Mel Bridgman, the rugged former NHL forward who was drafted first overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975 and was the Ottawa Senators‘ first general manager, has died. He was 70.

The NHL Alumni Association announced Bridgman’s death Saturday. The statement didn’t give a cause of death.

“A prototypical power forward who exemplified Flyers style-hockey,” the Flyers said on social media.

A strong checker and dependable scorer and fighter, Bridgman first starred in junior for the Victoria Cougars in the Western Canada Hockey League. In 1974-75 in his last season for the Cougars, he had 66 goals, 91 assists and 175 penalty minutes in 66 regular-season games.

He went straight to Philadelphia — coming off its second straight title — as a rookie and had 23 regular-season goals and six more in a postseason run that ended with a loss to Montreal in the Stanley Cup Final.

Bridgman was Philadelphia’s captain during its record 35-game unbeaten run in 1979-80 in another season that ended with a loss in the Cup Final, this time to the New York Islanders, and also wore the “C” for New Jersey. He was traded from Philadelphia to Calgary early in the 1981-82 season and went on to have career highs with 33 goals and 54 assists.

Known for his thick mustache, Bridgman also played for Detroit and Vancouver, finishing his 14-year NHL career with 252 goals, 449 assists and 1,625 penalty minutes in 977 regular-season games. In 125 playoff games, he had 28 goals and 39 assists.

After earning an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Bridgman took over the expansion Senators in 1991 at age 36. He was general manager through their inaugural season of 1992-93 and later worked as a player agent.

“The Ottawa Senators organization sends its deepest sympathies to Mel’s loved ones at this difficult time,” the Senators said on social media.

WASHINGTON — Forward Pierre-Luc Dubois is expected to miss three to four months after having surgery Friday for injuries to his abdominal and adductor muscles.

The Washington Capitals announced that timeline Sunday. Dubois does not have a point in six games this season and hasn’t played since Oct. 31.

The 27-year-old Dubois was coming off a big bounce-back season in 2024-25, when he had 20 goals and 46 assists for a career-high 66 points.

After winning six of its first eight games, Washington has now dropped six of its last seven. The Capitals play at Carolina on Tuesday night.

An agreement has been reached to advance a deal aimed at ending the longest US government shutdown ever recorded.

A procedural vote held on Sunday night saw senators advance a House-approved bill, which will be amended to fund the government until 30 January.

Millions of American lives have been disrupted since the shutdown took effect on 1 October, when all non-essential parts of government were frozen as it ran out of money.

The shutdown, which was the first in almost seven years, was triggered by politicians failing to pass new funding bills amid a stand-off between the Democrats and Republicans over healthcare spending.

Read more:
US government shutdown: What does it mean?

If the Senate passes the amended measure, it still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives and sent to US President Donald Trump for sign off.

The vote to advance the bill passed by a 60-40 margin, the minimum needed to overcome a Senate filibuster – a procedural tool that empowers the minority party to delay or block a piece of legislation they oppose.

“It looks like we’re getting very close to the shutdown ending,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House prior to the vote.

A handful of Democrats who rebuffed their party’s leadership teamed up with Republicans to strike the agreement, which included plans for a vote in December on extending subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

The bill would prohibit federal agencies from firing employees until 30 January, a win for federal worker unions and their allies.

It comes as at least 300,000 employees are expected to leave the government by the end of this year due to Mr Trump’s downsizing effort.

What is a government shutdown?

A shutdown of the federal government means that all non-essential functions of government are frozen.

This will affect everything from social security to air travel to national park access.

Federal agencies are dependent on funding being approved by Congress to allow the president to sign budget legislation for the fiscal year ahead.

If they can’t approve funding (because of political differences – and America is of course bitterly divided) then those agencies are forced to shut down.

This means that workers cannot go to work and are not paid.