Weber heads UFA list

Fans in Zurich, Lisbon and Athens  – among other cities – aren’t too pleased today after some of their biggest star free agents decided to try the open market. Elite defensemen like Shea Weber, Brent Seabrook, Dustin Byfuglien and Keith Yandle are among the prizes available in the free agent frenzy that will start Sunday afternoon. GMs will then…

Mark Stone goes to Bern, first overall

Mark Stone, 22, was the first player selected in the EURO draft in Copenhagen and he dutifully took his place next to Bern General Manager Randy Rock and coach Mike Babcock for photos. In a few weeks, Stone will probably be standing next to Joe Thornton and Andrei Kostitsyn on the Bears’ top forward line.…

Prospect or Proven? Who will go first?

COPENHAGEN – The Season 6 EURO League draft will open today in Copenhagen, Denmark, where as many as 8 draftees could cancel their return flight tickets because the Tridents have accumulated that many picks in this draft, including 3 in the first round. Trades brought them Dublin’s and Madrid’s top picks in addition to their own. The first players…

11 players retire from EURO

Eleven players who saw action in Season 5 have decided to retire. Some might be added to list of Hall of Fame candidates when voting occurs between seasons. Here they are with their Season 5 stats: Tim Thomas, G, Copenhagen – 65 GP; 3.61 GAA; 87.6 SvPercentage Patrik Elias, LW, Munich – 82 GP; 46…

Belfast wins Cup for second time

A close race ended with a lopsided 6-1 score in Game 7 and the Belfast Giants won the EURO Cup for the second season in a row Thursday. Belfast and Berlin were separated by just a point in the standings and by a single shot in the final game, but Belfast’s shooters were deadly against Smurf goalies…

A Game 7 for the Cup!

The battle for the Season 5 EURO Cup has turned out to be an epic, memorable battle between two excellent teams. Berlin forced a Game 7 with a 6-3 win in Germany on Tuesday. The Giants and Smurfs will play for the title on Thursday in Belfast, where the Giants haven’t lost in the playoffs…

Belfast pushes Smurfs to brink

Matt Duchene filled in nicely for injured Sidney Crosby on the top line as Belfast thoroughly outplayed Berlin in Game 5 of the finals. Berlin now faces a must-win game at home on Tuesday. On Sunday, Belfast came out strong and – uncharacteristically of late – finished stronger by outshooting the Smurfs 8-1 in period 3. The…

Berlin wins; Series tied at 2-2

The Cup Finals has now become a best 2 out of 3 series after Berlin won Friday 3-1 to knot the finals. The series will return to Belfast, where the Giants enjoyed complete and utter control of play in the first two games. But Sidney Crosby, who is tied for the team lead in scoring…