Bruins Lock In Ranford Through 2000

Boston goaltender Bill Ranford signed a three-year contract extension through the 1999-2000 season.

“We consider goaltending to be the most important position on the team,” Bruin General Manager Harry Sinden said. “This signing solidifies that position for a few years to come.”

Ranford, 30, has an 11-12-6 record and a 3.37 goals-against average with two shutouts this season. He has started 30 of Boston’s 36 games.

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The league suspended Hartford’s Keith Primeau for one game for slashing Washington’s Joe Juneau during a game Wednesday. . . . Buffalo Sabre forward Anatoli Semenov will be sidelined for eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn left rotator cuff. . . . Colorado Avalanche right wing Claude Lemieux will return to action Saturday, sooner than expected after surgery for a torn abdominal muscle, but the team has lost left wing Valeri Kamensky for at least a week; Kamensky suffered a shoulder separation when he slammed into the boards during Tuesday’s victory over Chicago. . . . Hartford Gov. John G. Rowland and Pete Karmanos, owner of the Hartford Whalers, are to meet to discuss state efforts to keep the team from moving, including a proposal to refit Hartford Civic Center with luxury boxes and turn arena operations over to the Whalers.