NHL

Joe Sacco, who was the Colorado Avalanche's head coach until he was recently fired, will also be Stastny's bench boss for the tournament. Stastny had three goals and nine points in eight games with Team USA in 2012.

The tournament will begin in Finland and Sweden this week. Landeskog was named the youngest captain in NHL history last September and Sweden's projected call to give him the 'C' in a high-profile international competition supports Colorado's decision and faith in his leadership.

The Avalanche recently fired former bench boss Joe Sacco. Roy was offered the gig in 2009, but turned it down, partially because he wanted to continue coaching his son, Frederick while they were both part of the QMJHL Quebec Remparts. Frederick spent the 2012-13 campaign with the AHL Rochester Americans. Roy also seemed interested in the Montreal Canadiens' GM job last year, so he might be more receptive now if the Avalanche approach him again.

You couldn't write a better story no matter how hard you tried. Jones learned to play hockey as a kid in Denver while his father, former NBA player Popeye Jones, played for the Denver Nuggets. Jones is considered the No. 1 overall prospect ahead of Canadian forward Nathan MacKinnon. There's still quite some time before the first round of the draft on June 30, but it would be a pretty big surprise if Jones isn't the top pick now.

It's not really a shocking development since he's only taken the Avs to the playoffs in one out of his four campaigns and has never won a series. He finishes his days in Colorado with a 130-134-30 record in 294 games.

Lacroix joins Joe Sacco has recently unemployed Avs front office members. Pierre Lacroix and Greg Sherman still remain connected to the organization ... at least now.

The former first overall pick has been a constant disappointment at the offensive end of the rink and recorded a measly four assists in 31 contests this year. He's likely off most radars as a buy-low candidate next year, with good reason.