The Los Angeles Kings signed goaltender Cal Petersen to a three-year contract extension carrying an average annual value of $5 million.Petersen has one season left on his current pact, which he inked with Los Angeles in the summer of 2019. It carries a cap hit of $858,333, according to CapFriendly.The soon-to-be 27-year-old took the reins as the Kings' No. 1 netminder last season, going 9-18-5 with a .911 save percentage while starting 32 of the 35 games he played.However, his underlying numbers were more favorable. He ranked 11th in the NHL with 6.22 goals saved above expected and 21st in the league with 3.48 goals saved above average at five-on-five in 2021, according to Evolving Hockey.Last season was Petersen's third with Los Angeles. The Iowa-born puck-stopper posted a .923 save percentage across 19 games in his first two campaigns.The Buffalo Sabres drafted him 129th overall in 2013, but he chose not to sign with them in 2017, instead inking an entry-level deal with the Kings that same year.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Buffalo Sabres have agreed to terms with restricted free-agent defenseman Rasmus Dahlin on a three-year deal with an average annual value of $6 million, the team announced Wednesday.The 21-year-old registered 23 points over 56 games last season, and his responsibilities increased under Don Granato. Dahlin averaged 23:26 minutes of ice time toward the end of the campaign following the head coaching switch in March.The Sabres selected him with the first overall pick in 2018 and will be looking for the blue-liner to make a leap in the coming years. The offensively talented rearguard has registered 18 goals and 89 assists over 197 games.Dahlin was the final remaining restricted free agent on the Sabres' books this offseason. He'll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights after this bridge deal expires in 2023-24, according to CapFriendly.Buffalo now holds $17.6 million in projected cap space.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Women’s World Championship will now be held annually, including in Olympic years, the IIHF announced Wednesday.In non-Olympic years, the competition will be held in March and April, and it will take place in August during Olympic years. The change was made because holding two tournaments over two months isn't feasible, as most players maintain day jobs."We had many times discussions with the top countries. They are always at the Olympics but couldn't play a few weeks later again, so we discussed whether it could work if we played in August," said IIHF Women's committee chairwoman Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer. "We know that after the Olympics many players end their careers with a highlight and that gives the opportunity to work with new players entering the team."Since 2014, only the teams in lower divisions in the women's competition would compete during the same year as the Olympics. The top division was excluded, which created promotion and relegation difficulties."We wanted to find a long-term solution because we had a challenge with promotion and relegation every four years. We wanted to solve different issues with this proposal. It is a really fair solution for all the countries participating in the women's program," said Kolbenheyer.The 2021 women’s worlds were held in Calgary, with Canada triumphing over the United States for gold.The Danish Ice Hockey Union has applied to host the 2022 women’s worlds in August.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Aaron Ekblad is ready to pick up where he left off after a devastating injury in March cut his stellar campaign short.The Florida Panthers defenseman told reporters Wednesday he's been medically cleared to play and feels "great," according to team website writer Jameson Olive.Ekblad expects to build on what he accomplished before the injury."I'm happy with all of my progressions to this point and confident that I can reach my same level of play from last season and exceed it," he said.Ekblad was stretchered off the ice during a game against the Dallas Stars on March 28 after colliding awkwardly with opposing blue-liner Esa Lindell.He underwent surgery the next day - reportedly to repair a left leg fracture - and was given a 12-week recovery timetable, ruling him out for the rest of the season.

Divisions: Metropolitan | Central | Pacific | Atlantic (Sept. 23)With the NHL offseason all but wrapped up, we're handing out grades for all 32 teams. The four-part series begins with an in-depth look at each club in the Metropolitan Division.Some contract figures are reported. Most players on two-way deals have been omitted.Carolina Hurricanes Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVJesperi KotkaniemiF1 year$6.1MDerek StepanF1 year$1.35MJosh LeivoF1 year$750KEthan BearD1 year$2MIan ColeD1 year$2.9MBrendan SmithD1 year$800KTony DeAngeloD1 year$1MAntti RaantaG2 years$2MFrederik AndersenG2 years$4.5MKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionWarren FoegeleFTraded to EDMBrock McGinnFSigned with PITCedric PaquetteFSigned with MTLMorgan GeekieFExpansion draftDougie HamiltonDSigned with NJJake BeanDTraded to CBJJani HakanpaaDSigned with DALAlex NedeljkovicGTraded to DETPetr MrazekGSigned with TORJames ReimerGSigned with SJRe-signedPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVAndrei SvechnikovF8 years$7.75MJordan MartinookF3 years$1.8MRookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedJack DruryF2nd round (2018)Ryan SuzukiF1st round (2019)The Hurricanes had an absurdly eventful offseason, easily the busiest in the NHL. We've done our best to break it down into a few separate parts.The goodCarolina signed Svechnikov to a max-term deal at an affordable rate, which was a tidy piece of business. The 21-year old is a superstar in the making and an integral part of Carolina's attack.Bear is a nice addition to a defensive corps that lost a huge piece.The badThe Hurricanes traded Nedeljkovic, a Calder Trophy finalist and seemingly the stable future in goal for a pick and player the club ultimately let walk. It was a peculiar decision at best.They also let Hamilton hit the open market, which could prove to be a costly mistake. He joined a division rival at a cheaper cost than several inferior blue-liners signed this offseason. Not only is Hamilton elite at shot suppression, he's one of the league's best offensive defensemen.The uncertainBringing in Andersen and Raanta aboard carries a lot of risk. Both goalies have been capable starters in the NHL but are injury prone and a few years removed from their best work. Retaining Nedeljkovic and finding a cheaper backup would have been the more sensible approach.The Hurricanes insist they didn't give an offer sheet to Kotkaniemi out of spite for Montreal's attempt to poach Sebastian Aho a few years back, but the hockey world isn't convinced. Why else would you give a low-ceiling offensive player $6.1 million per season? If Kotkaniemi doesn't pan out, this could be remembered as an all-time blunder.The unnecessarySigning DeAngelo after the Rangers bought him out drew plenty of ire from fans across the league. What has the controversial blue-liner done to prove he deserves another chance?Grade: D+Columbus Blue Jackets Kirk Irwin / Getty Images Sport / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVJakub VoracekF3 years$8.25MSean KuralyF4 years$2.5MJake BeanD3 years$2.33MAdam BoqvistD1 year$894KKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionCam AtkinsonFTraded to PHISeth JonesDTraded to CHIRe-signedPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVPatrik LaineF1 year$7.5MAlexandre TexierF2 years$1.525MBoone JennerF4 years$3.75M*Eric RobinsonF2 years$1.6M*Zach WerenskiD8 years$9.583M** Extension beginning in 2022-23Rookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedKent JohnsonF1st round (2021)Yegor ChinakhovF1st round (2020)Kirill MarchenkoF2nd round (2018)The Blue Jackets weren't big players in free agency but were still active throughout the offseason. Columbus got a great haul in trading Jones to Chicago and added three projected impact players in the first round of the draft. Its top prospects won't be in the NHL lineup in October but could join for a late-season showcase.Werenski's extension is pricey, but it was important for Jarmo Kekalainen to secure a core player to a long-term deal after losing so many in recent years. Laine will need a new contract next year, but a fresh start under a new head coach could provide the spark he needs.Bringing Voracek back seems like a lateral move, but it saves the organization money during its rebuild. Perhaps the veteran playmaker can be the one to feed Laine's lethal one-timer on the power play.Grade: BNew Jersey Devils Scott Audette / National Hockey League / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVTomas TatarF2 years$4.5MDougie HamiltonD7 years$9MRyan GravesD2 years$3.16MJonathan BernierG2 years$4.125MKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionNathan BastianFExpansion draftWill ButcherDTraded to BUFConnor CarrickDSigned with SEAAaron DellGSigned with BUFRe-signedPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVJanne KuokkanenF2 years$1.825MYegor SharangovichF2 years$2MRookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedAlexander HoltzF1st round (2020)Nolan FooteF1st round (2019 by TB)Kevin BahlD2nd round (2018 by ARI)The Devils took significant strides toward contending with a slew of shrewd moves. Hamilton, of course, was the biggest splash of the summer and he'll anchor New Jersey's top defensive pairing for several years to come. Adding Graves for a second-round pick and a prospect is another move that significantly bolsters the Devils' back end, which has been a weakness for years.New Jersey also pounced on Tatar, who was somehow available after the initial wave of free-agent signings. His presence on the wing, likely alongside Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier, provides the Devils a veteran presence with strong play-driving and offensive ability. Scoring depth was an area Tom Fitzgerald needed to address in order to progress his rebuild this year.Last but not least, Jonathan Bernier and Mackenzie Blackwood form a formidable duo in goal. The Devils strengthened their lineup at every position this summer, and it should pay major dividends for a team on an upward trajectory.Grade: ANew York