The Toronto Maple Leafs are beginning training camp Wednesday without two important depth pieces.General manager Kyle Dubas said blue-liner Timothy Liljegren will miss at least six weeks following hernia surgery, per Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun. Additionally, forward Pierre Engvall suffered a foot injury and will be re-evaluated Oct. 3.Liljegren will be eligible for long-term injured reserve. The 23-year-old tallied five goals and 23 points in 61 games during his first full NHL season in 2021-22. He signed a two-year extension worth $1.4 million annually in June.Engvall sustained his ailment while training in Sweden. The 26-year-old totaled 15 goals and 35 points in 78 games during his breakout campaign last season.In addition to Liljegren and Engvall, Dubas said prospects Mikhail Abramov and Joseph Woll were out Wednesday due to a back injury and a shoulder ailment, respectively.The Maple Leafs will begin their 2022-23 season Oct. 12.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews won't let contract discussions turn into a distraction this coming season."I want to be clear about the contract stuff. I'm going to touch on it today, and that's it," the reigning MVP said Wednesday as Toronto opened training camp, per Sports Illustrated's David Alter. "I'm focused on the season, and we'll deal with it then. I love playing here, I consider it home now."Matthews is under contract with the Leafs for two more seasons at an $11.64-million cap hit. He isn't eligible to sign an extension until next summer but was asked about the topic in the wake of Nathan MacKinnon inking an eight-year, $100.8-million megadeal Tuesday."It's well-deserved," Matthews said of MacKinnon signing the league's biggest contract. "As far as my situation, I'm not too focused on that, it's still a couple of years away."Matthews is currently the NHL's third-highest-paid player, trailing only Connor McDavid and Artemi Panarin until MacKinnon's new deal kicks in for the 2023-24 campaign.The 25-year-old Matthews will surely be in the running to usurp MacKinnon's contract. He's recorded 457 points in 407 games since being drafted first overall in 2016 while leading the league in goals (259) over that span. Matthews - who's scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in 2024 - has won the Calder Trophy, Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, and two Maurice "Rocket" Richards through the first six years of his career.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Divisions: Metropolitan | Pacific | Atlantic (Sept. 22)With the NHL offseason all but wrapped up, we're handing out comprehensive grades for all 32 teams. The four-part series kicks off with an in-depth look at each club in the Central Division.Some contract figures are reported. Most players on two-way deals have been omitted.Arizona Coyotes Norm Hall / National Hockey League / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVNick BjugstadF1 year$900KConor GeekieF3 yearsEntry-level dealZack KassianF2 years$3.2M (trade with EDM)Josh BrownD2 years$1.275MPatrik NemethD2 years$2.5M (trade with NYR)Troy StecherD1 year$1.25MKey departures PlayerPositionTransactionAlex GalchenyukFSigned PTO with COLDmitrij JaskinFSigned in RussiaPhil KesselFSigned with VGKAntoine RousselFSigned PTO with PHIKyle CapobiancoDSigned with WPGHarri SateriGSigned in SwitzerlandRe-signedPlayerPositionNew contract lengthAAVLawson CrouseF5 years$4.3MChristian FischerF1 year$1.126MUnsignedPlayerPositionStatusJay BeagleFUnrestricted free agentLogan CooleyF3rd overall pick (2022)Loui ErikssonFUFAAnton StralmanDUFARookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedDylan GuentherF9th overall (2021)Jack McBainF3rd round (2018)Nathan SmithF3rd round (2018)The Coyotes just keep doing their thing in the desert. One of the biggest changes for the team entering the 2022-23 season will be its residency at a shared 5,000-seat arena at Arizona State, which is bound to garner a ton of attention (there's no such thing as bad publicity, right?).Arizona's race for last place is going swimmingly. Kessel, who led the club with 44 assists last season, has taken his talents to Sin City. The Coyotes took on some more undesirable contracts, such as two more years of Kassian at a cap hit of $3.2 million. Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz were the team's most productive scorers in 2021-22, and the Coyotes haven't added any powerhouses to their forward group. Their offensive ceiling remains critically low.Arizona continued to draft well and made three first-round selections in July, including Cooley, who said he hopes to suit up for the Coyotes after his first season at the University of Minnesota. His potential arrival will give fans something to look forward to, but most eyes will be on Jakob Chychrun, who miraculously remains a Coyote. That likely won't be the case for much longer, so time will tell what other assets and picks Arizona can acquire for his services as it embarks on yet another plummet to the basement of the league.Grade: C+Chicago Blackhawks Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVAndreas AthanasiouF1 year$3MColin BlackwellF2 years$1.2MMax DomiF1 year$3MJack JohnsonD1 year$950KKevin KorchinskiD3 yearsEntry-level dealPetr MrazekG2 years$3.8M (trade with TOR)Alex StalockG1 year$750KKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionHenrik BorgstromFBought outBrett ConnollyFBought outKirby DachFTraded to MTLAlex DeBrincatFTraded to OTTDominik KubalikFSigned with DETDylan StromeFSigned with WSHCalvin de HaanDSigned PTO with CARErik GustafssonDSigned with WSHCollin DeliaGSigned with VANKevin LankinenGSigned with NSHRe-signedPlayerPositionNew contract lengthAAVPhilipp KurashevF1 year$750KCaleb JonesD1 year$1.35MUnsignedPlayerPositionStatusFrank NazarF13th overall pick (2022)Sam RinzelD25th overall pick (2022)Rookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedLukas ReichelF17th overall (2020)Alex VlasicD2nd round (2019)When the Blackhawks traded Brandon Hagel to the Tampa Bay Lightning days before the deadline in March, captain Jonathan Toews said, "If he's not a guy that's a part of a rebuild, then I don't know."Unfortunately for Toews, that was the recurring theme of Chicago's offseason. The Blackhawks shipped off two-time 40-goal-scorer DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators and bid farewell to Dach and Strome, the latter of whom they lost for nothing. Chicago did end up with three first-round selections at the draft in July and stocked its cupboards well with Korchinski, Nazar, and Rinzel, but there's no guarantee that fans will see them in the big leagues this campaign as they continue to develop.There's plenty of talent to be excited about in the 2023 NHL Draft, but it's going to be a long season in Chicago. Some of the Blackhawks' new additions up front, like Athanasiou and Domi, don't significantly move the needle, although they could be solid trade pieces down the line. The tandem of Mrazek and Stalock isn't exactly a one-two punch. Add the uncertain futures of upcoming unrestricted free agents Patrick Kane and Toews into the mix, and first-year NHL head coach Luke Richardson truly has one big mess on his hands. At least the Blackhawks' tank job is essentially guaranteed to succeed.Grade: DColorado Avalanche Joe Sargent / National Hockey League / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVAnton BlidhF1 year$750K (2-way)Evan RodriguesF1 year$2MLukas SedlakF1 year$800KBrad HuntD2 years$762.5K (2-way)Alexandar GeorgievG3 years$3.4M (trade with NYR)Jonas JohanssonG1 year$750K (2-way)Key departuresPlayerPositionTransactionNicolas Aube-KubelFSigned with TORAndre BurakovskyFSigned with SEANazem KadriFSigned with CGYNico SturmFSigned with SJSJack JohnsonDSigned with CHIRyan MurrayDSigned with EDMDarcy KuemperGSigned with WSHRe-signedPlayerPositionNew contract lengthAAVAndrew CoglianoF1 year$1.25MDarren HelmF1 year$1.25MArtturi LehkonenF5 years$4.5MNathan MacKinnonF8 years$12.6M (beginning in 2023-24)Valeri NichushkinF8 years$6.125MJosh MansonD4 years$4.5MRookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedBen MeyersFUndraftedOskar OlaussonF28th overall (2021)Sampo RantaF3rd round (2018)The Avalanche weren't in dire need of an offseason that would knock your socks off to remain a dominant force in the league, so the savvy contenders mostly stayed the course. Many pointed to Colorado's trade deadline acquisitions as the secret to the team's success in 2021-22, and the front office showed its appreciation as Cogliano, Lehkonen, and Manson all re-upped this summer. The Avs also handed out a huge semi-risky contract to former reclamation project Nichushkin and are banking on the hope that his breakout campaign was the real deal.Goaltending is the defending champs' biggest question mark. With Kuemper joining the Washington Capitals in free agency, the Avalanche are taking a risk by relying on Georgiev to fill his shoes. The Russian backstop didn't have the best campaign with the New York Rangers, but he did show flashes of potential as the No. 1 guy when Igor Shesterkin missed time with an injury.The club's offense took a hit with the departures of Burakovsky and Kadri (and the Rodrigues addition doesn't totally make up for their absences), but that's just the cost of business for the Avalanche, who had Nathan MacKinnon to think about: The phenom could've become a UFA next summer, but Colorado opted to avoid any headaches by signing him to an extension this summer that doubles his current $6.3-million cap hit.Grade: B+Dallas Stars Derek Leung / Getty Images Sport / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVMason MarchmentF4 years$4.5MWill ButcherD1 year$750K (2-way)Nils LundkvistD2 years$1.775M (trade with NYR)Colin MillerD2 years$1.85MKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionAlexander RadulovFSigned in RussiaMichael RafflFSigned in SwitzerlandVladislav NamestnikovFSigned with TBLJohn KlingbergDSigned with ANAAndrej SekeraDRetiredRe-signedPlayerPositionNew contract lengthAAVDenis GurianovF1 year$2.9MJake OettingerG3 years$4MScott WedgewoodG2 years$1MUnsignedPlayerPositionStatusBlake ComeauFUFAJason RobertsonFRFABraden HoltbyGUFARookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedMavrik BourqueF30th overall (2020)Wyatt JohnstonF23rd overall (2021)Logan StankovenF2nd round (2021)We can't consider the Stars' offseason complete until they sign Robertson, but we can applaud them for the Oettinger deal. Getting their bona fide No. 1 in net signed to a three-year pact with a $4-million cap hit is a tidy piece of business. The deal can look even better if Oettinger plays like he did in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.Dallas also added Marchment in free agency. He enjoyed a standout year with the Florida Panthers, scoring 18 goals and 47 points in 54 games. However, the acquisition is a bit of a gamble, seeing as few would have guessed that Marchment would command a four-year, $18-million deal heading into last season - before the 2021-22 campaign, the physical forward had played in just 37 NHL games and only had two career goals.On the backend, Klingberg walked as a free agent after hearing his name crop up in countless trade rumors during the regular season. Although the offensive defenseman's performance has been on the decline recently, losing him for nothing isn't ideal, and Miller obviously isn't a one-to-one replacement. Perhaps the acquisition of 22-year-old Lundkvist (and his scoring touch) can help round out the right side in Dallas.Grade: B-Minnesota Wild Bruce Kluckhohn / National Hockey League / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVSam SteelF1 year$825KFilip GustavssonG1 year$787.5K (trade with OTT)Key departuresPlayerPositionTransactionNick BjugstadFSigned with ARINicolas DeslauriersFSigned with PHIKevin FialaFTraded to LAKJordie BennDSigned with TORDmitry KulikovDTraded to ANACam TalbotGTraded to OTTRe-signedPlayerPositionNew contract lengthAAVConnor DewarF2 years$800KJacob MiddletonD3 years$2.45MMarc-Andre FleuryG2 years$3.5MUnsignedPlayerPositionStatusBrock FaberDPlaying in NCAA (trade with LAK)Rookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedMarco RossiF9th overall (2020)Calen AddisonD2nd round (2018)The Wild are beginning to feel the consequences of the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise contract buyouts. The pair will count for almost $13 million against the cap this season, which meant keeping Fiala - or finding a suitable replacement - was virtually off the table. That hurts, no matter how confident general manager Bill Guerin is in Minnesota's ability to remain just as competitive. The Wild did add promising defenseman Faber in the Fiala trade, but he decided to return to the University of Minnesota in 2022-23.Minnesota also moved on from goaltender Talbot, who's set to become a UFA next summer, but its goaltending tandem took a bit of a hit. Fleury will turn 38 in November and must now share the crease with the 24-year-old Gustavsson, who appeared in just 27 games over the past two campaigns. Talbot also posted stronger regular-season numbers than Fleury after the three-time Stanley Cup champ arrived in Minnesota at the trade deadline.The Wild can still certainly take a playoff spot in the Central Division - Kirill Kaprizov seems set to continue his game-breaking ways - but this underwhelming offseason is likely just a preview of what life will look like in Minnesota due to some tighter purse strings.Grade: C-Nashville Predators Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVMark JankowskiF1 year$750K (2-way)Nino NiederreiterF2 years$4MZach SanfordF1 year$850KRyan McDonaghD4 years$6.75M (trade with TBL)Kevin LankinenG1 year$1.5MKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionNick CousinsFSigned with FLALuke KuninFTraded to SJSMatt BenningDSigned with