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John Ziegler Jr.’s tumultuous 15 years as NHL president began with the league ushering in the Wayne Gretzky era and ended with labor unrest and a players strike in 1992.The NHL on Friday confirmed Ziegler’s death Mikael Granlund Jersey , although the cause was not immediately known. He was 84 and living in Florida.“His positive imprint on the game of hockey cannot ever be overstated,” Chicago Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz said. “While he will be missed, his legacy and contributions to our sport will carry on forever.”Ziegler was the first American to run the league and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987.He was credited for helping the NHL become an international league by increasing the number of European players and opening the door for Russians to compete in North America.Ziegler was the NHL’s fourth president, succeeding Clarence Campbell in 1977. Two years later, he played a key role in brokering a merger with the World Hockey Association in which the NHL added four teams from the upstart league — the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers.While the Jets, Nordiques and Whalers eventually relocated, the Gretzky-led Oilers quickly succeeded Youth Mikko Koivu Jersey , winning four Stanley Cups between 1984 and 1988. The Oilers posted a picture of Ziegler handing the Stanley Cup to a beaming Gretzky on the team’s Twitter feed.The NHL eventually grew to 24 teams under Ziegler by expanding into San Jose in 1991. In 1978, the NHL had dropped to 17 franchises when the Cleveland Barons ceased operations after merging with the Minnesota North Stars.Just as important, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman credited Ziegler for attracting talent from across the Atlantic. The share of NHL players not born in North America grew from 2 percent to 11 percent on Ziegler’s watch, Bettman said.It was a period that introduced the NHL to its first wave of Russian-born stars such as Viacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Alexander Mogilny and Pavel Bure.Contentious labor talks between the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association over playoff bonuses, free agency and pension funds led to the players voting to strike in the final weeks of the 1991-92 season. The strike lasted 10 days.League owners unhappy with the labor agreement ousted Ziegler two months later. He was replaced on an interim basis by Gil Stein. The NHL hired Bettman the following year and appointed him the league’s first commissioner.“John provided invaluable counsel during my early days as commissioner and was always generous with his time,” Bettman said.Ziegler was from Grosse Pointe, Michigan Ryan Suter Jersey , and broke into the NHL serving as legal counsel for the Red Wings and their arena Olympia Stadium in 1960. He worked his way up the ranks to eventually represent the Red Wings on the NHL’s board of governors.During Ziegler’s time as league president the Red Wings were sold to the late Mike Ilitch, whose family still owns the team.“We are extremely grateful for the guidance and support John provided as president of the NHL when our family purchased the Red Wings in 1982,” Red Wings governor Christopher Ilitch said. “John left an immeasurable mark on both the Red Wings organization and the sport of hockey worldwide.”After leaving the NHL, Ziegler worked at a Detroit law firm and served as an alternate governor for the Chicago Blackhawks. OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Thomas Chabot saw an opening and took it, saving the Senators two points in the process.Chabot scored 21 seconds into overtime and Ottawa recovered after blowing a three-goal lead to beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Monday night.Chabot’s goal was his tenth of the season and put him first among NHL defensemen with 36 points.“I was looking for the pass, but the d-man did a good job to cut it so I saw the hole upstairs and I tried to get it,” Chabot said. “Obviously I was pretty happy to see it went in.”Chabot’s success has been a bright spot for a team that wondered how it would replace Erik Karlsson’s offensive contributions. Karlsson was traded to San Jose in September.“When (Chabot) takes off, he’s tough to follow Evgeny Svechnikov Jersey Womens ,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said. “In overtime, with open space like that, he’s so dangerous. I’m really happy because in the second period we were disappointed at the number of times we didn’t shoot and felt we lost momentum because of it.“In overtime instead of looking for the fancy play, he shoots and it pays off so it’s great.”Ottawa led 3-0 after the first period, but Roman Josi got two goals and Craig Smith also scored to tie it for Nashville.Maxime Lajoie, Brady Tkachuk and Ryan Dzingel scored for the Senators, who handed Nashville its first loss against an Eastern Conference opponent. Craig Anderson stopped 31 shots.Pekka Rinne started in net for Nashville but was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots. That ended his seven-game unbeaten streak against the Senators. Juuse Saros relieved and made 11 saves.Smith scored a power-play goal 46 seconds into the third period to make it 3-2, and Josi tied it with a deflected shot about six minutes later.Josi’s first goal came on a power play five minutes into the second period when he picked up a rebound and beat Anderson.Things got heated later in the period when a fight broke out between Bobby Ryan and former teammate Kyle Turris. Ryan took exception to being slashed across the hands, and the two exchanged blows.Ryan has missed a number of games due to hand injuries over the past few seasons.“I was not expecting that Womens Zach Parise Jersey ,” Anderson said. “When you go after (Ryan’s fingers), that’s what’s going to happen. Bobby was standing up for himself, and I thought he did a great job.”Ryan chose not to speak to the reporters following the game. Turris said he wasn’t surprised that his former teammate went after him.“It is what it is,” Turris said. “We’ll leave it at that.”Lajoie opened the scoring at the two-minute mark with a power-play goal, and Tkachuk made it 2-0 with his tenth of the season less than three minutes later.Ottawa took a 3-0 lead with 11.6 seconds remaining in the period when Mark Stone spotted Dzingel, who was able to beat Rinne high. The Senators had a goal waived off for a high stick minutes earlier.NOTES: This was the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. … The Senators remain without Dylan DeMelo and Matt Duchene, but Mark Borowiecki returned to the lineup after missing the last 12 games. … Max McCormick was assigned to AHL Belleville after clearing waivers. … P.K. Subban missed his 16th straight game for the Predators.UP NEXTPredators: Play at Chicago on Tuesday night.Senators: Play at New Jersey on Friday night.