The NHL became the first team in professional sports to sell title sponsorship rights to an All-Star Game, as the league announced Monday that this season’s All-Star Game will be called the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Game.

Tim Hortons is a popular doughnut chain founded by former NHL defenseman Tim Horton, who played for the Maple Leafs, Rangers, Penguins and Sabres over the span of a 25-year career.

As part of the sponsorship agreement, Tim Hortons will receive benefits such as a prominent in-ice brand position, on-air mentions of the brand in connection with the event name and logo and the opportunity to include Timbits Minor Hockey players into promotional activities.

This is not Tim Hortons first foray into NHL sponsorship. The largely Canadian-based chain serves as a sponsor for the Sabres, Flames, Blue Jackets, Red Wings, Oilers, Canadiens, Senators, Maple Leafs, Canucks and Jets.

The game will take place on Jan. 29 at Scotiabank Place, home of the Ottawa Senators.

The Islanders appeared destined for a move out of Long Island after Nassau County voters rejected a $400 million plan for a new arena earlier this week, but Suffolk County executive Steve Levy is reportedly interested in keeping the franchise in Long Island.

Levy represents the eastern end of the island, and said he would be open to the idea of moving the team to Suffolk if it benefited the team and the community. Levy reportedly called Islanders owner Charles Wang about the idea but has not heard back as of yet.

The Islanders, who finished last in the Atlantic Division at 30-39-13 in 2010, have a lease on Nassau Coliseum until 2015.

It didn’t take long for the NHL’s newest franchise to reach it’s goal for season ticket sales. In fact, it didn’t even take 20 minutes.

The former Atlanta Thrashers set out to sell 13,000 season tickets by June 21, but shortly after fans were able to buy tickets Saturday at noon, Winnipeg reached its goal with ease. According to the Winnipeg Sun, the total reached 13,000 within 17 minutes.

“While I had no doubt the ‘Drive to 13,000′ would reach its destination,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said, “the remarkable speed at which it got there certifies the fans’ hunger for NHL hockey and their commitment to True North’s initiatives.”

Although the move of the Thrashers to Winnipeg is not official, Atlanta officials are talking like the move is inevitable. The sale could be final as soon as this week.

“It is going to hurt the city but we will withstand it just fine and we will get through it,” Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed said. “We have a lot of positive things going on in the sports franchise space that I think we’ll be announcing pretty soon that will offset it a bit.”

The Thrashers’ average attendance this season was 13,469, which was 28th out of 30 teams. It was also reported that the franchise had lost more than $150 million since 2005.

Winnipeg wants to get the sale done soon. “I think the astute business move would be to get it done ASAP, and to me that’s in the next 48 hours. Before this week is over, for sure,” Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz said.

According to Sharks coach Todd McLellan, center Joe Thornton will play in Tuesday’s Game 5, after suffering a vicious hit in Sunday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

Thornton was checked hard into the boards with 10:47 left in the third period by Canucks forward Raffi Torres. Thornton skated for 10 seconds after the hit but then missed the remainder of the game. The Sharks lost the game 4-2, and now trail in the series three games to one.

“When Joe Thornton comes to you and tells you he’s playing, he is playing,” McLellan said.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office announced that Rangers forward Derek Boogaard died as a result of mixed alcohol and oxycodone toxicity and ruled that his death was accidental. Boogaard was taking the oxycodone for pain relief. However, when mixed with alcohol the addictive narcotic can cause severe injury or death.

Boogaard died on May 13 and his family has donated his brain to Boston University’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. He missed most of last season with a concussion. He had been receiving counseling from the NHL’s substance abuse program before he died.

Marcus Vinnerborg will become the first European to officiate an NHL game Tuesday, when he takes the ice to officiate the Stars-Ducks game in Dallas. Europeans broke into the NHL in 1964, and several former players coached briefly in the NHL, but officiating was the last position to be filled by a European.

“You can’t set this as a goal for yourself because until now the NHL has been a closed world to European officials,” Vinnerborg said in an interview with IIHF.com. “I feel fortunate to get this opportunity and to be appreciated by them.”

The 37-year old, who hails from Sweden, has been preparing for the move to the NHL by refereeing games in the American Hockey League this fall.

The Lightning will be without captain Vincent Lecavalier for the next 3-4 weeks after he broke his hand in Thursday’s contest against the Capitals. The break occurred in the upper portion of the hand, near the knuckle of the index finger. Coach Gary Boucher indicated that he did not know whether the fracture would require surgery.

Lecavalier continued playing into the second period, skating for nine shifts, until he could no longer grip his stick. The first overall pick in the 1998 draft has nine points in 10 games this season (three goals, six assists).

NHL executive Brendan Shanahan presented an idea to GMs on Tuesday for a new All-Star Game format. Though Shanahan was reluctant to discuss the idea with the media, saying a formal announcement would be made soon, The Canadian Press reported that two captains will choose players from either conference to make up the teams for the 2011 game in Carolina. Fan balloting would still select the starters, and the captains would then pick the rest of the players from a pool assembled by the league’s hockey operations department.

“We’ve worked for a little while now on this idea, this concept, closely with the NHLPA,” Shanahan said. “They like the idea. Some of the players that they’ve talked to — potential All-Stars — they seem sort of excited and energized by it.”

An NHLPA spokesman said the organization has been working closely with the league to “revamp” All-Star weekend, and is looking forward to announcing the details soon. “We know what it is and we know what it’s not,” Shanahan said. “It’s an entertaining, fun game. Fans like to be entertained by the players showing their competitive spirit with a big smile on their face. It’s not  Stanley Cup final, it’s not an Olympic Games. It’s never going to be that.”

The expectation is that the teams will be determined during a live television event at the start of All-Star weekend.

NHL head coaches won’t get to throw the red flag anytime soon. NHL GMs rejected a proposal Tuesday to give coaches the ability to challenge calls involving goal calls. Panthers GM Dale Tallon proposed the item, after his team lost a game earlier this season to the Maple Leafs on a blatant, missed, goaltender interference call.

Other items for discussion at the GM Meetings included the league’s new rule on hits to the head, which the GMs were happy with at this point.