SJSDavid RittichGSigned with WPGRe-signedPlayerPositionNew contract lengthAAVFilip ForsbergF8 years$8.5MCody GlassF1 year$874K (2-way)Yakov TreninF2 years$1.7MJeremy LauzonD4 years$2MUnsignedPlayerPositionStatusRocco GrimaldiFUFABen HarpurDUFARookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedEgor AfanasyevF2nd round (2019)Yaroslav AskarovG11th overall (2020)The Predators have wormed their way into the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons. One way to help make sure that trend continues was to re-sign Forsberg to an eight-year pact, which was Nashville's most crucial piece of offseason business.In other news, the Predators just had to give up Philippe Myers and Grant Mismash to take blue-liner McDonagh from the cap-strapped Lightning, but the acquisition is a bit of a double-edged sword. McDonagh won two Stanley Cup championships with the Bolts and was a stalwart on their penalty kill, but he's also 33 years old and still has four years remaining on his deal with a hefty $6.75-million cap hit. However, adding Niederreiter to the forward group on a frugal two-year, $8-million deal was a home run: The Swiss winger has hit the 20-goal mark five times in his career, including in 2021-22.Nashville didn't lose anything too substantial this summer, either. Some teams in the division arguably took a step back competitively, which might turn into a greater opportunity for the Predators - especially if they get another big year from their star players.Grade: A-St. Louis Blues Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVNoel AcciariF1 year$1.25MMartin FrkF1 year$750K (2-way)Matthew HighmoreF1 year$750K (2-way)Josh LeivoF1 year$750KThomas GreissG1 year$1.5MKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionDakota JoshuaFSigned with VANDavid PerronFSigned with DETVille HussoGTraded to DETCharlie LindgrenGSigned with WSHRe-signedPlayerPositionNew contract lengthAAVKlim KostinF1 year$750KJordan KyrouF8 years$8.125M (beginning in 2023-24)Robert ThomasF8 years$8.125M (beginning in 2023-24)Nathan WalkerF1 year$775K (beginning in 2023-24)Nick LeddyD4 years$4MNiko MikkolaD1 year$1.9MScott PerunovichD1 year$750KUnsignedPlayerPositionStatusTyler BozakFUFARookies who could crack the lineup PlayerPositionDraftedJake NeighboursF26th overall (2020)Scott PerunovichD2nd round (2018)Let's not beat around the bush: Losing Perron in free agency takes a bite out of the Blues. The bad news? St. Louis didn't find a way to replace his power-play prowess with any of its additions so far. The good news? The team had an NHL-leading nine players hit the 20-goal mark in 2021-22, including Perron, so there's a variety of options to fall back on.Instead of keeping Perron, the Blues opted to solidify their top-four defensive corps by handing out a four-year extension to Leddy. The 31-year-old defenseman didn't put up favorable underlying numbers - St. Louis failed to control over half of the shot attempts and expected goals with him on the ice at five-on-five in the regular season and the playoffs, according to Natural Stat Trick - but he took on some tough assignments while proving he was capable of saddling up next to Colton Parayko in the postseason.Breakout netminder Husso priced his way out of St. Louis after challenging a struggling Jordan Binnington for the starting job during the regular season. The Blues added Greiss on a cheap deal to be their new backup, which is clearly a downgrade. To lessen the sting, the team will need Binnington to continue reestablishing his role as the true No. 1 option following his strong playoff performance.The Blues also inked youngsters Kyrou and Thomas to identical eight-year extensions beginning in 2023-24. Both forwards are coming off breakout seasons, but the pricey pacts can prove to be costly if their production in 2021-22 was just a flash in the pan.Grade: B-Winnipeg Jets Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyKey arrivalsPlayerPositionContract lengthAAVSam GagnerF1 year$750KKyle CapobiancoD2 years$762K (2-way)David RittichG1 year$900KKey departuresPlayerPositionTransactionAdam BrooksFSigned with PHIZach SanfordFSigned with NSHPaul StastnyFSigned with CAREvgeny SvechnikovFSigned with SJSEric ComrieGSigned with BUFRe-signedPlayerPositionNew contract lengthAAVMason AppletonF3 years$2.167MPierre-Luc DuboisF1 year$6MJansen HarkinsF2 years$850KRookies who could crack the lineupPlayerPositionDraftedCole PerfettiF10th overall (2020)Oh, Winnipeg - this is not it. Aside from hanging onto the discontented Dubois (for now, at least), the Jets didn't do much of anything after a season where they failed to meet high expectations. They lost Stastny in free agency, and the closest they've gotten to replacing the productive veteran so far is by adding Gagner, which isn't exactly a perfect fit. Winnipeg also got worse in the crease, replacing breakthrough backup Comrie with Rittich, who had some difficulties in 2021-22. At least Appleton is back for three more years, we guess?To be fair, the coaching carousel was spinning out of control in Winnipeg all season long, so perhaps the Jets' most crucial offseason addition was their change behind the bench. After Paul Maurice's departure and a trial run with Dave Lowry, Winnipeg hired Rick Bowness as its newest head coach this summer.Bowness will now have to wrestle with some apparent tensions: Stastny said the Jets needed to have more respect for each other at the end of last season, while the team has opted to enter the new campaign without a captain. However, fans can breathe one sigh of relief because it now looks like Mark Scheifele is here to stay after casting doubt on his future with the franchise. The Jets still have some questions to answer in 2022-23, but maybe a bit more stability can help them get back on the right track and generate the right kind of noise.Grade: D+(Salary source: CapFriendly)Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

"Big Z" is finally hanging up his skates.Veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara announced his retirement Tuesday after 24 seasons in the NHL. The 45-year-old will sign a one-day contract later Tuesday to retire as a member of the Boston Bruins, his team for 14 seasons.

The Colorado Avalanche have signed forward Alex Galchenyuk to a professional tryout, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh.Galchenyuk totaled six goals and 21 points in 60 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season. He averaged 13:09 of ice time while playing on a one-year, league-minumum contract.A veteran of 643 NHL games, Galchenyuk is years removed from his early-career success. He's failed to top 10 goals in each of the past three seasons, a far cry from his 30-goal campaign in 2015-16.Galchenyuk will battle for a spot in Colorado's bottom six at training camp. The Avalanche lost depth forwards Nico Sturm and Nicolas Aube-Kubel in free agency.Colorado has just over $1.9 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Longtime defenseman P.K. Subban is ending his NHL tenure, he announced Tuesday.The 33-year-old won the Norris Trophy in 2013 and played his final three campaigns with the New Jersey Devils after three seasons with the Nashville Predators and parts of seven with the Montreal Canadiens to begin his career.In June, Subban claimed the King Clancy Trophy in recognition of his leadership and humanitarian contributions, particularly his commitment to social justice and COVID-19 relief. He was a finalist for the honor three other times."I never looked at myself or ever felt I was 'just a hockey player,'" Subban wrote Tuesday. "I always looked at myself as a person who happened to play hockey. Having that perspective allowed me to enjoy every shift like it was my last, celebrate every goal with emotion, and play every game as if someone paid to watch me play who had never seen me play before."He's been involved with several groups promoting diversity in hockey and co-chaired the NHL's Player Inclusion Committee.Subban collected 115 goals and 352 assists in 834 games over more than 12 campaigns. He suited up for two contests to begin his career in 2009-10.The Toronto-born blue-liner was an All-Star in three straight seasons from 2015-16 to 2017-18.The Canadiens traded him to the Predators for Shea Weber in a blockbuster deal on June 29, 2016, just 20 minutes after the Edmonton Oilers sent Taylor Hall to the Devils for defenseman Adam Larsson.EA Sports made Subban the cover athlete for NHL 19 while he was with Nashville. He was named to the NHL's All-Rookie team in 2010-11.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Nathan MacKinnon is staying in Colorado for the long haul.The Avalanche inked the superstar center to an eight-year contract extension Tuesday.MacKinnon's new deal carries an average annual value of $12.6 million, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. Colorado will pay approximately 85% of the agreement ($85.34 million of $100.8 million) in signing bonuses, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.The pact will make MacKinnon the highest-paid NHL player when it begins in 2023-24. Edmonton Oilers dynamo Connor McDavid currently holds that distinction with a contract carrying a $12.5-million AAV. McDavid signed his eight-year deal in 2017.MacKinnon's cap hit will double next season; he's entering the final year of his current contract at a $6.3-million AAV. He said last week he wanted to get an extension done before the start of the 2022-23 season.The 27-year-old has long been arguably the most underpaid player in the league and one of the best players of his era. He helped the Avalanche win their first Stanley Cup championship since 2001 this past June, tying for the postseason lead with 13 goals while adding 11 assists in 20 playoff games.MacKinnon has been a Hart Trophy finalist in three of the last five campaigns. He narrowly lost the honor to Taylor Hall in 2018, finishing only 70 votes behind Hall out of over 4,000. The Nova Scotia-born pivot also lost to Oilers center Leon Draisaitl by 147 votes in 2020.No player from the 2013 draft has more goals, assists, or points than MacKinnon since entering the league. He ranks third behind McDavid and Draisaitl in total points since 2017-18, with 442 in 338 contests during that span.MacKinnon's 32 goals and 88 points over 65 regular-season games last year both ranked second on the club behind Mikko Rantanen, who tallied 36 markers and 92 points in 75 contests.The Avalanche star has totaled 242 goals and 406 assists across 638 regular-season games, adding 41 goals and 52 assists in 70 playoff contests. He's played all nine of his NHL seasons with Colorado after the team drafted him first overall.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

St. Louis Blues defenseman Marco Scandella will be re-evaluated in six months after undergoing hip surgery Tuesday, the team announced.The 32-year-old blue-liner injured his right hip joint in August while preparing for the 2022-23 season, the Blues stated in a release. The initial timeline has him set to be re-evaluated in March.Scandella totaled three goals and 17 points in 70 games with St. Louis last season. He was shuffled down the Blues' lineup in 2021-22, seeing his average ice time drop from 19:57 in 2020-21 to 18:08 last year. A lower-body injury during the playoffs limited him to four postseason games.Niko Mikkola and Scott Perunovich are expected to compete for Scandella's spot in the lineup during training camp.Scandella has two years remaining on a contract carrying an annual average value of $3.25 million. He will be eligible for long-term injured reserve.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Keith Yandle, who broke the NHL's consecutive games played record in January, says he's calling it a career.The longtime defenseman announced his plans to hang up his skates on Tuesday's episode of the "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast."I'm shutting it down, I'm retiring from the game of hockey," Yandle said.He added: "I'm really at ease with (the decision), and I'm looking forward to the next chapter, for sure."Yandle broke Doug Jarvis' ironman record by suiting up for his 965th straight contest on Jan. 25. His streak ended at 989 contests on April 2 when he was a healthy scratch. Yandle's run stretched from March 26, 2009, to March 29, 2022.The Boston-born blue-liner played his final season with the Philadelphia Flyers. He previously spent five campaigns with the Florida Panthers, parts of two seasons with the New York Rangers, and nine seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, who were known as the Phoenix Coyotes for his first eight campaigns.Yandle was one of the best defensemen in the NHL during his prime and continued to produce late in his career. The veteran amassed a career-high 62 points in 2018-19 and collected at least 50 points in four other campaigns. He retires with 103 goals and 516 assists over 1,109 games.Yandle played 16 NHL seasons after the Coyotes drafted him 105th overall in 2005. He turned 36 on Sept. 9.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New York Rangers traded defenseman Nils Lundkvist to the Dallas Stars for a conditional first-round pick in 2023 and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2025.If the Stars' 2023 first-round pick is in the top 10, the Rangers will receive their 2024 first-rounder instead. Furthermore, if Lunkdvist accumulates 55 points over the next two seasons, the fourth-round pick becomes a third-rounder.Lundkvist, the 28th overall pick in 2018, requested a trade out of New York last week.The 22-year-old is listed at 5-foot-11, 187 pounds, shoots right, and profiles as an offensive defenseman. He tallied just a goal and three assists in 25 games as a rookie in 2021-22 but recorded 15 points in 34 contests with the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack.

Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier is week-to-week with an upper-body injury and will be re-evaluated during training camp, general manager Chuck Fletcher announced Monday.The Flyers said last week that Couturier received final medical clearance and would be a full participant in training camp.Couturier played just 29 games last season due to a back injury. He underwent surgery in February.Anthony SanFilippo of Crossing Broad reported Monday that Couturier would miss significant time to start the 2022-23 campaign after suffering a herniated disc in his back during strength and conditioning drills last week. However, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman followed up by stating that the injury's severity is still being determined.

The Edmonton Oilers inked forward Jake Virtanen and defenseman Jason Demers to professional tryout contracts Monday.In late July, Virtanen was found not guilty of sexual assault after he was charged in January. In May 2021, a woman said in a lawsuit that Virtanen forced himself upon her and assaulted her in a Vancouver hotel room in 2017, despite her pleas for him to stop. He denied the allegations one month later.The Vancouver Canucks placed Virtanen on leave when the allegations surfaced. They later bought out his contract. He then signed with the KHL's Spartak Moscow, with whom he played the 2021-22 season.Virtanen, 26, spent all six of his NHL campaigns with the Canucks, who drafted him sixth overall in 2014.Demers played five games for Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL last season. He represented Canada at the Olympics in February and last played in the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes in 2021.The 34-year-old has played 12 NHL campaigns. He spent his last four with the Coyotes.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Calgary Flames signed forward Sonny Milano to a professional tryout Monday.Milano enjoyed a career season with the Anaheim Ducks in 2021-22, scoring 14 goals and 34 points in 66 games. The 26-year-old averaged 15:17 of ice time, primarily playing in the middle six.Originally a restricted free agent, Milano didn't receive a qualifying offer from Anaheim at the beginning of free agency. He's coming off a two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.7 million.After Andrew Mangiapane and blockbuster addition Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary has an open spot on its third line. Milano immediately becomes the favorite to play there should he earn a contract, with prospect Jakob Pelletier also set to battle for minutes.Calgary has just over $2 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

HENDERSON, Nev. - The goalies are new. The bottom of the forward group has new faces. Otherwise, the Toronto Maple Leafs are entering the 2022-23 season chasing that elusive playoff series victory with familiar personnel.Same general manager. Same head coach. Same core of players.Same - or perhaps more - pressure to perform."Every year, the expectations are supposed to rise. I think for our group that's no different," defenseman Morgan Rielly said Friday during the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour at Lifeguard Arena in suburban Las Vegas. Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesBefore rolling your eyes at the above quote, consider the limited options for Rielly and his teammates, including center Auston Matthews, who also spoke at the preseason event. What can Leafs players possibly say at this point? Optimism, pessimism, indifference - all of it will fall on deaf ears until at least the start of the regular season when fresh storylines can act as a distraction.And that's all those storylines will be for 82 games: A distraction. Despite setting several franchise records with dominant regular seasons, the Leafs have lost all six first-round series in the Matthews era. They know they've failed to execute at every turn and can't go back in time to change anything. Now, a new season - the second-last before Matthews' current deal expires - is here."You can't live in the past," Matthews said of falling to Tampa Bay back in May. "It's disappointing getting the same result over and over again.""I look at a team like Tampa or a team like Colorado. It took them a really long time. They had to go through a lot," the reigning Hart Trophy winner added. "I think every team and every journey is different, so we're writing our own story and we're all extremely motivated and are all working towards the same goal." Mike Ehrmann / Getty ImagesFactually, Matthews is correct. Living in the past is counterproductive. It's rare for a team to win a Stanley Cup without significant adversity; the Lightning and Avalanche fan bases know that to be true. It's also fair to suggest every team's timeline is unique. So, he's not spouting nonsense.Nor is Rielly when he says he agrees with the narrative that, relative to previous playoff exits, last season's first-round defeat "felt different.""After that series, I heard that a lot," Rielly said of the hard-fought, well-played seven-game series. "The only thing is, it really doesn't make you feel any better. It honestly doesn't give you any more pride or anything in relation to how you handle it emotionally. It's almost worse because you're right there."Rielly, the Leafs' top spokesperson, was asked Friday how the Leafs will measure success this season. "We're in a position where we're wanting to win the Stanley Cup," he replied. "That's our goal and that's how we're going to measure it. But if we have a great regular season and win a couple of rounds, go to the Final and lose or something, I think that there are good things happening there. But the end goal is to win a Stanley Cup."Again, nothing Rielly's saying is delusional. But, because of past failures and a lack of roster turnover, his words carry less weight than they should. A lot less.Coyotes' ASU era nearsThe Arizona Coyotes, who compete in the best hockey league on the planet, will soon play their games in a 5,000-seat arena located on a college campus.We've known this for a while, yet the absurdity of the situation remains fresh.The good news: The Coyotes expect to sell out home games at Arizona State University, which they rarely did at Gila River Arena in Glendale. The bad news: For at least three seasons, the team will likely be stuck at ASU's Mullett Arena, which has half the capacity of several junior hockey and college rinks. Norm Hall / Getty Images"I don't know ... we'll see, I guess. I don't know," Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said when asked about playing at ASU. MacKinnon is perhaps the rawest interview in the NHL; him not saying much says a lot."That's going to be special, absolutely," added a more enthusiastic Jeremy Swayman, the Boston Bruins goalie. "I was a college guy (at the University of Maine) and I figure the NHL is not going to put us in a bad place, right? So I have no doubts in my mind it's going to be a great place to play."Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski admits playing at ASU would "get old" if you were a member of the Coyotes. The atmosphere for Columbus' lone visit to the desert, however, should be "electric" in such an intimate setting.Cam Atkinson of the Philadelphia Flyers is cautiously optimistic about the in-game vibe. "I hope it will be buzzing," he said. "I guess it's a cool way for that college to see some of the best players in the world, grow the game in Arizona a little bit." Atkinson also wonders about the dynamic between NHL players and the ASU community. "It's going to be interesting. Hopefully, with the league being so young, guys stay out of trouble, being on campus." Mike Stobe / Getty ImagesAfter a six-game road trip to begin the season, the Coyotes host the Winnipeg Jets at ASU on Oct. 28. With support from the league, the franchise is awaiting approval to build a permanent home in Tempe, near Phoenix."It's one of the biggest markets in the United States. It's a sports market. It's shown an ability to support sports franchises," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told theScore. "The arena they were playing in is not in the right location."Other really good hockey markets, when they have arenas in wrong locations, have struggled. The Coyotes are no different than that. They've also had a perfect storm of things - unlucky events that they really had no control over - happen to them (over 25 years in Arizona). I'd say most professional sports leagues - all good ones - really have a commitment to markets they put teams in because they create fan bases and they don't want to mess with those relationships that they've created. There's a real hesitancy and reluctance to relocate a franchise unless you really have to. Sometimes you really do have to. But if you don't really have to, and the market is otherwise strong in its demographics, you do everything possible to save the franchise."World Cup gaining steamConnor McDavid, a generational talent entering his eighth NHL season, hasn't played in the Olympics, and the only time he appeared in a best-on-best international tournament as a pro he was a member of Team North America."You think of the Summit Series and (Paul) Henderson's goal. You think of (Sidney Crosby's) goal in 2010. You think of all these massive moments," McDavid said. "That only comes from playing best-on-best hockey on the biggest stage, on the global stage. I think we've kind of missed out on that.""We need to figure out a way to get an international tournament in as quickly as possible," added the Edmonton Oilers captain. City-Press / Getty ImagesMcDavid and his peers should find the latest update on the 2024 World Cup encouraging. The NHL and NHLPA are inching closer to finalizing the event."We are aligned with the players' association to commit to a series of World Cups," Daly said. If all goes according to plan, there will be a World Cup every four years, and also NHLers at the Olympics every four years starting in 2026."We're hopeful to make that a reality. We're less in control of the Olympic participation question than we are of the World Cup - if the world changes and the IOC doesn't do what they've typically done or the local organizing committees don't do what they've typically done in terms of the terms of which we participate, where they reimburse our expenses and they pick up player insurance. If for any reason that would reverse itself, I can't see us participating. But I don't have any reason to believe it'll reverse itself. I think we're looking at a long-term international calendar that will have a best-on-best international hockey tournament every February of every other year."Nothing is official - "Don't hold your breath," American Jack Eichel says with well-placed skepticism - but the World Cup should interrupt the 2023-24 season for 17 days and feature eight countries. Much is still to be determined, including Russia's participation given the invasion of Ukraine, as well as potential broadcaster partners, sponsors, and host cities.Tortorella coming in hotAtkinson, 33, has played under his fair share of coaches over his amateur and pro career. Only one has sent him a piece of mail ahead of training camp."Torts sends out a handwritten letter every year, just explaining what's going to happen during training camp and threatening everyone," Atkinson said, laughing at John Tortorella's ritual and notoriously difficult camps, which the forward endured for six years while a member of the Blue Jackets. Len Redkoles / Getty ImagesBoth are now with the Flyers, of course. And since Tortorella, who was hired in June, hasn't met the players, Atkinson has assumed the role of Torts whisperer."He put in the letter, 'We're doing a skate test. It's going to be hard. If you have questions, ask Cam.' You can imagine everyone's reached out and picked my brain," Atkinson said. "It's funny because (teammates) that have asked me (about the upcoming camp) in the summer and asked me again (during informal captain's skates), you can tell the anxiety is starting to kick up a little bit. But it's a grind, without question. I personally love it, and knowing that we all do it together, I think it builds camaraderie."Tortorella, now on his fifth NHL team, hasn't been shy about the "major concerns" he sees in the Flyers' culture. The locker room, in his eyes, is "splintered." Clearly, sending a message in training camp will be top of mind.Hey, while we're on the topic, how's Tortorella's penmanship?"Alright," a smiley Atkinson said. "It could be improved."Parting thoughtsBlockbuster reaction: Jonathan Huberdeau was blindsided by the July trade that sent him, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, and two other pieces to Calgary in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk and a fourth-round pick. Huberdeau, who spent a decade in Florida, says it took two weeks before he could come to terms with the change of scenery. Asked about Flames GM Brad Treliving's wild offseason, which also included subtracting Johnny Gaudreau and adding Nazem Kadri in free agency, Huberdeau couldn't resist a mini jab at his old boss, Bill Zito. "I think Zito just helped him," he said of the Panthers GM. "I mean, giving (Treliving) the players that he gave? Matthew, don't get me wrong, he's a really good player, and he was really good with Calgary and he's going to be good with the Panthers, but I think having me and Weegs and (prospect Cole Schwindt) and a first-rounder, it's a lot."

