Teemu Selanne hands All-Star torch to Corey Perry

Really, it wasn't as though Teemu Selanne expected to be treated like a humanitarian for bypassing the NHL All-Star Game and pushing for the selection of Ducks teammate Corey Perry.

Selanne said, joking: "Old guy has to rest."

It made complete sense. At 41, he's been there and done that in terms of the All-Star Game. Players have often begged off All-Star duties for differing reasons through the years, and it's an awfully long haul from Southern California to Ottawa for the All-Star weekend.

"I think it's a young guy's turn," Selanne said Thursday morning in Calgary, Canada. "Obviously we have an MVP on our team, so it's better that Perry goes there. He's the man. The MVP should go. It's better that he be there."

So does Perry owe him a steak dinner?

Selanne, laughing, said: "I owe him dinner."

The decision was not difficult.

"It's very easy," Selanne said. "I've been there many times. Honestly, I think it's a great opportunity for young players, and again, Perry was [the NHL] MVP last year."

Said Perry: "He [Selanne] says it could be his last year, whatever it is, his last kick at the All- Star Game. It surprised me. But that's the way he is .... It means something to me and shows what kind of guy he is."

Kings GM Dean Lombardi says he's sorry for slamming Oilers

Either hell has frozen over or Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi was afraid for his safety during the team's upcoming trip to Edmonton, but he offered an apology Thursday for the incendiary comments he made after he acquired an injured Colin Fraser for Ryan Smyth in a trade with the Oilers.

Trying to grant Smyth's trade request, Lombardi initially agreed to take Gilbert Brule for Smyth but backed off because of concerns over Brule's fitness. He then agreed to take Fraser, who eventually needed foot surgery and didn't make his Kings debut until Nov. 10.

The Kings filed a grievance with the NHL contending that the Oilers had misrepresented the extent of Fraser's injury and Lombardi let his temper flare.

“The bottom line for me, I would have rather invested my money with Bernie Madoff than invest in Edmonton’s word,” Lombardi told The Times.

The grievance was settled before a hearing and the Oilers paid an unspecified amount of money toward Fraser’s medical costs. Oiler and NHL executives were unhappy with Lombardi’s outspokenness, and Lombardi told Edmonton Team 1260 radio host Mark Spector on Thursday that frustration over Smyth’s trade request led him to speak without thinking.

Kings' Jack Johnson pays tribute to Tim Tebow after goal [Video]

If Kings defenseman Jack Johnson really wanted to honor Tim Tebow on Monday night, he would have scored 15 seconds earlier ... with 3:16 showing on the clock.

Tebow, the devout Christian quarterback of the Denver Broncos, freaked everyone out Sunday both with his dominating performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers and by passing for 316 yards and a 31.6 average, bringing to mind perhaps the most famous Bible verse of all, John 3:16.

Alas, Johnson wasn't quite able to pull that off, instead scoring with 3:01 remaining in the second period of the Kings' 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals at Staples Center. So he did the next best thing: he Tebowed, dropping to one knee right there on the ice.

Times writer Lisa Dillman described the origin of the tribute in Tuesday's paper:

"The background behind it was that I've got some buddies that flew in from Michigan," Johnson said.

"And we were watching the [football] game last night and after the game they said, 'If you score, would you Tebow for us?' I said, 'Sure deal.' Then I ended up scoring and I thought, 'I've got to pay up.'"

After Denver quarterback Tim Tebow's stirring overtime victory over the Steelers on Sunday, Johnson excitedly tweeted: "love it, so happy for him. Awesome!!! Show the world."

Apparently Johnson decided to do the same thing.

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Kings look ahead: Darryl Sutter's return to Alberta

At least Kings Coach Darryl Sutter is getting this homecoming stuff out of the way.

San Jose? Done.

Chicago? Done.

Calgary? On deck.

