Coyotes general manager Don Maloney announced the signing Monday, but didn’t disclose financial details.

The 19-year-old Samuelsson is from Scottsdale and is the son of former NHL defenseman and ex-Coyotes assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson.

He has been playing for the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings and has 32 goals and 47 assists in 67 games this season. He currently ranks third on the team in goals and points.

Samuelson also played for the Oil Kings and Modo Hockey Ornskoldsvik of the Swedish Elite League and was the 27th overall pick in the 2012 NHL draft by Phoenix.

The post Coyotes sign Henrik Samuelsson appeared first on IdealCapper.

Blackhawks forward Daniel Carcillo will also play Friday night, according to Quenneville. Carcillo has not played since suffering a lower-body injury in the season opener against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 19.

Hossa practiced with the team for the second consecutive day Friday since taking the hit from Hansen on Tuesday. Hossa said Friday he passed the team’s protocol for head injuries.

“I should be ready to go,” Hossa said after Friday’s morning skate at the United Center. “I passed the test on the computer, so I should be fine. I feel good otherwise. If I had a little doubt, I wouldn’t go. I wouldn’t play. I wouldn’t practice. Everything is cleared.”

Hansen said he was going for the puck Tuesday at the United Center when his left forearm connected with the back of Hossa’s head early in the third period. Hossa was on the ice face-first for a few minutes before departing to the locker room under his own power. He did not return to the game.

Hossa said he felt shaky after the hit, but he said he did not suffer a concussion. Hansen was suspended one game on Wednesday.

Hossa suffered a severe head injury last season when the Phoenix Coyotes’ Raffi Torres launched himself into Hossa during their first-round playoff series. Hossa was taken off the ice on a stretcher. He did not return for the team’s final three games and was not cleared until early December.

Quenneville said Friday the Blackhawks made sure Hossa was comfortable with playing again right away.

“That’s the first step, I know he’s got to make sure he’s comfortable and we’re comfortable with him playing,” Quenneville said. “We always look at the history, and there’s some hurdles and tests you got to make sure you face and pass. Organizationally, he’s ready to go, and he’s clear.”

Hossa had two goals before being knocked out of Tuesday’s game. He is second on the Blackhawks with eight goals and third with 14 points.

Carcillo had to be helped off the ice after he collided with Kings defenseman Drew Doughty against the boards on Jan. 19. It was Carcillo’s first game since tearing the ACL in his left knee against the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 2, 2012. He required season-ending surgery last season. The latest injury to Carcillo was to his right knee, a source told ESPNChicago.com, and did not require surgery.

Quenneville said he expected Carcillo to continue to play a physical style of hockey and not be concerned about the back-to-back injuries.

“I think the way he plays, the way he has to play, we want to make sure he doesn’t have that thought in the way he approaches the game or goes into shifts,” Quenneville said. “He’s got to play one way, and I think that’s his style. We expect him to do that. I don’t foresee he would have any apprehensions in how he has to play.”

Carcillo played on the team’s first line along with Marian Hossa and Jonathan in the season opener. Quenneville said he expected to use Carcillo on the fourth line with Marcus Kruger and Michael Frolik on Friday.

Carcillo was excited to play again after all he’s been through the past few seasons.

“The last two years have been a tough road for sure,” Carcillo said. “But dealing with the injury last year certainly helped the early onset of this injury. It’s a bit of a shot to your pride because you want to be healthy and you want to be out with the guys. They have been playing so well. It’s a privilege to be able to come here and play this game.”

The 28-year-old Carcillo was signed by the Blackhawks as a free agent in July of 2011. He signed a two-year contract extension in March of 2012. He has 38 goals and 47 assists in 311 career NHL games.

Chicago will try to set a record Friday by opening the season with 17 consecutive games with at least one point.

The post Hossa returns to face Sharks appeared first on IdealCapper.

A separate group of investors is prepared to step into the void created by Jamison’s failure to produce the money he repeatedly insisted he would deliver to complete the deal, but the question is whether Glendale officials will agree to extend the lease agreement to a new group given that it was Jamison who negotiated the terms of the highly contentious lease deal.

It’s believed that Mayor Jerry Weiers, who took office after the lease agreement was passed by the previous council, would be agreeable to discussing keeping the team in Glendale with this new group, although it’s believed he will want to rework the deal to make it more beneficial for the city.

