De Haan is out for 6 months

Calvin de Haan, who is the New York Islanders' second first-round pick in last June's Entry Draft, is scheduled to have shoulder surgery on Thursday, and the team said he is expected to miss six months. De Haan, a star defenseman for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, left Sunday's game against the Saginaw Spirit in the first period with an upper-body injury.

He was taken with the No. 12 pick in the draft. He nearly made the Islanders' roster out of training camp before being returned to Oshawa, and was a member of Canada's silver medal-winning team at the World Junior Championships. De Haan has 5 goals 19 assists with a plus-5 rating in 34 games with the Generals.

Lincecum shows up in court

San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum appeared in court in Washington State on Tuesday morning to resolve his pending charges for possession of marijuana and drug.

Lincecum, who is the two-time defending National League Cy Young Award winner, will pay a fine of $513 to resolve the charges that stemmed from Oct. 30. He appeared before Judge Darvin Zimmerman in Clark County District Court. The charges were reduced to a civil infraction.

D-backs and Montero reach a one-year deal

The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to terms with Miguel Montero on a one-year contract reportedly worth $2 million on Friday. He set several career highs last season with a .294 batting average, 16 home runs and 59 RBIs in 128 games in the diamondbacks jersey. The left-handed hitter also established career highs with 61 runs scored, 125 hits, 30 doubles, 38 walks, a .355 on-base percentage. Among big league catchers, Montero ranked fourth in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage.

The four-year veteran has a career .267 batting average with 31 home runs and 117 RBIs in 288 games with 242 coming at catcher. He was originally signed by the club as an amateur free agent in 2001. The D-backs also avoided the arbitration process with Conor Jackson on Thursday, signing him to a a one-year deal worth $3.1 million.

Sanchez underwent shoulder surgery

Giants manager Bruce Bochy confirmed to The Associated Press that second baseman Freddy Sanchez underwent left shoulder surgery and could miss Opening Day. Bochy first told KNBR radio of Sanchez's surgery, which was an arthroscopic procedure. Sanchez also had surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus in early October. "He's going to be a little delayed," Bochy told the AP. "It'll be close if he can go Opening Day or not."

Sanchez suffered shoulder and knee injuries last season, which limited him to just 25 games with the Giants after putting on his giants jersey. Sanchez batted .284 with a home run and seven RBIs in those 25 games after batting .296 with six home runs and 34 RBIs in 86 games with the Pirates. Even with his injury problems last season, Sanchez was rewarded with a $12 million, two-year contract extension with San Francisco on Oct. 30. The eight-year veteran is a career .299 hitter with 38 home runs and 300 RBIs in 733 games with the Red Sox, Pirates and Giants.

Bonanno is named fantasy award finalist

It is reported that NHL.com's Rocky Bonanno has been named a finalist for the 2009 Fantasy Hockey Writer of the Year presented by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. Also nominated are Sean Allen of ESPN and Scott Pianowski of Yahoo!
This year the not-for-profit organization collected close to 1,000 articles from more than 150 participating writers. The annual writing contest has grown in each of its six years.

"This contest demands hundreds of volunteer hours from our executive staff and judges," said Mike Beacom, FSWA president and chairman, "but the increased interest in the awards suggests all of that hard work is well worth it." The FSWA Executive Committee collects all of the entries and guides the two-step process, which includes a round of judging by the FSWA Board of Directors and then by an independent panel of journalism academics. Judging for this year's awards has now been completed and the winners will be announced at the Winter FSTA Business Conference and Research Symposium in Las Vegas on Jan. 26, 2010.

Michael Leighton appears on NHL Live!

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton will be among the guests on NHL Live! on Monday, scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. on NHL Network and NHL.com. Also slated to appear with hosts Deb Placey and Dave Maloney are NHL.com's Adam Kimelman, TSN commentator Bob McKenzie and NHL Central Scouting Director E.J. McGuire.

Leighton has played a major role in the Flyers after being claimed off waivers by the club on Dec. 15 from the Hurricanes. In 10 appearances with Philadelphia, Leighton is 7-0-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in the flyers jersey.

Yzerman joins in NHL Hour

Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman, who is now executive director of Team Canada and also a vice president with the Detroit Red Wings, will be a special guest on NHL Hour with Commissioner Gary Bettman. The show encourages fans to call in for the Commissioner.

NHL Hour with Commissioner Gary Bettman now broadcasts live on Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET on NHL Home Ice and NHL.com. The show will re-air on SIRIUS XM Radio, with archived shows available for download via podcast on NHL.com. Well will he wear his red wings jersey to show up?

Selanne' surgery is a success

Anaheim Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne underwent surgery successfully to repair two fractured bones in his jaw. The club said the surgery was performed by Dr. Jeffrey Pulver at St. Joseph's Hospital. The team placed Selanne on injured reserve and said he was expected to miss 2 to 6 weeks.

Selanne was injured in the third period of Wednesday's win over Boston Bruins at the Honda Center when Ryan Whitney hit him in the jaw. He fell to the ice immediately and had to be sent to the locker room. Selanne was playing just his third game after missing 17 games with a broken bone in his hand. Selanne has 16 goals and 23 points in 30 games this season in his anaheim ducks jersey.