Naturally, his return to Alberta will be getting the most attention, and rightly so. The famous Sutter family is from Viking, Alberta. His long association with the Flames ended a little more than a year ago when he stepped down as their general manager. Brent Sutter is still behind the bench as the Flames head coach.

So when the Kings play at Calgary on Saturday night, it will be brother vs. brother. Again.

The subject came up after Kings practice on Sunday during a wide-ranging talk between Sutter and myself, mostly about his homecoming week, Calgary experience and family ties.

Darryl satisfied one line of questioning about Brent, fairly quickly, about the current state of their relationship.

"I left a message for him this morning," Sutter said. "They  got their [butts] kicked in Boston and then to bounce back yesterday. That's got a lot to do with coaching. That's a good mark for him." 

Darryl has been down the brother-brother road many times. He has coached four of his siblings in the NHL, coached against brother Brian when Darryl was in Chicago and Brian was in St. Louis. 

"You just separated it," Darryl said. "It was very simple. When we were at the rink: coach, player. If there was anything in the family, you could separate it. It's easy to do. When Brent was hired in Calgary, everybody talked about it ... it wasn't like we were ... it's easy to separate it. And it's nobody's business."

That last remark was made without rancor, more matter of fact than anything else.

"We're used to it. Even when we were playing against each other, everybody always asked us about that," Sutter said of competing against his brothers. "We were so close in age, us boys, we played against each other our whole lives. It wasn't like somebody was better.

"So you did it your whole life. It was just on a different stage. That's all it was."

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Photo: Kings Coach Darryl Sutter looks on from behind the bench. Credit: Gus Ruelas / Associated Press

Ducks' Jason Blake returns to different situation

When Ducks left wing Jason Blake was accidentally cut on the left wrist by the skate of San Jose defenseman Brent Burns in the Ducks' third game of the season, the team was on its way to a rare good start. The Ducks won the game in which Blake was injured to improve to 2-1 and won their next two games as well.

Blake, who underwent surgery and rehabilitation on his wrist, will return Wednesday when the Ducks face San Jose at Honda Center, slightly ahead of the schedule projected for his recovery. While he was gone the Ducks' good beginning turned into a grim season.

The Ducks (10-21-6) rank 29th in the NHL and were 19 points out of the final West playoff start before Wednesday’s games. Blake’s absence is a small factor in their struggles—the blame goes to inadequate goaltending, shaky defense and a spiraling lack of confidence—but his competitiveness should inject life into a team that seems to fall apart when the slightest thing goes wrong.

Blake is eager to get back and is expected to be reunited with his old linemates, center Saku Koivu and right wing Teemu Selanne.

“It’s been a tough three months sitting out, not being able to play, not being able to do anything for about six weeks there,” Blake said after the Ducks’ morning skate at Honda Center.

“It’s nice to get back and play hockey and be around the guys. That’s what you miss the most. We’ve got such a great group of guys in here. You just want to hopefully get in there and contribute and do well.”

He said he never imagined the team would struggle so miserably since that good start.

“Obviously there’s been a lot of ups and downs,” he said. “But it’s a new year and we’ve got a lot of hockey left. Strange things can happen. I think the biggest thing for the Ducks is to worry about the Ducks and not worry about anything else. Don’t look at the standings, just play. We’ve got to win hockey games. That’s the bottom line. Even if you were in a playoff spot right now you’ve still got to win games.

“The onus is on the players. We have to make sure that we’re ready to play. You can draw the Xs and O's all you want but you’ve got to go out there and perform.”

Coach Bruce Boudreau, who replaced Randy Carlyle while Blake was on injured reserve, said he planned to give Blake no more than 14 or 15 minutes’ ice time in order to ease Blake back in.

“He’ll give us a boost,” Boudreau said. “You know Jason. He’s full of energy. He’ll play hard. He always does.”

Although Boudreau hasn’t seen Blake play this season, he’s familiar with Blake from their shared time in the Kings’ farm system. Boudreau said he coached Blake for a few weeks in Lowell, Mass., then the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate, and remembers him well.

