Colorado Avalanche: News From Around the NHL December 16th, 2014

Rick Pracey is now working for the Philadelphia Flyers, as an amateur scout.[BroadStreetHockey.com]

Pracey is listed on the Flyers website as an "amateur scout," which means he's not in a directorial role as he was in Colorado. Chris Pryor remains the Flyers director of scouting, while Dave Brown is their head pro scout. They do not have a "head amateur scout" listed. Pracey's addition gives the Flyers 14 total amateur scouts, two of whom are college specific.

More information is coming out about the Voynov incident.. and it isn't pretty. [SBNation.com]

Officer: Voynov pushed wife to ground multiple times, kicked her repeatedly while on ground, chocked her three times.

The Oilers have fired their coach, and replaced him with MacTavish... haven't we seen this before? [EdmontonJournal.com]

Dallas Eakins has been relieved of his coaching duties with the 30th place Edmonton Oilers 113 games into his four-year contract.

With the Oilers reeling -- with just only one win, 2-1 over San Joe Dec. 7 at Rexall Place, in their last 16 games -- someone had to take the fall, and Eakins was fingered.

General manager Craig MacTavish said in a late-morning press conference he will take over head coaching duties on an interim basis. Todd Nelson, the head coach of the Oilers' American Hockey League affiliate in Oklahoma City, will join the NHL club as an assistant.

Some trades aren't happening to help the on-ice product, but to be cap-compliant. [BostonGlobe.com]

But on Oct. 4, both of their employers gritted their teeth and dismissed them to Long Island. Peter Chiarelli and Stan Bowman pulled the trigger for their clubs to be cap compliant for 2014-15, not to improve their teams.

The trades turned both locker rooms upside down.

"It's tough," said Ben Smith, the four-year Boston College forward who now plays on arguably the best fourth line in the league for the Blackhawks. "A guy like Nick Leddy, who we all came up with, is a great hockey player. We liked his company. To see him go was tough. But it's part of the business. We understand that. Something had to change. Someone had to go at the beginning of the year. It's one of those things where you just have to take it as what it is and find a way to move forward from it."

Scary news from Wisconsin, an arena had a carbon monoxide leak for two days before it was discovered - 81 people were hospitalized. [StarTribune.com]

A faulty ice rink resurfacer is being blamed for putting carbon monoxide gas into the air at a hockey rink near the Wisconsin Dells and sending 81 people to area hospitals, authorities said Sunday.

Hospitals near the Poppy Waterman Ice Arena in Lake Delton received the people who were at the rink Saturday night for the Minnesota Junior Hockey League game between the Dells Ducks and the Rochester Ice Hawks.

Fire officials said patients' symptoms included dizziness, nausea, headaches, vomiting and fainting, the officials added.

Derick Brassard is out - it is suspected that he has the mumps. [Sportsnet.ca]

Brassard was on the ice for Saturday's game against the Vancouver Canucks, contributing to the Rangers' 5-1 win with two assists.

Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault had a few suspicions about how Brassard may have contracted the mumps, based on the team's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday.

Beau Bennett is also being held out of games with mumps-like symptoms. [Pensburgh.com]

Team captain Sidney Crosby, who will miss his third consecutive game tonight, is declared past the infectious stage and cleared to return to the team as early as tomorrow.

The mumps outbreak has claimed at least one other player on the Penguins, though. Ever-so-lucky winger Beau Bennett has been quarantined with mumps symptoms, though his test results aren't back yet. Beau is already injured so at least he won't be missing any games specifically due to the mumps.

However, Beau was part of the large team contingent that visited Pittsburgh Children's Hospital on Thursday, and all those he has met while there may also have been exposed and are currently being tested.

Tomas Vokoun announces his retirement. [NHL.com]

Longtime NHL goalie Tomas Vokoun, who led the Nashville Predators to their first-ever playoff appearance in 2003-04, has decided to retire, according to Czech daily Sport.

"I think I can be proud of the career I had," he told the publication.

Vokoun played 700 games in 15 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Predators, Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. He went 300-288-35-57 with a 2.55 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and 51 shutouts.

Are you in Cold Lake? Want to meet Ray Bourque? [ColdLakeSun.com]

Portage College head of corporate marketing and public relations, Andrew Whitson, said that the college was looking for someone who would draw in a crowd.

"We were looking to put our event together with someone who is a great draw," he said. "We know Cold Lake is a hockey town."

The event will feature a question and answer session with Bourque.

"We're all excited to hear what he has to say," Whitson said.

Portage College hasn't held a big event like this in Cold Lake in a while, Whitson said. The return to the city is to raise money for an expansion of the Cold Lake campus.