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."
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS