NHL

Sean Avery got a sweet deal in his drug possession and criminal mischief case ... and if he keeps his nose clean ... it'll be off his record.

Back in September '15, Avery -- who played 10 seasons in the NHL -- was arrested in Southampton Village, NY after allegedly throwing rocks at speeding cars. Cops said they also found prescription pain medication on him.

The ex-NHL star was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and 2 counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance -- all misdemeanors.

Avery -- who was facing jail time -- caught a break ... accepting a deal that will see the charges dismissed if he can go 45 days without getting in trouble, according to Southhampton PD.

The Pittsburgh Penguins stopped by the White House to celebrate their latest Stanley Cup title Tuesday ... and President Trump took a jab at the Golden State Warriors right off the bat.

"By the way, everybody wanted to be here today," Trump said ... clearly referring to his beef with Steph Curry and uninviting the Dubs to the Oval Office.

Ex-NHL player Ray Emery was arrested last month for allegedly getting violent and threatening his then-fiancee Keshia Chante during a 2016 incident ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Emery was arrested Sept. 18 in Hamilton, Ontario, a rep for the John Sopinka Courthouse confirmed to us.

We're told Chante -- a singer and former host of BET's "106 & Park" -- had initially gone to authorities seeking a restraining order against Emery, claiming he had abused her several times from July '16 to Sept. '16.

Sources say Chante presented what she believed to be "hard proof" -- and cops determined there was enough evidence to warrant an arrest for assault.

Ultimately, Emery was taken into custody on Sept. 18 for assault with a weapon and uttering a threat. He was released on bail. He's due back in court later this month.

Emery played in the NHL for 11 years and won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. We're told he and Chante dated for 7 years. They were engaged until this summer when Chante publicly announced the wedding was off.

We've made several attempts to reach Emery for comment but they were unsuccessful.

Three major Tampa sports teams are pitching in to remove a Confederate monument from the city's courthouse in the wake of the backlash against similar statues in Virginia.

The statue in the middle of the controversy is the infamous Memoria en Aeterna -- a 106-year-old monument honoring the Confederate soldiers who fought in the Civil War.

Officials recently voted to remove the statue -- but only if removal costs were raised from private donors. The cost was estimated at roughly $150,000.

Enter the NFL's Tampa Bay Bucs, the MLB's Rays and the NHL's Lightning ... which just stepped up.

"Recognizing that this monument does not reflect the values of our community, in collaboration with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, our organizations have dedicated funds to assist in moving the statue from the public space in front of the courthouse."

"Now more than ever before, we must stand united and committed to diversity and inclusion as we all attempt to heal from the tragedy in Charlottesville."

No word on when the statue will come down.

What's better than making a caddy follow you around the golf course with hot dogs?

How about making the Stanley Cup do it.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Phil Kessel spent his day on the links with the Holy Grail Monday ... fillin' it to the brim with tube steaks!!

In case you're wondering about Kessel's fascination with hot dogs ... there was a rumor he used to eat a wiener a day in Toronto before he was traded from the Maple Leafs.

NHL announcer Eddie Olczyk -- who played 16 years in the league -- has announced he's battling colon cancer and underwent surgery to remove a tumor ... but says he's determined to bounce back.

The 50-year-old lead commentator for the NHL on NBC says, "I have been diagnosed with a form of colon cancer and am currently undergoing treatment for the disease."

"I have been working with outstanding health care professionals and expect to be back in the broadcast booth after I complete my treatment."

Olczyk's doctors say he is recovering well from the tumor surgery and he's ready to begin chemotherapy in the coming weeks.

Olczyk was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks with the 3rd overall pick in the '84 draft. He went on to coach the Pittsburgh Penguins after his playing days ended.

If you're gonna pick a fight with a hockey player, STAY AWAY FROM BRIAN MCGRATTAN ... so says Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano.

We were talking to Mark about which hockey player would have the best shot at success in the UFC -- and without hesitation, Giordano brought up the legendary enforcer.

"I've never seen him lose a fight," Mark explained.

McGrattan -- 6'4", 235 lbs -- had a helluva fight record during his time in the NHL ... and is said to have not lost a single scrap during the 2013-2014 season despite playing in 76 games.

Here are some highlights. Enjoy the violence.

Julianne Hough had to pull her wedding out of a ditch ... before she successfully made it down the aisle.

The "Dancing with the Stars" judge tied the knot with NHL star Brooks Laich over the weekend in Idaho -- but it was a rough rough ride getting there. One of the coaches porting their guests to the outdoor affair ... ended up in a ditch.

No one was hurt, and the bride and groom made it safely to the altar. Equally crucial to the big day ... Julianne's bro, Derek Hough's phone was apparently not damaged ... so he was able to text through the event.

Mazel!

It's time for NHL star Tyler Seguin to LISTEN UP ... your ridiculously hot Playboy Playmate ex still has the hots for you dude ... and she let TMZ Sports know when we got her out in Hollywood.

We got Miss November 2011 Ciara Price hitting the town with some of her other Playmate friends (including Miss January 2013 Karina Marie) and peppered the ladies with a couple of fun questions.

Among them was which sport has the hottest athletes, and which athlete is the hottest of all?

