SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 07/13/19 Boston Bruins Philadelphia Flyers 1149635 Former Bruin Geoff Courtnall was saved, and now he 1149658 Flyers re-sign Scott Laughton to a two-year deal, avoid wants to save others too arbitration 1149636 Jack Studnicka the next great hope for the Bruins at 1149659 With Scott Laughton signed, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher center position turns toward Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny 1149660 New Flyers president Chuck Fletcher signs Scott Buffalo Sabres Laughton for two years, $4.6 million 1149637 Defenseman John Gilmour: 'Something special is brewing 1149661 McCaffery: Flyers lose another valuable connection to in Buffalo' their past 1149638 Johan Larsson returning to Sabres on one-year, $1.55 1149662 Scott Laughton, Flyers agree to 2-year, $4.6 million million contract contract 1149663 An update on Flyers restricted free agents Ivan Provorov, Calgary Flames Travis Konecny 1149639 Gained in translation: How a three-time Olympian helped 1149664 'Raised a Flyer,' Paul Holmgren looks back as he looks the Flames’ new Russian recruits assimilate forward 1149665 Flyers’ new structure means spotlight is brighter on Chuck Carolina Hurricanes Fletcher 1149640 One thing still missing from Hurricanes’ otherwise successful summer Pittsburgh Penguins 1149641 Canes sign forward Ryan Dzingel to two-year contract 1149666 Penguins re-sign speedy winger Adam Johnson 1149642 What Ryan Dzingel brings to the Hurricanes, and what 1149667 Hockey News writer says Penguins will miss playoffs in signing him means for the team’s grand plan 2020. Hear why. 1149668 Tim Benz: What Penguins coach Mike Sullivan didn’t say Chicago Blackhawks about Phil Kessel is telling 1149643 Blackhawks mailbag: Why did the Blackhawks give up on 1149669 Penguins re-sign Adam Johnson to one-year contract Henri Jokiharju so fast? San Jose Sharks Colorado Avalanche 1149670 Former Shark Joe Pavelski greets new teammate Tyler 1149644 61 losses paved the way for Colorado’s bright future Seguin in Lake Tahoe Columbus Blue Jackets St Louis Blues 1149645 Blue Jackets shake up scouting department, rehire Craig 1149671 Bokk's path to the Blues runs through Sweden Hartsburg and add Nicklas Backstrom Tampa Bay Lightning Dallas Stars 1149672 Lightning and NWHL to host girls hockey clinics 1149646 Matthew DeFranks answers Stars questions at 11 a.m. Friday, July 19; ask yours now Toronto Maple Leafs 1149673 Maple Leafs make a minor deal, sending Dakota Joshua Edmonton Oilers to St. Louis 1149647 The Oilers have a new amateur scouting director. What 1149674 A look behind Leafs goalie prospect Ian Scott’s can we learn from Tyler Wright’s track record at the dra ‘unbelievable’ turnaround 1149648 Lowetide: The Oilers are finally recovering from the 1149675 Bourne: Are the Maple Leafs going to be better than they wayward 2014 Draft were last season? 1149676 Small and skilled: Leafs see potential in fourth round pick Los Angeles Kings Nick Abruzzese 1149649 The best and worst Kings contracts: Five bargains and five 1149677 Mirtle: Projecting the Maple Leafs opening night lineup for buyer-beware deals 2019-20 Montreal Canadiens Vancouver Canucks 1149650 What the Puck: This Canadiens team does not look like a 1149681 Canucks add video analyst Ryan Biech to scouting and playoff team analytics stable 1149651 'I know I can still play a lot better,' Canadiens' Artturi Lehkonen says Washington Capitals 1149652 Lehkonen and Armia deals fall in line with what is clearly 1149678 Capitals’ second-round pick could make a splash after the Canadiens’ master plan draft delay 1149679 Capitals' Tom Wilson reminds Metro riders to 'Be Vigilant' Nashville Predators in new ad 1149653 Mock trial: How would Colton Sissons and Rocco Grimaldi fare in arbitration hearings? New Jersey Devils 1149654 What's next for injured NJ Devils' prospects Aarne Talvitie and Fabian Zetterlund? 1149655 NJ Devils sign Jack Hughes to entry-level contract 1149656 Jack Hughes, Devils make it official with three-year contract New York Rangers 1149657 Rangers next game: Creating cap space to sign big players Websites 1149682 The Athletic / Chad Demers has dreams. And he’s not letting Grade IV brain cancer get in the way 1149683 The Athletic / Gained in translation: How a three-time Olympian helped the Flames’ new Russian recruits assimi 1149684 The Athletic / Champ stamp: Blues fans keep their word by getting Stanley Cup tattoos 1149685 The Athletic / DGB Grab Bag: Summer days, an idea for bad GMs and the best Don Cherry soundbite ever 1149686 USA TODAY / NJ Devils sign Jack Hughes to entry-level contract Winnipeg Jets 1149680 Winnipeg could be