“And I’ve seen him in L.A. when he was younger but he’s a different person than when he was younger,” Boudreau said. “He’s got the same feistiness but I think he’s a little more mature than he was back then.”

Blake, incidentally, said he held no grudge against Burns for the freak accident and wouldn't be seeking any kind of retribution Wednesday.

“Stuff happens in hockey,” Blake said. “I haven’t even thought about Brent. I have the utmost respect for him even before this happened.”

Check back later for more coverage at www.latimes.com/sports

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Photo: The Ducks Jason Blake is held down by Vancouver Canucks Keith Ballard during a game on Oct. 13, 2010. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times.

What's your favorite sports moment from 2011?

Writers from around Tribune Co. discuss the year's best moments in sports. Check back throughout the day for more responses and join the conversation by adding a comment of your own.

Jeff Otterbein, Hartford Courant

Well, there is no way to get Penn State and Bernie Fine out of one’s head when thinking about 2011. The worst of 2011, yes. Horrible.

This question depends on how you want to define memorable; we’re going with good memories.

And when we think memorable in these parts, we have to stay local, even though it is a national story, too. The UConn men’s basketball team’s improbable run to an NCAA title.

As the Courant’s Mike Anthony wrote when UConn beat Butler for the title: Somewhere along the line, disbelief was met by something that felt like design, and so in the minutes before midnight Monday at Reliant Stadium, Kemba Walker strolled across the court, kicking up streamers that had fallen from high above, and offered the perfect irony to sum up this remarkable journey.

"We shocked the world," he said. "We were destined."

That they were. How else to explain losing seven of 11 to close out the regular season and then winning 11 in a row. The Huskies won five games in five days at the Big East tournament. In the NCAA tournament, they beat Bucknell, Cincinnati, San Diego State, Arizona, Kentucky and Butler.

UConn 53, Butler 41. UConn shot 34.5%. Butler shot 18.8%. Some saw it as ugly. Not here.

Kings update: Darryl Sutter's hiring official. First game vs. Ducks

The Darryl Sutter Era officially opened for business.

Sutter will conduct his first practice as the Kings’ head coach Wednesday morning, followed by a news conference in the afternoon in El Segundo, according to the team, in making his appointment official on Tuesday.

Other dates to circle: His first game behind the King bench will be Thursday at Staples Center against the Ducks. Sutter, 53, coached three NHL teams, the Sharks, the Flames and the Blackhawks; and was general manager of Calgary until Dec. 28, 2010.The Kings play at San Jose on Friday and at Calgary on Jan. 14.

Sutter’s head coaching record is 409-320-131 in 860 regular-season games. The Flames lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004, and Sutter was the coach when the Blackhawks reached the Western Conference Finals in 1995.

A close up look at the NHL's situation room [video]

Making the right call on the ice can be as easy as a referee pointing to the back of the net with a siren blaring behind him as one team rejoices and another slowly skates away.

But there are other times when someone needs to pick up a phone and call Toronto -- if someone else hasn't already called the arena first.

The NHL reviews all of its questionable goals from its situation room in Toronto. The latest incarnation of the facility, which looks like a cross between NORAD and the greatest sports bar ever, features 16 42-inch high-definition monitors that receive raw feeds from every game in progress.

From their high-tech surroundings, NHL officials can review close-call plays from every available angle to make sure the referees on the ice get the call right.

The situation room may look like hockey fan heaven, but some serious work goes on there.

And be sure to read Helene Elliott's column on the NHL's situation room.

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Ducks update: Teemu Selanne night in Winnipeg

How often does the third star of the game, from the opposing team, get a prolonged standing ovation?

Normal rules do not apply when it comes to the Ducks' Teemu Selanne.

All night, the sellout crowd at MTS Centre in Winnipeg was fully engaged in all things Selanne. Selanne on Saturday night returned to play a game in Winnipeg for the first time since Feb. 4, 1996. The Jets ended up trading him to the Ducks three days after that game and the NHL vanished from Manitoba at the end of the season.