The Winnipeg Jets will begin the upcoming season without a captain.Instead, the Jets will be led by an undetermined group of alternate captains."It is our goal to expand the leadership base within our hockey team," newly appointed head coach Rick Bowness said. "We have high expectations for our core players, and we want to provide them with the opportunity to step into those greater leadership roles as a group."Veteran forward Blake Wheeler had been the Jets' captain since 2016-17. He spoke on the shake-up later Friday."I don't need a letter on my jersey, you know?" Wheeler said, per TSN. "I think there was a time in my career where that validation was important to me. I don't need that anymore.""I'm really looking forward to watching a lot of the guys that I've had a privilege of watching kind of grow up, step into a sort of expanded role. If you think that because of this I'm just going to fade into the back and not be a leader on this team, you're sorely mistaken."Last season, forward Mark Scheifele and blue-liner Josh Morrissey served as assistant captains under Wheeler. Scheifele has been teammates with Wheeler his entire career, and the two have been linemates most of their tenure together."Shocker to me," Scheifele said, according to Postmedia's Michael Traikos. "First and foremost, I want to be there for him and be a friend. He's still a mentor of mine.""He's still going to be a leader on our team," Scheifele added, per The Athletic's Michael Russo.The Jets missed the playoffs for the first time in four years this past season. Longtime head coach Paul Maurice suddenly stepped down in December, and Winnipeg's end-of-year interviews provided some eye-popping quotes.Scheifele questioned his future with the franchise - a matter that the team and player have since resolved. Paul Stastny, who signed with the Carolina Hurricanes this summer, said Jets players lacked accountability and care for one another.Winnipeg begins its 2022-23 campaign Oct. 14 against the New York Rangers.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With just one more season left before he hits unrestricted free agency, Bruins star David Pastrnak is making it clear how much Boston means to him."We love it here," Pastrnak said Friday, according to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa. "This is our home. This is where I've become a man. Unbelievable years with (Pastrnak's partner, Rebecca Rohlsson). We are really happy here."Pastrnak - who's played his whole eight-year career with Boston - has one season remaining on his six-year, $40-million contract. But although Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is prioritizing re-signing Pastrnak, the Czechia native made clear that he's currently most concerned about the upcoming campaign."My focus, moving forward, is to be ready for Game 1," Pastrnak said. "We're going to be missing some key players. I know I have to be on my game from the get-go. That's my biggest focus."He added: "I still have the whole season. ... I'm focusing to be ready and help the team win, especially at the beginning of the season when it's going to be extremely tough on us. We've got to be ready."Boston will be without Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, and Matt Grzelcyk to start the 2022-23 campaign. The Bruins are looking to bounce back after they were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.Pastrnak, 26, collected 40 goals and 77 points in 72 games in 2021-22. The campaign marked the second 40-goal season of his career.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Another year, another New York Rangers prospect wanting out.Nils Lundkvist has asked the club to trade him and will not be present for training camp when it opens Wednesday, his agent, Claude Lemieux, told USA Today's Vince Mercogliano.The 22-year-old defenseman will stay home in Sweden until the Rangers honor the request. Lemieux said his client's desire to be dealt stems from January when New York demoted Lundkvist to the AHL and promoted fellow young blue-liner Braden Schneider.Lundkvist struggled in 25 NHL games last season, collecting only one goal and three assists while averaging just under 14 minutes of ice time. Schneider leapfrogged him on the club's depth chart, taking his spot as the right-shot rearguard on the team's third pairing.The Rangers' 28th overall pick in 2018 spent the majority of his time in 2021-22 with New York's AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. He registered three goals and 12 assists in 34 contests with the farm club.Lundkvist excelled in Sweden's SHL prior to last season. He produced the most points by a defenseman under the age of 21 in league history (78) in 166 games over four campaigns from 2017 to 2021.The Rangers went through a similar situation with Vitali Kravtsov. The team reportedly gave the 22-year-old forward's camp permission to seek a trade last October and then loaned him to the KHL in November before signing him to a one-year contract in June.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The San Jose Sharks have reached a settlement in their contract termination grievance with former winger Evander Kane, the team announced Friday."The San Jose Sharks have reached an agreement with Evander Kane regarding the termination of his NHL Standard Player Contract," the club said in a statement. "The agreement has been approved by the NHL and the NHL Players' Association. We are satisfied that its terms will not adversely impact the team, either financially or competitively, in this or future seasons."The Sharks placed Kane on waivers last season to terminate his contract after breaching AHL COVID-19 protocols in December. Kane was also suspended 21 games in October for violating the NHL's COVID guidelines.The NHLPA quickly filed a grievance on Kane's behalf, stating the Sharks didn't have sufficient cause to justify the end of the agreement, which was signed in 2018.Kane had three years remaining on his old deal with San Jose and was owed $19 million. He joined the Edmonton Oilers on a one-year pact to finish out the 2021-22 season after he was waived. Kane re-upped with Edmonton this summer, inking a four-year, $20.5 million deal.The grievance settlement will address the difference in pay between Kane's terminated Sharks contract and his new Oilers pact over the next three seasons, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.San Jose will receive a one-time, retroactive cap penalty applied to last season's total, according to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli. It's the first retroactive contract termination of its kind, per CapFriendly.Kane is set to begin his 14th NHL season in October.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Auston Matthews has taken home the Rocket Richard two years in a row.Can he join Alex Ovechkin as the only other player to three-peat since the award was created, or are there better values on the board?Let's dive into that while highlighting a few players worth backing.PLAYER ODDSAuston Matthews+250Leon Draisaitl+500Connor McDavid+800Alex Ovechkin+1000Kirill Kaprizov+1300Kyle Connor+1300Chris Kreider+2000David Pastrnak+2200Aleksander Barkov+3000Alex DeBrincat+3000Elias Lindholm+3000Mika Zibanejad+3000Nathan MacKinnon+3000Steven Stamkos+3000Filip Forsberg+4000Jason Robertson+4000Johnny Gaudreau+4000Matthew Tkachuk+4000Nikita Kucherov+4000Sebastian Aho+4000Mikko Rantanen+4500Matt Duchene+5000Mitch Marner+6000Roope Hintz+6000Tage Thompson+7000Adrian Kempe+8000Elias Pettersson+8000Jake Guentzel+8000Max Pacioretty+8000Ryan O'Reilly+8000Nazem Kadri+8000Troy Terry+8000William Nylander+8000Auston Matthews (+250)Matthews is favored to claim another Rocket Richard Trophy, and rightfully so. He's the league's best goal-scorer and, quite frankly, it's not all that close.Matthews has netted 148 goals over the past three seasons, which is 19 more than the closest player to him, Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl has also played 12 more games than Matthews during that stretch. Perhaps more impressively, the Toronto Maple Leafs star recorded 176 more scoring chances than anybody else in that three-year period.The Leafs lost some depth and shifted things around in goal, but their top six remains dangerous, and they have plenty of capable puck-movers on the back end.With Matthews' unmatched ability to generate chances, and with such a lethal shot, injuries are probably the only thing that could hold him back.Kyle Connor (+1300)Connor soared past his previous high in goals a season ago, netting 47 over 79 games. What I loved about Connor is that his outputs were sustainable. He didn't ride a shooting percentage bender to new heights. Instead, he propelled himself to nearly 50 goals by increasing his shot and chance generation.Believe it or not, Connor posted his lowest shooting percentage since his first full NHL campaign. That's right - he flirted with 50 goals while finishing at a lesser rate than in any of the four seasons prior.If Connor can continue to generate shots and chances in bulk - especially in transition - and tick his finishing rate up a couple of percentage points, he could score 50-55 goals. Depending on what happens elsewhere, that could be all he needs.Mikko Rantanen (+4500)Rantanen is one of my favorite dark horse Richard candidates.He has a lethal release, he generated shots and chances at nearly an identical rate as Nathan MacKinnon on the league's most dangerous power play, and the Colorado Avalanche have an abundance of puck-moving defenders who can feed him transition opportunities.Plus, with Nazem Kadri moving on, there could be some extra shots to go around, especially on the man advantage.Rantanen has quietly averaged 43 goals per 82 games played over the last two seasons. Like Connor, he's coming off the worst finishing campaign of his career.Should Rantanen become a little more trigger-happy at five-on-five, and/or benefit from a bit of a shooting spike, he could have a career year.Jake Guentzel (+8000)Auston Matthews. Connor McDavid. Those are the only two players who generated more scoring chances than Guentzel a season ago.Despite seemingly every key member of the Pittsburgh Penguins going down with an injury at some point, Guentzel continued to chug along as an offensive force.He set or matched career highs in goals, points, shots, chances, high-danger chances, and expected goals.At this price point, I'm happy to back anybody who generates chances at an elite rate, especially someone who primarily rides shotgun alongside Sidney Crosby.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Boston Bruins star winger Brad Marchand is confident his team can start the 2022-23 campaign strong despite missing some key players, including himself."It will be tough (not playing), but I think we're in a good spot as a team," Marchand said. "I think the toughest thing would be if the team wasn't winning or doing well, then that would be really (bad)."But I don't think that's going to be the case. I think we're going to have a really good start. The guys look really good right now ... hoping that they put a really good push on."The B's are going to be without Marchand and defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk for at least the first month of the season:PlayerProcedureReturn TimelineMatt GrzelcykOffseason shoulder surgeryEarly NovemberBrad MarchandOffseason surgery on both hipsLate NovemberCharlie McAvoyOffseason shoulder surgeryDecemberMarchand paced the Bruins with 80 points (32 goals, 48 assists) in 70 games this past season while playing an instrumental role on Boston's top line alongside Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk. The Bruins controlled 67.3% of the shot attempts and 69.7% of the expected goals with the trio on the ice at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.On the backend, McAvoy is just as indispensable. He led the team in average ice time per game (24:38) and topped all Bruins defensemen with 56 points in 78 games. Boston owned 62.8% of the expected goals at five-on-five while McAvoy was on the ice, which was the league's best mark among all defensemen who played at least 200 minutes.He and Grzelcyk put up formidable numbers when they were side-by-side on Beantown's blue line. The Grzelcyk-McAvoy duo accounted for a staggering 75% percent of the goals for and 67.4% of the expected goals in just over 400 minutes of ice time together at five-on-five.Among Bruins pairings to log at least 200 minutes of ice time together at five-on-five, Grzelcyk and McAvoy's 1.45 expected goals against per 60 minutes ranked first on the team.It isn't all bad news for the Bruins. After much uncertainty, five-time Selke Trophy winner Bergeron decided to