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NHL Notebook: Streaking incident will head to court
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The captain of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins was ordered to stand trial after his streaking arrest.
Nathan Smith didn't show for his preliminary hearing yesterday in Scranton. In his absence, a judge ruled there's enough evidence to send the case to county court.
Smith was arrested April 27. Police say Smith apologized to the officer and said he acted on a bet.
He is charged with misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure, open lewdness and disorderly conduct and a summary offense of public drunkenness.
Panthers
Florida center Kamil Kreps and right winger Wade Belak signed two-year contracts.
Kreps played in 76 games for Florida as a rookie this season, finishing with eight goals and 17 assists.
Belak, acquired in a trade Feb. 26 with Toronto, played in the Panthers' final 17 games.
"The deal was done pretty quickly," said Florida general manager Jacques Martin. "It took us awhile to get that kind of player, but once I got him from Toronto, I felt I wanted to re-sign him.
"When he joined our club, he brought a presence on the ice and was a good influence off the ice."
Kreps was Florida's third selection, No. 38 overall, in the 2003 draft.
Belak completed his 11th NHL season, having played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs. He has piled up 1,108 penalty minutes.
Florida also signed defenseman Luke Beaverson of Alaska-Anchorage. He was drafted in the seventh round by the Panthers in 2004.
Blackhawks
Chicago agreed to terms with Finnish goalie Antti Niemi.
Niemi, a 6-foot-4, 200-pounder, went 26-6-14 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage in 49 games last season -- his third with the Pelicans of the SM-Liiga, the Finnish Elite League.
"Antti is one of the top European goaltenders," Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon said in a statement.
Niemi, 24, is 56-44-29 with a 2.71 GAA in his career.
First Published May 6, 2008 1:53 am
