NHL News: Sonny Milano, Andreas Johnsson and Ian Cole

The Capitals sign Sonny Milano but he needs to clear waivers

Elliotte Friedman: Sonny Milano signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Washington Capitals. He’ll need to clear waivers, and if he does, he’ll start off in Hershey (AHL).

Tarik El-Bashir: “The #Caps are trying to replenish organizational depth after losing Jonsson-Fjallby and Leason on waivers.”

Andreas Johnsson off the minors

New Jersey Devils: The New Jersey Devils have assigned forward Andreas Johnsson to Utica of the AHL.

Cap Friendly: Johnsson has an NHL cap hit of $3.4 million. While he’s in the minors he’ll carry a $2.275 million salary cap hit.

Statements from the NHL and NHLPA regarding Ian Cole

Elliotte Friedman: Statement from the NHL on Ian Cole.

“The National Hockey League announced today that it had concluded its investigation into anonymous allegations posted on social media against Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ian COle, having found no evidence to substantiate the allegations.

The investigation of the allegations, which were made anonymously in a social media post on Oct. 7, was conducted by the League’s Security and Legal departments.

The investigation included two separate interviews with Mr. Cole as well as interviews with NHL club personnel and other individuals with potentially relevant information. Further, the investigation included a detailed review of online and social media, pubic data, and court records and law enforcement checks. In addition, despite attempts by the League to make contact with the anonymous source of the social media post, those efforts were unsuccessful.

On the basis of the foregoing, the National Hockey League now considers this matter closed.

NHLPA: Statement from the NHLPA regarding the NHL’s investigation.

“We are pleased that the situation with Ian Cole is now resolved and that the NHL has closed the matter. However, players should never be subject to suspension or discipline in response to unsubstantiated and anonymous accusations. Removing a player from his team under these circumstances is inappropriate and grossly unfair. We are engaging the League in discussions on how to address similar situations in the future.”