The ladies agreed it was hockey ... but no one named a name EXCEPT Ciara, and her #1 hottie was Tyler Seguin, who she admitted was her ex-boyfriend.

We did some digging, and it looks like the two dated back in 2012, and from what we can see, Tyler's not totally out of her system yet.

So ... remix maybe?

Ex-NHL star Mike Comrie will NOT be charged with rape -- after prosecutors say there was reasonable doubt as to whether his accuser consented to anal sex during a sexual encounter in February.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Comrie was investigated over a Feb. 11th incident at his L.A. home in which he invited 2 women over for drinks and sex.

The accuser told police she watched Comrie take the 1st woman into his room for sex. When they were finished, woman #1 left and the accuser then had consensual sex with Comrie.

According to official documents obtained by TMZ Sports the accuser says the sex was consensual at first ... until Comrie crossed the line by engaging in anal sex.

The woman claims she told him to stop but he didn't -- instead, he allegedly choked her and told her she couldn't tell him what to do. The woman claims the sexual assault lasted 45 seconds.

But here's where things get messy ... investigators say the woman claims she showered after the incident and then engaged in another consensual sex act with Comrie, which she says also got rough when he slapped her in the face.

At that point, the woman claims she jumped off the bed and started recording audio on her phone as she accused him of sexually assaulting her.

Cops obtained the recording and say Comrie sounds heavily intoxicated but denied any wrongdoing -- insisting the accuser had consented to everything.

The woman left Comrie's home and went to a rape treatment center -- where examiners noted a laceration to her anus. However, examiners noted the cut was consistent with both consensual and non-consensual sex.

Things got nice and sloshy in Pittsburgh Wednesday -- where Penguins players and fans teamed up to chug beers right on the street during the Stanley Cup victory parade!

Players like Trevor Daley and Ian Cole slammed brews on their pickup truck -- while Jake Guentzel made a beer-swiggin' deal with fans ... I'll sign your can, if you chug the brew.

Shocker, the fan agreed to the terms of the deal.

Congrats!

AWESOME ... and also ... GROSS!!!

After the Pittsburgh Penguins won Lord Stanley's Cup on Sunday, fans took to the streets and celebrated by EATING RAW DEAD CATFISH!

Why, you ask?

The Penguins beat the Nashville Predators -- whose fans often throw dead catfish on the ice during games.

The eating of the dead, raw catfish is obviously symbolic -- then again, so is buying one of those fake mini-Stanley Cups and running around with that instead.

Pittsburgh PD tells us they had no arrests related to the celebration and 1 medical transport for someone who fell and hit their head.

Congrats! (And also, good luck to your toilets).

The Nashville Predators fan who chucked a DEAD CATFISH on the ice during game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals has been hit with criminal charges ... officials say.

Officials say 36-year-old Jacob Waddell smuggled the dead fish into PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Monday -- and flung it onto the ice as the Preds took on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

FYI, the catfish toss has become a tradition at Predators home games ... so doing it on the road is really like a slap in the face to the opposing team.

Waddell has bragged online that he snuck the fish into the arena by vacuum sealing it and stuffing it into his shorts ... then unwrapping it in a bathroom once inside.

He unleashed the fish in the 2nd period.

Waddell was immediately escorted out of the building -- and now, prosecutors in Pittsburgh have charged him with disorderly conduct, possessing instruments of crime and disrupting meetings/processions.

It's kind of a big deal -- if convicted on all counts he could face around 6 years behind bars.

The Preds lost the game 5-3, but Waddell is being hailed as a hero in Nashville ... just ask Carrie Underwood, who tweeted, "My hero."

Ex-NHL player Dave Gove -- a member of the Carolina Hurricanes 2006 Stanley Cup team -- died this week and officials believe a heroin overdose is to blame.

Gove struggled with addiction and had entered a rehab facility in Pittsburgh. He was reportedly found dead at the treatment center on Wednesday with bags of heroin near his body, according to KDKA.

Gove only played briefly in the NHL before becoming a coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins minor league hockey team in West Virginia.

While Gove wasn't a star on the Hurricanes, he did get a Stanley Cup ring -- which he eventually auctioned off in 2015.

Former NHL star Mike Comrie -- once married to Hilary Duff -- is under investigation by the LAPD for allegedly raping a woman at his L.A. home, but he claims it was consensual ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the woman claims she met up with Comrie at a bar Saturday night and went back to his West L.A. condo. She claims he raped her multiple times.

The woman says she almost immediately went to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center nearby, and a rape kit was administered.

Sources connected with Comrie say he's known the woman for a long time and acknowledges he had sex with her, but insists she gave full consent. The sources also say the encounter was a 3-way and the other woman has not filed any complaint.

We're told so far Comrie has not spoken to cops.

How good is Justin Bieber at hockey? So good that an NHL goalie thinks he'd be helpless to stop the scoring machine from Toronto.

Bieber again showed his ice skills this past weekend ... scoring a pretty sick goal in the celebrity game during the NHL's All-Star festivities ... and getting roughed up a little too.

We got Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford -- an All-Star himself -- out at LAX and asked him if Justin would've gotten his point had Crawford been in goal.

If you thought he was gonna diss Bieber ... it's not too late to say you're sorry.