Blazers, Milne settle

From The Daily News of Wednedsay, Jan. 9, 2008. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers and former assistant coach Andrew Milne have agreed on
a contract settlement.
Milne was under contract through the 2008-09 WHL season, with a club option
for 2009-10, when he left the club Dec. 13.
The Blazers announced his departure with a two-sentence press release:
“Andrew Milne has left the Kamloops Blazers effective immediately. No
further comment will be made at this time.”
Tom Gaglardi, the Blazers’ majority owner, chose not to comment at the time.
Asked about Milne prior to Friday’s 3-2 victory over the visiting Tri-City
Americans, Gaglardi said: “Well . . . he didn’t resign, but . . .”
Gaglardi then referred further comment to Dennis Coates, a lawyer with the
Kamloops firm Mair Jensen Blair who also serves as the club’s alternate
governor.
“I think we’ve got it settled,” said Coates on Tuesday night, adding that he
and Milne are scheduled to meet this morning “to finish it off.”
“It’s finished verbally . . . I’ve got to get him to sign the papers,”
Coates said. “We have an agreement.”
Milne, who will receive an undisclosed lump sum, couldn’t be reached for
comment last night. He had been in his second season with the Blazers.
Meanwhile, the new ownership group also is hoping to settle with former
general manager/head coach Dean Clark, who was fired Nov. 7.
Sources indicate that Gaglardi and Clark are planning on getting together to
start talks sometime this month.
Clark was under contract through 2008-09, with a club option for 2009-10,
when he was fired.
The Blazers have learned that right-winger Tyler Shattock will be out of
their lineup for up to six weeks.
Injured Saturday in a 6-1 loss to the Rockets in Kelowna, Shattock was
thought to have a sprained ankle. He sat out Sunday’s 8-1 loss to the Giants
in Vancouver and, while the team continued on its road trip, Shattock
returned to Kamloops for tests and it was discovered that he has a broken
lower left tibia.
Needless to say, Shattock, who has 20 points in 41 games, won’t play tonight
when the Blazers hope to end a two-game victory drought against the Chiefs
in Spokane.
With Shattock out and right-winger Juuso Puustinen and left-winger Ivan
Rohac not yet back from the World Junior Championship, the Blazers have
recalled left-winger Matt Riley, 16, from the junior B Port Moody Black
Panthers.
Riley, who has two assists in 16 games with Port Moody, was the 67th pick in
the 2006 WHL bantam draft. He joined the Blazers over the Christmas break
and was pointless in two games.
After tonight, the Blazers will meet the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick,
Wash., on Friday before returning home to face the Chilliwack Bruins on
Saturday.