return to Boston for one more season, and veteran center David Krejci is back after a year overseas.Boston will likely need to have a decent start to the campaign in a competitive Atlantic Division, especially given the strides the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings made in the offseason.The Bruins finished the 2021-22 season with a record of 51-26-5. The Carolina Hurricanes eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Nathan MacKinnon is optimistic that he's on the verge of inking a long-term extension with the Colorado Avalanche."It should be done shortly, I'm hoping," MacKinnon said Thursday, per Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "I love Joe (Sakic, president of hockey operations) and C-Mac (general manager Chris MacFarland). Those guys are great. It's just a little business.”MacKinnon became eligible to sign an extension this offseason. He thought he might have reached an agreement earlier in the summer, but he is now aiming to sign before the puck drops in October."I'd prefer it to be done," he said, according to Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin. "I just don't want to talk about it at all, and if it's not done (before the season) I probably will stop talking to them until after the season."I know it's a cliché thing, but it's tough, it gets emotional, you feel like it gets personal sometimes, so I'd like to get it done so it's not a distraction."The 27-year-old has a realistic case to usurp Connor McDavid's league-high $12.5-million average annual value, but he isn't banking on that."You have to ask (agent) Pat (Brisson)," MacKinnon said, per Fox.MacKinnon did say his new deal's annual value won't be in the single digits, according to Larkin.Brisson weighed in on the negotiations a couple of hours later."We've been having ongoing discussions for a couple months now, and recently, the talks have been more progressive but still a lot to cover and nothing to report," he said, per TSN's Pierre LeBrun.MacKinnon has earned $6.3 million per year since 2016-17. Since then, he's managed 495 points in 420 regular-season games while adding 83 in 63 playoff contests. He won the Stanley Cup this past season. He's a three-time Hart Trophy finalist and he won the Lady Byng Trophy in 2020.The highest-paid players on the Avalanche are currently Mikko Rantanen ($9.25 million) and Cale Makar ($9 million). Colorado has $56 million committed to its 2023-24 team with a roster size of 12, according to CapFriendly.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Los Angeles Kings signed defenseman Sean Durzi to a two-year extension with an annual average value of $1.7 million on Thursday.Durzi was a restricted free agent coming off his first season in the NHL. After beginning the campaign in the AHL, he was recalled in late November and never looked back.The offensive blue-liner logged three goals and 27 points in 63 games during his rookie season, averaging 19:36 of ice time. He appeared in all seven games of the Kings' first-round series against the Edmonton Oilers, scoring a goal and three points while averaging 21:30 of ice time.The 23-year-old right-shot defenseman was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2018 NHL Draft. Los Angeles acquired him in the trade that sent Jake Muzzin to Toronto.Durzi will remain an RFA upon the expiry of his new contract with a qualifying offer of $2 million in the summer of 2025.There'll be plenty of competition at Los Angeles' training camp. The Kings now have eight defensemen who appeared in 15 or more NHL games last season. That excludes Sean Walker, who was limited to just six games due to injury.Durzi was the Kings' final RFA, leaving them with minimal cap space for any further moves before the start of training camp.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators are adding forward depth to their training camp roster.The team is bringing in Derick Brassard and Michael Dal Colle on professional tryouts, according to The Athletic's Ian Mendes.Brassard split last season between the Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers, recording eight goals and 19 points in 49 games. The 34-year-old center averaged 14:22 of ice time in 31 contests with the Flyers before dropping into a fourth-line role with the Oilers after the trade deadline, averaging 9:53 per game in Edmonton.A veteran of 951 NHL games, Brassard had a two-year stint with the Senators that ended during the 2017-18 campaign. He collected 39 goals and 77 points in 139 games in Ottawa.Dal Colle suited up for just one contest with the New York Islanders in 2021-22. The 26-year-old logged nine goals and 22 points in 39 games in the AHL with Bridgeport. He totaled 112 games with the Islanders over parts of five seasons, recording eight goals and 13 points.The fifth overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, much of Dal Colle's junior hockey success came under current Senators head coach D.J. Smith. Smith was the head coach of the Oshawa Generals during Dal Colle's first three seasons in the OHL. The left-winger racked up 236 points in 186 games under his tutelage.Coming off of the signing of forward Tyler Motte on Wednesday, the Senators are beginning to add competition at the bottom of their forward lineup for training camp. Ottawa has $5.7 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The 2022-23 NHL season begins in less than a month. That means it's time to ramp up our preview content and focus on many of the prominent futures markets, such as player awards.Let's take a closer look at how the Norris Trophy market is shaping up and where the value might lie.Note: Only listed players +8000 or shorter.PLAYERODDSCale Makar+150Roman Josi+700Adam Fox+900Victor Hedman+900Aaron Ekblad+1100Charlie McAvoy+1600Moritz Seider+1800Miro Heiskanen+2000Quinn Hughes+2000Devon Toews+2500Kris Letang+2500Alex Pietrangelo+3300Morgan Rielly+3300Shea Theodore+3300John Carlson+4000Dougie Hamilton+5000Jaccob Slavin+5000Jared Spurgeon+5000MacKenzie Weegar+5000Rasmus Dahlin+5000Seth Jones+5000Thomas Chabot+5000Tony DeAngelo+5000Brent Burns+8000Drew Doughty+8000Erik Karlsson+8000Justin Faulk+8000Zach Werenski+8000Cale Makar (+150)You can't talk about the Norris without mentioning Cale Makar. He recorded a 28-goal, 86-point campaign and led all NHL blue-liners in goals above replacement. Makar is more than competent defensively, and he's a one-man breakout who dominates the puck and creates something out of nothing in virtually every shift.While the Colorado Avalanche did lose some quality pieces this offseason, Makar will still be a big-minute player on what should remain an elite team. He'll quarterback perhaps the NHL's top power play featuring Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog. He's going to put up a ton of points once again while impacting play all over the ice.So long as he stays healthy, he deserves to be the favorite.Miro Heiskanen (+2000)Having quickly established himself as one of the best defenders in the sport, Heiskanen is poised for a monster year with the Dallas Stars. He's so good at neutering opposing offenses with fantastic gap control, positioning, and stick work - including in transition.Heiskanen is also a fantastic puck-rusher who can transport it out of trouble and safely into the offensive zone. He sees the ice well, can create looks for teammates, and facilitates a lot of what the Stars do - even though the point totals don't necessarily suggest it.With John Klingberg out of the mix, more offensive responsibility will fall on Heiskanen's plate. If he can convert those opportunities into more points while remaining stout defensively, we could easily be looking at a 50-plus point defender who controls play at both ends of the rink. There's real value at this price.Dougie Hamilton (+5000)As reluctant as people are to admit it, you need to have high offensive outputs to have a real shot at winning the Norris.Any contender probably needs at least 50 points, if not 60, to really have a chance. That's one of the reasons Hamilton screams value at +5000.While he's coming off a down season with the New Jersey Devils, he was in and out of the lineup with injuries all season long and never really got healthy. It was a write-off of a year.Hamilton has proven in the past he can put up points in bulk. From 2019-21, he put up 82 points in 102 games. That equates to 65 per 82. He also posted fantastic underlying metrics and was better defensively than given credit for.If he can get back to his usual self on a talented and young Devils team featuring ever-improving talents like Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt, he could be a serious threat.Drew Doughty (+8000)Doughty has everything you look for when betting the Norris Trophy market. He's a marquee name, plays in all situations, produces offense, and his team should be good. Attaching a +8000 price tag to his name feels egregious, to say the least.Take last season, for example. Doughty put up 31 points in 39 games prior to suffering a year-ending injury. That's a 65-point pace over a full season, which, along with strong defense, is more than enough to warrant consideration for the Norris.The Los Angeles Kings - led by their five-on-five dominance - were also a playoff team despite playing more than half the season without their best defenseman.With Doughty healthy and a much-needed dynamic element added up front with the acquisition of Kevin Fiala, the Kings should win more games in 2022-23 - and score more goals along the way.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators aren't done making moves this offseason.The club inked forward Tyler Motte to a one-year contract worth $1.35 million.Motte was an unrestricted free agent who played for the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks last season.The 27-year-old failed to register a point in nine regular-season games with the Rangers after they acquired him from the Canucks at the trade deadline. However, he scored twice in 15 playoff contests with New York this spring.Motte collected seven goals and eight assists over 49 contests with Vancouver in 2021-22. He played parts of five seasons with the Canucks after spending one campaign with the Columbus Blue Jackets and his rookie year with the Chicago Blackhawks.The six-year veteran is a depth winger who can also play center. He joins an upgraded Senators squad that now includes star forwards Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux, along with experienced goaltender Cam Talbot. The team also signed Tim Stutzle to an eight-year extension last week.Ottawa now has $5.69 million in cap space with 45 of the maximum 50 players under contract, according to CapFriendly.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill said Tuesday he's in consistent communication with representatives of unsigned restricted free agent Jason Robertson and believes the impending start of training camp will help facilitate an agreement."We’re having healthy discussions," Nill said, per Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News. "We have very open dialogue with his representation. That’s just kind of where it stands."Nill added: "We're having constant communication, just working through different avenues of the contract. It's negotiations."Dallas' training camp is set to open Sept. 22, and Robertson, who's established himself as one of the club's best forwards over the past two seasons, is the only Stars player without a contract."History has shown any time players miss camp, it usually stagnates their training camp a little bit and their start to the season,” Nill said. "Our goal is to get him here for training camp, yes."Training camp is especially important for the Stars this fall as it's their first under new head coach Pete DeBoer, who was hired in June to replace Rick Bowness.Dallas inked its other key RFA, goaltender Jake Oettinger, to a three-year, $12-million contract on Sept. 1. The Stars have $6.3 million in remaining cap space, according to CapFriendly, which might not be enough to lock up Robertson on a long-term deal.Robertson was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy in 2020-21 and followed his first full campaign with a team-high 41 goals while ranking second on the Stars with 79 points in 74 games.Dallas drafted the California native 39th overall in 2017.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The St. Louis Blues signed star forward Jordan Kyrou to an eight-year contract extension carrying an average annual value of $8.125 million Tuesday.Kyrou, 24, is coming off a breakout season in which he recorded 75 points in 74 games. He has one more year on his current agreement at $2.8 million before the lucrative new deal kicks in.