Under the current lease agreement, the team’s owners would receive some $308 million over the life of the 20-year deal to manage the property, an average of slightly more than $15 million annually in management fees.

It is almost certain that when Thursday’s deadline passes, Jamison’s role in any purchase agreement with the league or lease agreement with the City of Glendale will be at an end.

In a brief telephone conversation Tuesday, Jamison told ESPN.com there wasn’t much to say, and he has told media outlets in Arizona that he still was working toward completing a deal. Attempts to reach Jamison on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Although Weiers was not available for comment, he told the Arizona Republic earlier this week that even though he was not in favor of the lease agreement arranged by Jamison, he would honor it up until Thursday’s deadline.

But Weiers told the Arizona Republic he made it clear to Jamison that the city would not honor the lease deal “one second past” the midnight deadline.

The new ownership group, which, according to sources, has arranged for financing that would allow for the purchase of the team from the league at a reported price of $170 million, is hoping to discuss parameters for a new lease agreement in the next few days, perhaps as early as Thursday.

The league has established no deadlines in relation to selling the team, although it’s clear a lease agreement between potential buyers and the city is integral to keeping the team in Arizona.

“It’s still a work in progress, and we’ll see how the week plays out,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com on Wednesday morning.

If this new group and the city cannot come to an agreement on a lease agreement it likely would be the final act in the long drama that has been the Coyotes’ ownership sage.

The NHL has owned the team for almost four years and, barring the emergence of a new suitor willing to start from scratch with the City of Glendale on a lease if things fall apart this week, it would seem inevitable the league will begin the process of relocation.

There are a number of options for relocation, although none are clear-cut.

There are plans to build a new arena in Seattle if the proposed sale of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings to a group that includes investor Chris Hansen and Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer is completed. It’s believed the city and Hansen would welcome an NHL owner to share tenancy in a new building.

But the franchise’s departure from California isn’t guaranteed, and Ron Burkle, co-owner of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, recently met with NBA commissioner David Stern about keeping the Kings in Sacramento.

The northwest city appeals to the NHL on many levels, especially given the potential loss of two large U.S. media markets in Atlanta, which lost the Thrashers to Winnipeg a year-and-a-half ago, and the Coyotes if the deal falls apart in Glendale.

There is also momentum to see a return of NHL hockey to Quebec City, where there are plans for a new NHL-style arena and an ownership group believed to be in place that would be interested in buying the Coyotes for the purposes of relocation.

And the City of Markham, Ontario, just north of Toronto, approved funds to build an NHL-style arena during a hotly contested council meeting Tuesday night.

The post Sources: Coyotes’ sale in question appeared first on IdealCapper.

Hossa was hit illegally in the head by the Phoenix Coyotes’ Raffi Torres in Game 3 of the Blackhawks’ first-round playoff series on April 17, 2011. Hossa was taken off the ice on a stretcher and didn’t play the rest of the season. Torres was originally suspended 25 games and had it reduced to 21 games after an appeal.

“You can’t just be playing careful hockey,” Hossa said after Monday’s practice at Johnny’s IceHouse West. “I just want to be myself. Right now, I feel like that’s where I am.”

Hossa was cleared to play in December and said he hasn’t felt any lingering effects of last year’s injury. He went through his second official practice on Monday and said he continued to feel good.

“Right now when I step on the ice, my head is clear,” Hossa said. “That’s the main thing for me. I wasn’t like that before when I was still here in early November.”

One major stepping stone for Hossa was recently taking his first big hit and being able to skate away from it.

“Three days ago, (Brandon) Bollig hit me pretty hard by accident, so that was a good test,” Hossa said. “I know I passed it.”

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has liked the look of Hossa, too. Quenneville said Hossa was in great shape and could again be highly depended on as he was in the past.

“He’s probably never been in this good of shape in his life,” Quenneville said. “He’s fine. He’s ready to go. He’s ready to play. We anticipate using him in all situations. We know the importance he brings to our team, what he can do for our team.”

Hossa has registered 50-plus points in the past 12 seasons. His 77-point total last season for the Blackhawks was the most he had since having 100 points for the then-Atlanta Thrashers in the 2006-07 season.

The post Marian Hossa of Chicago Blackhawks won’t change style of play despite head injury appeared first on IdealCapper.