Islanders Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVZach PariseF1 yearUndisclosedRichard PanikF2 years$1.375MZdeno CharaD1 yearUndisclosedKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionJordan EberleFExpansion draftJosh Ho-SangFBecame UFATravis ZajacFBecame UFANick LeddyDTraded to DETRe-signedPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVCasey CizikasF6 years$2.5MKyle PalmieriF4 years$5MAnthony BeauvillierF3 years$4.15MAdam PelechD8 years$5.75MAndy GreeneD1 year$1MIlya SorokinG3 years$4MRookies who could crack the lineupN/AMost of the Islanders' work this summer was to retain restricted free agents, and, as usual, general manager Lou Lamoriello managed to keep the cost to a minimum. Some were surprised at Pelech's eight-year contract, but he's an underrated rock on New York's top pairing and a tremendous fit in Barry Trotz's system.Six years for Cizikas is a lot, but the cost is low and he plays a significant role as well. Everywhere else, the deals are fair for an Islanders team that's missed the Stanley Cup Final by a hair in back-to-back seasons.Lamoriello's reunion with Parise was the flashiest move New York made this offseason. He's a low-risk, high-reward project and should be motivated as ever to gun for a ring after his stunning buyout from Minnesota.Grade: B+New York Rangers Ethan Miller / Getty Images Sport / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVBarclay GoodrowF6 years$3.64MRyan ReavesF1 year$1.75M*Sammy BlaisF1 year$1.5MPatrik NemethD3 years$2.5MJarred TinordiD2 years$900KKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionPavel BuchnevichFTraded to STLColin BlackwellFExpansion draftRe-signedPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVFilip ChytilF2 years$2.3MIgor ShesterkinG4 years$5.56MRookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedVitali KravtsovF1st round (2018)Nils LundkvistD1st round (2018)Zac JonesD3rd round (2019)The Rangers have a terrific core in place and are poised to benefit from Gerard Gallant's hiring as head coach. However, Chris Drury's first offseason in charge was a weird one. The rookie GM overpaid for a depth piece in Goodrow, then dealt a third-round pick for Reaves. Ownership wanted to get tougher after last season's Tom Wilson debacle, so Drury's hand might have been forced, but prioritizing an enforcer for a high-octane team that needs defensive help isn't the wisest course of action.Hauling Blais and a second-rounder for Buchnevich was also underwhelming. Blais is only under contract for one season and Buchnevich was an underrated piece of New York's offense in a breakout 2020-21. His demands as a restricted free agent may have priced some teams out of the trade market, but it feels like the Rangers could have done better in moving on from the talented winger.Drury's best work this summer was locking up Shesterkin. His deal is team-friendly and should pay off immediately.Grade: C-Philadelphia Flyers Elsa / Getty Images Sport / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVDerick BrassardF1 year$825KCam AtkinsonF4 years$5.875MRyan EllisD6 years$6.25MRasmus RistolainenD1 year$5.4MKeith YandleD1 year$900KMartin JonesG1 year$2MKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionJakub VoracekFTraded to CBJNolan PatrickFTraded to NSHRobert HaggDTraded to BUFShayne GostisbehereDTraded to ARIPhilippe MyersDTraded to NSHRe-signedPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVJoel FarabeeF6 years$5M*Sean CouturierF8 years$7.75M*Travis SanheimD2 years$4.675MSamuel MorinD1 year$750KCarter HartG3 years$3.979MRookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedTyson FoersterF1st round (2020)Cam YorkD1st round (2019)Like the Hurricanes, the Flyers occupied plenty of the spotlight this offseason. Philadelphia made a handful of blockbuster trades while also retaining several key in-house pieces with contract extensions. And also like the Hurricanes, some of Philly's moves were good, while others were head-scratchers.Ellis is a star and will help stabilize a defensive unit that struggled last season. Moving on from Patrick only four years after drafting him second overall is disappointing for the organization, but Philly came away with the best player in the three-way trade that ultimately sent Patrick to Vegas.The Ristolainen trade is where the Flyers' offseason vision becomes murky. The former Sabres blue-liner is one of the league's worst defenders by several metrics, and Philly gave up a first- and second-round pick to acquire one year of his services. Shipping Gostisbehere and two picks to Arizona for future considerations was another puzzling trade by Chuck Fletcher. Surely, he could have gotten something in return for a player of Gostisbehere's stature.Fletcher does deserve credit for locking up Couturier and Farabee to long-term deals at fair prices. Hart's contract will provide strong value as well if the young netminder rediscovers his form.Grade: C+Pittsburgh Penguins Emilee Chinn / Getty Images Sport / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVBrock McGinnF4 years$2.75MDanton HeinenF1 year$1.1MKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionJared McCannFTraded to TORBrandon TanevFExpansion draftCody CeciDSigned with EDMRe-signedPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVZach Aston-ReeseF1 year$1.725MTeddy BluegerF2 years$2.2MRookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedFilip HallanderF2nd round (2018)Pierre-Olivier JosephD1st round (2017 by ARI)It was a quiet offseason in Pittsburgh, as the perennially cap-strapped Penguins had little financial flexibility to make any moves of significance. Losing McCann and Tanev hurts the Pens' depth, but Ron Hextall managed to scoop up some cheap replacements and remain cap compliant. Role players will be of the utmost importance early in 2021-22, as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will be sidelined to start the year.Pittsburgh's biggest need heading into the summer was goaltending, as Tristan Jarry's dismal playoff performance sunk the club in the first round. There were lots of reliable netminding options available, but the Penguins stayed the course and hired a new goalie coach instead of signing someone new. How that decision pans out will likely determine the fate of the club's season.Grade: CWashington Capitals Patrick McDermott / National Hockey League / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVMatt IrwinD1 year$750KVitek VanecekG1 year$716KVanecek was re-acquired after being claimed by Seattle in the expansion draft.Key departuresPlayerPositionTransactionBrenden DillonDTraded to WPGZdeno CharaDSigned with NYICraig AndersonGBecame UFARe-signedPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVAlex OvechkinF5 years$9.5MIlya SamsonovG1 year$2MRookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedConnor McMichaelF1st round (2019)Alexander AlexeyevD1st round (2018)The Capitals were another team with a subdued offseason. Rumors swirled about the club potentially trading Evgeny Kuznetsov, but nothing materialized. A deal involving the Russian pivot could have awarded Washington some much-needed cap space, but the club ultimately allocated its dough toward Ovechkin's shiny extension. Hard to fault them for that.Ovi's new deal, though expected, was one of the biggest stories of the offseason. Five more years of the captain in Washington means Wayne Gretzky's goal record is officially in danger, and with nothing else of theirs to grade, we commend the Capitals for providing the hockey world with the opportunity to witness history.Grade: C+(Salary source: Cap Friendly)Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Seattle is taking kindly to the Kraken's inaugural duds.The NHL's newest franchise set a league record for most sales of a newly released jersey in its first five days of availability, NHL chief brand officer Brian Jennings told ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.The previous record was set by the Vegas Golden Knights, who released their look as the NHL's 31st club in 2017."Vegas set a pretty high bar. The Kraken are blowing through it, hourly. It's a hot market right now," Jennings said.The Kraken had a five-day period beginning Sept. 15 to sell the threads at their official team stores and online. Availability is now set to increase.The top Kraken jersey-sellers include Philipp Grubauer, Brandon Tanev, Jamie Oleksiak, and Jordan Eberle.Seattle's debut season kicks off Oct. 12.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The St. Louis Blues have signed restricted free agent Robert Thomas to a two-year deal carrying a $2.8-million average annual value, the team announced Tuesday.Thomas' entry-level contract expired after the 2020-21 season. He'll be an RFA again when his new deal comes to an end.The Blues drafted Thomas 20th overall in 2017. He's recorded 87 points in 169 career games, and he helped the club capture its first Stanley Cup in 2019.St. Louis now has all of its players under contract ahead of the start of training camp Thursday.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Minnesota Wild re-signed forward Kirill Kaprizov to a five-year contract with an average annual value of $9 million, the team announced Tuesday.Contract negotiations between the two sides were ongoing for the entire offseason, with general manager Bill Guerin saying on Sept. 13 that there were "obstacles" holding up talks. There were also rumors Kaprizov would return to the KHL.Kaprizov, 24, dominated in his first year in the NHL. He was the near-unanimous winner of the Calder Trophy - receiving 99 of 100 first-place votes - after scoring 27 goals and adding 24 assists in 55 games en route to the club's trip to the postseason.The Wild selected Kaprizov in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft, but he first spent five seasons playing in the KHL.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Columbus Blue Jackets signed goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to a five-year contract extension worth $27 million, the team announced Tuesday.Merzlikins will play out the 2021-22 campaign on his current deal, which pays him $4 million. His extension kicks in for 2022-23."Goaltending is a position of strength for our team and Elvis Merzlikins has been an important part of that over the past two seasons so we are very excited to have agreed to terms on a contract extension that will keep him in Columbus for at least the next six years," said general manager Jarmo Kekalainen.He added: "He is big, athletic, and has a tremendous passion for the game and we believe he will be an integral part of our success in the coming years."Columbus drafted Merzlikins in the third round in 2014. He broke into the NHL in 2019-20 and has posted a .920 save percentage across 61 appearances.