looking at two professional goaltending platoons in 2019-20 SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1149635 Boston Bruins “I drank hard for two weeks, basically,” said Courtnall, now able to laugh at what he calls, “the end of my drinking career.” While in Vancouver, Neely first expressed his concerns to Russ, Geoff’s Former Bruin Geoff Courtnall was saved, and now he wants to save brother. Back in Boston after the Games, he was still troubled. others too “It just seemed a little different than going out and having a good time with your buddies,” said Neely. “It just seemed like this is a way of life, as By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff,Updated July 12, 2019, 10:19 p.m. opposed to, ‘OK, I haven’t seen anyone in a while and we’re just out having a night.’ ” Neely had come to Boston at age 21, traded from the Canucks in the VANCOUVER — The gold mine that Geoff Courtnall sits on is real. The summer of 1986, and it was Courtnall, 24, and defenseman Gord Kluzak, former Bruins winger struck it rich in Peru, as the lead partner/investor in 22 — two fellow western Canadian contemporaries — who picked him up a mine some five hours north of Lima, where production currently on Day 1 at Logan Airport. It was Courtnall and his then wife who left remains at a standstill because of a tussle with nearby villagers who want their door open for Neely, inviting him in every day after Bruins workouts their piece of the motherlode. so he could catch his favorite soap opera before making it home to his Brookline apartment. “We’ve got a great deposit, which is obviously why they are blocking us,” a fit and relaxed Courtnall, 56, said here recently, sounding not the least “Yeah, he never missed the show,” said an amused Courtnall. “I think it bit frustrated over his stalled riches. “They know it is a good deposit and was, ‘As the Stomach Turns’, or something.” now they want their pound of flesh. So we’re trying to work it out.” There was no kidding around when Neely called that February day in Time, said an assured Courtnall, will resolve it all. A lifetime of staring 2010. Without lecturing or demeaning, he made clear that he felt his old down the clock, a clock once blurred by alcohol until a call from Cam friend was headed to a bad place. Neely helped get his life back in focus, has given him that confidence, that faith. “I tried to be constructive,” recalled Neely. “I was not criticizing him, or trying to make him feel bad. But I was trying to wake him up to what he Courtnall’s life of learned patience began in earnest, and pain, as a 16- was really doing and how it might affect other people.” year-old when his father took his own life. Suffocating in depression, the father of four refused to seek the kind of mental health services that Neely wasn’t sure how his old friend would receive it. Such interventions, Geoff and his siblings since have helped bring to their hometown of no matter how sincere and heartfelt, are tricky. Like all addiction, Victoria, British Columbia. Today, patients at risk of suicide can walk into alcoholism usually is accompanied by a heaping side serving of denial. the Archie Courtnall Centre at the Royal Jubilee Hospital and receive Neely would not have been the first friend with best intention to be mental health care. rendered the earnest ex-pal of a problem drinker. Another difficult life lesson came in 2000 when Courtnall’s successful “Oh, yeah,” agreed a now grateful Courtnall, thinking back nearly 10 NHL career, including 1,049 games (four-plus years in Boston) and a years to Neely’s call. “Even when he said it, I was probably thinking, ‘Oh, Stanley Cup ring in 1988 with the Edmonton Oilers, came to an end after yeah, no . I’m good . I am just having fun . nothing wrong with a frustrating, protracted battle with post-concussion syndrome. me.’ But you know, when you don’t see your own shadow or reflection, “I did not want to stop,” said Courtnall, who was then playing for the St. and then you see how other people see you . ” Louis Blues. “So that was hard. I got knocked out again and it was over. Courtnall quit with that call and has not had a drink since. Cold turkey. The problem is, when you are playing at that level, you just don’t want to Unlike many reformed drinkers, he does not recall the day of his last miss a game, never mind realize it’s time to quit.” drink or his start date to sobriety. He only knows he is happy to be done The last concussion, by Courtnall’s count, was “probably the 20th” he with it. All of it. He is clear-eyed, lean and fit, loves riding his bike and suffered in his more than two decades of playing hockey dating back to working out twice a week at a fitness center.