Locked-out hockey star Scott Gomez has turned down lucrative offers in Europe to play for a pittance in one of the lowest rungs of professional hockey.
The 24-year-old Gomez, who made US$1 million with the New Jersey Devils last season, has signed a US$500-a-week contract with the Alaska Aces of the minor pro ECHL.
With the National Hockey League labor dispute in its sixth week, the world's best players are being forced to look for ice time where ever they can. No new talks are scheduled.
More than 200 NHLers have skated off to Europe to play for clubs in Russia, Sweden, Germany and Finland. Others are playing with college, university and junior teams to try and stay in shape.
But Gomez is the first NHLer to join the violent and brutal ECHL which courts hockey goons and often resembles the Charlestown Chiefs in the Hollywood movie Slapshot. The homepage of the Bakersfield Condors Web site uses a Condor player in a fighting pose as a backdrop.
Gomez, who was the NHL's rookie of the year in 2000, will make his Aces debut today against the San Diego Gulls.
The Gulls have two players, Mark Pederson and Billy Tibbetts, who have played in the NHL but they didn't join the ECHL until well past their NHL prime.
Pederson, a former first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 1986, played 168 games in the NHL, scoring 35 goals. Tibbetts played 82 NHL games, mostly with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Gomez, who attended high school in Alaska, had gone to arbitration with the Devils this summer before the lock-out and came out with a one-year deal which would have been his sixth season with the team.
"Obviously, we're thrilled to have Scott join our club from a talent standpoint, his abilities and accomplishments speak for themselves," said Anchorage head coach Davis Payne.
"But I'm also excited to bring his team-first attitude into our dressing room. He's made it clear to me that he expects to be treated as one of the guys and that his first priority is bringing his hometown a championship as long as the NHL lock-out remains an issue," Payne said.
Gomez joined the Devils a year after being drafted and promptly earned a trip to the NHL All-Star Game and won the Calder Trophy (top rookie).
Last year, Gomez led the Devils in assists en route to winning the Stanley Cup title over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
His 306 points in five years ranks second on the Devils only to Patrick Elias.
Former Ottawa Senators GM Mel Bridgman doesn't see a lot of NHLers following Gomez lead to the ECHL.
"It is a unique situation," said Bridgman, "it will be determined on a one-on-one basis."
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
Taiwan suffered its first defeat of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12, losing to defending champion Japan 3-1 at the Taipei Dome last night. Japan’s victory put Taiwan’s score at two wins and one loss in WBSC Premier12 championship Group B play. In the top of the first inning, a sacrifice fly from Japanese batter Shota Morishita allowed Masayuki Kuwahara to score a run on Taiwan’s starter Chen Po-ching (陳柏清). Taiwan’s attempt to catch up in the bottom of the first ended to no avail and an uneventful second inning saw the score
A debate over the soul of soccer is raging in FIFA World Cup holders Argentina, pitting defenders of the social role of the beautiful game against the government of libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei, who wants to turn clubs into for-profit companies. Argentina, which gave the world Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, is home to some of the world’s most devoted soccer fans — a fact attributed by supporters like Gabriel Nicosia to the clubs’ community outreach. Nicosia is a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo, a more than 100-year-old first division club based in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boedo where
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty and an overhead kick on Friday as Portugal beat Poland 5-1 to guarantee a place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals. Ronaldo turned in a man-of-the-match performance in a blistering second half. Rafael Leao broke the deadlock with a fine header 14 minutes into the second half and then Ronaldo got his 134th international goal from the penalty spot 13 minutes later. Bruno Fernandes scored a stunning third from almost 30m out and three minutes later Ronaldo’s pass gave Pedro Neto the space to lash home a fourth from a tight angle. Ronaldo made it five — and 135
RSS