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Columbus Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson confirmed Tuesday that forward Zac Rinaldo was not invited to training camp because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Columbus Dispatch's Brian Hedger.Davidson added that the rest of the Blue Jackets' 67 camp invitees are all vaccinated and Rinaldo will start with the club's AHL affiliate once it begins to practice.Ronaldo, a 31-year-old Ontario native, appeared at a right-wing political rally in Canada last week and gave a speech against vaccine passports. "I'm not anti-vax, I'm not anti-mask. I'm pro choice," he said, according to the Hamilton Spectator's Matthew Van Dongen."The ball is in his court right now," Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Tuesday, per The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. "We do everything as a team. That's a requirement of being a Blue Jacket. We're going with the group we have here, which is 100% vaccinated. We'll see how it develops."This isn't the first time that the Blue Jackets have had to navigate the NHL's new vaccination protocols. They had to replace assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre earlier in September after he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19.The NHL released a memo in August saying all hockey operations personnel must be fully vaccinated. Teams can reportedly suspend unvaccinated players if they are unable to participate in league activities. Players can apparently be excepted from that policy for medical reasons or due to strong religious beliefs.NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly projected 98% of players will be vaccinated by the time the 2021-22 season begins in October.Rinaldo signed a one-year, two-way $750,000 deal with Columbus this offseason.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A fixture in the broadcast booth is stepping away, as Jim Hughson called it a career Tuesday after 42 years behind the mic."This is a decision I made in consultation with my family, and I'm very much at peace with it," the veteran play-by-play voice said in a statement. "My only goal in this industry was to work at the highest level and on the last day of the season. I've had that opportunity a number of times and will always be grateful for it."Hughson was a prominent broadcaster on Hockey Night in Canada for years. In 2019, the Hockey Hall of Fame gave him the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award to recognize his contributions to the sport.The British Columbia-born commentator was limited to calling Vancouver Canucks home games last season because he didn't travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Hughson called 12 Stanley Cup Finals and the Olympic men's hockey tournaments in 2006 and 2014. He worked primarily on Canucks and Maple Leafs broadcasts for HNIC. Hughson also called Major League Baseball games earlier in his career and frequently voiced EA Sports' NHL video games.He'll turn 65 on Oct. 9.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Alex Galchenyuk is apparently giving it another go with the Arizona Coyotes.The 27-year-old forward signed a professional tryout deal in the desert Tuesday, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.Galchenyuk played for the Coyotes during the 2018-19 season, recording 41 points over 72 games. He's played for six teams throughout his NHL career thus far, including the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, and, most recently, Toronto Maple Leafs.The Leafs were pleasantly surprised by Galchenyuk's performance last campaign after acquiring him midseason. Galchenyuk registered 12 points across 26 regular-season contests in Toronto.He's coming off a one-year deal worth $1.05 million.Galchenyuk has scored 140 goals and 193 assists over 583 career games.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Kevin Hayes could be out until mid-November following his second procedure of the offseason.Hayes will miss six-to-eight weeks after undergoing abdominal surgery Tuesday. The 29-year-old required five weeks to recover from a core muscle operation he underwent in late May.Philadelphia's No. 2 center notched 12 goals and 19 assists while averaging 17:31 of ice time over 55 games last season, Hayes' second campaign with the club.The Flyers also provided additional updates Tuesday. Defenseman-turned forward Samuel Morin will be out six-to-eight weeks from Sept. 10, when he underwent right knee surgery. Forward Wade Allison is out indefinitely with a right ankle sprain, while 2020 draft pick Zayde Wisdom is also out indefinitely following shoulder surgery.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Every week before the NHL season begins, we'll be reviewing the fundamentals of NHL betting to equip you with the tools needed to ensure a profitable year.One way to start your preparation is by using regular-season point total markets to understand who the oddsmakers think is good and by how much. We can then use these numbers to make ratings for the entire league and compare them to our own personal ratings to decide which moneylines offer value throughout the campaign.The following chart lists the current point totals available on the market. The third column is each team's market rating based off that number. It's up to you to agree or disagree as you make your own ratings.TeamPoint TotalRatingColorado Avalanche1111.209Tampa Bay Lightning1081.176Toronto Maple Leafs106.51.160Vegas Golden Knights106.51.160Boston Bruins103.51.127Florida Panthers101.51.105New York Islanders1001.089Edmonton Oilers99.51.083Minnesota Wild97.51.062New York Rangers97.51.062Pittsburgh Penguins971.056Carolina Hurricanes961.045Washington Capitals95.51.040Dallas Stars95.51.034Seattle Kraken94.51.029St. Louis Blues92.51.007Philadelphia Flyers92.51.007Winnipeg Jets92.51.007Calgary Flames92.51.007Chicago Blackhawks91.5.996New Jersey Devils90.5.985Montreal Canadiens89.5.975Vancouver Canucks88.5.964Nashville Predators85.5.931Los Angeles Kings83.5.909San Jose Sharks83.904Detroit Red Wings79.5.886Columbus Blue Jackets76.5.833Ottawa Senators77.5.844Anaheim Ducks71.5.779Buffalo Sabres69.5.757Arizona Coyotes67.5.735Here's how the math works in calculating the ratings. Starting at the top, the Avalanche are projected by the market to finish with 111 points. That's 67.6% of the available points in a season. However, since the advent of the three-point game, an average of 2.23 points are awarded per game. Therefore, a league-average team isn't going to finish with 82 points (one point per game with a .500 record), but rather 91.68. The market has pegged the Blackhawks (91.5) to be the closest to that average, so they're projected to be the most average team.The three-point game complicates things, as it's not as simple as using the percentage to create a moneyline. Because the league average is 91.68 points, we need to figure out how much better the Avs are - as a 111-point team - than the average team. Here's how:111 (Avs' market point total) ÷ 91.68 (league average point total) = 1.209The Avalanche's rating of 1.209 means they are 20.9% better than the league-average team and thus have a 60.45% (half of 1.209) chance of beating that team on neutral ice. That translates to a true moneyline price of about -150/+150. After a sportsbook applies its straddle for the vigorish, a moneyline might look something like COL -160/CHI +140.As another example, let's consider the Avalanche against the projected worst team in the league, the Coyotes. Arizona's .735 rating means it starts the season 26.5% worse than a league-average team.With Colorado rated at 1.209 and the Coyotes at .735, their separation of .474 means there's about a 74% chance the Avs beat the Coyotes on neutral ice. Here's how:1.00 - .474 (rating difference between teams) ÷ 2 = .263 (Arizona's win probability)With Arizona's win probability at 26.3%, Colorado's win probability is 73.7%.This translates to a true moneyline of COL -280/AZ +280. After a sportsbook applies their straddle, the prices might look like: COL -310/AZ +250.If it becomes clear the Coyotes are headed toward going under their point total, and/or the Avalanche are clearly better than a 111-point team, that's where larger moneylines exist during the season.Except, wait, there's something missing! Since teams aren't in a bubble, like the summer of 2020, and not playing on neutral ice, we have to account for home-ice advantage. How do we do that? Well, that's for next week.Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there’s a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on twitter @mrussauthentic.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Detroit Red Wings are bringing back forward Bobby Ryan on a professional tryout, the team announced Tuesday.Ryan suited up for the club in 2020-21 after signing a one-year deal worth $1 million during the offseason.He registered 14 points over 33 contests while averaging 15:19 minutes per game, but his campaign was cut short after the veteran suffered an upper-body injury in late March. The 34-year-old underwent surgery a month later.The winger spent the first 14 seasons of his NHL career with the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators. He's recorded 569 points over 866 games.Ryan was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2020.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers will retire Kevin Lowe's No. 4 jersey prior to their Nov. 5 clash with the New York Rangers, the team announced Monday.Lowe played 15 seasons (1979-1992) as a defenseman with the Oilers and won five Stanley Cups. He added another championship ring to his collection with the Rangers in 1994.The 62-year-old was a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame's 2020 class. Lowe is currently an alternate governor for the Oilers and has previously served as head coach and general manager.Seven players have already seen their numbers retired by Edmonton, including Al Hamilton (3), Paul Coffey (7), Glenn Anderson (9), Mark Messier (11), Jari Kurri (17), Grant Fuhr (31), and Wayne Gretzky (99).Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jonathan Drouin said his leave of absence from the Montreal Canadiens last season was to focus on his mental health."I've had anxiety problems for many years. Insomnia problems that relate to my anxiety," Drouin told RDS' Chantal Machabee, according to TSN. "That week in Calgary where we played three games (April 23 to 26) - I missed all three of them and wasn’t feeling good."It was where I hit a wall for me, and it was time to step away from the game and literally take a step back from everything and kind of enjoy life. I needed it, and it was hard for me to do at that time and obviously, playoffs were coming around."It wasn't an easy thing to do and I'm proud of what I'd done and I'm happy I did it. I'm 26 years old, so I wanted to do that at that point in my career and feel good for the next years."The Canadiens placed Drouin on long-term injured reserve for personal reasons on April 28, with an indefinite timeline for his return to the team. He didn't play again despite Montreal's run to the Stanley Cup Final.The first update on Drouin's absence came in late July when general manager Marc Bergevin said the player was feeling great and "ready to go."The third overall pick from the 2013 NHL Draft went into more detail about what he was dealing with."The passion never left me. It was really to take a step back, to have a lifestyle that was easier for me to play hockey," Drouin told Machabee. "There were times where I could have gone three nights without sleeping and go and play back-to-back games. It's not something that's normal for anybody and I needed to change that a bit."Drouin added that he's "doing very well" after spending the summer with family and friends. He's expected to be back in the Canadiens' lineup this coming season.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Winnipeg Jets have placed defenseman Sami Niku on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract, according to CapFriendly.The decision was mutual between the two sides, reports the Toronto Star's Chris Johnston.Niku was entering the final campaign of a two-year deal worth $725,000 annually.The 24-year-old once showed great promise. He was named the AHL's defenseman of the year in 2017-18 - his first season in North America - after racking up 54 points over 76 games with the Manitoba Moose.However, he was never able to carve out a consistent NHL role for himself while recording only two goals and eight assists in 54 contests across four seasons. He made just six appearances in 2020-21.Niku is hoping to start fresh with a different organization and is not aiming to play in Europe right now, Johnston adds.The Jets selected Niku in the seventh round in 2015.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Montreal Canadiens are bringing in Cody Goloubef on a professional tryout, the team announced Monday.Goloubef, a right-handed defenseman standing at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, has skated in 160 career NHL games across eight seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche, Ottawa Senators, and Detroit Red Wings. He's recorded 25 points.The 31-year-old spent the 2021 campaign with the AHL's Belleville Senators, where he tallied four goals and two assists in 31 contests.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Travis Zajac is hanging up his skates as a member of the New Jersey Devils.The 15-year NHL veteran signed a one-day contract with the Devils and announced his retirement Monday. He spent the first 1,024 games of his career in New Jersey. Ahead of the 2021 trade deadline, he was dealt to the New York Islanders, with whom he played 13 regular-season contests.Zajac will remain with the organization in a player development and consulting role."Everyone in the NHL appreciates that Travis Zajac's work ethic and style of play were reflective of the New Jersey Devils," said Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald said. "His training, discipline, and focus rubbed off on every player who walked into that locker room over his 15-year career."Zajac was regarded as one of the more reliable two-way centers of his era. A first-round pick of the Devils in 2004, he received downballot Selke Trophy votes seven times in his career, finishing as high as sixth in 2009-10 when he posted a career-best 67 points. He completes his career with a 53.8 faceoff win percentage.The 36-year-old ranks fourth in Devils history in games played, third in goals (202), fifth in assists (348), and third in points (550).Although Zajac never won a Stanley Cup, he did help the Devils reach the final in 2012, when he put up 14 points in 24 playoff games after missing nearly the entire regular season due to injury.The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native represented Canada twice on the international stage, winning a silver medal at the 2009 World Championship.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vegas Golden Knights re-signed forward Nolan Patrick to a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $1.2 million, the team announced Sunday.Vegas acquired Patrick from the Nashville Predators in a three-team trade in July, sending forward Cody Glass to the Predators in exchange for the 23-year-old.The Philadelphia Flyers selected Patrick second overall in the 2017 NHL Draft. He missed the entire 2019-20 campaign due to a migraine disorder.Patrick has scored 30 goals and added 40 assists across 197 career games.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators signed forward Tyler Ennis to a professional tryout contract ahead of training camp, the team announced Sunday.Ennis suited up for the Senators during the 2019-20 campaign after inking a one-year, $800,000 deal. He registered 33 points across 61 games in Ottawa before being shipped to the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline that season."Tyler played well here in Ottawa in 2019-20. He has considerable NHL experience and someone we'll look forward to evaluating as camp gets underway," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said. "The PTO represents a good opportunity for both him and for us."The 31-year-old posted nine points over 30 contests with the Oilers last year while seeing his ice time dip to just over 12 minutes per game, its lowest mark since the 2017-18 campaign.Ennis spent his first eight years in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres. He's also enjoyed brief stints with the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs during his career.He's produced 322 points across 643 career contests.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong is joining the list of those who expect discontented sniper Vladimir Tarasenko to be with the team when the puck first drops in October."There's a good likelihood that he'll be there," Armstrong said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jim Thomas. "Vladi and I have talked about that. He understands."Armstong said he recognizes Tarasenko's desire to be traded, but the NHL's current pandemic-altered landscape didn't give St. Louis an appropriate opportunity to give the longtime Blues winger what he wanted."It’s a difficult industry right now. It's a flat cap. Vladi hasn’t played a lot of hockey in the last couple years. He knows he’s gonna have to go out there and play very well," Armstrong said.Shoulder injuries have mired Tarasenko's career in recent years - he's only appeared in 34 regular-season games over the past two campaigns, and he put up 14 points in 24 contests in 2020-21. The 29-year-old was reportedly unhappy with the way St. Louis handled two of his three shoulder surgeries, and the saga made him lose trust with the club.Fortunately for both the Blues and the Russian forward, the doctor who performed Tarasenko's most recent surgery said his shoulder should be 100% for this season."I guess my (hope) is that he’ll be playing so good that he won’t want to be traded," Armstrong said. "And we won’t want to trade him."We just have to have a good season. He has to have a good season. He wants to play for a number of years, and to do that, he's gotta make himself marketable. And to do that, we have to be a good team for him, too."St. Louis head coach Craig Berube echoed that point earlier this month, saying he expects Tarasenko to play some "good hockey" with the Blues.Tarasenko, who the Blues drafted 16th overall in 2010, has 442 points in 531 games and has scored over 30 goals in a campaign five times in his career.Training camp begins in late September.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers re-signed restricted free-agent forward Kailer Yamamoto to a one-year contract worth $1.175 million, the team announced Saturday.Yamamoto showed great promise in 2019-20, racking up 26 points in 27 games. However, he took a step backward this past season, tallying just eight goals and 13 assists in 52 contests.The 5-foot-8 winger projects to skate in Edmonton's top-six forward group, likely alongside Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.The Oilers selected Yamamoto 22nd overall in the 2017 draft.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Zdeno Chara may be looking to finish his storied career where it all started: on Long Island.The New York Islanders and the 44-year-old defenseman agreed to a one-year contract, the team announced Saturday.The terms of the deal weren't disclosed.Chara was originally a third-round pick of the Islanders back in 1996. He played four seasons with the club before he was shipped to the Ottawa Senators in the deal that brought Alexei Yashin to Long Island.He even found his old Islanders jerseys for the momentous occasion:

