Minnesota Wild center James Sheppard has a fractured left kneecap and there is no timetable for his return. The team disclosed the injury Tuesday. It said Sheppard was hurt in an off-ice accident on Saturday night in Vail, Colo., but did not say what happened. The timing couldn't be much worse for Sheppard, a former first-round draft pick who has been slow to develop in the Wild organization.

The Montreal Canadiens have signed veteran center Jeff Halpern to a one-year contract for $600,000. The 34-year-old Halpern joined his fifth NHL team on Tuesday. Halpern split last season between Tampa Bay and Los Angeles. He had nine goals and 10 assists. In 720 career games with Washington, Dallas, Tampa and Los Angeles, he has 131 goals.

General manager Stan Bowman has been promoted to vice president/general manager in a series of moves by the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. The 37-year-old Bowman became the youngest general manager in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup when the Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in June.

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed free agent forward Fredrik Modin, giving the team another veteran with experience in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The 35-year-old Modin had 11 points in 44 games with Columbus and the Los Angeles Kings last season. He signed a one-year contract. The Thrashers announced the deal with Modin on Monday.

The New Jersey Devils did more than sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a $100 million contract. A byproduct of the revised 15-year deal was that the Devils helped the NHL and its players union reach an agreement on long-term contracts that will define how much money will count toward salary caps. "That is exactly what just transpired with the amendment," Devils president and general manager Lou...

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Mike Comrie to a $500,000, one-year contract, giving them a proven scorer who might be capable of playing on one of their top three lines. The Penguins, looking for affordable scoring help because they have little salary cap space, signed forward Arron Asham to a $700,000, one-year contract two weeks ago.

The Colorado Avalanche remain committed to their youth movement, signing forward Chris Stewart to a two-year deal. The 22-year-old Stewart led the team with 28 goals last season and finished with 64 points. The deal's terms weren't disclosed. Colorado general manager Greg Sherman says the team is looking forward to seeing Stewart "build on what he started a year ago." The Avalanche...

The Montreal Canadiens have re-signed restricted free-agent goalie Carey Price to a two-year contract. The 22-year-old goaltender signed the new contract on Thursday, ending two months of negotiations with the Canadiens. Price has spent his entire career in Montreal after being selected fifth overall in the 2005 NHL draft.

Penguins forward Jordan Staal is expected to miss the start of training camp as he recovers from an infection to his right foot, which was severely injured during the NHL playoffs. Staal's offseason preparation has been hampered by the infection, which developed after he twice had surgery to repair a lacerated tendon.

The San Jose Sharks signed the goalie who helped knock them out of the playoffs, agreeing to a one-year, $2 million deal with Antti Niemi on Thursday. Niemi joins fellow Finnish netminder Antero Niittymaki in San Jose as the replacements for longtime starter Evgeni Nabokov. Niittymaki signed a two-year, $4 million deal on the first day of free agency in July.