It's Swedish Heritage Night at Verizon Center in Washington, so what better way to honor the Scandinavian nation than to put together a dresser?

The Capitals had fans assemble furniture, IKEA-style, before their game against the Dallas Stars on Monday night.

Swedish ambassador to the United States, Bjorn Lyrvall, was on hand for the festivities, and the Tre Kronor spirit was well-represented.

The Capitals boast a trio of Swedes - forwards Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, and Austrian-born Swedish national Andre Burakovsky - while the Stars have three of their own: defensemen John Klingberg and Patrik Nemeth, and forward Mattias Janmark.

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The Vegas Golden Knights will gladly take a player the Minnesota Wild chose not to keep.

In fact, the experience of being drafted in 2014 but not signed to an entry-level contract should serve Reid Duke well, says general manager George McPhee.

Related: 3 things to know about Reid Duke

Duke, a 21-year-old forward, became the first player signed by the Golden Knights after agreeing to terms on an entry-level deal Monday. He's well-acquainted with assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon, who owns Duke's junior team, the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings.

In 306 junior games in Brandon and Lethbridge, Duke recorded 113 goals and 137 assists for a point-per-game average of 0.82.

"It’s pretty amazing, everything that’s gone on in the last years of my junior career leading up to this moment," Duke added, according to the team's Twitter account. "I’m just a part of everything going on. It’s exciting for everyone involved."

A big day for Vegas, but plenty of work yet to do.

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There's no such thing as a bad idea.

That appeared to be the theme of the first day of general manager meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., where the group of 31 gathered Monday to talk about the future of the NHL.

Here are some of the things that were discussed:

1. Placing one faceoff circle in each offensive zone: "One of our comments is a lot of times the puck's won and now it's all of a sudden a board battle," said Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. "But if you put one faceoff circle right in the middle of each end zone - you're right in front of the net."

2. Eliminating the loser point: Toronto Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello proposed reverting back to the old point system.

3. Rule changes to increase offense: Many ideas were bounced around, such as increasing zone and net size, but a big one appears to have been making it illegal to leave your feet to block a shot.

"That was mentioned a long time ago by Bob Gainey," said New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero. "Everybody thought he was crazy. But that's what you try to do - look 15, 20 years ahead. What is good for the game? The quality of the game is most important."

The GMs will gather again Tuesday and it's expected they'll talk in more concrete terms about the offside rule, the length of video reviews, and bye weeks.

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The Ottawa Senators have acquired defenseman Brandon Gormley from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for future considerations, the Senators announced on Monday.

Gormley has not suited up for the Devils this season, instead spending the year with the club's America Hockey League squad in Albany where he has contributed just two goals and 10 points in 35 games.

Despite last week's trade deadline, it's important to note that teams can still complete trades post deadline, but players moved cannot play for their respected teams this season or in the playoffs.

Gormley was originally drafted in the first round, 13th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010.

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The expansion Vegas Golden Knights made history Monday, agreeing to terms with free-agent Reid Duke.

The 21-year-old plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League. After signing with the Golden Knights, the next step is for the young forward to attend the team's upcoming development camp.

Here are three things to know about the first-ever Golden Knight:

Wheat King Connection

Reid won't be the only Wheat Kings alumni making his name in the Vegas desert. Already with the team is Kelly McCrimmon, the new assistant general manager of the Golden Knights and longtime owner of the Wheat Kings. McCrimmon was also previously the general manager and coach in Brandon before accepting his new gig in Nevada.

That connection put Reid on the radar for the Golden Knights. McCrimmon said in a statement, "I think what's impressive with Reid is a real high skill level and yet a guy that's able to play a big, strong, heavy game."

Knowing Nolan

With a little lottery luck, Reid could be followed to Vegas by another Brandon forward. The Golden Knights have the third-best odds at the upcoming draft lottery, where the winner of the top pick could select Wheat Kings center Nolan Patrick.

Patrick is the favored first overall pick in the 2017 entry draft. The 18-year-old has had an abbreviated campaign after missing three months with a upper-body injury, but that hasn't stifled his production since his return. Patrick has registered 42 points in 28 games with Brandon this season.

