Call Them Wild in Minnesota

The NHL’s expansion franchise in Minnesota will be called The Wild.

“We think it best represents what Minnesota hockey fans hold most dear,” Wild Chief Executive Jack Sperling said Thursday in a statement. “Our rugged natural wilderness, the premier brand hockey that’s native to Minnesota and the great enthusiasm of all of our hockey fans.”

The Wild begins play in the 2000-01 season in a new arena in downtown Saint Paul.

The club said the name was chosen after thousands of suggestions from fans in the past six months. The Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas after the 1992-93 season.

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Left winger Bob Probert signed a three-year contract extension with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Probert, who joined the Blackhawks on July 23, 1994 as a free agent after nine years with the Detroit Red Wings, would have become an unrestricted free agent July 1.

He has 144 goals, 181 assists and 2,680 penalty minutes in 641 regular-season games, and 48 points and 274 penalty minutes in 79 playoff games.

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The Law Society of Upper Canada has stripped disgraced hockey lawyer Alan Eagleson of his right to practice law.

The society’s board of directors agreed with a disciplinary committee recommendation that Eagleson be disbarred for “conduct unbecoming a barrister and solicitor.”

Eagleson, former head of the NHL Players Assn., is serving an 18-month jail term for fraud.

Eagleson’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said his client “has not engaged in law for a decade” and the punishment will have “no real impact” on Eagleson’s future.

On Jan. 6, Eagleson pleaded guilty in Boston to three counts of mail fraud. Those charges are related to his recovery of personal expenses from union funds and his handling of a disability insurance claim filed by Glen Sharpley, a former NHL player.

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Montreal Canadien defenseman Igor Ulanov will be out at least a month because of a sprained ligament in his left knee, the team said.

Ulanov, acquired by Montreal in a six-player trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, collided with defense partner Peter Popovic in the first period of Wednesday’s 4-2 victory over the Boston Bruins, his first game with Montreal.

Ulanov had two goals, seven assists and 85 penalty minutes in 45 games with Tampa Bay before the trade.

To replace Ulanov on the roster, Montreal recalled defenseman Brett Clark from its American Hockey League affiliate in Fredericton.