The Anaheim Ducks have signed right winger Ondrej Kase to a three-year deal, the team announced Wednesday. The new deal is worth $7.8 million with an average annual value of $2.6 million, according to multiple media reports. The 22-year-old Kase set career highs in goals (20), assists (18), points (38) and plus-minus (plus-18) last season.

Aug 14, 2018 Greg WyshynskiESPN When you look at Mount Rushmore, the four American presidents staring back were selected by sculptor Gutzon Borglum in order to define the first 130 years of American history. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson shared an era; Lincoln defined his; and Theodore Roosevelt was a symbol of expansion and development

7:00 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN When you look at Mount Rushmore, the four American presidents staring back were selected by sculptor Gutzon Borglum in order to define the first 130 years of American history. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson shared an era, Abraham Lincoln defined his, and Theodore Roosevelt was a symbol of expansion and

1:01 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN Ryan Ellis was already being coveted as a potential July 2019 unrestricted free agent — as the kind of defenseman a team could build a blue line around. Which is why Nashville Predators general manager David Poile didn’t allow him to get within sniffing distance of the open market, signing

6:50 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN There’s going to be a lot of hockey on the air in the U.S. during the 2018-19 season. ESPN+ has a game a day throughout the regular season, to go along with our nightly In The Crease show. NHL Network will have its annual slate of games. Then there’s NBC,

A lot has changed since the last dynasty league list was published way back on April 5. Despite just a handful of regular-season games taking place in between, we’ve seen the NHL playoffs, free agency, the draft and early reports from rookie camps. The fantasy hockey season is intense for fantasy coverage when it’s unfolding

3:59 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN While Erik Karlsson might disagree, it’s been an eventful offseason in the NHL from a player transaction standpoint. Not only with the free-agent frenzy producing the John Tavares blockbuster and several other notable deals, but with teams hanging onto their own players on long-term extensions. Many of these contracts are

After a career-high 37 points last season, forward Christian Dvorak was rewarded by the Arizona Coyotes with a six-year extension. The 22-year-old’s deal carries an annual average value of $4.45 million, according to reports. “We are very pleased to sign Christian to a long-term contract,” Coyotes general manager John Chayka said in a statement. “Christian

Nashville Predators general manager David Poile headlines the 2018 class of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Former University of Michigan coach Red Berenson, three-time Olympic medalist Natalie Darwitz, retired NHL referee Paul Stewart, Poile and the late Leland “Hago” Harrington will be inducted on Dec. 12 at a ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee. Poile has

10:38 AM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN John Miner could always tell when an opponent was going to drop the reference. It was always a player imported from North America to his pro hockey league in Austria or Switzerland. They’d give him a glance, then smile, and then say some variation of the following: “Oh, there ya

As the 2018-19 NHL season draws closer, we’ve released our top 300 rankings for fantasy. As you rummage through the lineup, the ranking of some players might jump off the page. Sure, Connor McDavid topping the board isn’t going to surprise many, but there is some interesting ordering thereafter. Here are my first impressions of

2:10 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN The notion of “restricted free agency” ranks right up there with “jumbo shrimp” and “deafening silence” in the oxymoronic hall of fame. None of the NHL players that qualify for it are “free” to do anything but remain shackled to the team that holds their rights. Sure, it could be

BEIJING — Wayne Gretzky has been named a global ambassador for Beijing’s Kunlun Red Star as the Chinese capital seeks to boost the profile of hockey domestically ahead of hosting the Winter Olympics in 2022. Gretzky will focus on youth development in China, including a planned KRS-Gretzky Hockey School that will provide advanced training for

5:30 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN Stan Mikita, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the leading scorer in Chicago Blackhawks history, died Tuesday at age 78, according to a statement from his family. Mikita played 1,396 games in the NHL from 1958-80, all of them with the Blackhawks to lead the franchise in

LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights have signed forward William Karlsson to a $5.25 million, one-year contract. General manager George McPhee announced the deal Saturday as the two sides avoided arbitration. Karlsson gets a significant raise from his previous $1 million salary. Karlsson shattered career highs with 43 goals, 35 assists and 78 points

