The Nashville Predators have signed head coach Peter Laviolette to a two-year contract extension.

The announcement was made Saturday at a Skate of the Union fan event, in advance of the first sold-out preseason home game in franchise history.

Laviolette is entering his third season behind the bench in Nashville, having guided the Predators to a regular-season record of 88-52-24 and consecutive playoff appearances, most recently a seven-game loss to San Jose in the second round.

He's also won a Stanley Cup and gone to the final as head coach in Carolina and Philadelphia, respectively.

Expectations are high in Nashville, with P.K. Subban joining a loaded defensive corps, and Laviolette has clearly been tabbed as the man to finally take the Predators to next level.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL expansion franchise in Las Vegas has named Bob Lowes its assistant director of player personnel.

Lowes served as the Ottawa Senators' chief amateur scout for the past two seasons, and joined the scouting department in 2006.

He previously coached the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings from 1992-2001. There, he met Wheat Kings owner Kelly McCrimmon, who was recently named assistant general manager in Las Vegas.

Under Lowes' watchful eye, the Senators made several key draft selections in recent years, including dominant center Logan Brown with the 11th pick in last year's draft.

Other notable picks include: Curtis Lazar with the 17th selection in 2013, Mark Stone in the sixth round in 2010, and captain Erik Karlsson 15th overall in 2008. Karlsson paced all defensemen last season with 82 points.

Lowes, 53, was drafted by the New York Rangers in 1982.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jamie Benn's return appears imminent.

Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff told Mark Stepneski of the club's official website that the plan is for the captain to play in two of the final three preseason games.

Benn is behind schedule in his recovery from core muscle surgery, which he underwent in mid-July with a six-week timetable.

The Hart Trophy finalist was aiming to return before the World Cup of Hockey, but was ultimately replaced on Canada's roster by San Jose Sharks winger Logan Couture.

Dallas has four exhibition games left beginning Sunday on the road against the Florida Panthers.

The final three preseason contests are as follows:

Stars general manager Jim Nill said in late August that Benn would be fully healthy to start the NHL season.

The 26-year-old forward signed an eight-year, $76-million extension with Dallas on July 15.

Benn posted career-highs in goals (41) and points (89) last season.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund will make his preseason debut Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets, the team announced Saturday.

A part of Team Sweden at the World Cup, Backlund was later sidelined with a concussion.

The 27-year-old was a key cog for the Flames last season, finishing fourth in team scoring with 47 points.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Roberto Luongo is one of the NHL's elder statesmen, but that doesn't mean he can't get with the times.

The veteran goaltender showed George Richards of the Miami Herald his new mask Saturday, and the updated headgear includes nods to both old and new.

The panther shown in profile on the left of the mask is in line with the club's new branding, while the one on the right side shown from the front is more of an ode to the team's logos from the 1990s.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators made 20 cuts to their training camp roster Saturday, including defenseman Patrick Sieloff, who was assigned to the AHL.

Related: Senators' AHL team moving to Belleville

Casey Bailey, Matt O'Connor, and Ryan Rupert were also among the cuts, while 33 players remain on the camp roster.

Seiloff made headlines in September after he leveled Clarke MacArthur with a heavy hit in a scrimmage, leaving the veteran winger concussed. MacArthur missed all but four games last season, sidelined with post-concussion symptoms.

The Senators acquired Sieloff from Calgary in a June deal that sent right winger Alex Chiasson to the Flames.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Philadelphia Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth has dedicated his mask design to late team owner Ed Snider.

The mask features the Flyers logo with a silhouette of Snider, and includes the text "A Flyer Forever" written above. Two illustrations of Snider adorn the top of the mask.

Snider died in April following a long battle with bladder cancer. Under Snider's guidance, the Flyers won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.

Despite having relatively the same roster over its last two seasons, the Calgary Flames have gone from reaching the second round of the playoffs in 2014-15 to finishing with the fifth-worst record in the league.

The club addressed its need for a legitimate goaltender, while also adding veteran leadership up front with Troy Brouwer.

The Flames remain a young squad, and it will be interesting to see how they fare this season.

Here's how the team shapes up:

Forwards

• Johnny Gaudreau is certain to be signed and it should simply be a matter of when.
• First-round pick Matthew Tkachuk could state his case for a spot, though at just 18 years of age, don't be surprised if he spends some - if not all - the year back with the OHL's London Knights.
• Veteran Chris Higgins, who signed a professional tryout contract, could be in the mix for a bottom-six role.

Defensemen

• Ladislav Smid announced last week that he would not dress this season due to his lingering neck injury.
• Outside the six defenders, Nicklas Grossmann enters camp on a PTO and could challenge for a roster spot.

Goalies

• The Flames used this offseason to retool their goaltending by adding Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson. This will unquestionably be the duo between the pipes going forward, and no one is expected to contest them.

NHL Depth Charts

ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF | CGY
CAR | CHI | COL | CBJ | DAL
DET | EDM | FLA | LA | MIN
MTL | NSH | NJD | NYI | NYR
PHI | PIT | OTT | STL | SJ
TB | TOR | VAN | WSH | WPG

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Daniel Cleary's run with the Detroit Red Wings appears to be over, as the team announced Saturday the veteran winger has been released.

The 37-year-old was invited to Red Wings' camp on a professional tryout. Cleary, who last appeared in the NHL in 2014-15, will join the training camp of the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Red Wings' AHL affiliate.

Cleary played 35 games with the Griffins last season, recording three goals and 12 assists.

The 1997 first-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Kontinental Hockey League added its first Chinese club, Kunlun Red Star, this season as it looks to tap into the Asian market, and it appears there are still some elements of the game that haven't quite caught on yet.

A recent game between Kunlun and Tolyatti Lada featured what might be the worst ceremonial puck drop in hockey history, as the man responsible for dropping the puck seemed eager to get the whole thing over with as quickly as possible.

This lead to a hilarious moment of confusion between Kunlun's Janne Jalasvaara and Tolyatti's Vladimir Malenkikh.

- With h/t to the Hockey News

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.