Players taking road games to the extreme

Almost two months into the NHL lockout, a third of the league’s players have drifted to Europe to play in hockey-loving countries such as Sweden and the Czech Republic.

Chicago Blackhawks center Scott Nichol and Florida Panthers defenseman Eric Cairns ended up in a hockey backwater: Britain.

“It’s not what I’m used to,” Nichol said Friday at London’s tiny Lee Valley Ice Centre.

The cramped, one-story metal building is used for London Racers practices — right after a morning figure skating class.

“But we all started out in arenas this size back in Canada,” said Nichol, who had seven goals, 11 assists and 145 penalty minutes with Chicago last season.

He and Cairns play their first game with the Racers on Saturday in Belfast, Northern Ireland, known as the hockey hotbed of Britain.

Nichol knows he’s a long way from his home, Calgary.

“The NHL is the best 700 players in the world,” he said. “So it’s hard to compare it to this. But I just need to play, and I knew there were some good Brits and Canadians over here. It’s about competing and playing, which is better than just staying home and practicing.”

Cairns, who arrived in London early Friday, has come to the Racers for the same reason. After signing an off-season deal that moved him from the New York Islanders to the Panthers, Cairns was “getting bored” waiting for the lockout to end.

“I was kind of going crazy sitting at home in Ontario,” he said. “And I was driving my family and friends crazy being bored out of my mind.”

Nearly 250 NHL players have joined European teams, with league MVP Martin St. Louis signing with Lausanne of the Swiss league Friday.

At his first practice Friday, the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Cairns towered over his new teammates during 3-on-2 drills. Fortunately, there was little contact for a player who ran up 189 penalty minutes last season, the most of any NHL defenseman.

“Our team’s practices this past week have been faster, harder, crisper,” Racers player-manager Dennis Maxwell said. “Having these guys in practice with their experience has all the guys excited. I think their eyes are a little wider open now.”

Zholtok died from heart failure

An autopsy confirmed that NHL player Sergei Zholtok died from heart failure after playing a game this week in Belarus.

Zholtok, 31, a forward for the Nashville Predators, was playing for a club in his native Latvia during the NHL lockout. He was diagnosed previously with an irregular heartbeat, a condition that forced him to miss seven games for the Minnesota Wild in January 2003.

Zholtok left Wednesday’s game between Riga 2000 and Dinamo Minsk about 5 minutes before the end. He collapsed and died in the locker room.

Known as “Zholi” by teammates, Zholtok scored 111 goals, assisted on 147 and drew 166 penalty minutes in 588 NHL games with Boston, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Minnesota and Nashville, where he finished last season after a trade from Minnesota in March.

Zholtok, who had a career-best 26 goals for the Canadiens in 1999-2000, was a member of the Latvian team that won silver at the 1994 world championships.

Esche issues apology

Philadelphia goaltender Robert Esche apologized to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for calling him a “madman,” Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said.

Clarke was embarrassed when Esche ripped the commissioner after attending an NHL Players’ Association meeting in Toronto.

Clarke said Thursday he believed that Esche was frustrated after attending the meeting, during which it was clear no progress was being made in the NHL lockout.

“I think there’s a lot of great owners out there but there’s a madman leading them down the wrong path,” Esche said.

Clarke called Esche and told him it was fine to back his union, but was disrespectful to Bettman to make his comments personal.

Clarke said he asked — but did not order — Esche to apologize, and the goalie agreed.