San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl isn't focused on an extension as he enters the final year of his contract."We'll see when I get there for camp and stuff, we'll see if we get some talks. If not, I'm not worried," Hertl said, according to NHL.com's Tracey Myers. "I'm just going to play the best hockey and not think about it because if you're overthinking or (thinking) this is my contract year, I have to score goals because it'll help."For me, it doesn't matter because I think I've proven I can be a good player, I've shown I can be a leader, and I just want to do that and not think about my next deal."The 27-year-old is entering his ninth campaign with the Sharks after re-signing with the club for four years and $22.5-million in 2018. Last season, he scored 19 goals and added 24 assists in 50 contests.Hertl's name has surfaced in trade rumors throughout the offseason, but he's not letting his uncertain future with the franchise distract him from contributing this upcoming campaign."I'm not thinking about what will happen next season, will the Sharks extend me or if they don't want me there. I'm just going to play my best hockey and help my teammates," Hertl said."We have a lot of young guys, so I want to help them and just show them how 'Jumbo' Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski showed me how to be in the league, how to be a leader, how to play in the NHL."Hertl has battled a couple of big injuries throughout his career - most recently tearing both his ACL and MCL in February 2020. In 503 career games, he's scored 151 goals and dished 172 assists.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

No one's signed a deal yet, but the communication lines between Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning and restricted free agents Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes are entirely open.According to Benning, he's in touch with the pair's agent at least every other day."We have a good relationship," Benning told Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre. "There's no angry sides. We're just trying to work through it to figure out how to make everybody happy.""We're just trying to figure out how to get to some common ground from their perspective and our perspective, he added. "They're important players in the future of our team and our group, but these are complicated deals."Complicated or not, Benning is hopeful there's enough time to get the contracts done before training camp, which starts next week."I'd like to try to figure it out because I feel like they're still young players, they're still developing and I think training camp is important for them," Benning elaborated.The Canucks are looking at bridge deals for the two stars in order to get something signed, although the sides have discussed both short- and long-term contracts. MacIntyre reports.Pettersson told a Swedish media outlet in August that while he wasn't worried about getting a new deal done with Vancouver, he does want to play for a winning team. Last season was difficult for the Canucks and the 22-year-old, who was limited to just 26 games due to injury.Hughes, meanwhile, has been quiet on the contract negotiation front.Whether or not Pettersson and Hughes are in the Canucks' lineup, the puck drops on Vancouver's season on Oct. 13.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Sebastian Aho finds the Carolina Hurricanes' minuscule signing bonus on Jesperi Kotkaniemi's offer sheet comical."To be honest, it's pretty funny to see a $20 signing bonus," Aho told ESPN's Greg Wyshynski on Thursday. "All jokes aside, we got a pretty good player."Giving Kotkaniemi a measly $20 was almost certainly a jab at the Montreal Canadiens for offer sheeting Carolina's star center in 2019 - Aho wears No. 20. The Canadiens didn't match the one-year, $6.1 million offer sheet, which relinquished Kotkaniemi to the Hurricanes in exchange for two draft picks.Carolina's social media team had a frenzy with the ordeal, poking fun at Montreal in several ways. Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon defended the move earlier this month, saying it wasn't done out of revenge.Aho continued to say the move was good for the game of hockey as the news created a buzz throughout the league, and there may now be a bit of a rivalry between the two clubs when they meet this campaign."It got people talking. I think it's going to be a good thing. It's going to be fun playing them next year," the 24-year-old said. "It's part of the business. The social media is so huge these days. You don't have to play a game, and you already have a buzz."Montreal selected Kotkaniemi with the third overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. The 21-year-old played three seasons with the Canadiens, scoring 22 goals and adding 40 assists in 171 games.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The St. Louis Blues are bringing veteran wingers James Neal and Michael Frolik to training camp on professional tryouts, the team announced Friday.Neal, who began his career with 10 straight seasons of 20-plus goals, has seen his production dip in recent years. The 34-year-old tallied just five goals and five assists in 29 games with Edmonton in 2020-21 and was a frequent healthy scratch. The Oilers bought out the final two years of his contract in July.Frolik, 33, failed to record a point in just eight games with the Montreal Canadiens last season. He was regarded as a reliable two-way winger in his prime, but he's failed to carve out a consistent role for himself over the last two campaigns.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Twelve-year NHL veteran Zack Smith is hanging up his skates at the age of 33, he confirmed to The Athletic's Ian Mendes on Friday."There were definitely a bunch of different factors that went into it," Smith said. "And I don't want to sound like I was taking it for granted or that I didn't appreciate the life that hockey has given to me, but my heart wasn't into it the last couple of years. I guess I was a little jaded in some ways. You're playing well and then you learn the business side of it."Smith played 11 of his NHL seasons with the Ottawa Senators, who drafted him in the third round of the 2008 draft. He was primarily known as a bottom-six grinder, but he scored double-digit goals four times in his career, including a career-high 25 in 2015-16. He also helped Ottawa reach the conference finals in 2017.The Sens placed Smith on waivers in 2018, which the forward says affected him mentally."That was definitely the low point in my career, being told that I was placed on waivers," Smith said. "And I don't think I ever fully recovered from that or got my confidence back. Not even a full year before that, I thought I was doing well and doing what I was supposed to contribution-wise. And then that happened."Ottawa traded Smith to the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2019 offseason for Artem Anisimov. He spent the 2019-20 campaign in the Windy City before sitting out the entire following season.The Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, native finishes his career with 204 points in 662 games.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

After a few years of turmoil that culminated in an unceremonious sweep in the 2021 playoffs, the Winnipeg Jets are officially done treading water in the defensive zone."We managed incredibly well over two years with a real extreme set of circumstances … It could have been devastating," Jets head coach Paul Maurice said, according to the Winnipeg Sun's Scott Billeck."I loved the defense corps last year individually ... But as a group, there was lots of room for us to get to another level."Winnipeg's defensive exodus began in the summer of 2019 when they lost Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers. Then Tyler Myers took his talents to the Vancouver Canucks on July 1, and Ben Chiarot signed with the Montreal Canadiens as a free agent three days later. Finally, the team granted Dustin Byfuglien a leave of indefinite absence in September of that year, with the two parties later agreeing to terminate Byfuglien's contract in April 2020.The Jets have seemingly been piecing holes together on the backend ever since. Having a Vezina-winning goalie in Connor Hellebuyck certainly helps, but adding Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt in the offseason goes a long way in addressing the situation."We had a big back end, an expensive back end, and then really young kids," Maurice said. "We have a more veteran core there now, certainly on our blue line now, and our goalie who stops a whole lot of pucks."At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Dillon is the heaviest defenseman on the roster and will inject physicality into the lineup. Dillon can play shutdown minutes and averaged 18:56 minutes of ice time per game for the Washington Capitals last season. Meanwhile, Schmidt is a strong two-way defender but had a tough time with the struggling Canucks last year.Perhaps most importantly for Winnipeg, an improved defense means the forwards can focus more on offense.Maurice asked the Jets to be defensive-minded to make up for their glaring weakness on the blue line, which reflected in their offensive numbers. Winnipeg scored 270 goals in 82 games the season before losing the bulk of the club's defense. In the shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns, the Jets failed to produce more than 250 tallies over an 82-game season."This will be, I would say, the best-balanced lineup we've had," Maurice said.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Two of the NHL's generational talents have been tabbed as rivals since their first day in the league, but as the pair enter the latter half of their careers, Sidney Crosby is certainly rooting for Alex Ovechkin to break Wayne Gretzky's goal record."I hope he does. I told him today that I hope he does," Crosby said of Ovechkin's pursuit, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "It would be awesome. He's in range."Crosby and Ovechkin are both set to enter their 17th season in the NHL this upcoming campaign. The two superstars have racked up countless trophies and accolades since their debuts and still perform among the league's best.Ovechkin, who will turn 36 on Friday, inked a five-year, $47.5 million extension with the Washington Capitals to likely close out his NHL career with the club. After signing his deal, he stated that he wants to play five more years to take a shot at beating Gretzky's goal record. As it stands, Ovechkin needs 165 markers to surpass The Great One.The Pittsburgh Penguins center said he believes Ovechkin's booming shot and the way he plays the game will allow him to remain productive as he gets older, adding that he can "score anywhere from inside the blue line."Since entering the league in 2005, Crosby and Ovechkin rank first and second in points with 1,325 and 1,320, respectively. Ovechkin's 730 goals also rank first, while Crosby comes in at second with 486 tallies.