The NHL came back this season ... and so did Selanne. Some extremely patient fans, about 30 of them, waited outside the Ducks' hotel in Winnipeg until  2:30 a.m. Saturday because the Ducks got there in the wee hours, having played at Chicago on Friday night. Selanne signed autographs and posed for pictures.

Finally, the big event resulted in twin wins for the giddy fans.

Winnipeg defeated the Ducks, 5-3, and Selanne had two assists. From the beginning, Selanne was cheered every time he touched the puck and every other Duck was roundly booed.

Selanne's wife and four children were among the spectators on hand.

"I think it's great they [could] see where I played the first four years of my career," Selanne said, of his children, in a TV interview after the first period. "I was so happy they are old enough to realize and see and experience my life also. My oldest was born here. So it's a very special place for me. And I'm very happy they are here."

The fans were chanting his name before the game. There was a video tribute to him during the first TV timeout in the opening period and Selanne took a curtain call when he came out as the No. 3 star, waving and blowing a kiss to the crowd.

-- Lisa Dillman, reporting from Los Angeles

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Photo: Ducks forward Teemu Selanne acknowledges the Winnipeg fans during the Ducks' loss to the Jets on Saturday. Credit: Marianne Helm / Getty Images

After long wait, Teemu Selanne returns to Winnipeg

More than 15 years after he left Winnipeg in a trade that shocked him, Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne will get a chance to thank fans in the city he thrilled as a high-scoring rookie.

Selanne became an immediate fan favorite in Winnipeg when he scored 76 goals and 132 points as a first-year player in 1992-93, rookie records that still stand. But the Jets, facing a financial crunch, couldn’t afford to keep him and dealt him to the then-Mighty Ducks on Feb. 7, 1996. His last game in Winnipeg was on Feb. 4, 1996.

The Jets left Winnipeg after that season for Phoenix, where they became known as the Coyotes, and Selanne built Hall of Fame credentials in a standout career that has continued past age 41. The NHL returned to Winnipeg this season after the Atlanta Thrashers were sold and moved north of the border, taking on the old Jets name and providing Selanne a much-welcomed chance to visit again Saturday.

“When I got traded, I didn’t really have a chance to say goodbye to the people and the city. It was the next day I am gone,” he said. “It’s pretty tough when you get traded. Everything is rushing and you have to be gone the next day. That’s why I’m really looking forward to going back there.”

He said he looked for the date as soon as he got this season’s schedule, even before he was sure he’d be physically able to play.

“That was my first NHL team and starting there, I always said hockey is so big thing and the whole city makes the players feel so special and everything,” he said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

“It was a dream come true to start my career in Canada and all the memories that I have there are so awesome.”

'Jolly Rancher' Darryl Sutter praised by former players

The Kings’ dismissal of Terry Murray has been big news around the NHL but has stirred quite a fuss in Calgary, home of Murray’s expected successor, Darryl Sutter.

Flames players had some interesting comments about Sutter, their former coach and general manager, in the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun. The consensus: the man doesn’t sugar-coat anything and drove them hard but players appreciated his honesty.

He can't arrive soon enough for the Kings, who on Tuesday lost their fifth straight game, a 3-0 defeat at Boston. They've scored only six goals in those five losses and have been shut out three times this season.

Sutter remains the Kings’ only candidate for the coaching job but some minor details are delaying the final details of his hiring. The Kings had to get permission from the Flames to talk to him and that was granted without complication.

It’s not clear if the deal with Sutter will be final in time for him to coach the Kings in their next game, Thursday at Columbus. Assistant coach John Stevens was put in charge on an interim basis for Tuesday’s loss at Boston, in which the performance and outcome were the same as they were under Murray's guidance. The trip continues Saturday at Detroit and Monday at Toronto.

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-- Helene Elliott

Photo: Darryl Sutter. Credit: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images