Keith Ballard News

The Florida Panthers lost one defenseman Thursday but added another, signing Jordan Leopold to a one-year contract on the same day that free agent Karlis Skrastins agreed to terms with the Dallas Stars.

If ever the opportunity to earn an NHL roster spot existed for a minor-league free agent, it's on the blue line with the Florida Panthers.

Last year's draft was bedlam, with the number of trades made in the first round of the draft alone.

The Canadiens went local with their first pick, selecting Omaha Lancers center Louis Leblanc 18th overall Friday at the NHL Entry Draft.

Day 2 of the NHL Draft in Montreal started with a bang, as the Florida Panthers traded Jay Bouwmeester to the Calgary Flames.

Posted on June 25th, 2009 4:31 PM By Michael Russo Couple adds: Will be on KSTP at 6 pm tonight, live chat at 10 am Friday and Doug Risebrough had his second interview for the Panthers GM vacancy here in Montreal today.

For all those folks who knocked Sidney Crosby as a whiner over the past couple seasons, you might want to check him out again.

David Booth had two goals and three assists to lift the Florida Panthers to a 7-4 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Steve Eminger and Michael Frolik scored in an 8-second span to break a 4-4 tie in the third period. Nick Tarnasky added an empty-netter with 9 seconds remaining.

Radek Dvorak and Bryan McCabe also scored for the Panthers, who were eliminated from playoff contention on Thursday. Booth's goals were his 30th and 31st of the season; he became the sixth player in Florida's franchise history to reach the 30-goal mark.

We're looking at the offseason plans for the 12 teams that were officially eliminated from the playoffs as of Friday morning.

Six Capitals scored, and none of them was Alex Ovechkin, as host Washington beat Atlanta 6-4 to move into sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference.

Panthers coach Peter DeBoer calls the hip check "an art form," and the one Keith Ballard threw on Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin on Sunday certainly was a thing of beauty for Panthers fans.

Heads down. That is the way so many scarred fans have filed out of the BankAtlantic Center in recent years.

Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Ballard and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby fight during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, April 5, 2009, in Sunrise, Fla.

Win or go home. "It's one and done once you get to the NCAAs," said Florida Panthers standout defenseman Keith Ballard who developed his talents at the University of Minnesota from 2001-04, playing on back-to-back national-title teams at Minnesota in 2002 and 2003.

The Panthers were less than three minutes away from sliding into a playoff position Saturday night.

Bruce Boudreau was simmering after the game Monday night about the lack of support his goaltender, Jose Theodore, received in an ugly loss at Atlanta.

By all accounts, it was a great night for Penguins hockey. Not only was Pittsburgh coming off a franchise-best, five-win road trip, Tuesday night was the Igloo debut for newly acquired Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz ...

A key battle in the Eastern Conference playoff race is on tap tonight in Buffalo, as the struggling Sabres host the Florida Panthers tonight at HSBC Arena.

Kris Letang scored the game-winning goal in the shootout, and the streaking Pittsburgh Penguins won their seventh consecutive game with a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers at Mellon Arena.

David Booth had three goals and an assist, and the Florida Panthers beat the St.