Around The NHL: Chicago Coach Hospitalized, Matt Duchene Sidelined Indefinitely, Versteeg To Flyers

Added on Feb 16, 2011 by J Merrill in

NHL

Chicago Blackhawks Coach Quenneville Hospitalized

When the Blackhawks reported for their Wednesday morning practice at the United Center, they were informed that they would be with out head coach Joe Quenneville for the game scheduled for tonight. Coach Q was admitted to the hospital after going to the ER after an undisclosed condition. Assistant Mike Haviland was named acting head coach for the game.

Blackhawks team doctor Dr. Michael Terry told the media he was in stable condition. He said “Joel presented severe discomfort late last night at his home in suburban Chicago. He went to the emergency room and was admitted early this morning. He is currently in stable condition and is being treated for an undisclosed health concern today, not of cardiac nature.”

Ptrick Kane, who recently missed some games because of a flu, told the media they need to focus on the game, and take some stress off of Coach Q with a win. Both the Wild, and the Hawks, are sitting just outside the the playoff bubble. Kane said “Anytime you hear that somebody’s in the hospital, it’s definitely scary news. More importantly, we can go out there and get him a win tonight and make him happy where he is. Tonight’s a really important game, because Minnesota’s right there with us and we need this game. It’s a huge game for us. It’s going to be tough to not have our leader behind the bench, but at the same time we can do some special things out there and hopefully get a win for him.”

Matt Duchene Sidelined Indefinitely

Things keep getting worse for the Colorado Avalanche. The team announced today that their leading scorer Matt Duchene will be sidelined indefinitely with an injury to his hand. The 20-year-old center was hit with a shot puck in the second period Monday in the Avalanche’s 9-1 loss to Calgary. Duchene has 21 goals and 47 points in 57 games, and he played in last month’s NHL All-Star Game.

Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said after the practice this morning that this is just another thing they have to get past. He said “It’s just something we have to deal with. Every team goes through these situations. We’ve never used it as an excuse and we certainly won’t now. It has an impact on our club. There’s no question all the injuries have an impact on our club. We don’t feel sorry for ourselves and no one else certainly will. That was an example last game. Calgary certainly didn’t feel sorry for us. We have to really put the focus on what we’re doing here right now.”

Injuries have been the story this season for the Avs. The Avalanche has lost 280 man games to injuries and illnesses this season, the most in the Western Conference.

Flyers Sign Kris Versteeg

On Monday night, The Philadelphia Flyers acquired Kris Versteeg from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exhange for a first- and third-round pick at the 2011 Entry Draft. The Maple Leafs, who acquired Versteeg from Chicago last summer, are currently 12th overall in the Eastern Conference.

The Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren “Kris is an exciting young forward. He’s 24 years old and he’ll fit in with our group of players here. He’s a quality forward that can play in a lot of different roles for our hockey team. He can move up and down our lineup. He can kill penalties. He can play on the power play. We think he’s a guy that over the last few years, particularly in Chicago, has really blossomed into a good forward and we think he’s going to be a really good addition to our team.”

Kris Versteeg said he was really excited to be joining the flyers. He said “Right away I was extremely excited to join this team. They’ve had a lot of success this season. They had a great playoff push last year and I’m excited to try and have a good one this year. I like to make plays and score goals at the same time, maybe go out there and be an agitator at times too. I’m going to try and do it all and have fun doing it.”