Retired hockey enforcer Bob Probert, as adept with his fists as with a stick in a 16-season career with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, died Monday after suffering chest pains while boating with his family. He was 45. “Bob lost the fight of his life this afternoon,” said Probert’s father-in-law, Dan Parkinson, a police officer who performed CPR before Probert was rushed…

The NHL draft wrapped up with the final six rounds Saturday during a weekend with plenty of trade speculation, but few completed deals. Minnesota State center Tyler Pitlick was the first pick of the second round by the Edmonton Oilers, who took Taylor Hall with the No. 1 overall selection on Friday night.

San Jose Sharks captain Rob Blake has retired after a 20-year career as one of the league’s top defensemen. Blake announced his decision at a news conference Friday in San Jose. The 40-year-old Blake won a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2001, the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman for Los Angeles in 1998, and an Olympic gold medal for Canada in 2002.

The Phoenix Coyotes have re-signed defenseman Adrian Aucoin to a two-year contract. Financial terms of the deal weren’t released Thursday. Aucoin, 36, had eight goals and 20 assists while playing in all 82 regular-season games in his first year with Phoenix. He also had two assists in seven playoff games and led the NHL with six shootout-winning goals.

The NHL could soon be one step closer to on-ice penalties for blindside hits to the head. After the league’s 30 general managers unanimously recommended that players be penalized and ejected from games for newly outlawed hits, the 10-man NHL competition committee will pick up the debate Friday. At its meeting earlier this month during the Stanley Cup finals, the GMs were in full agreement that…

The St. Louis Blues now have a goalie who fits right into their youth movement, acquiring Jaroslav Halak fresh off his star-making playoff run for Montreal. The Blues picked up the 25-year-old Halak, whose play helped the Canadiens make a surprise run to the Eastern Conference finals, on Thursday for a pair of minor league forwards, former 2007 first-round pick Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.

Philadelphia Flyers star center Danny Briere and his 9-year-old son escaped serious injury in a collision with a tractor-trailer near the New York-Pennsylvania state line early Thursday, authorities said. The accident happened around 12:30 a.m. on Interstate 81 just north of the Pennsylvania line. New York State Police Sgt.

The fourth time apparently was the charm for John MacLean. A perennial candidate to lead the team he played for and coached as an assistant, MacLean was named the head coach of the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, replacing the retired Jacques Lemaire. MacLean was considered for the head coaching position with the Devils on three other occasions, but lost out to, in order, Claude Julien (2006), Brent…

Ice Edge Holdings says it has provided the city of Glendale proof that it has the financing to complete the purchase of the Phoenix Coyotes. As part of a city council decision June 8, Ice Edge had to provide the financial documents within 10 days. Bank funding is part of Ice Edge’s bid to purchase the NHL team.

Philadelphia Flyers star center Danny Briere and his 9-year-old son
escaped serious injury in a collision early Thursday with a
tractor-trailer near the New York-Pennsylvania state line,
authorities said.

The St. Louis Blues have acquired goaltender Jaroslav Halak from
the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forwards Lars Eller and Ian
Schultz.

John MacLean is the new coach of the New Jersey Devils, replacing
the retired Jacques Lemaire.

The Detroit Red Wings and Todd Bertuzzi have agreed to a two-year
contract.

The Detroit Red Wings and Todd Bertuzzi have agreed to a two-year contract. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland confirmed the deal Wednesday night. Bertuzzi had 18 goals and 44 points last season, ranking fifth on the team. He played all 82 games in a regular season for the first time since 2005-06. The right winger had a career-high 11 playoff points, helping Detroit advance to the second round of…

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland and assistant GM Jim Nill have drafted, developed and acquired enough talent to help the franchise thrive as one of the most successful in sports for more than a decade. For that, they were rewarded Wednesday with five-year contracts to replace their one-year deals.

The New Jersey Devils and the city of Newark are heading to court
to settle a dispute over rent at Prudential Center, The New York
Post said Wednesday, citing a local report.

Cam Neely had a direct approach to playing hockey. Go for the goal and knock down any opponent blocking the way. His decision to return to the sport in a management role was more roundabout. The hockey Hall of Famer needed several years to accept the reality that his body no longer could take the battering.

The Minnesota Wild have re-signed center James Sheppard to a
one-year contract.

The Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks will play an exhibition
game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Winnipeg in the fall.