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HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- You park your car, walk in the side door of the Hoffman Estates Community Center in suburban Chicago, and the first thing you see is some gray-haired, slightly hunched guy standing under a sign that says, "Senior Center. 50+ club."

Chris Chelios is not aging well.

What? Oh, wait, that wasn't Chelios. Chelios was around the corner, a mere 47 years old, still 26 months from 50+ eligibility, not playing checkers, but instead playing in a hockey scrimmage with the Chicago Wolves minor league hockey team.

When Cam Ward went down with a grisly injury on Saturday night a bad season got much, much worse for the Carolina Hurricanes. Their star netminder got cut by a skate early in the first period and had to be taken to the hospital. As of Sunday night Ward was still in a Columbus hospital and the team expects that he will miss at least 3-4 weeks.

With the goaltending duties left to former sixth round pick and journeyman backup Michael Leighton, GM Jim Rutherford moved quickly to get some goaltending help. For now, that help comes in the form of 36-year-old veteran Manny Legace.

Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our Weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the storylines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

Rangers 4, Capitals 3: Henrik Lundqvist is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, and even the best are entitled to an occasional mishap. That's what happened to Lundqvist on Thursday night as an innocent looking wrist shot off the stick of Nicklas Backstrom, from the neutral zone, found its way behind the All-Star goaltender early in the third period.

Video after the jump.

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Brendan Shanahan's second stop with the New Jersey Devils -- and perhaps his career -- has come to an end, as the 40-year-old winger and the team have decided to part ways. Speculation started to mount early Thursday morning when the Shanahan was not at the morning skate, while Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger reported that the Devils had cut the 21-year-veteran (even though he's still a member of the roster ... as of now).

Chere quotes general manager Lou Lamoriello as saying the split was a mutual decision.

From the Star-Ledger:

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero was kind enough to spend nearly an hour on the phone with FanHouse's Adam Gretz discussing a variety of topics. This is the third of a three-part series. Wednesday's entry: Ray Shero discusses how the 2009-10 Penguins were built through free agency, trades, the draft, and what he expects from the defending Stanley Cup champions.

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FanHouse's Bruce Ciskie reports from Wild training camp.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It's not terribly common for a player with 300 goals and plenty of gas in the tank to try out for a team. For Petr Sykora, there may have been a tryout, but it was extremely short and equally effective.

The veteran winger agreed Thursday to a one-year deal with the Minnesota Wild, just a couple days after word leaked that he was going to be in St. Paul for a tryout during training camp.

Considering a resume that includes over 300 NHL goals and two Stanley Cups, it's kind of odd to see forward Petr Sykora still looking for work.

The veteran was a part of the Penguins' championship team last season, picking up another 25-goal season along the way. Unable to find a contract offer to his liking in the NHL, and seemingly unwilling to jump to Russia, Sykora is instead going to try out for the Minnesota Wild.

The NHL could be home to quite the comeback story this season.

Longtime star forward Theo Fleury faded away a few years back, thanks in part to a track record of substance abuse that led to his suspension from the NHL. Recently, word got out that Fleury wanted to play again. Now, the 41-year-old, who played in 455 games over his NHL career and took part in eight international competitions as a member of Team Canada, has been cleared by the NHL to come back.

FanHouse begins its four-part preview of the upcoming NHL season. Check back every Thursday from now until opening night for the rest.

The calendar has flipped past Labor Day in the States, and that means the start of the NHL's regular season is fast approaching. We're going to take one last look back at the summer and discuss the best and worst moves -- in some cases, non-moves -- of the offseason. Who took a step in the right direction and who took a step back?

Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our daily look at the previous night's action. During the offseason, it's our occasional link dump that looks at some of the storylines and moves taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

The Jiri Hudler saga came to an end on Wednesday when the IIHF approved his two-year, $10 million pact with Moscow Dynamo of the KHL. The IIHF ruled that even though Hudler's agent filed for salary arbitration in the NHL, it was invalid because Hudler himself never signed the filing notice opening the door for him to take his game to Russia. This, of course, led to George James Malik of Mlive's Snapshots blog going somewhat biblical on the ruling.