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane believes he'll be cleared in the NHL's investigation of his estranged wife's allegations that he gambled and threw his own games."Obviously (the accusations are) incredibly false. It's unfortunate that transpired, and it's unfortunate that those false allegations were made," Kane told ESPN's Linda Cohn."I understood the magnitude of them immediately," he added. "I know (they're) not true. I know none of what she was saying was true. I was very confident, comfortable with knowing that I was going to be exonerated and am going to be exonerated of those allegations."Kane's wife, Anna, shared the allegations on Instagram in July. He denied the claims, and the NHL promptly announced it would investigate. The results of the league's probe are expected to be released before training camps open next week.The veteran is adamant he's never gambled on an NHL game, but he told Cohn his addiction led to him filing for bankruptcy earlier this year."When you have a problem, sometimes you can't control your decision-making at that time. I think that was an example of my problem getting the better of me. I had a gambling problem. And when you have a gambling problem, just like a drinking problem or a drug problem, sometimes you can't control your actions," Kane said."You just keep digging a deeper hole," he continued. "At the end of the day, it's something that I went through and I'm looking forward to moving (on)."Kane is under contract with the Sharks for four more seasons at $7 million per campaign. He led with club with 49 points over 56 games in 2020-21, but reports surfaced this offseason that San Jose tried to trade the 30-year-old and several teammates don't want him back.There's a modified no-trade clause in his contract for the remainder of the deal that only allows him to be moved to three teams of his choosing.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Every story has two sides, so when Auston Matthews thrilled a Toronto crowd for the first time, somebody was bound to feel bummed.Postgame, Erik Karlsson said the play touched off his most embarrassing two minutes in hockey. His Swedish teammate Niklas Hjalmarsson admitted feeling aged in the moment, even though he had yet to turn 30. Victor Hedman - well, take in what Matthews did to him on Sept. 21, 2016: Your browser does not support the video tag. SportsnetMatthews and his teammates were buzzing. Connor McDavid had juked four Swedes to set up Matthews' dangle, the Maple Leafs sniper rising from his knees to score later in the sequence. Johnny Gaudreau proceeded to sneak behind Karlsson, call for a breakaway pass, and turn on the jets to draw a penalty shot. Gaudreau missed high, but Vincent Trocheck forced a turnover on the next shift, and 95 seconds after puck drop, his backhand from the slot put Sweden down 2-0.They were representing Team North America, the 23-and-under squad whose speed and razzmatazz wowed fans and staggered elite veteran opposition at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. McDavid was a second-year pro. Matthews was weeks away from debuting in the NHL. They connected at Toronto's Air Canada Centre as part of an unprecedented experiment in roster building: bridge the Canada-United States divide and combine prodigiously skilled players who might not otherwise have appeared at the tournament.North America's lineup featured five No. 1 overall draft picks. It included future Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, Rocket Richard Trophy, Vezina Trophy, Selke Trophy, and Lady Byng Trophy winners. Not that it'll ever happen, but the thought of this group reuniting is awesome:As it was, youth unburdened Team North America of expectations in group-stage matchups with Finland, Russia, and Sweden. Five years later, people remember the World Cup for the referee helmet cam; for Team Europe's surprise surge to the final; for Sidney Crosby and Carey Price leading battle-tested Canada to victory. North America's run was unforgettable, too, even as it ended short of the knockout round."That might have been the most fun 30 days I've had in hockey," Trocheck told theScore recently."(Icing a 23-and-under team) allowed those guys to come in and just focus on playing," said Craig Simpson, the retired NHL winger and TV color analyst who called the 2016 World Cup for Sportsnet."There's no standing back because you've got Sidney Crosby or Joe Thornton, an 18-year vet, that you're trying to defer to and show a little bit more respect to. I think it allowed them to galvanize each other and say: 'Hey, what have we got to lose?'"Trocheck celebrates his goal against Sweden. Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesThe 2016 tournament was the first World Cup since September 2004, when Canada edged Finland in the final on Shane Doan's winning goal and the NHL locked out its players right afterward. Bit of a downer. Teams North America and Europe, a melange of NHLers from eight countries, were added to the field in 2016 to generate buzz and raise the overall caliber of play.Dismissed as gimmicky by cynics and traditionalists, these new entrants dared to play watchable hockey, exuding an enthusiasm that some marquee teams lacked. Canada's structured style stifled opposing offense and risked boring people. The U.S. went winless against Europe, Canada, and the Czech Republic after leaving Phil Kessel, annually a 30-goal threat, at home.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres will battle in the 2022 Heritage Classic at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton on March 13, the league announced Thursday.The venue is the home of the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats. It typically holds 23,000 spectators but can be expanded to 40,000 depending on the event."We are excited to announce that we will be presenting another Tim Hortons Heritage Classic this season," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. "When the Toronto Maple Leafs meet the Buffalo Sabres at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, we again will honor Canada's preeminent role in the history of our game while renewing a great and longstanding NHL rivalry. In addition, by inviting the first U.S.-based team to a Heritage Classic, we will celebrate the greater Golden Horseshoe region as the home of so many fans of both the Leafs and Sabres."This will be the sixth edition of the Heritage Classic. The event began in 2003 and was most recently played in 2019 in Regina, Saskatchewan.The Sabres will be considered the home team, as the game was initially scheduled on the same date at the KeyBank Center.The NHL has two outdoor games scheduled next season before the Leafs and Sabres clash. The Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues will take part in the Winter Classic, and the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning battle in a Stadium Series contest.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says the league projects 98% of its players to be fully vaccinated by the start of the 2021-22 campaign, according to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.That leaves 10 to 15 players league-wide not meeting vaccine standards. They'll be subject to stricter protocols, which could include forfeiting paychecks for days they're unable to participate in club activities.On the road, unvaccinated players are allowed to be only in the team hotel, practice facility, or game arena. They're not allowed to have teammates in their hotel rooms or enter public spaces such as restaurants.Exceptions for unvaccinated players include medical reasons, conflicts with religious beliefs, and establishment on the balance of probabilities, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.Hockey operations staff - or any role that includes interaction with players - for all 32 teams must be fully vaccinated this season. Many teams have already implemented proof of vaccine policies for spectators, as well.The regular season begins Oct. 13.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The 2020-21 season was the year of the Fox.After joining Bobby Orr as the second defenseman to win the Norris Trophy before his third NHL campaign, New York Rangers dynamo Adam Fox is ready to juggle higher expectations for himself and his young team as a new season looms.The first item on his checklist? Make the playoffs."You can only say you're a young team for so long, or you're only in a developmental phase for so long," Fox said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "We have pieces and a lot of really good players, so I think it's probably playoffs or it's a disappointing year for a lot of guys. It starts in camp and gelling together."Fox didn't go so far as to say it was playoffs or bust for the Rangers. However, he said the squad needs to start moving out of the rebuild phase that the franchise first announced in 2018."We should definitely take a step forward," Fox said. "We've been a young team for the past few years and it only gets better with more experience."Fox will lead New York's youthful defense corps this season - three of its top-four defensemen are aged 23 and under, with 21-year-old Nils Lundkvist vying for a spot on the third pair. The Rangers' forward group is a bit more balanced, with veterans like Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, and Chris Kreider evening out the inexperience of Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko.At the helm of it all is new coach Gerard Gallant, who Fox is "definitely excited" to play for."I've heard nothing but good things about him," he said. "I can't speak too much to the systems. We haven't gotten going with that. But you see the success he's had with Vegas, and I haven't heard someone say a bad word about him."The puck drops on the Rangers' season on Oct. 13 against the Washington Capitals.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jacob Markstrom is looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2021 season, and possessing one of the coolest masks in the NHL is a good start.Mask artist Jordon Bourgeault shared his design for the Calgary Flames goaltender's new headgear Wednesday. It prominently displays a flaming skull, includes nods to some of the team's past netminders, and has an "inside joke" that presumably pokes fun at current Flames defenseman Chris Tanev.