The 2022-23 NHL season begins in just a few weeks. Though some teams are still tinkering with their rosters or trying to lock up unsigned restricted free agents, most clubs are set.With that in mind, let's examine the Presidents' Trophy picture and some teams that stand out in the race for regular-season supremacy.TEAM ODDSColorado Avalanche+275Toronto Maple Leafs+650Carolina Hurricanes+800Florida Panthers+1000Tampa Bay Lightning+1000Edmonton Oilers+1600Vegas Golden Knights+1600Calgary Flames+1800Pittsburgh Penguins+1800Minnesota Wild+2000New York Rangers+2000St. Louis Blues+3000Los Angeles Kings+3300Boston Bruins+3500New York Islanders+3500Washington Capitals+4000Nashville Predators+5500Dallas Stars+6000Vancouver Canucks+6000Detroit Red Wings+8000Ottawa Senators+8000Winnipeg Jets+8000New Jersey Devils+15000Columbus Blue Jackets+20000Philadelphia Flyers+20000Anaheim Ducks+25000Buffalo Sabres+25000Seattle Kraken+25000San Jose Sharks+25000Arizona Coyotes+30000Chicago Blackhawks+30000Montreal Canadiens+30000With implied odds of nearly 27%, the Colorado Avalanche are the clear favorites to win the Presidents' Trophy. But while the defending Stanley Cup champions remain one of the league's most talented squads, their odds seem somewhat generous. Injuries played a big part, of course, but the Avalanche did not finish first in last year's regular-season standings, and they've since lost key contributors like Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, and Darcy Kuemper. Colorado is still an elite team, but this year's lineup has some question marks.The Toronto Maple Leafs offer decent value to lead the regular season in points. Their offense is lethal, they should benefit from a full season of Mark Giordano on defense, and it seems reasonable to believe a tandem of Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov can provide goaltending equal to or better than what Toronto got from Jack Campbell, Petr Mrazek, and Erik Kallgren last season.Campbell's remarkably strong start a year ago masked the fact that the Maple Leafs finished 27th in five-on-five save percentage in 2021-22. The goaltending, as a whole, was not good - and Toronto still finished within striking distance of top spot.The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers could both be destined to take a step back, at least in the regular season. Carolina made plenty of roster changes and will not have Max Pacioretty - arguably its top offseason addition - for most of the campaign. Florida, meanwhile, looks shaky on the blue line beyond Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers don't have a real No. 2 defenseman - or perhaps even a legitimate No. 3 - capable of logging heavy minutes against quality competition.There's value in the Alberta teams. The Edmonton Oilers have a remarkably strong offense, Evan Bouchard should be ready for more responsibility on the back end, and Campbell is more likely to provide stable goaltending than the netminders who suited up for them last season.The Calgary Flames could probably use one more middle-six forward, but they also look quite appealing. The top six is still dangerous, and the addition of MacKenzie Weegar gives Calgary one of the best defense corps in the NHL. Jacob Markstrom is a potential Vezina Trophy candidate, while Darryl Sutter remains one of the league's best head coaches. In a relatively shallow division, +1800 is an attractive price.The New York Islanders are a team that stands out for the wrong reason. They finished 20th in points last season, and their two most notable offseason moves were firing head coach Barry Trotz and acquiring defensive defenseman Alexander Romanov. It's extremely odd to see them with the 15th-shortest odds and ranked ahead of teams like the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators.In terms of a team with a chance to surprise, Washington stands out. The Capitals accumulated the seventh-most points in the NHL over the last three seasons and should remain a top team after a busy summer: Dylan Strome is a strong offensive center, Connor Brown will provide more depth on the wing, and Kuemper is an upgrade in goal.Not to mention, second-line wingers T.J. Oshie and Anthony Mantha will probably combine to play more than 81 of 162 games next season.Backing any team with odds worse than Washington's feels like a pie-in-the-sky approach.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe will miss 10-12 weeks after undergoing successful cervical spine surgery, the team announced Tuesday.The current recovery timeline projects McCabe to return between late November and early December. Chicago's 2022 training camp is set to open next week, and its regular season starts Oct. 12 against the defending champion Colorado Avalanche.McCabe joined the Blackhawks prior to the 2021-22 campaign on a four-year, $16-million contract. He appeared in 75 games and registered 22 points while averaging over 20 minutes per contest in his debut season in the Windy City.He spent eight seasons with the Buffalo Sabres prior to signing with Chicago.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, but he's made his preference abundantly clear a month before the regular season starts."Obviously, I want to be a Vancouver Canuck, and I want to stay here. I love our group, my wife and I love the city," Horvat told the media Monday. "If I wanted to play for one team my whole career, it'd be the Vancouver Canucks. Obviously, it's a long process, and we'll see where it goes."The Canucks already sorted out one key piece of business earlier this summer, signing J.T. Miller to a seven-year extension with an average annual value of $8 million.Miller also could have tested the market as a UFA next offseason. His name popped up countless times in trade rumors during the 2021-22 season, but he still managed a career-high 99 points despite the noise off the ice.Horvat will be aiming to do the same."I can't let that kind of stuff bother me. I can't have it hang over my head. For me, I have to put my head down and be the best leader I can," Horvat said. "I'm a Vancouver Canuck right now, I'm going to be a Vancouver Canuck for this full year, and I'm gonna try to do whatever I can to help this team win, and that's what my main focus is right now."The 27-year-old forward potted a career-high 31 goals in 70 games in 2021-22, and 24 of those tallies came after new head coach Bruce Boudreau took over behind the bench on Dec. 5.The Canucks went 32-15-10 to close out the season under Boudreau's charge and even pushed for a spot in the playoffs, but they ultimately fell five points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference."I think the way we left things last year, it still stung. I'm not gonna say that it was a success last year because we didn't make the playoffs," Horvat said. "To me, that's not good enough. Obviously, there were a lot of good things part of that run, but again, we can be better."We can be more consistent, not rely on our goaltender as much, and kind of take it to teams and be pests to play against. I think we showed shades of that last year, but I think we can take another step this year."Horvat's current deal carries a $5.5-million cap hit. Taken by Vancouver with the ninth overall pick in 2013, Horvat has 366 points in his 572-game career, all with the Canucks.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier received final medical clearance and will be a full participant in training camp later in September, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman.Couturier was only able to suit up for 29 contests during the 2021-22 campaign. He ranked third on the team with 17 points before playing in his final game of the season on Dec. 18.He landed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury shortly after and the team announced his season was over after he underwent back surgery on Feb. 11."I feel good," Couturier said Monday. "I had a long recovery. (It) took longer than I thought, a lot of ups and downs, but now I'm feeling good and ready to go. Excited to get going again."Lauded as one of the top two-way players in the game, Couturier took home the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward in 2020."I want to prove that I'm healthy again and I can be back to the player I am, that I was, and maybe even better," the 29-year-old said. "I'm going to push myself. I think (new coach John Tortorella) is here to kind of do that, push ourselves, make it a tough camp, a lot of skating, and see if we're in shape."Kevin Hayes was also cleared to participate in training camp after a litany of injuries limited him to 48 games this past season.The Flyers struggled mightily in 2021-22 and finished at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division with a record of 25-46-11.The team will have to try to turn things around without former captain Claude Giroux, who was traded to the Florida Panthers in March and signed with the Ottawa Senators this summer.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Calgary Flames have invited veteran defenseman Michael Stone to camp on a professional tryout agreement.Stone has spent the past six seasons with the Flames, amassing 38 points in 180 contests.The Winnipeg, Canada, native only suited up for 11 contests in 2021-22 and watched the majority of Calgary's games from the press box, but he put up a surprisingly strong performance in the playoffs.Stone ranked second amongst Flames blue-liners with five points (two goals, three helpers) in nine postseason contests while averaging 13 minutes of ice time per game, and his underlying numbers were among the best on the roster: Calgary controlled a team-high 67.9% of the shot attempts and 64.3% of the expected goals with Stone on the ice at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.The 32-year-old played out this past season on a one-year pact worth $750,000.Selected by the then-Phoenix Coyotes in the third round of the 2008 draft, Stone has 35 goals and 99 assists over his career of 504 NHL games.The Flames similarly brought in veteran forward Cody Eakin on a professional tryout agreement on Sunday.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Colorado Avalanche have signed free-agent forward Evan Rodrigues to a one-year contract worth $2 million, the team announced Monday.Rodrigues was arguably the top unsigned player left on the market after breaking out with 19 goals and 43 points in 82 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. He'd previously never eclipsed the 30-point mark in seven campaigns split between Pittsburgh and the Buffalo Sabres."We are excited to add a two-way player with Evan's versatility to our group," said general manager Chris MacFarland. "He is coming off his best offensive season and has shown he can play in a variety of roles and help a lineup in many ways."Rodrigues is a solid two-way player and should help ease the loss of Nazem Kadri down the middle of the ice. Kadri joined the Flames on a seven-year deal after three seasons and a Stanley Cup with Colorado.

The Calgary Flames are bringing in veteran forward Cody Eakin on a professional tryout agreement.Eakin, who was an unrestricted free agent, played the last two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres.The 31-year-old previously suited up for the Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, and the Washington Capitals, who drafted him 85th overall in 2009.Eakin has been a depth center for most of his career. He won 55.4% of his faceoffs over the last two campaigns.The Winnipeg-born pivot collected four goals and eight assists while averaging 13:35 of ice time across 69 games in 2021-22.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Los Angeles Kings are bringing back defenseman Mikey Anderson on a one-year pact worth $1 million.Anderson was a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level contract, which carried a $925,000 cap hit.The 23-year-old ranked fourth among Kings skaters in average ice time last season, logging 20:07 per game while collecting two goals and six assists over 57 contests. He also played all seven of Los Angeles' playoff games, posting the third-highest ATOI among the club's blue-liners.Anderson has played parts of three seasons with the Kings, who drafted him 103rd overall in 2017. The New Jersey Devils selected his brother, Joey, 73rd one year beforehand. Joey played primarily with the AHL's Toronto Marlies in 2021-22.Anderson helped the University of Minnesota Duluth claim back-to-back national championships in 2018 and 2019. His brother was on the squad for the first of those two titles.Los Angeles now has approximately $1.38 million to sign its lone remaining free agent, rearguard Sean Durzi.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed winger Zach Aston-Reese to a professional tryout Friday.Aston-Reese recorded five goals and 10 assists in 69 games last season split between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks. The 28-year-old is not known for his offense, but he's perennially posted elite defensive metrics. Evolving-Hockey.comThroughout his five-year career, Aston-Reese has played an effective shutdown role. He's routinely tasked with starting shifts in his own end but has proven to be excellent at suppressing scoring chances against.Aston-Reese is also an energizer of sorts. He stands at 6-foot, 204 pounds, but finished 15th in the NHL with 231 hits last season. He's not just a fourth-liner, either, as he's averaged 13:42 per contest over his career.The Staten Island, New York, native was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Penguins after a standout NCAA career at Northeastern.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Carolina Hurricanes signed defenseman Calvin de Haan to a professional tryout on Friday.This could mark de Haan's second stint in Raleigh. He spent the 2018-19 campaign with the Canes, recording 14 points in 74 games.De Haan played the last three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks. He registered four goals and four assists in 69 games in 2021-22 while averaging 18:57 per contest. The 31-year-old blue-liner isn't flashy, but he's posted solid defensive metrics over the past three campaigns. Evolving-Hockey.comEven excluding de Haan, Carolina will have new faces on the back end this season. Here's how its blue line currently projects:LDRDJaccob SlavinBrent BurnsBrady SkjeiBrett PesceJake GardinerEthan BearDylan CoghlanDe Haan is a left-handed shot, which could give him a better chance at making the team. Gardiner has been cleared to return this season, but it's worth noting he missed all of 2021-22 and was limited to 26 games in 2020-21 due to back and hip injuries.A first-round pick in 2009, de Haan spent the first six years of his career with the New York Islanders.