ANAHEIM, Calif. — John Gibson has grown up with the Anaheim Ducks, and they want the goalie guarding their net for many years to come. Gibson, 25, agreed to an eight-year, $51.2 million extension with the Ducks on Saturday, keeping him with the club through the 2026-27 season. Gibson debuted with Anaheim as a precocious

Mark Stone avoided arbitration with the Ottawa Senators on Friday, signing a one-year, $7.35 million contract that is the highest on the team. The 26-year-old had reportedly asked for $9 million, while the team countered at $5 million. Stone had 20 goals and a career-high 42 assists in only 58 games last season, his sixth

12:26 PM ET Greg WyshynskiESPN Legalized sports wagering presents the greatest opportunity for the National Hockey League to grow its product since the expansion boom 25 years ago. This might seem like hyperbole, given that more people likely wager on the coin toss at the Super Bowl than wager on professional hockey in a given

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill continued fulfilling an offseason objective to shake up a team that finished last for the third time in five years, acquiring playmaking forward Jeff Skinner in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes. “What’s exciting about this trade here for our group is it’s not just all

CALGARY, Alberta — The Calgary Flames have placed alternate captain Troy Brouwer on unconditional waivers with the intention of buying out the remaining two years of his contract. Troy Brouwer’s numbers declined in the two years he was with the Flames after signing a four-year, $18 million contract in 2016. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson The move was

DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche are bringing back defenseman Patrik Nemeth on a one-year deal. Nemeth ranked first on the squad with 185 blocked shots last season. He played in a career-high 68 games and had a career-best 15 points, including three goals. The 26-year-old had a plus-27 rating, which was the highest by an

7:00 AM ET Emily KaplanESPN It began late last fall, when he began coughing up blood. It would happen randomly for New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider. For a few days, he’d be symptom-free. Then Kreider would wake up and spew blood, then break out in coughing fits throughout the day that he describes as

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes will retire former captain Shane Doan‘s number during a pregame ceremony on Feb. 24. Doan will have his No. 19 retired before the Coyotes face the Winnipeg Jets, joining former Coyotes players Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick and Teppo Numminen in the franchise’s ring of honor. Bobby Hull, Thomas Steen

BOSTON — Rick Middleton’s No. 16 is headed to the TD Garden rafters. The Boston Bruins say Middleton’s sweater will be retired by the team on Nov. 29, before its game against the New York Islanders. Rick Middleton played 12 seasons with the Bruins from 1976 to 1988, compiling 402 goals and 496 assists in

SEATTLE — Renovating KeyArena will cost $100 million more than previously expected as project leaders attempt to make it fully ready for an expected NHL franchise and possibly a future NBA team. Oak View Group on Tuesday announced it had selected Skanska and AECOM Hunt to partner together as the general contractor for the $700

CHICAGO — Blackhawks defenseman Gustav Forsling will miss the start of the season because of a right wrist injury. The 22-year-old Swede had surgery on Tuesday. Team physician Dr. Michael Terry says the expected recovery time is 14 weeks. Chicago acquired Forsling in a 2015 trade with Vancouver for Adam Clendening. Forsling, a fifth-round pick

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league wants a cut of gambling profits if its intellectual property, data or video from games are used. Bettman told guest host Larry Lage in the latest episode of “PodcastOne Sports Now” that those who want to conduct gambling business with NHL assets will need to negotiate. “We’ve historically

Aug 1, 2018 Greg WyshynskiESPN A lot can change in a decade. That’s obvious when you look back at the NHL’s 2008-09 season, which not only has things called the “Southeast” and “Northwest” divisions, but only seven 100-point teams, including the Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks. Last season, the NHL saw 11 teams cross

CALGARY, Alberta — Jarome Iginla closed his 20-year NHL career in the city where he was the face of the franchise. The 41-year-old winger made his retirement official Monday in Calgary, where he spent 16 seasons with the Flames. Iginla entertained a packed news conference at Scotiabank Saddledome with humorous stories about his career and

The New York Rangers have reached an agreement with defenseman Brady Skjei on a six-year deal worth $31.5 million, the team announced Saturday. Skjei, 24, who will earn an average of $5.25 million per season with the deal, was a restricted free agent. He had four goals and 21 assists for the Rangers last season,