knights, registering 911 penalty minutes and 139 points in 236 games from 2000 to 2004.

Huskins rejoined in San Jose Sharks

Executive Vice President and General Manager of San Jose Sharks -- Doug Wilson announced that they have re-signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Kent Huskins for two years. He recorded six points in 33 games with Ducks but missed most of the season because of a broken foot. He was sent to San Jose on March 4 in exchange for Timo Pielmeier and Nick Bonino. Recently he finished his third NHL season in 2008-09.

He has got 28 points and 100 penalty minutes in 142 NHL games with Ducks . In 27 Stanley Cup Playoff games, he has recorded two assists. He was also a member of Ducks’ 2007 Stanley Cup-winning team, playing in all 21 Cup Final games.

Leopold became a member of Panthers

Florida Panthers Assistant General Manager Randy Sexton told the media that they have signed with Jordan Leopold to a one-year contract. "When we made the deal for Leopold last week, we did so knowing he was the kind of player and person that we wanted in our organization," Sexton said.

Leopold played in 83 games last season with Calgary and Colorado scoring seven goals with 17 assists.In his NHL career, he has played in 355 games with Calgary and Colorado. He has also played in 46 contests for both Colorado and Calgary, scoring 15 assists and 18 penalty minutes.

The exchange between Fritsche and Reitz

The Wild has acquired Dan Fritsche from the New York Rangers in place of the denfenseman Erik Reitz. This exchange is reported by Minnesota Wild President and General Manager Doug Risebrough. He regards Dan as a versatile player, a determined player and a winning player.And Fritsche has won a Memorial Cup and a World Junior Championship for USA.

This season Fritsche has got 4 points in 16 games with the Rangers, and 67 points and 93 penalty minutes in 222 career NHL games in total. In 2004 he was a member of the USA World Junior team which got the gold medal. In 2005, he played with the Ontario Hockey League and won the Memorial Cup.

Ducks welcomes Parros

George Parros from Red Wings has signed a 3-year contract with Ducks. It means Parros will play till the end of the 2011-12 season. Ducks Executive Vice President Manager Bob Murray announces that they are happy to sign with Parros for more seasons.

Parros has earned 8 points with 74 penalty minutes in 45 games this year and ranked third in the club. He has also appeared in six career contests and got 14 points with 359 PIM in 146 career regular season games with Anaheim.Originally he was acquired from Colorado and drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 8th round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Parros has earned 19 points a plus-10 rating in 203 career NHL games.

Jim Gregory suffered a heart attack

The NHL Senior Vice President Jim Gregory has been taken to St.Michael's Hospital in Toronto because of a heart attack.Gregory is 73 and has been involved in professional hockey for 50 years.In the late 1960s he started the cooperation with NHL and was hired as a scout for Maple Leafs.

In 1980s,he moved to the hockey operations department where he was an important leading force in most of the on-ice improvements.Also he has been the Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame's Selection Committee since 1998.