- CSNNE.com
Morning Skate: Markov's time with Canadiens likely up
Ryan Spooner and the Bruins never made it to arbitration, settling on a one-year, $2.825 million contract ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the agreement. Spooner and his camp sought a $3.85 million deal, while the Bruins submitted $2 million as their number. Settling outside of arbitration locks in the player at an affordable number while avoiding a potentially messy process. Though Spooner now has a contract, his future with the Bruins isn’t much clearer than it was at season’s end. The 25-year-old center was a healthy scratch for the last two games of Boston’s playoff run,
Associated PressNY Rangers sign Zibanejad to $26.75 million, 5-year deal
Mika Zibanejad knew from the moment the New York Rangers traded Derek Stepan that his role would be more substantial. The Rangers avoided arbitration Tuesday and signed Zibanejad to a $26.75 million, five-year deal that carries a salary-cap hit of $5.35 million through 2021-22. With Stepan gone, the 24-year-old Swede goes into the season as New York's new No. 1 center.
- ProHockeyTalk
3 KHL players suspended after testing positive for banned substances
The International Ice Hockey Federation has announced that three KHL players have been suspended after testing positive for banned substances. Here’s an excerpt from the KHL’s website: The IIHF has informed the KHL that three players – forward Danis Zaripov (then with Metallurg Magnitogorsk), defenseman Andrei Konev (Admiral Vladivostok) and defenseman Derek Smith (Medvescak Zagreb) – have tested positive for banned substances. Derek Smith tested positive for a category S6.а stimulant. Andrei Konev tested positive for a category S6.b stimulant. Danis Zaripov tested positive for a category S6.b stimulant plus category S5 diuretics and masking agents. Zapirov, who was part of Team Russia at the
