Blackhawks sign Oduya, Mayers
The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to a three-year contract extension with defenseman Johnny Oduya and a one-year extension for forward Jamal Mayers.
Mayers had six goals and nine assists in 81 regular-season games in his first year with the Blackhawks and also appeared in three playoff games when Chicago was ousted in the opening round by Phoenix.
Oduya had three assists in six playoff games and a goal and four assists in 18 regular-season games when he was a plus-three. Chicago acquired him in February from the Winnipeg Jets for draft choices.
General manager Stan Bowman said Oduya's play helped the Blackhawks finish strong in the regular season. And he added that Oduya, an unrestricted free agent, wanted to return to the Blackhawks.
''His style of hockey complemented our style and made our players better,'' Bowman said.
Bowman also said the team had talked with young star Patrick Kane about Internet photos of him partying in Madison, Wis., after this season ended.
''We discussed it with Patrick, we handled that internally,'' Bowman said. ''We're obviously disappointed with how it played it out and Patrick's aware of that fact.''
Three years ago, Kane was arrested in his hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., after an altercation with a cab driver.
Bowman also said he expects star forward Marian Hossa and defenseman Steve Montador , both of whom suffered concussions, to be ready by training camp in September. Hossa was hurt in the playoffs by a hard hit delivered by the Coyotes' Raffi Torres.
''They're on the road to recovery,'' Bowman said. ''We're certainly optimistic come September they'll be ready to play. ... We're sitting here in May, so it's hard to predict that.''