NHL Notes: Huet seeks return to NHL

The NHL and the players association are far from getting a deal done for a new collective bargaining agreement. Scott Hartnell explained how the owners are asking the players to make even more concessions than they did in the last work stoppage seven years ago (see story).

Lockout looming or not, the Flyers are still making moves. Wednesday, the team re-signed defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon to a two-year deal and also inked first-round pick Scott Laughton (see story).

Here’s a look at what else is going on in the world of hockey:

Huet seeks return
Former NHL goaltender Cristobal Huet is seeking a return to the NHL, the 36-year-old recently told the French newspaper L’Equipe, per CSNChicago.com.

Huet listed the Canucks and Kings as two teams that have interest in him.

The French native most recently played for the Blackhawks in their Stanley Cup-winning year in 2009-10, when he backed up Antti Niemi.

He’s also played for the Kings, Canadiens and Capitals. He started all seven games for Washington in the 2008 playoffs when the Flyers knocked off the Caps in the first round.

Second team for Toronto?
The Maples Leafs haven’t won a Cup since expansion era began, and certain parts of the Greater Toronto Area are tired of waiting.

Markham, Ont., a city of 300,000 people less than 20 miles north of downtown Toronto, is building a new arena and hoping to lure an NHL team, the Toronto Star reports, via ProHockeyTalk.

Graeme Roustan, the chairman and CEO of GTA Sports and Entertainment, announced he has already submitted the plans for the building which will hold 20,000 people.

“This is one of many steps that has to take place, but it’s an important step,” Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti said. “When you submit your site plan application, it indicates from the private sector side that you are serious about the project and want it to proceed.”

FBI contacted Caps’ Ward
The minute Washington’s Joel Ward scored the overtime winner in Game 7 to eliminate the Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, he received racist tweets and even threats via Twitter.

It got so bad, the FBI contacted him, the Washington Post reports, per ProHockeyTalk.

“I had one phone call from an FBI agent who was scared for me,” Ward told Toronto-based 102.1 The Edge. “He was just asking some questions like, ‘How’s your family doing, how’s everybody doing, are you okay? Did you get any weird messages?’ So now I’m like, really freaked out.”

Fortunately, nothing ever happened to Ward or any members of his family, but the FBI still plans to follow up with him when he returns to Washington this season.