Briefly
First the Philadelphia Flyers shored up their defense, then they nabbed the best forward on the free-agent market.
The third day of the National Hockey League’s free-agent shopping season was just as crazy as the second. But Wednesday was the day that superstar forward Peter Forsberg became unavailable.
The Flyers signed Forsberg to a two-year deal, bringing back the main player they traded for Eric Lindros 13 years ago.
“Peter Forsberg is one of the best players in the game,” general manager Bob Clarke said in a statement. “We signed him knowing that he puts us over the cap and we will have to trade some guys now.”
Forsberg received a two-year deal worth $11.5 million. That contract came one day after Philadelphia inked free-agent defensemen Derian Hatcher (four years, $14 million), Mike Rathje (five years, $17.5 million), and Chris Therien (one year, $500,000).
The Flyers bought out forwards John LeClair and Tony Amonte after the new salary cap was set at $39 million and now they appear set to deal forward Jeremy Roenick to Los Angeles to fit in Forsberg.
They weren’t the only team active when big names signed to stay, signed to leave, and got traded away.
Mike Modano broke off talks with Dallas early in the day, but decided to return to the Stars by the end of the day.
Two other captains from the Western Conference also aren’t going anywhere.
The Vancouver Canucks re-signed leading scorer Markus Naslund, giving him a three-year contract worth $18 million.
Jarome Iginla took himself out of the unrestricted picture for next summer by inking a three-year, $21-million deal to stay with the Calgary Flames.
Years after Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier led them to Stanley Cup titles, the Edmonton Oilers are starting to look like contenders again.
Late Tuesday night, the Oilers acquired four-time All-Star defenseman Chris Pronger from the St. Louis Blues for defensemen Eric Brewer, former Spokanae Chief Doug Lynch and Jeff Woywitka.
The Oilers also plucked Michael Peca away from the Islanders for forward Mike York and a conditional pick in next year’s draft.
Longtime New York Rangers defenseman Brian Leetch said goodbye to Toronto – which barely got to know him – and signed a one-year deal with the Boston Bruins for $4 million.
In other moves:
•Montreal re-signed Alexei Kovalev to a four-year deal worth $4.5 million per season, and inked former Detroit forward-defenseman Mathieu Dandenault to a four-year contract that will pay him $6.9 million
•Columbus signed defenseman Bryan Berard to a two-year deal worth $2.2 million per season.
•Colorado signed center Pierre Turgeon and defenseman Patrice Brisebois to two-year contracts.
•Dallas signed defensemen Martin Skoula and Patrick Traverse and forwards Mathias Tjarnqvist and Vojtech Polak.
•Minnesota signed forward Marc Chouinard and goaltender Manny Fernandez.
•The Rangers brought back forward Martin Rucinsky for his third stint with the club, and re-signed restricted free-agent defenseman Thomas Pock.
Across Pennsylvania on the western side, the Flyers’ divisional rivals in Pittsburgh got a big defenseman of their own when the Penguins pried Sergei Gonchar away from the Bruins with a five-year, $25-million contract.
•Stephen Walkom was hired as NHL director of officiating, the league announced from Toronto.
Walkom became an NHL official in 1990 and has been one of the league’s top referees for the last several years.
He will leave the ice, effective immediately, and replace Andy Van Hellemond, who resigned in July 2004.
Basketball
Pro basketball league folds
Employees of the now-defunct All American Professional Basketball League are hoping they’ll still be paid after the league announced it had folded before the first game was played.
Cliff Levingston, a former NBA player who was hired to coach the Billings (Mont.) Rims, said he hadn’t been paid, and as far as he knew none of the coaches had. Scott Woodson, who was to handle marketing and game-day operations for the Rims, said he hadn’t been paid in more than a month.
Messages left by The Associated Press both at the AAPBL offices and at the home of league founder Worth Christie were not immediately returned.
Christie, a retired Casper, Wyo., businessman, announced the league’s demise in an e-mail Monday. Teams were to have been located in Hutchinson, Topeka and Wichita, Kan.; Mankato, Minn.; Billings, Butte and Great Falls, Mont.; Lincoln, Neb.; Minot, N.D; and Casper.
Miscellany
Ziegler, Keller swim to 800 wins
Teenager Kate Ziegler and veteran Klete Keller won the 800-meter freestyle races on the opening night of swimming’s U.S. Summer Nationals at Irvine, Calif.
Ziegler led wire-to-wire and won in 8 minutes, 31.11 seconds. Keller took the lead at 500 meters and cruised home in 7:56.66.
Michael Phelps had a rare day off, leaving the spotlight to the distance swimmers. He’ll return to racing today.
•Marat Safin, ranked fourth in the world in men’s tennis, has pulled out of next week’s Rogers Cup in Montreal to give his surgically repaired left knee extra time to heal.
Top-ranked Roger Federer, the defending champion, pulled out of the tournament last month with a foot injury.
•Zinedine Zidane, 33, the FIFA’s world soccer player of the year in 1998, 2000 and 2003, is coming out of international retirement to help France qualify for the 2006 World Cup.