"I like ice hockey because people who play ice hockey are the kind of people who pick up hitchhikers, who are that kind of people," U2 singer Bono told a concert crowd on Wednesday at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium.

"Now, I know this from personal experience because I was hitchhiking in Vancouver just yesterday – actually, I was – and, this guy and his girlfriend picked me up in their truck."

That ice hockey player would be Oilers forward Gilbert Brule, who happened upon Bono and an assistant when the musicians got stranded in the rain while taking a walk in West Vancouver on Tuesday afternoon.

Brule, girlfriend Kelsey Nichols and their dog Bella were driving when they spotted the musicians asking for a ride.

Nichols was behind the wheel and initially drove past the pair until Brule convinced her that it was the Irish rock star.

"He was very cool," Bono told the crowd as he related the story. "And it turns out, he was an ice hockey player. Gilbert Brule, as it happens."

Brule and Nichols drove Bono to Horseshoe Bay, and on the trip the U2 star asked if they would like to be his guest at Wednesday's show in Edmonton.

The couple accepted, and later sold their Game 1 Stanley Cup Final tickets and booked a flight to Brule's NHL home.

Bono saluted the pair on stage on Wednesday night.

"Brule was actually a very modest man and he said, 'Where do you want to go?' And I said just take me to where the Edge is," Bono explained.

"I was so grateful, I decided that I want to be Gilbert Brule. I do. Larry is more Mark Messier, if you know what I mean.

Detroit Points East

VANCOUVER--Nobody expects the new Winnipeg franchise to have any trouble gaining approval from the NHL Board of Governors next month despite the warnings of commissioner Gary Bettman.

In fact, a more contentious matter will likely be the fervent desire of the Detroit Red Wings to move to the Eastern Conference after Winnipeg plays in the Southeast Division for the 2011-12 season.

Detroit wants out of the west and it wants out now. Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch, one of the league's best and longest serving proprietors, was placated to some degree in the late 1990s when the Maple Leafs shifted to the Eastern Conference by being given two expansion teams, Nashville and Columbus, to beat up on.

But the Preds and Jackets are patsies no more, and from a business point-of-view, the Wings believe they need this shift to reduce the team's travel, stop being forced to feed their fans a steady diet of Central, Mountain and Pacific time zone road starts and to give their customers new teams to watch like the other members of the Original Six.

Ilitch, senior executive Jimmy Devellano and GM Ken Holland have all made comments in recent years stating Detroit's hope to eventually switch conferences, and now is their chance. Problem is, the league might see a better fit with Nashville or Columbus moving to the Southeast, even though it's believed Detroit would happily accept moving to that division with Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida and Washington just to get more Eastern time zone games and extra matches with teams like the Leafs, Rangers, Bruins and Canadiens.

The Wings don't just want this move. They're willing to fight for it after years of being good soldiers and supportive of the Bettman adminstration. But teams in the west won't want to lose them as a gate. Could be an interesting scrap over this issue, with the Wings expected to need a two-thirds vote at the board level and right now facing opposition from every team in the Western Conference.

Look for a vote and decision in December.

with the Wings expected to need a two-thirds vote at the board level and right now facing opposition from every team in the Western Conference.

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby has been cleared to resume off-ice workouts in a few weeks.

Crosby met with concussion expert Dr. Michael Collins on Tuesday and will begin his summer program back home in Cole Harbour, N.S., within three weeks, the team said in statement Thursday.

"I met with Sid (on) Wednesday before he left for home and talked to Dr. Collins," Penguins general manager Ray Shero said. "(Crosby) will resume his workouts and get back into his program in Cole Harbour."

Crosby, who was sidelined in early January after sustaining two hard hits in as many games, was enjoying his best season with 66 points in 41 games before he was hurt.

"Everything will be closely managed by Dr. Collins," Shero said, "in terms of his progression leading up to him getting on the ice later in the summer per his usual routine."

The 23-year-old Crosby will not start on-ice workouts until late July or early August, which is his normal off-season workout schedule, the team said.

Without Crosby and fellow injured star Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins blew a 3-1 series lead and lost in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.