Blackhawks’ Molleken No Longer Has ‘Interim’

The Chicago Blackhawks rewarded interim Coach Lorne Molleken for a winning record with a new, three-year contract Thursday.

“It’s a pretty exciting day,” Molleken said. “Nothing will change. All I’ve tried to do is to try to treat the players the way I wanted to be treated when I played.”

The players didn’t have a say in the decision.

“What the players say means nothing,” General Manager Bob Murray said. “It’s how they acted, how they reacted, their body language, their expressions. It was a very easy decision to make.”

Murray wouldn’t disclose terms of the contract, but Molleken was expected to earn about $400,000 a year.

Chicago is 10-6-4 since Molleken replaced Dirk Graham on Feb. 22.

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Toronto Maple Leaf right wing Mike Johnson was suspended two games by the NHL for elbowing Ottawa Senators defenseman Janne Laukkanen. The incident occurred late in the second period of Wednesday’s 4-2 victory. As Laukkanen reached to deflect a puck flipped into the Senator zone, Johnson left his feet and elbowed him in the face. Laukkanen suffered a concussion.

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The Phoenix Coyotes signed free-agent defenseman David Cullen, a captain with the NCAA champion Maine Black Bears, to a multiyear contract. Cullen, 22, had an assist in Maine’s 3-2 overtime victory over New Hampshire in the NCAA championship game.