The Arizona Coyotes named veteran executive John Ferguson Jr. assistant general manager, the team announced Wednesday.Ferguson spent the past seven seasons as the Boston Bruins executive director of player personnel and general manager of the AHL's Providence Bruins. His duties with the Coyotes will include running their farm team, the Tucson Roadrunners."We are very pleased to name John as our new assistant general manager," GM Bill Armstrong said. "John is extremely knowledgeable about the game and with 20-plus years in the NHL, brings a tremendous amount of experience to our hockey operations department. We are thrilled to have him join our team and I am looking forward to working with him."Ferguson's executive career has included stints with the St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, and Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was vice president and general manager for four seasons.The 54-year-old also helped guide Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2007 world championship.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Connor McDavid expressed a sense of urgency when asked Tuesday about his patience level amid the Edmonton Oilers' retooling process."Definitely thinking the time is now," the reigning Hart Trophy winner said. "(I'm) 24 years old, (Darnell Nurse) and (Leon Draisaitl) are 25, 26, (and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is) 28, so the old excuse (that) we're young guys is no longer."McDavid credited Oilers general manager Ken Holland for his offseason transactions and said the onus is now on the players to win."Kenny's done his job, gone out, and gotten pieces and added some things ... it's on us now to put the thing together," McDavid said.Holland acquired forwards Zach Hyman, Warren Foegele, and Derek Ryan over the summer, along with defensemen Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci."More veteran guys ... some older voices, some guys that have been around and played in some big scenarios and games, and I just noticed that right off the top," McDavid added.In June, the superstar center became the first player since Wayne Gretzky in 1981-82 to unanimously claim MVP honors. He led the NHL with 105 points in 56 games, and Draisaitl finished second with 84. McDavid also ranked second in the league in goals (33) and finished first in assists (72), racking up 19 more than Draisaitl, who placed second in that category as well.The Oilers made the playoffs in each of the last two campaigns but lost in the first round in April after falling in the qualifying stage of the 2020 postseason. Edmonton hasn't reached the second round since 2016-17, when the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Oilers in seven games to advance to the Western Conference Final.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland believes his club will blossom from playoff hopefuls to Stanley Cup threats this upcoming season."The time is now," Holland said, per Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "In my mind, the time to try and take a step. We've been 12th in the league, 11th in the league. But the aspirations are far greater than that."He continued: "The Stanley Cup doesn't just happen. You evolve, you grow. You have multiple chances. You have disappointments."In '93, '94, '95 we couldn't get it done in Detroit. By '98 we had the blueprint and the recipe."The Oilers finished second in the North Division last season, but were stunned in a first-round sweep by the Winnipeg Jets. A year prior, Edmonton was eliminated in the play-in round by the 12th-seeded Chicago Blackhawks.Holland had a busy offseason trying to rectify the club's playoff woes, bringing in Zach Hyman, Warren Foegele, Duncan Keith, and Cody Ceci to reinforce the lineup. He also re-signed Ryan-Nugent Hopkins as well as Tyson Barrie and gave Darnell Nurse a lucrative eight-year extension."I wanted to bring in some people who have won before," Holland said. "(Zach) Hyman is 29, Foegele is 25 - they're in the prime of their careers. Duncan Keith is going to have a lesser role (than Chicago), but he's bringing in his resume. He's played in lots of situations at the international level and National Hockey League level. He's been brought in for what he can do on and off the ice."NHL training camps open next week. The Oilers' regular season commences Oct. 13.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Turner Sports revealed its full talent roster Tuesday for its coverage of the 2021-22 NHL season.Paul Bissonnette, a former NHL enforcer who rose to fame with his humor on Twitter, is joining the network as a studio analyst. Bissonnette has served as a color analyst for the Arizona Coyotes' radio broadcasts and co-hosts the popular "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast.Joining Bissonnette as studio analysts are former NHL 30-goal scorer Anson Carter, Stanley Cup champion forward and ex-Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet, and, as previously announced, Wayne Gretzky.Liam McHugh will work as a studio host, Brendan Burke will do play-by-play, and former NHLers Darren Pang and Keith Jones will serve as color analysts. Jackie Redmond, Tarik El-Bashir, and three-time Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Botterill were hired as reporters.Kenny Albert and Eddie Olczyk, as previously announced, will serve as TNT's lead broadcast team as they did this past season with NBC.Turner Sports signed a seven-year contract reportedly worth $225 million per season for the "B package" of the NHL's media rights. ESPN, whose talent roster can be seen here, secured the "A package."Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The St. Louis Blues re-signed center Tyler Bozak to a one-year deal worth the league minimum $750,000, the club announced Tuesday.Bozak is taking a significant pay cut from his previous contract, which paid him $5 million annually.The 35-year-old veteran remained productive during an injury-riddled 2020-21 campaign, producing at a 0.55 point per game clip with five goals and 12 assists in 31 contests. He averaged a career-low 14:55 per game.Bozak, as he's been throughout his 12-year career, was highly efficient in the faceoff circle last year, winning 56.8% of his draws.The Regina, Saskatchewan, product will be entering his fourth campaign with the Blues after spending his first nine NHL seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Two months after denying that his negotiations with Kirill Kaprizov had reached an impasse, Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin acknowledged they aren't going as planned."There are going to be some obstacles," Guerin told The Athletic's Michael Russo on Monday."I will say this, we are at a point where we feel we're being extremely fair," Guerin added. "How far apart are we? Not very, but sometimes those can be the things that take a while. I mean, that's the way I see it. You could ask (Kaprizov's agent) Paul (Theofanous) or Kirill and they might say something very different."The GM wouldn't go into detail about the talks, but Russo reports the Wild have offered the 24-year-old winger deals of varying lengths at an average annual value of about $9 million."We've made a very fair offer, and that's just where we are," Guerin said.In early July, Guerin insisted negotiations were ongoing. Later that month, it was reported Kaprizov had an offer to sign with one of his former squads, the KHL's CSKA Moscow, but he eventually ruled that out.Kaprizov won the Calder Trophy in June after leading all NHL rookies with 27 goals and 51 points over 55 games. He also led the Wild in those offensive categories while pacing the club's forwards in average ice time at 18:18. Additionally, he posted a favorable 50.34 expected goals for percentage at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.The dynamic Russian carries the league's 10.2(c) designation rather than being a free agent of the unrestricted or restricted variety, according to CapFriendly. That's because he doesn't meet the requirements to be a UFA or a Group 2 RFA and Minnesota issued him a qualifying offer.Kaprizov signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the Wild before the 2019-20 season. The club drafted him in 2015, but he didn't come over to North America to make his NHL debut until this past January.