COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Nikolai Zherdev will miss at least three games while an arbitrator decides whether he can stay in the United States.
Zherdev has flown to Zurich, Switzerland, along with officials from the team and the NHL for the arbitration proceedings Thursday and Friday, the team said Tuesday.
The Russian hockey federation contends the 19-year-old player from Ukraine has yet to meet military obligations in his homeland. The NHL, Blue Jackets, Zherdev and his agent believe he should be allowed to remain in the United States.
NHL officials have said the league chose Stephan Netzle of Switzerland from a list of three arbitrators submitted by the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Zherdev, a right wing, has six goals and 10 assists in 39 games since joining the Blue Jackets on Dec. 2. Zherdev, considered one of the bright young players in the game, had a goal and an assist in the Youngstars game on Feb. 7, part of the NHL All-Star weekend.
Blackhawks ship Nieminen to Flames
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks acquired forward Jason Morgan and a conditional draft pick from Calgary on Tuesday in a deal that sent forward Ville Nieminen to the Flames.
Nieminen, signed as a free agent from Pittsburgh in July 2003, had two goals and 11 assists for the Blackhawks this season.
Morgan has six goals and 13 assists in 21 games for Lowell in the AHL. He also had two assists in 13 games with Calgary this season.
Also, the Blackhawks recalled forward Matt Keith from Norfolk of the AHL and claimed winger Eric Nickulas off waivers from St. Louis.
Wings lose Chelios to shoulder strain
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Detroit Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios left Tuesday night's 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks with a strained left shoulder.
Chelios, 42, was falling to the ice after being tied up with Daniel Sedin on a faceoff with 4:32 remaining in the second period when 245 pound Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi tripped over a Detroit player and landed on top of Chelios.
Chelios lay on the ice for several minutes in obvious pain while a trainer attended to him. He left the ice clutching his left arm, went to the dressing room and did not return for the start of the third period.
"I don't know what the term is," coach Dave Lewis said to reporters after the game while Chelios waited on the team bus. "It's like a strain or something."
Lewis said Chelios will not likely play in Detroit's next game Thursday in Calgary.
"He's a very important player," Lewis said. "He's a guy who competes and is positionally sound. He's a veteran, so he knows how to play a tight game and a big game."
A 20-year NHL veteran with 907 career points and two Stanley Cup rings, Chelios two goals, 12 assists and a plus-10 rating in 52 games with Detroit this season.
Lindros cleared to begin concussion rehab
NEW YORK -- New York Rangers star Eric Lindros has been cleared to begin his concussion rehabilitation program.
"Eric is progressing very well and we are encouraged with his recovery to date," said Dr. Karen Johnston, a neurological specialist in Montreal.
The program consists of light cardiovascular activity, with controlled workload and heart rate.
Lindros, sidelined indefinitely, sustained the eighth concussion of his career -- and sixth in the past four years -- during a 2-1 loss to Washington on Jan. 28 when he took a hard hit from Jason Doig in the second period.
Thrashers put three on injured reserve
ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Thrashers placed goaltender Byron Dafoe, defenseman Frantisek Kaberle and right wing J.P. Vigier on injured reserve Tuesday.
All three players were injured during the team's trip to Ottawa last week.
Dafoe injured his back when he slipped on ice outside the team's hotel, and returned home before Atlanta completed its road trip. He is 4-11-1 this season with a 3.14 goals-against average.
Kaberle sprained his knee on his first shift against Ottawa on Thursday, and Vigier hurt his ribs in the same game. Neither has played since.
Also Tuesday, the Thrashers recalled defenseman Shawn Heins from Chicago of the AHL, where he had 23 points and 85 penalty minutes in 47 games.
Blue Jackets recall goalie Brathwaite
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets recalled goaltender Fred Brathwaite on Tuesday from a three-game conditioning assignment with the club's AHL affiliate in Syracuse.
To make room for him, the Blue Jackets sent Pascal Leclaire to Syracuse.
Brathwaite, 31, has appeared in 16 games for the Blue Jackets this season. He has a 2-9-1 record and 3.41 goals-against average. During his conditioning assignment, Brathwaite stopped 78 of 85 shots for Syracuse.
Leclaire, Columbus's first pick and the eighth overall in the 2001 draft, started two games with the Blue Jackets, including his NHL debut Feb. 20 in Phoenix.
Canucks call up high-scoring center Reid
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The Vancouver Canucks recalled center Brandon Reid from Manitoba of the AHL on Tuesday.
Reid had one assist in two games with the Canucks this season. He had two goals and four assists in 16 games with Vancouver last year.
He leads Manitoba in scoring with 15 goals and 28 assists in 56 games, including four goals in a 5-0 win over San Antonio on Friday.
Senators promote goalie Emery
MONTREAL -- The Ottawa Senators recalled goaltender Ray Emery from Binghamton of the AHL on Tuesday after listing backup Martin Prusek as day-to-day with a strained left knee.
Emery is making his third appearance with Ottawa this season. He won his only start with the Senators, a 6-1 victory over Chicago on Dec. 18. He is 18-15-5 with a 2.29 goals-against average with Binghamton this season.
Father of Wild goalie Roloson dies
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- All-Star goalie Dwayne Roloson will miss the Minnesota Wild's road trip to Nashville and Dallas this week because his father died.
Roloson flew home to Simcoe, Ontario, on Tuesday to make funeral arrangements. His father, Albert, died of a stomach aneurysm Monday.
Manny Fernandez will start in Roloson's place, and the Wild were expected to recall a goalie from their AHL affiliate in Houston.
Hole in ice delays Bruins-Isles game
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The game between the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders was delayed 90 minutes Tuesday night because of a hole in the ice around one of the goal creases.
After an Arena Football game was played at Nassau Coliseum on Sunday, the playing surface was changed over from turf to ice Monday. The ice didn't freeze sufficiently, and when the Zamboni resurfaced the ice in the time leading up to Tuesday's game, one of the blades cut a hole.
"Basically, the ice is too thin," said Scott Mullen, Nassau Coliseum's general manager.
The ice is supposed to be about 1½ inches thick, but it was thinner than that when the Zamboni flooded the surface early Tuesday night.
Former Wings great Liscombe dies at 89
DETROIT -- Carl Liscombe, who helped the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup in 1943, died of complications from leukemia. He was 89.
Liscombe died Monday night in Hawaii, where he was living with his daughter, Susan. He had moved there in September.
Liscombe played from 1937-46 for the Red Wings, totaling 137 goals and 277 points. He shares the team record for most goals in a playoff game (four) and most points in a game (seven).
"I was always amazed at the number of people who knew who he was, even out here, where hockey is such a nonentity," Susan Liscombe told the Detroit Free Press. "He would get mail at least once a week -- little 3-by-5 cards, and he always sent them back" after autographing them.
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