COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -Anson Carter signed a one-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday, two days before the team opens training camp.

Carter, who has played nine years in the NHL, is coming off a career-best, 33-goal season with Vancouver.

The Blue Jackets hope he will serve as the big, physical player they have been missing on their top lines. He also could spark the offense for Columbus, which still hasn't signed young Russian star Nikolai Zherdev. The forward's agent and the Blue Jackets' front office have traded threats and contentious talk throughout the summer.

NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League raises the curtain on the 2006-07 regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 4, with the Carolina Hurricanes raising the Stanley Cup championship banner to the roof of RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C., prior to their game against the Eastern Conference finalist Buffalo Sabres.

The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs renew their rivalry and the Dallas Stars visit the Colorado Avalanche in the other opening-night contests as the quest for playoff spots begins. The 1,230-game schedule runs through April 8. Play over the season's final days, beginning March 23, will be exclusively in-Conference as the playoff races reach their dramatic conclusion.

The Omaha Lancers have announced Luc Robitaille as Lancers Team President. Robitaille, the highest scoring left wing in NHL history and future member of the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame, announced his retirement back in April after 19 successful years in the NHL Lancers

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … At its Annual Meeting held on Hilton Head Island, S.C., last week, the American Hockey League’s Board of Governors approved the format for the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs.

At the conclusion of the 2006-07 regular season, the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs will feature the top four teams in each of the four divisions, with one possible exception: if the fifth-place team in the West Division finishes with more points than the fourth-place team in the North Division, it would cross over and compete in the North Division playoffs.

The Edmonton Oilers have acquired right wing Joffrey Lupul and defenceman Ladislav Smid from the Anaheim Ducks, along with Anaheim’s first round draft choice in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, a conditional first round draft choice and their second round draft choice in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for defenceman Chris Pronger.

Lupul, the Ducks’ first round draft choice (7th overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, just completed his third professional season and second in the NHL, posting NHL career-highs in several offensive categories including goals (28), assists (25), points (53), power-play goals (12) and short-handed goals (2).

DETROIT (AP) -- Steve Yzerman, the Detroit Red Wings' longtime captain who played his entire 22-year NHL career with Detroit, is retiring.
The 41-year-old Yzerman, who was 18 when he joined the Red Wings in 1983, ended months of speculation about his future when he announced his retirement at a news conference Monday. Red Wings great Gordie Howe was in attendance.

"My intention throughout the season was to retire, play one last year," Yzerman said. "I really enjoyed my final season here with the Red Wings. I thought about it a lot, about coming back and playing this season. This is the right decision for me at this time. I really have no doubt about that."

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with unrestricted free agent defenseman Rob Blake, it was announced by Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi.

“Rob Blake is a special player and more importantly a special person,” said Lombardi. “He belongs in a Kings uniform."

The highest scoring defenseman in Kings’ history, Blake, 36, was originally drafted by the Kings (fourth-round/70th overall) in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-2, 225-pound native of Simcoe, Ontario, spent 12 seasons in a Kings uniform during which time he became the first King to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman (1998) and served as the team’s captain from 1996-2001.

Velocity Sport Performance in Centennial, Colorado is hosting a Pro Hockey Skills and Speed Camp between August 8th and 10th from 8am- 11:30am each day. Colorado’s hockey pros have teamed up with the performance experts to bring athletes ages 6-14 the ultimate camp experience.

NHL players Brad Larsen, Marek Svatos, Dan Hinote and others will provide ‘on the ice’ hockey specific training. The degreed and certified coaches of Velocity Sports Performance Centennial will provide ‘off the ice’ training to improve speed, power and agility.

Players will learn how to skate faster, shoot and defend with more power while reducing their likelihood of injury!

Sometimes it is better late than never.

That is certainly the case with Herb Brooks' induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday -- a long overdue honor for the legendary coach who was much more than a mere tactician and taskmaster.

Brooks was part of a four-man class named to the Hall in Wednesday's induction announcement. He is joined by Harley Hotchkiss, chairman of the NHL board of governors, in the builders' category. On the players' side, goalie Patrick Roy, in his first year of eligibility, and old-timer Dick Duff, 70, were selected as honored members of the Hall of Fame.

Re-signed right wing Pierre-Marc Bouchard to a one-year contract; acquired center Pavol Demitra from the Los Angeles Kings for center Patrick O'Sullivan and a 2006 first-round pick.

Colorado acquired defenseman Jordan Leopold, a 2006 second-round pick and a conditional second-round pick in either 2007 or 2008 from the Calgary Flames for left wing Alex Tanguay; acquired a 2006 fifth-round pick from the New York Islanders for 2006 fifth- and sixth-round picks.

Dallas acquired center Patrik Stefan and defenseman Jaroslav Modry from the Atlanta Thrashers for center Niko Kapanen and a 2006 seventh-round pick.

On the eve of the trade deadline, the Vancouver Canucks and the Florida Panthers pulled off a blockbuster deal that will send shock-waves through the NHL. Vancouver acquired goaltender Roberto Luongo and defenseman Lukas Krajicek from Florida in exchange for forward Todd Bertuzzi, defenseman Bryan Allen, and goaltender Alex Auld.

Basically since Kirk McLean exited the Canucks' goal, they haven't had a #1 stopper upon who they could depend for clutch netminding. Dan Cloutier has been good at times, but his playoff performances have left a lot to be desired. But in Luongo, the Canucks would appear to have acquired an elite-level goalie who can help carry them to the next level.

Thornton won the Hart Trophy over Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff and New York Rangers forward Jaromir Jagr.

Thornton also captured the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer with a career-high 125 points (29 goals, 96 assists). He tallied 20 goals and 72 assists in 58 games with San Jose following the November 30 trade from Boston.

"I went into a situation and got a chance to play with some really good players," said Thornton. "I never really changed my game. I'm just playing with some different players, that's all."

Justin Williams, Aaron Ward and Frantisek Kaberle all lit the lamp to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a dominating 3-1 victory in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight at the RBC Center in Raleigh. With the win, the Hurricanes captured the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

NEW YORK -- The St. Louis Blues won the National Hockey League Draft Drawing today and retained the first overall drafting position for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Saturday, June 24 at General Motors Place in Vancouver.

The Blues had the greatest chance that one of the numbered sequences assigned to them would be the winning combination, 25.0%, based on inverse order of regular-season finish. Under the lottery system, only the five teams with the fewest points had the chance to win the first overall selection; no team could move up more than four spots and no team could move backward more than one.

Craig Patrick is out as general manager of the Penguins.

The move will be announced at a press conference today at 12:30 p.m.

His successor has not been named.

Patrick, whose contract is about to expire, took over as GM of the team in December 1989 and guided it to Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992 but has received increasing criticism from the press and public in recent years.

He was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette

TORONTO (CP) - The Maple Leafs fired Pat Quinn on Thursday, making the veteran coach the latest victim of Toronto's inability to recapture its hockey glory.

The 63-year-old Quinn, who still had another year on his contract, leaves after seven seasons behind the Toronto bench.

His last season was the most difficult, the Leafs missing the post-season for the first time under his helm despite a late charge. It was only the fourth season overall in Quinn's stellar 19-year coaching career that he missed the playoffs.

Quinn has never won a Stanley Cup as head coach although he led the 1980 Philadelphia Flyers and '94 Vancouver Canucks to the final. He also coached Team Canada to Olympic gold in 2002 and the World Cup of Hockey championship in 2004.