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vancouver Canucks signed defenseman Danny DeKeyser to a professional tryout on Friday.DeKeyeser spent the last decade of his career with the Detroit Red Wings, primarily deployed in a top-four role. He recorded zero goals and 11 assists in 59 games in 2021-22 while averaging 18:30 of ice time per contest. The analytics haven't been kind to DeKeyeser over the last few years. Evolving-Hockey.comStill, it's not out of the question the 6-foot-3 32-year-old could earn a bottom-pairing role with the Canucks. Their blue line currently projects as follows:LDRDQuinn HughesLuke SchennOliver Ekman-LarssonTyler MyersTravis DermottKyle BurroughsVancouver also has Tucker Poolman under contract for the next three years, but the defenseman's health is a question mark after missing significant time last season with a head injury. Unproven commodities like Jack Rathbone, Noah Juulsen, Brady Keeper, and Filip Johansson round out the team's depth.DeKeyser is a veteran of 547 NHL games.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Erik Karlsson is committed to the San Jose Sharks, even though the franchise could be staring at a long-term rebuild.The Sharks hired Mike Grier as general manager and David Quinn as head coach this offseason, signaling a new direction for the organization after missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season. Former Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes as the new regime's first big move, but Karlsson isn't seeking a change of scenery himself."No, I committed here a long time ago," the veteran defenseman told The Athletic's Corey Masisak. "It didn't work out the way we wanted it to early on. There's a lot of things that probably played into that. I'm not going to get into details about that."But I am excited for the future here now. I hope we can move in the direction to be successful again. Is that going to be this year? I mean, who knows? But I do think something good can come out of here."The Sharks acquired Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators prior to the 2018-19 season when he was one of the league's most dominant blue-liners. He collected 518 points in 627 games, capturing two Norris Trophies across nine seasons in Canada's capital. But he hasn't had the impact many expected of him in the Bay Area.San Jose has only made the playoffs once since the trade, and Karlsson's availability has been heavily limited due to injuries. The 32-year-old only played 50 games this past campaign as he required forearm surgery."I think the injuries that I've had since I got here … some of them probably could have been prevented a little bit, and some of them were just like, things happen," Karlsson said."I broke my thumb when (I) blocked a shot. I mean, what are you going to do? That's part of the game. I had some wear and tear where, if we were in a different position where you can take some time off and maybe look after it a little bit different, maybe it doesn't get to the point where you have to have surgery. It is all circumstantial."Karlsson is under contract for five more seasons at an $11.5-million cap hit, which carries a full no-move clause.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

John Tortorella has been head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers for just over two months now, and the outspoken veteran hasn't exactly given the team a vote of confidence."I have major concerns about the room," Tortorella said recently during an appearance on SiriusXM. "I've spent the summer going back and forth ... to Philly trying to relocate there. But (I) spent some time in the office talking to players, talking to personnel, talking to (general manager) Chuck (Fletcher), all the front office, and I have major concerns about what goes on in there."Before we even step on the ice, situations and standards and accountability in the room is forefront. You can't get squat done on the ice until you get your room straightened out, and I think we have a little bit of work to do there."Tortorella added that he's in no rush to name a new captain to replace Claude Giroux, who went to the Florida Panthers prior to the trade deadline and signed with the Ottawa Senators as a free agent in July. Giroux donned the "C" from 2013-22 and is the longest-tenured captain in franchise history.The bench boss echoed similar concerns about the Flyers when the team hired him in June. During his introductory presser, Tortorella said Philadelphia's culture had to change for the organization to improve.The Flyers struggled in 2021-22 and finished among the worst teams with a 25-46-11 record while posting the league's third-worst goal differential (minus-87).Tortorella spent the past season as a studio analyst for ESPN after he and the Columbus Blue Jackets agreed to part ways in May 2021.The Flyers will take on the Boston Bruins during their first preseason game on Sept. 24.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winger Mathieu Perreault is calling it quits on his playing career after 13 NHL seasons and is joining TVA Sports as a broadcaster, according to a release from the TV network.The Quebec native was an unrestricted free agent. He played out the 2021-22 campaign with the Montreal Canadiens, logging four goals and five assists in 25 contests.Perreault spent most of his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets, where he enjoyed some of his best statistical seasons. He logged a career-best 45 points in 65 contests during the 2016-17 campaign and scored a career-high 18 goals in 2014-15.The 34-year-old scored four goals in a game against the Florida Panthers in January 2015 and became the first player in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history to accomplish the feat since Ilya Kovalchuk in 2005.Perreault hit the 15-goal mark five times during his NHL tenure and eclipsed 40 points in a single season on four occasions.Selected by the Capitals in the sixth round of the 2006 draft, Perreault spent four seasons in Washington before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks prior to the 2013-14 campaign. After one season in California, Perreault signed with the Jets as an unrestricted free agent.Known for his versatility and energy on the ice, Perreault potted 143 goals and 209 assists over 708 regular-season games. He added 16 points in 51 playoff contests.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Montreal Canadiens signed restricted free-agent goaltender Cayden Primeau to a three-year, one-way pact Thursday with an average annual value of $890,000.Primeau, 23, was the last RFA remaining on the Habs' books. He will remain an RFA once his new pact expires.The Michigan native appeared in 12 contests for the struggling Canadiens in 2021-22, posting a 1-7-1 record alongside a 4.62 goals against average and .868 save percentage.Primeau spent the majority of the season with the AHL's Laval Rocket, where he put up a 16-12-3 record and a .909 clip in 33 outings. He went on to author a sterling .936 save percentage in 14 playoff games to help the Rocket make the AHL's Eastern Conference Final.With Carey Price largely expected to miss the 2022-23 campaign, Montreal will now be relying on Jake Allen, Samuel Montembeault, and Primeau to tend the crease.The Canadiens selected him in the seventh round of the 2017 draft. Primeau owns a career 4.21 goals against average and .874 save percentage in 18 showings across three NHL seasons.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Montreal Canadiens and restricted free-agent center Kirby Dach agreed to a four-year contract with an average annual value of $3.36 million on Wednesday.Dach will still be a restricted free agent once his new pact expires.The Habs acquired Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks in a three-way trade during the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft in July.Montreal sent defenseman Alexander Romanov and the 98th overall pick to the New York Islanders in exchange for the 13th overall selection. The Canadiens then flipped the 13th and 66th overall picks to the Blackhawks.The 21-year-old, who the Blackhawks selected third overall in the 2019 draft, has yet to make his mark in the NHL. Dach suited up for a career-high 70 games in 2021-22, mustering nine goals and 17 assists while averaging just over 18 minutes of ice time per contest. Dach also struggled in the faceoff circle - he won just 32.8% of his draws this past season.All in all, Dach has logged 19 goals and 40 assists in 152 career contests, all with the Blackhawks.The Alberta native said joining the Canadiens is a bit of a "restart" for his game after an underwhelming three seasons in Chicago."I've talked to (head coach Martin St. Louis) a few times about just coming here and playing with an open mind," Dach said during a press conference Wednesday. "Just being ready when camp starts and kind of prove myself and enjoy the game of hockey again. Play some good games and see where it takes me."General manager Kent Hughes is hoping a change of scenery will be just what Dach needs to get on the right track."There's no such thing as being 100% certain in this business, but we believe he's got a lot of potential," Hughes said. "We believe in this environment, with our group, with our coach, with our development group, and the character of the locker room that this is a better environment for Kirby Dach. ... We're prepared to bet on it."Injuries have sidetracked Dach's young career: He broke his wrist while serving as Team Canada's captain at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship and was only able to suit up for 18 NHL games during the shortened 2020-21 campaign.The move put the Canadiens around $10.2 million over the cap, according to CapFriendly. However, Hughes confirmed Wednesday that the Habs have placed injured goaltender Carey Price on offseason long-term injured reserve, bringing them right under the salary cap, TSN's John Lu reports.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Arizona Coyotes are confident they'll have no attendance issues during the 2022-23 campaign as they embark on their first season in a shared arena with Arizona State's NCAA hockey program.The Coyotes' jump to the 5,000-seat rink was mocked by much of the hockey world, but team president Xavier Gutierrez is adamant the venture will be good for business."We know this is going to be sold out for every single game, and we never had any doubt that was going to be the case," Gutierrez told ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "We could have sold this out to our existing season-ticket base, but we didn't think that was the right approach."We want to make sure that fans who have never experienced a game could experience it. That's a very tricky thing when you've downsized capacity."The Coyotes were forced to find a new home after the city of Glendale ended its lease agreement for use of Gila River Arena. The franchise is waiting for approval from Tempe City Council to build a new arena district. With no other immediate alternatives, the Coyotes are set to share Mullett Arena with the Sun Devils for the next three seasons.In order to generate revenue with a smaller capacity, the team has raised its average ticket price next season to $170, which is slightly above the NHL average of $154.Gutierrez said the increase in cost has seen season-ticket revenue balloon 50%."We're not gouging people here," he said. "You're slightly above an NHL average now while you were well below an NHL average before. And we're in a much more centrally located area."The Coyotes have invested over $25 million in Mullett Arena to raise it to NHL standards. Arizona's first game at its new barn is set for Oct. 28 versus the Winnipeg Jets.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Few players had as heartbreaking of an end to the 2021-22 campaign than Nashville Predators star Juuse Saros after a lower-body injury forced him to miss the playoffs, but the netminder recently shared some good news."All good," Saros said when asked how he was feeling after an informal skate on Tuesday, according to NHL.com's Emma Lingan. "Excited for the new season, so it's good to be back and see all the guys."Saros was hurt during a regular-season contest against the Calgary Flames on April 26, the Predators' third-last game of the campaign before the playoffs."It was frustrating," Saros said. "We were kind of waiting for those (postseason) games to come, and (I got) injured right before that. Obviously, that was super frustrating."Saros was a key reason the Predators made the playoffs for the eighth straight season and was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy after putting up stellar numbers in 2021-22. He appeared in a league-leading 67 contests and posted a 38-25-3 record to go along with a .918 save percentage and 2.64 goals against average.The Finn goaltender's advanced statistics were also top-notch: Saros ranked within the top 10 in goals saved above average (21.43) and goals saved above expected (12.6) at five-on-five, according to Evolving Hockey.The Colorado Avalanche promptly swept Nashville out of the first round without Saros in the crease, but Connor Ingram put up an admirable .913 save percentage during his first career taste of playoff action in Saros' stead.David Rittich started Game 1 of the series, but the team pulled him after he let in five goals on 13 shots. Rittich signed with the Winnipeg Jets as a free agent this summer, while the Predators brought in former Chicago Blackhawks goalie Kevin Lankinen on a one-year pact.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators announced they signed center Tim Stutzle to an eight-year extension with an average annual value of $8.35 million on Wednesday.Stutzle has one year remaining on his entry-level contract and would have become a restricted free agent after it expired. His new deal will kick in during the 2023-24 campaign, and he projects to be the highest-paid player on the team:PlayerCap Hit in 2023-24Tim Stutzle$8.35MBrady Tkachuk$8.2MThomas Chabot$8MJosh Norris$7.95MClaude Giroux$6.5M"It's really important that everyone was buying in, and for me, the numbers are not important," Stutzle said, according to The Athletic. "I wanted to show the team that I'm committed to stay here long term. I think that's really important, too."Stutzle's pact includes a 10-team no-trade list in the final four seasons, according to CapFriendly.The Senators took Stutzle with the third overall pick in the 2020 draft, and the German forward quickly cemented himself as a key part of Ottawa's young core. He enjoyed a solid sophomore campaign in 2021-22, logging a career-high 22 goals and 36 assists in 79 games while averaging just over 18 minutes of ice time per contest.Stutzle also saw increased time on the power play and paced the Senators with 26 points on the man advantage."Reaching a long-term agreement with Tim represents another significant step forward for this organization," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said. "Tim is a dynamic offensive player who utilizes an exceptional blend of speed and skill to be a consistent difference maker. He's electrifying and has quickly become a fan favorite for good reason."The Senators went a similar route with Thomas Chabot in September 2019. Ottawa signed the defenseman to an eight-year, $64-million extension while he still had one year remaining on his entry-level contract after logging 55 points in 70 games in 2018-19.Stutzle's big-time extension is betting on the youngster's potential and it's just the latest major move the Senators have made this offseason as they attempt to re-enter the playoff picture in the Atlantic Division.Ottawa made waves by acquiring two-time 40-goal-scorer Alex DeBrincat, talented veteran forward Claude Giroux, and netminder Cam Talbot in July. The Senators also handed out another eight-year, $63.6-million pact to restricted free-agent forward Josh Norris earlier this summer.All these additions have contributed to an air of excitement in Ottawa, and Senators president Anthony LeBlanc said the team has seen a "significant increase" in season-ticket sales.Stutzle, 20, has 87 points in 132 career NHL contests. Back in August, Stutzle said expectations for the Senators are high, and the team is motivated to show fans it can play better than it has for the previous two campaignsOttawa has failed to make the playoffs for the past five seasons. The Senators ended up in seventh place of the Atlantic Division with a record of 33-42-7 in 2021-22 and finished 27 points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.DeBrincat will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of this season, while Talbot will be an unrestricted free agent.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The puck drops on the 2022-23 season in just a month. That means we'll be spending a lot of time in the coming weeks looking at NHL futures, such as team point totals.Let's comb through the opening lines and highlight some of the notables for the campaign ahead.Team TotalAnaheim Ducks79.5Arizona Coyotes66.5Boston Bruins95.5Buffalo Sabres77.5Calgary Flames102.5Carolina Hurricanes102.5Chicago Blackhawks66.5Colorado Avalanche111.5Columbus Blue Jackets81.5Dallas Stars94.5Detroit Red Wings85.5Edmonton Oilers104.5Florida Panthers105.5Los Angeles Kings96.5Minnesota Wild101.5Montreal Canadiens71.5Nashville Predators96.5New Jersey Devils88.5New York Islanders95.5New York Rangers99.5Ottawa Senators85.5Philadelphia Flyers77.5Pittsburgh Penguins101.5San Jose Sharks75.5Seattle Kraken80.5St. Louis Blues96.5Tampa Bay Lightning103.5Toronto Maple Leafs107.5Vancouver Canucks93.5Vegas Golden Knights97.5Washington Capitals95.5Winnipeg Jets87.5Fresh off a Stanley Cup victory, the Avalanche have the highest points total. While they might remain the best side in the league, the point total feels a little high. Colorado cleared it by only 7.5 points last season, and that was with Nazem Kadri (87 points), Andre Burakovsky (61 points), and Darcy Kuemper (.921 save percentage) in the mix. The Avs have some young players capable of taking on bigger roles, but it feels like you'd be buying high here.Next up is the Maple Leafs at 107.5. There are questions surrounding their goaltending duo going into this campaign. However, Toronto essentially played with one NHL netminder on the roster in 2021-22 and ranked 27th in five-on-five save percentage. But that didn't stop it from piling up 54 wins and 115 points.I doubt the new tandem of Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov will struggle to match last season's team save percentage, so the Leafs should continue to win games in bulk, at least in the regular season.Hot on their heels are a pair of division rivals in the Panthers and Lightning. Florida made a ton of changes to last season's rendition, which won the Presidents' Trophy. The club moved on from Jack Adams finalist Andrew Brunette, shipped Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to Calgary for Matthew Tkachuk, and walked away from Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot in free agency.The Panthers still have real firepower. However, their depth has thinned out up front, and they now lack a true No. 2, or even No. 3, behind Aaron Ekblad on defense. They seem poised for a step back in the regular season.Tampa Bay should flirt with its point total, but it'll be difficult to match last year's output of 110. Ondrej Palat and Ryan McDonagh played important minutes for the Lightning and were forced out of the mix this offseason due to an air-tight cap situation. Tampa remains a contender, and nobody will want to see them come playoff time. Still, we could see a slight decrease in regular season wins.The Oilers, Flames, Hurricanes, Wild, and Penguins round out the 100-point club, with Edmonton holding the highest total of the bunch.The Oilers hope a full season of Evander Kane, a goaltending upgrade in Jack Campbell, and the continued development of youngsters like Evan Bouchard can help them clear their total and claim a division title.Their Alberta rivals will have plenty to say about that. Although Huberdeau and Kadri bring less value than Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, adding Weegar to an already stout defense should help compensate. Calgary should be very good again and can clear its total.The Kings and Islanders are a couple of teams whose totals stand out for different reasons.I think Los Angeles' is too low. It picked up 99 points last season while getting only 39 games out of star defenseman Drew Doughty. Getting him back and healthy is huge. Adding star winger Kevin Fiala is also big for the club. The Kings are very good at generating chances but not necessarily efficient at converting them into goals. Fiala, who amassed 33 goals and 85 points in 2021-22, should certainly help with that. This team should be able to at least match what they did a year ago.On the flip side, the Islanders appear to be overvalued. They moved on from Barry Trotz, one of the league's best coaches, and their most notable addition is depth defenseman Alexander Romanov. They'd have to pick up 12 more points than they did a year ago to best their total. In an improving Metro Division, that seems like a tall order.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers announced the establishment of a franchise Hall of Fame on Wednesday, and a star-studded group will be inducted into the inaugural 2022 class.Oilers legends Al Hamilton, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Kevin Lowe, Glen Sather, and Rod Phillips will serve as the 10 banner inductees due to their contributions to the franchise.The 2022 class will feature two more inductees, who the Oilers Hall of Fame Selection Committee will vote for on Sept. 20.The induction ceremony will take place on Nov. 3 before the Oilers' game against the New Jersey Devils. The team will permanently display their names on a ring at Rogers Place.A maximum of three nominees will be elected to the Edmonton Oilers Hall of Fame every year, and each new member will require an affirmative vote of at least 75%.The Hall of Fame may include players, coaches, trainers, staff, executives, or any individual whose role within the organization is viewed as extraordinary.The 11 members of the selection committee - including Gretzky, media member Jim Matheson, and two-time Olympic gold medalist Shannon Szabados - have each been appointed to a three-year term and can serve for a maximum of 15 years.Oilers fans can nominate individuals for the committee's consideration beginning in 2023.Former Oilers players will become eligible after they've retired for five years, while non-players can be nominated at any time.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

An offseason full of big-ticket acquisitions has Ottawa Senators fans pumped for the 2022-23 campaign."I can tell you that the season-ticket membership is the highest it's been in years," Senators president Anthony LeBlanc told Sportsnet's Wayne Scanlan. "We've seen a significant, significant increase - and it all started, really, around the time when (general manager) Pierre (Dorion) started making some trades."The Senators had approximately 5,000 season-ticket holders in 2021-22, according to Scanlan, which is believed to be the fewest in franchise history. Ottawa averaged a league-worst 9,000 fans per home game last season, but the coronavirus pandemic and health restrictions within Canada's capital heavily impacted attendance.Ottawa made headlines several times this offseason, acquiring sniper Alex DeBrincat at the draft before adding veteran forward Claude Giroux and goaltender Cam Talbot in the following weeks.The club also inked core forward Josh Norris to an eight-year extension and made notable progress on a new arena deal in downtown Ottawa.Senators forward Tim Stutzle said last week that "expectations are high" within the dressing room after a busy summer as the team looks to snap a playoff drought dating back to 2017.Ottawa finished seventh in the Atlantic Division with a 33-42-7 record last season.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The puck drops on the 2022-23 NHL campaign in just over a month.While the Avalanche are favored to repeat as Stanley Cup champions - with perennial playoff teams like the Maple Leafs, Hurricanes, and Lightning seen as the biggest threats - there are a handful of teams with real potential to surprise.Let's take a look at a few Stanley Cup long shots carrying value at their current prices.Note: only choosing teams 30-1 or greater.TEAM ODDSColorado Avalanche+400Toronto Maple Leafs+800Carolina Hurricanes+1000Florida Panthers+1100Tampa Bay Lightning+1100Calgary Flames+1600Edmonton Oilers+1600Minnesota Wild+2000New York Rangers+2000Pittsburgh Penguins+2000Vegas Golden Knights+2000Boston Bruins+2800St. Louis Blues+2800Los Angeles Kings+3300Nashville Predators+4000New York Islanders+4000Washington Capitals+4000Dallas Stars+4500Ottawa Senators+5000Vancouver Canucks+5000Detroit Red Wings+6000Winnipeg Jets+6000New Jersey Devils+7000Columbus Blue Jackets+8000Anaheim Ducks+15000Buffalo Sabres+15000Philadelphia Flyers+15000Seattle Kraken+15000San Jose Sharks+20000Montreal Canadiens+20000Chicago Blackhawks+30000Arizona Coyotes+40000Los Angeles Kings (+3300)The Kings were quietly a very potent team a season ago. At five-on-five, they ranked fifth in shot share and seventh in expected goals. They consistently outplayed their opponents at even strength. Unfortunately, the Kings weren't often rewarded. Despite slotting fifth in expected goal generation, they ranked 25th in actual goals. Generating quality chances wasn't much of a problem, but finishing sure was.In dire need of more high-end skill up front, the Kings pulled the trigger on a trade to acquire Kevin Fiala from the Wild in exchange for futures. Fiala has long been an efficient point-producer and tied Vladimir Tarasenko for 10th in five-on-five scoring this past year. He will be a huge help.With Fiala joining the fray, a healthy Drew Doughty back in the mix, and continued development from young forwards like Quinton Byfield and Arthur Kaliyev, among others, the Kings could take a real step forward this season.Washington Capitals (+4000)The Capitals are being slept on. A season ago, they ranked 13th in goal share - just below the Bruins and Oilers - despite .898 goaltending and no member of their second line appearing in 50 or more games. Anthony Mantha and T.J. Oshie figure to be in better health next season, while Dylan Strome is a very solid offensive player capable of holding down second-line center until Nicklas Backstrom potentially returns from injury. The addition of Connor Brown should also provide more depth and versatility on the wings.Perhaps most importantly, the Capitals solidified their goaltending position with the signing of Darcy Kuemper. Some have soured on him following an iffy playoff run - in which he was never fully healthy - but he has quietly been one of the league's most efficient netminders for years. Kuemper's managed a .920 save percentage or better in three of the last four seasons. If he can give the Capitals anything close to that, it'll be a huge upgrade from what they had a season ago.Put quality goaltending behind an attack featuring Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson, and Co., and you're going to be a very dangerous team come playoff time.Nashville Predators (+4000)The Predators got top-tier seasons from many of their stars a season ago, with Matt Duchene, Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, and Juuse Saros all putting forth ceiling years. Yet that was only good enough for the eighth seed in the West and a sweep out of the playoffs by the Avalanche.Realizing the team clearly needed more talent, GM David Poile brought in some quality pieces this offseason. Ryan McDonagh is past his peak, to be sure, but he remains a quality top-four defenseman capable of logging big minutes against high-end competition. With McDonagh joining a blue line featuring Josi and Mattias Ekholm, Nashville's defense could be very good.Nino Niederreiter should make a difference up front as well. He has averaged 27 goals per 82 games over the last two seasons. He's an underrated finisher who generates chances around the net in bulk, and he's also very sound defensively.Similar to McDonagh, you can play Niederreiter against anybody and expect contributions at both ends of the ice.With improvements made up front and on defense - and one of the NHL's best starting goaltenders - the Predators could surprise in 2022-23.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.