Yankees agree to terms with Mitre

The Yankees has agreed to term Mitre on a one-year contract. Mitre will earn a base salary of $850,000, plus possible performance incentives. The Yankees officially announced the signing on Thursday morning. Mitre was 3-3 with a 6.79 ERA in 12 games for the Yankees in 2009, returning to the big leagues after undergoing ligament-replacement surgery in July.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that Mitre will enter Spring Training in competition for the fifth starter's role as well as auditioning. If Mitre does not make the team out of Spring Training, he would have to clear waivers to be assigned to the Minor Leagues, but his affordable contract and potential upside could make him attractive to other clubs. Mitre has pitched in parts of six Major League seasons with the Cubs, Marlins and Yankees.

Mariners sign Chris Woodward

It is reported that the Mariners signed utility player Chris Woodward to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. "Chris played an important role for us in 2009 and filled gaps when needed," said Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik. "He is a great guy and served as a role model and a mentor as well as a contributor on the field. We are happy that he will be returning to the Mariners organization and we look forward to his continued contributions in 2010."

Woodward was a non-roster invitee with the Mariners last year and started the season at Triple-A Tacoma. In 20 games with the big league club, Woodward hit .239 while seeing action at second base, third base and shortstop. He was claimed off waivers by Boston on Aug. 7 and played in 13 games in three stints with the Red Sox. In all, Woodward sports a .242 batting average in 10 seasons with Toronto, the New York Mets, Atlanta, Seattle and Boston. After playing with these teams, Woodward will put on mariners jersey now.

Cubs sign Minors deal with Bryan Lahair

The Cubs have signed first baseman LaHair to a Minor League contract and he will be an invitees this spring. FOX Sports first reported that LaHair will compete for a spot on the Cubs' bench. The left-handed hitter has spent his entire career in the Seattle Mariners. Last year at Triple-A Tacoma, he batted .289 with 26 homers and 85 RBIs.

In 2008, LaHair appeared in 45 games with the Mariners and batted .250 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in his mariners jersey. Micah Hoffpauir began the 2009 season on the Opening Day roster, but hit .239 in 105 games. The Cubs are expected to announce their non-roster invitees later this month.

Forward Chris Kunitz will have a surgery on Wednesday

It is reported that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Chris Kunitz will undergo surgery to repair a torn abdominal muscle and will be sidelined for four to six weeks. Dr. William C. Meyers will perform the surgery in Philadelphia. "Chris has played with this injury for an extended period of time and although it is always difficult to lose a very talented player, we all believe this is the best decision for him," said the Penguins Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero. "We are confident that he will come back strong after this surgery. In the meantime, we’ll look to our other forwards to step up in his absence."

Kunitz has collected six goals and 20 points in 30 contests in his pittsburgh penguins jersey this season. He has appeared in 365 career games in the NHL and got 230 points.

Tigers' Laird brothers were arrested

According to Phoenix police, Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and his younger brother, Brandon were arrested on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct last Wednesday in Phoenix. The two ballplayers, plus another man, were arrested after a Phoenix Suns game at U.S. Airways Arena. Gerald Laird was cited for assault, while Brandon was cited for disorderly conduct. Also arrested was Gregory Scott Collins on suspicion of assault after the Suns beat the Boston Celtics.

"While security guards were trying to arrest the suspect for disorderly conduct, the Laird brothers interfered and assaulted the security guards," Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said. Brandon Laird is an infield prospect with the Yankees. He played for the Surprise Rafters in the Arizona Fall League. It seems that Gerald Laird will take off his tigers jersey for a while because of this incident.

Colorado Rockies may sign Olivo

A report on Wednesday indicated that the Rockies were attempting to sign a deal with Olivo to be the primary backup. In December Iannetta signed a three-year extension with the team worth $8.3 million. Olivo hit .249 with 23 home runs and 65 RBIs in 2009 with the Kansas City Royals. He also has played parts of three seasons with the Padres and Marlins.

The Rockies' decision to add Olivo means the end of Yorvit Torrealba's run in Colorado. Torrealba was seeking a two-year deal worth $6 million to return to Colorado Rockies. Last month Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd told the paper that he was not optimistic about being reached to retain Torrealba. Hope Olivo can put on the rockies jersey successfully.

Right wing Justin Williams broke his right leg

Los Angeles Kings right wing Justin Williams was taken off the ice with a broken right leg early in the first period in Saturday game with the Phoenix Coyotes in Glendale. Williams fell backward with his right leg trapped underneath his torso and dropped onto his back. He remained on the ice as play continued. He was taken off by stretcher after a lengthy delay at the first period.

"I haven't been told, other than that it's a broken leg," Kings coach Terry Murray said. "I can't play doctor. I can't predict. I have no idea. It's not good We'll take him back on the flight with us tonight, he will see our team doctor and we'll get the word out tomorrow." Williams has 8 goals and 16 assists in the los angeles kings jersey in 33 games.