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews is optimistic that he won't miss any time at the start of the season after undergoing a wrist procedure in August."It's coming along well," Matthews said Monday, according to NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "Right now, it's a couple more weeks until I can kind of get out of the splint and start kind of really rehabbing and build my strength back."But ... as far as timeline goes, I'm going to get back on the ice this week. I'm really hopeful to be able to be ready for Game 1. That's my goal right now. Just take it day by day and see how I'm feeling."Matthews was initially given a recovery timetable of at least six weeks following his surgery on Aug. 13, which would have seen him return by the end of next week.The Maple Leafs' training camp opens Sept. 22. Toronto's preseason schedule begins Sept. 25 before starting the regular season on Oct. 13, with the club facing the Montreal Canadiens in both games.Matthews' wrist issue bothered him during the last campaign, but he waited until the offseason to have the procedure because he hoped it would heal, according to Zeisberger. However, the ailment continued to bother him during his workouts over the summer, leading to his decision to have surgery after discussing it with the team's medical staff.The talented center, who'll turn 24 on Friday, said Monday that the wrist issue isn't serious, and he's happy to have addressed it.Despite playing through the injury for most of last season, Matthews claimed the "Rocket" Richard Trophy after leading the NHL with 41 goals in 52 contests. Matthews is entering his sixth campaign with the Maple Leafs, who drafted him first overall in 2016.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois still hasn't explained why he demanded a trade out of Columbus, but he recently shed some light on how the saga affected him."For me, the hard part was when I got traded, it was the people kinda putting words in my mouth, like why he wants out," Dubois told "31 Thoughts: The Podcast" on Monday, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.Dubois continued: "These are people that have never met me, that have no idea who I am, have probably never even done an interview with me. It was kind of tough to deal with that. It was hard on my parents, to be honest. For my mom to see stuff like that, it was tough on her."That was a very hard part in my life, and I went through it, and I'm still alive. There's worse things that can happen."The Columbus Blue Jackets selected Dubois third overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. At the end of 2020, just before his fourth season with the club, it was reported that he'd requested a trade. Five games into the campaign, then-head coach John Tortorella benched him. Days later, the Blue Jackets traded Dubois to the Jets for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic.The reason for Dubois' request never became public. Prior to the trade, Tortorella said that he wanted the player to "get in front of it" and give a reason why he wanted out.Dubois, 23, said that he's aware that his silence may have irked fans, but he and his agent, Pat Brisson, decided that it was the more mature route."You know, the organization did so many good things for me. They drafted me third overall when nobody thought I'd go third overall. They gave me a chance," Dubois said. "So, I don't know why I'd go out there and say bad things or say things that I might regret later on.“I didn't think anybody there deserved that - the staff, the players, the fans. I thought that maybe saying less would annoy people and make people mad, but down the line, I think that's the best way to be respectful.”Dubois' tenure with the Jets didn't get off to a great start, as he recorded eight goals and 12 assists in 41 games. He said Monday that he didn't feel comfortable all season. Dubois will be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the upcoming campaign.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Seattle Kraken signed winger Ryan Donato to a one-year contract worth the league minimum of $750,000, the team announced Monday.Donato tallied six goals and 14 assists in 50 games with the San Jose Sharks last season. Seattle will be the 25-year-old's fourth team, but he has shown varying degrees of promise at different times in his career.When he was first called up to the Boston Bruins in 2017-18, he recorded nine points in 12 games. The following season, he registered 16 points in 22 contests after the Minnesota Wild acquired him via trade."Ryan's hockey sense and ability to contribute on the scoresheet are two ingredients we are excited to add to our forward group," Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. "We like his offensive potential and believe he can add scoring depth."Donato has posted average offensive metrics over the past three seasons, but he's been a defensive liability. Evolving-Hockey.comHe was a Hobey Baker finalist in his last season at Harvard in 2018.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Columbus Blue Jackets replaced assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre on Brad Larsen's staff after he refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the team announced Monday.Steve McCarthy, who's been behind the bench with Columbus' AHL affiliate for the past five seasons, will join the Blue Jackets in place of Lefebvre."While we are disappointed, we respect that this decision is a personal one for Sylvain and wish him well," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "We feel fortunate to have an outstanding coach join our club in Steve McCarthy, who has played in this league, won championships as a player, and been an important member of our hockey operations department as an assistant coach in Cleveland."The Blue Jackets hired Lefebvre in June. He previously worked with the AHL's San Diego Gulls after playing nearly 1,000 games in the NHL from 1989 to 2003.The NHL sent a memo to all teams in August stating that all hockey operations personnel are required to be fully vaccinated for the 2021-22 season.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Nick Robertson reflected on his own battle he grappled with that day in a California hospital.On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Robertson was born 10-to-12 weeks premature and without fully developed lungs. Doctors gave him three unsuccessful shots to try and get oxygen to his brain. According to the Robertson family, the fourth shot could have either saved him or killed him."With the tragedy that was happening then, people were fighting for their lives, but I was fighting for my life too, ironically," Robertson said, according to the Toronto Star's Kevin McGran. "But the circumstances were different."At the same time, his mother, Mercedes, was also fighting for her life and needed blood. Robertson's father, Hugh, got into the line to donate and was confused as to why the queue was so long. Fearing more attacks across the nation, Californians lined up en masse to donate their blood to help potential victims. Hugh found out about the attacks after asking those waiting."They told him about the plane hitting the towers. And then one by one, they let my dad go in front of them to donate blood," Robertson said.Fortunately, Robertson and his mother are now healthy. As the young forward gets older, he tends to look at the bigger picture on his birthday."My birthday doesn't seem like a birthday," he said. "It's more a memorial in recognition of the tragedy that happened that day."Robertson's parents haven't seen him play a game in person since February 2020, but he said they will both be in attendance at the NHL rookie tournament in Michigan later this month.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Craig Berube is operating under the assumption that disgruntled forward Vladimir Tarasenko will be in the St. Louis Blues' lineup on opening night."I expect Vladdy to play for us," the Blues head coach said Tuesday on the "Cam and Strick Podcast." "I'm going to treat him like every other player. Yeah, he asked to be traded, and things happened, but again, we want Vladdy to play good hockey for us."Berube indicated that nothing would change in terms of Tarasenko's fit with the club."He's going to have a role on the team like he always has," the bench boss said. "We'll deal with it internally and we'll go from there."Tarasenko requested a trade early in the offseason and reportedly didn't trust the club because he was upset with how it dealt with two of his three shoulder surgeries.St. Louis then exposed him in the expansion draft. One day before the proceedings, Tarasenko's surgeon said the winger's shoulder was "100% ready" for the upcoming season. The Seattle Kraken ultimately picked Vince Dunn from the Blues.Tarasenko was limited to 34 games over the last two campaigns due to his shoulder woes. He's a five-time 30-goal scorer who netted a career-high 40 with St. Louis in 2015-16.The Russian helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019, posting 11 markers and six helpers in 26 playoff games that spring. Tarasenko ranks fifth on the franchise's all-time goals list with 218 in 531 contests, and he's spent his entire nine-year career with St. Louis.The 29-year-old is under contract through 2022-23 at a $7.5-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.