Dumont out 8-12 weeks after sports hernia surgery

Sabres forward J.P. Dumont will be out for eight to 12 weeks after surgery to repair a sports hernia.

Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said Dumont will be operated on Thursday in Montreal. Ruff doesn't expect Dumont to be in game shape until after the league breaks for the Olympic Games in mid-February.

Dumont, diagnosed with the sports hernia last week while the team was in Montreal, has six goals and 14 points in 19 games this season. He hasn't played since Nov. 17.

Buffalo forward Taylor Pyatt had surgery to place a pin in his fractured right wrist last week. Ruff said Pyatt will be out for two to three months. Pyatt was injured when he jammed his wrist into the boards Nov. 25.

He has three goals and seven points in 17 games this season, and got his second career hat trick against Washington a week before he was hurt.

Forsberg says he has groin tear, likely out this week

The Philadelphia Flyers will likely be without Peter Forsberg the rest of this week after the center told the Philadelphia Inquirer he has a tear of his right groin muscle.

Forsberg, who has already missed four games, was first thought to have a simple strain of the groin, but he told the paper an MRI on Thursday revealed the tear.

"There was more damage there that any of us thought -- more than I thought," Forsberg told the paper.

Forsberg, the Flyers' leading scorer with 39 points, has been aggressively rehabbing in the past week, but after skating for 45 minutes felt worse than he'd expected and so he underwent the MRI exam.

The seven-time All-Star told the paper he did not believe the hard workouts to recover from what he thought was a strain caused the tear.

"I thought that if I didn't push it and then went into the game, it could be 10 times worse," Forsberg told the Inquirer. "The problem is, this is not game speed. It felt good for the longest time, but this is worse than we thought. I don't think I was too aggressive. Who knew it was a tear? It shouldn't be too long [for healing] now.

"I didn't think it could get worse; I just knew it was there. The MRI said it was a Grade I tear, just a little tear in the muscle. It should heal by itself. ... There is nothing you can do about it except let it heal and try not to tear it open again."

The Flyers host Calgary on Tuesday night, Edmonton on Thursday and Minnesota on Saturday. Forsberg said he would like to play Saturday, but is not optimistic.

"I don't know about this week," he told the paper. "I was so positive last week that I was going to play. I wanted to play last Saturday [in Nashville]. Whatever I say might be viewed more optimistically than the actual reality."

Frost, center of Danton's murder plot, resigns as agent

David Frost, the man who was the center of a murder-for-hire plot by former NHLer Mike Danton, resigned as an NHL player agent on Tuesday.

"Dave Frost has resigned as an NHLPA Certified Agent. The NHLPA will make no further comment on this matter," Ian Penny, NHLPA associate counsel, said in a statement.

According to The Canadian Press, Frost's list of clients was small, including Danton and Sheldon Keefe as the most familiar names.

The Danton-Frost story resurfaced last week after Danton asked for a judge to reconsider a 7½-year prison sentence he got for plotting to kill Frost.

Bizarre details of the murder-for-hire also unfolded last week. Taped jailhouse recordings between Danton and Frost were released as part of an investigative report that aired on "CBC: the fifth estate." In the recordings, Frost apparently tells Danton to deny that the agent was the target of the murder and to blame his parents for his troubles.

Oilers' Smyth helps woman celebrate 101st birthday

Lilian Hosking has seen a lot in her lifetime, but the Edmonton woman had just one wish for her 101st birthday:

Run her hands through the hair of Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Smyth.

According to a report in The Edmonton Sun, the woman got her wish at the Meadowcroft Senior's Residence on Monday, just one day after turning 101.

"It was my wish to see Smitty," Hosking told the newspaper. "I can't believe he's here. I love to watch him skate up and down the ice and bang in goals. And I love his hair. I hope he never cuts it."

Smyth surprised Hosking at the seniors' home with a cake, an autographed No. 101 Oilers jersey and two puck-shaped brownies.

The newspaper said Hosking hugged Smyth and ran her hand through his hair. The Oilers star began to blush.

"Now I'll have to bring back the Stanley Cup for you, too," Smyth told Hosking.

"The young fans are important because they're our future," Smyth told The Sun. "But seniors are the ones who paved the way for us to live the lives we do."

Said Hosking: "I never expected this. It's really too much. It's been the best birthday of my life."

Smyth has 13 goals and nine assists in 22 games for the Oilers, who are tied with Phoenix for seventh overall in the Western Conference with 32 points.

Dallas Stars Recalled left wing Mathias Tjarnqvist from Iowa of the American New York Rangers Assigned goaltender Chris Holt to Charlotte of the ECHL.

Ottawa Senators Assigned defenseman Tomas Malec to Binghamton of the American Hockey League.

Philadelphia Flyers Recalled goaltender Jamie Storr, left wing Ben Eager and defenseman Freddy Meyer from Philadelphia of the American Hockey League.

Pittsburgh Penguins Assigned right wing Michel Ouellet to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

Colorado Avalanche Recalled goaltender Vitaly Kolesnik from Lowell of the American Hockey League.

Vancouver Canucks Assigned goaltender Rob McVicar to Victoria of the ECHL.

thanks for the updates, NHL news is always welcome