Caps hire Hall of Famer Oates as coach

WASHINGTON (AP) — Once again, a Washington Capitals leadership baton is passed from Dale Hunter to Adam Oates.

More than a decade after Oates followed Hunter as captain, a similar transition happened Tuesday when Oates was hired as the Capitals coach.

Except for one major exception: the one happened to fall on the same day Oates was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Oates, 49, who played 19 seasons as a center in the NHL, including parts of six seasons with the Capitals from 1996-2002. His 290 assists rank 10th in team history, and he and Hunter were part of the 1997-98 team that made the only Stanley Cup finals appearance to date in franchise history.

Wild re-sign Veilleux, Rau

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild have re-signed center Chad Rau to a two-year deal, and agreed to terms with left wing Stephane Veilleux on a one-year deal.

Veilleux returned to the Wild in a trade deadline deal with New Jersey in February. The hard-nosed veteran played his first six seasons with the Wild.

Rau scored two goals in nine games with the last season. The Eden Prairie native had a solid season in the minors with Houston of the AHL, scoring 14 goals.

with 21 assists in 67 games.

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