Habs' Price takes one for the team

[Habsfan84]

There was a scary moment at the Canadiens' practice yesterday when captain Saku Koivu unleashed a harmless looking wrist shot and caught goaltender Carey Price square on the collarbone.
Price slumped to the ice, gingerly made his way to the bench and showed some rare emotion as he banged a water bottle against the boards.
"It hurt," he said, "but that's part of being a goaltender." Price had a large bruise over the collarbone, but rejoined the workout after a brief rest.



Jokinen eyes milestones: Florida Panthers star Olli Jokinen has a couple of milestones within reach in tonight's game against the Canadiens.
His three-point effort in the Panthers' 6-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday allowed him to tie Scott Mellanby for the all-time franchise lead with 354 points. Jokinen has 156 goals and is one away from tying Mellanby for the franchise goal-scoring lead. And Jokinen will skate in his 300th consecutive game tonight, tying the franchise mark set by Robert Svehla.
Allen struggling: Defenceman Bryan Allen was supposed to be one of the prizes in the deal that sent Roberto Luongo to the Vancouver Canucks, but the Florida defenceman is struggling in the early going. He has no points and is minus-7 through five games.
Jay Bouwmeester is eating up more than 28 minutes a game, but he's also looking for his first point and is minus-4.
NHLPA may have their man: The NHL Players' Association has been without an executive director since it fired Ted Saskin last season, but it has narrowed its search to Boston lawyer Paul V. Kelly. The only question seems to be whether the NHLPA can meet his contract demands.
Kelly has spent more than 20 years as a high-profile lawyer and has experience as a prosecutor - he was an assistant U.S. attorney - and a defence lawyer who has represented a variety of clients charged with crimes ranging from drug dealing to money laundering.
He prosecuted former NHLPA executive director Alan Eagleson during his tenure as an assistant U.S. attorney.
Balsillie back in the picture: BlackBerry magnate Jim Balsillie has re-entered the bidding for the Nashville Predators - with a twist. In a letter to Metro Sports Authority members, he said he's committed to keeping the franchise in Nashville.
Balsillie's bid comes at a time when David Freeman and his 36 Venture Capital Group is trying to negotiate changes in the team's lease. The Freeman group has an exclusive negotiation window with owner Craig Leipold until Oct. 31.
Balsillie's latest bid didn't go over well with Freeman, who told bizjournals.com: "To paraphrase one of my favourite fans: 'Keep your damn hands off our hockey team.' "
But the long-term viability of the team remains in doubt. Whoever owns the team can get out of the lease if the team doesn't average 14,000 paid attendance this season. The team failed to sell out for its season opener. Its last two games have drawn crowds in the 12,000 range and those numbers include free tickets.
Forsberg keeping busy: His NHL career might be on hold, but Peter Forsberg is keeping busy. The Swedish newspaper, Allehanda, reports Forsberg is launching a new airline called Hoga Kusten, which means high coast in Swedish. The airline will be operated by Forspro, a holding company that is co-owned by Forsberg. Forspro also owns the overseas distribution rights to Crocs footwear.