Neilson Is Diagnosed With Serious Form of Skin Cancer

Longtime NHL coach Roger Neilson, battling bone marrow cancer for the past year, has been diagnosed with a serious form of skin cancer.

Neilson, 66, now an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators, has a malignant melanoma, Isadore Brodsky, chief of oncology at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, said Friday.

Brodsky said a mole behind Neilson’s right knee, present for several years, suddenly began to change in size in the past month. A team spokesman said doctors in Ottawa removed the mole this week. The mole had a depth of melanoma of 4.1 millimeters; a good prognosis is anything under 1.5, Brodsky said.

A CT scan of Neilson’s entire body revealed no spread of the melanoma beyond the area, but after doctors removed lymph nodes from the groin area Friday, a biopsy of one was positive, meaning the cancer was already in his lymph system.

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Marty McSorley will not be joining the Munich Barons of the German Hockey League.

Baron Manager Max Fedra said he would not accept McSorley’s request for a clause allowing him to return to the NHL when his one-year suspension expires Feb. 21.

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Colorado defenseman Adam Foote is expected to miss three months because of a separated left shoulder sustained on a hit by former teammate Owen Nolan in Thursday night’s game against San Jose. . . . Carolina defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh will be out for two weeks after having surgery today on his left knee, the team said. . . . Free-agent left wing Benoit Hogue, who played for Dallas during the 1999 Stanley Cup championship run, joined the Stars for a third time. . . . Buffalo forward Rob Ray will appeal his 10-game suspension in a meeting with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Monday. Ray was suspended for abuse of an official after he vehemently argued with the officials after a non-call in Buffalo’s 4-3 loss to Boston on Jan. 1. . . . Joel Quenneville of the St. Louis Blues and Bob Hartley of the Colorado Avalanche will coach the North American team in the All-Star game Feb. 4 at Denver.