Several other players who formerly sported the black and yellow for the Wheat Kings have stepped into the NHL in recent seasons, including Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov, drafted seventh overall in 2015, and Flyers teammate Brayden Schenn, selected with the fifth pick in 2009.

Wild about the Draft

This isn't Duke's first crack at the NHL. The center was drafted in the sixth round by the Minnesota Wild in 2014. Duke spent that season with the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes, where he finished third in team scoring with 15 goals and 25 assists in 62 games.

This campaign marks a career-best for Duke since he made his WHL debut in 2011. In 54 games with the Wheat Kings this season, Duke has tallied 35 goals and 32 assists, while his 71 penalty minutes also ranks fourth on the team.

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Welcome to Las Vegas, Reid Duke.

The Vegas Golden Knights signed the free-agent forward to an entry-level contract Monday, the team announced.

Duke, 21, plays for the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings. The center has recorded 35 goals and 32 assists with the Wheat Kings this season.

The Wheat Kings are owned by Kelly McCrimmon, who serves as assistant general manager of the Golden Knights.

"When we project Reid, we think his game will evolve as he becomes a pro," McCrimmon said. "We believe he's going to be an NHL player."

Duke was originally drafted by the Minnesota Wild in 2014.

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Evander Kane didn't mince words.

"We suck trying to score goals," the Buffalo Sabres winger told Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. "The way you score goals is you stay aggressive."

The remark comes after the Sabres led the defending champions Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 on Sunday, only to fall 4-3 in regulation.

The Sabres put 21 shots on the board in the opening frame, but weren't as aggressive in the closing periods, registering 10 shots in the second and 19 in the third.

Buffalo sits five points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild-card spot in the East. Failing to grab any points in Sunday's collapse was a tough blow for an improving squad.

The Sabres, whose 166 goals for ranks 21st in the NHL, have been better since the calendar flipped to 2017, going 14-12-4 in the new year.

As for Kane, there's no question he knows offense. The scoring winger leads the league with 22 even-strength goals since Dec. 1, while he's tallied 35 points in 54 games this season.

Kane has one year remaining on his contract, carrying a $5.25-million cap hit.

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The Philadelphia Flyers have a scoring problem.

In the midst of chasing down a playoff position, Philadelphia's offense has gone cold. Since returning from the All-Star break, the Flyers have managed just 23 goals, or about 1.64 goals per game. No club has tallied fewer over that stretch:

It's a drastic fall from the season's earlier months, when the Flyers collected 135 goals through 50 games, a middle-of-the-pack showing of about 2.7 goals per game.

Despite the lack of finish, the Flyers remain in the thick of the playoff race, largely due to their early season success. Philadelphia sits three points behind the New York Islanders, who hold the East's second wild-card seed.

Seeking a scoring spark, the Flyers added a new face at last week's trade deadline, recruiting forward Valtteri Filppula from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Filppula recorded 34 points with the Lightning this season and scored in his debut with the Flyers.

If Philadelphia fails to qualify for the postseason, consider its biggest offender the lost offense from the team's top players:

Should the Flyers not make the playoffs, it will mark the third time in the past five seasons. They were eliminated by the Washington Capitals in the opening round last spring.

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Marc Bergevin is trying to keep a low profile at the GM meetings going on in Boca Raton, Fla.

The Montreal Canadiens general manager tried to go unnoticed by reporters Monday by using a plant to block his face.

You can't make this stuff up.

He probably wishes he had had the same luxury following the P.K. Subban trade last June.

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A downright blistering week has earned Nikita Kucherov the NHL's first star of the week.

The Tampa Bay Lightning forward was named the best player of the past seven days after amassing a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

His week was highlighted by his second-career hat trick, a three-point effort against the Carolina Hurricanes, and a dazzling shootout winner against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.

Related: Kucherov seals Lightning victory with cheeky shootout goal

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky earned second-star honors after posting back-to-back shutouts against the New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild. In all, Bobrovsky went 2-0-1 in three games on the week while posting a ridiculous 0.33 GAA and a .989 save percentage.

Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price rounds out the three stars after nabbing third spot with a perfect 3-0-0 record.

Related: Price bounces back since bye week, Julien hiring

Price was nearly as dominant as Bobrovsky, posting a 0.66 GAA, a .974 save percentage, and a shutout over Bobrovsky's Blue Jackets team.

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