Report: Fenway Sports Group signs agreement to purchase Penguins

Fenway Sports Group LLC, owners of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool, have signed an agreement to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins, reports Michael Silverman of the Boston Globe.

The purchase price is currently unknown, and the NHL still needs to approve the deal before it's official.

Pittsburgh's previous owners, Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux, will reportedly remain part of the ownership group, and the Penguins' senior management team will stay in place.

Burkle and Lemieux have owned the Penguins since 1999, saving the franchise from bankruptcy and overseeing three Stanley Cups from 2009-17.

Fenway Sports Group reportedly sought a merger with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment before pursuing Pittsburgh, but the Toronto-based conglomerate wasn't interested.

The Penguins were valued at $845 million in October, the 15th-highest total in the NHL, according to Sportico.

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Canadiens fire Bergevin, name Jeff Gorton executive VP of hockey ops

The Montreal Canadiens overhauled their front office Sunday, firing general manager Marc Bergevin, assistant GM Trevor Timmins, and senior vice president of public affairs and communications Paul Wilson.

The Canadiens also named former New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton executive vice president of hockey operations.

Montreal has begun its search for a new GM; the team stated Bergevin's successor must be able to speak both English and French.

The 56-year-old said Sunday he's proud of what he accomplished during his tenure with the organization and expects the underachieving club to be in good hands going forward.

"The current team is much better than the results show, and I am convinced that my successors will be able to rise to the challenge," he wrote in a statement.

Bergevin had served as the Canadiens' GM since May 2012. The club made the playoffs in six of his nine subsequent full seasons, reaching the Stanley Cup Final last campaign and making an Eastern Conference Final appearance in 2013-14.

However, Montreal has struggled mightily in 2021-22, posting a 6-15-2 record that placed the team second-last in the Atlantic Division entering Sunday's action. Canadiens captain Shea Weber has missed the entire season due to injury and goaltender Carey Price has been away from the team after voluntarily entering the NHL's player assistance program before the campaign began.

Bergevin made several blockbuster moves during his tenure, including trading defenseman P.K. Subban to the Nashville Predators for Weber in June 2016. Bergevin joined Montreal after serving as assistant GM of the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Rangers unexpectedly fired Gorton along with team president John Davidson in May. The latter returned to his former role as the Columbus Blue Jackets president of hockey operations.

New York hired Gorton as GM on July 1, 2015. The Rangers reached the postseason in three of his six years in the position but failed to get past the second round in that span.

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Sharks place Kane on waivers

The San Jose Sharks are waiving Evander Kane on Sunday, as first reported by the Mercury News' Curtis Pashelka.

If Kane goes unclaimed by Monday at 2 p.m. ET, the Sharks will assign him to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, Pashelka adds.

The NHL suspended the forward for 21 games in mid-October after he violated the league's COVID-19 protocol.

Sharks assistant general manager Joe Will revealed Sunday he's expecting Kane to practice with the AHL squad on Tuesday.

"We just decided that since he's a contracted hockey player, it's the best thing at this time for him to continue to play hockey, and this is the best option for that right now," Will said.

The executive added that Kane is fully vaccinated.

The NHL reportedly looked into the 30-year-old's alleged use of a fake vaccination card in early October while investigating a separate matter.

The league also cleared him of wrongdoing following its initial probe in September. That investigation examined his estranged wife Anna's claims that he bet on hockey and threw games.

Kane is under contract with San Jose through 2024-25.

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Senators’ Murray clears waivers, will be assigned to AHL

Ottawa Senators goaltender Matt Murray went unclaimed on the waiver wire and will be demoted, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The Senators will demote Murray to their AHL affiliate, reports Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. Ottawa head coach D.J. Smith said Saturday that the club would assign the netminder to Belleville if he cleared waivers.

More to come.

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Lucic given major, misconduct for boarding DeMelo

Calgary Flames enforcer Milan Lucic was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for boarding Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo on Saturday night.

The incident occurred in the second period. DeMelo left the ice bloodied but ultimately returned.

The NHL has suspended Lucic four times in his career, most recently in 2019 for roughing. The 34-year-old entered Saturday's game with seven points through 20 contests this season.

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Sens’ Tkachuk claims Lemieux bit him: ‘He’s just a complete brickhead’

Los Angeles Kings forward Brendan Lemieux received a five-minute match penalty after Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said Lemieux bit him during a scrum Saturday.

The dustup between the two players occurred in the third period. Once the referees separated them from a lengthy wrestling match, Tkachuk showed the officials his bare hand.

Both players received two roughing minors on the play as well.

Tkachuk didn't mince words postgame.

"This is the one time I'm going to answer this," he said, per Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. "It was the most gutless thing somebody could ever do. This guy, you can ask any one of his teammates, nobody ever wants to play with him. This guy is a bad guy and a bad teammate, he focuses on himself all the time.

"The guy's just a joke. He shouldn't be in the league. This guy's gutless. No other team wants him, he's going to keep begging to be in the NHL but no other team is going to want him, he's an absolute joke. I can't even wrap my head around it. People don't even do this. He's just a bad guy."

Tkachuk continued to go off on Lemieux.

"It's outrageous. Kids don't even do that anymore. Babies do that," Tkachuk said. "I don't even know what he was thinking, he's just a complete brickhead. He's got nothing up there. Bad guy, bad player, but what a joke he is."

Lemieux has been suspended twice in his career: once for hitting Vincent Trocheck's head in 2018 and again for a late hit on Joonas Donskoi in 2020.

The last known biting controversy in the NHL occurred in 2019 when P.K. Subban claimed he was bitten by Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who didn't receive any discipline from the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

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