On Thursday night, TSN's Darren Dreger reported that Tony Granato will be named head coach of Team USA for the 2018 Winter Olympics, with an official announcement to take place Friday.
Joining him behind the bench will be assistant coach Chris Chelios. However, former Dallas Stars great and Hall of Famer Mike Modano has thrown his hat into the ring, tweeting Thursday night that he would be willing to join as a consultant.
Congrats @TonyGranato on @usahockey men's coach. If you need a consultant I'm available.
University of Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato will coach Team USA at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.
Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios will serve as an assistant, Dreger adds.
Granato authored a 14-year NHL career as a player, recording 492 points in 774 games. He was the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche on two separate occasions and served as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings before joining Wisconsin in the NCAA last season.
The remainder of Team USA's management and coaching staff will be officially announced at a press conference Friday afternoon.
Even if it's just a show for the media, Derek Stepan is saying all the right things.
In being traded from the New York Rangers to the Arizona Coyotes in June, he moved to a team which hasn't finished better than 24th in the past three seasons.
Stepan, however, isn't ready to accept lower standards.
"I think you're going to see more success in Arizona beginning this season and into the future," Stepan said, according to Jessi Pierce of NHL.com.
The Coyotes acquired the 27-year-old Stepan along with goaltender Antti Raanta in exchange for young defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Stepan, who has quietly posted four consecutive seasons of at least 53 points, was often overshadowed under the bright lights of New York City. Now, he'll move into the spotlight with his move to the desert, as he becomes the leader of a Coyotes team which has an average age of just 23.
According to Stepan, it's all the same.
"It's definitely a new experience, but something that certainly doesn't worry me. I've been in a leadership role in New York and I'll just transfer into a new one in Arizona. I couldn't be more excited," he said.
Stepan pointed out how Coyotes winger Jamie McGinn (28) is the only forward on the team older than him. Stepan's most common 5-on-5 linemates with the Rangers last season were Mats Zuccarello and Chris Kreider, ages 29 and 25, respectively; still old by Coyotes standards.
"We have a young team with a lot of potential, but that's what's so exciting," Stepan said. "It's a new chapter for me and I look forward to being a part of building on something in Arizona."
While his role will expand, Stepan notes it won't change his style of play.
"Playing in the big moments at the right time and doing the right things with and without the puck, all of those things stay the same," he said.
Stepan's has no shortage of big moments in his career, qualifying for the playoffs in each of his seven seasons. He earned a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and two additional trips to the Eastern Conference Final.
Chychrun suffered the injury while training this week, but is expected to make a full recovery.
The 19-year-old is coming off a rookie campaign in which he posted seven goals and 20 points in 68 games after being picked 16th overall in the 2016 draft.
The team will issue an update on Chychrun's status once training camp opens on Sept. 14.
An arbiter will now determine Schmidt's new contract Saturday, but a deal between the NHL's 31st team and the 26-year-old defenseman can be negotiated before then.
Earlier reports suggested Schmidt and the Golden Knights were far apart on both term and money. This is the first case of the current offseason to require a hearing among the 30 players to file for the process.
Schmidt was claimed by Vegas from the Washington Capitals in June's expansion draft. In 60 games last season, the fleet-footed defender recorded three goals and 14 assists, adding four more points in 11 playoff contests.
Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo is switching things up following the worst season of his second stint with the club.
Luongo made 39 starts and appeared in 40 games during 2016-17, posting a record of 17-15-6 with a save percentage of .915 and a goals-against average of 2.68, while missing large chunks of time due to injury.
The new white and gold mask is Luongo's first step toward looking better on the ice in 2017-18.
The former second-round pick totaled 1,088 games over 17 seasons, racking up 276 goals, 309 assists, and 807 penalty minutes.
Here are five scenes depicting everything Fisher brought to the ice over his career:
Starting a fight in front of Carrie Underwood
With no explanation necessary, Fisher's career will forever be tied to wife and country music superstar Carrie Underwood. Meeting backstage at one of her concerts in Ottawa, the two would go on to get married in 2010. The Ottawa Senators traded Fisher at the 2010 trade deadline as part of a team rebuild, but facilitated the trade to the Nashville Predators so he and Ms. Underwood would be in the Music City.
It was Fisher Ms. Underwood who would help to popularize the Predators in the city now known as Smashville.
While this was far from the most vicious fight of Fisher's career, the fact he would drop the gloves in in front of his wife could make it his most courageous.
Emerging from his wife's shadow
Fisher played in 134 career playoff games, qualifying for the postseason in 12 of his 17 seasons in the league. This past playoff run with the Predators marked his second trip to the Stanley Cup Final in his career. While he racked up just four assists without a goal during the Predators' franchise-altering run, his greatest playoff moment came the year prior.
After dropping the first two games of their second round series to the San Jose Sharks, the Predators returned home to win the first game in Nashville. Halfway through the third overtime session of Game 2, Fisher became known as much more than Mr. Carrie Underwood.
Setting a Senators record
Born in Peterborough, Ontario just a couple hours drive from Canada's capital, the Senators selected a local boy with the 44th pick of the 1998 draft.
Fisher's final full season with the Senators in 2009-10 was his most productive, as he'd finish the year with 25 goals and 53 points, still career bests. His defining moment of the season came by securing a nine-game win streak - the franchise's longest - with an overtime goal over the rival Montreal Canadiens.
The streak would end two games later.
Using his head, properly
Aside from being a fan favorite, teammates would frequently praise Fisher for acts such as this, when he stood up for goaltender Ray Emery who had received a late hit from Carolina Hurricanes forward Scott Walker.
Fisher showed his leadership and grit by taking the illegal shot from Walker. Walker would be suspended for his actions.
Final game in Ottawa
Having played the first 675 games of his career with the Senators, Fisher played his final game in Ottawa early in the 2016-17 season. Just a few games after playing career game No. 1,000, Fisher's original NHL team was able to honor a player who'll forever be a fan favorite.
With his NHL career now over, Fisher is set to take on new challenges. As long as Ms. Underwood is by his side, he's sure to remain in the public eye in Smashville. He appears ready for a seamless transition to stage two.
There may be no fountain of youth, but lifting the Stanley Cup might have the same affect.
While 37-year-old Mike Fisher announced his retirement on Thursday, 40-year-old free-agent Matt Cullen continues to mull over the decision to return for a 20th NHL season, following back-to-back Stanley Cup victories.
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said he hasn't heard a firm answer from Cullen regarding the forward's future, according to Jason MacKey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. But he says the team has been monitoring the trade market should the need for a new third-line center arise.
According to Cap Friendly, the Penguins have a little over $3 million in cap space heading into the 2017-18 season, but it's unlikely to limit anything the Penguins deem they need to do.
"Ultimately it will depend who it is," said Rutherford. "We may have to move some things around. We may not. It's no different than if any other deal came along. You have to move things around. Right now, I don't think so."
Carter Rowney is the Penguins' lone bottom-six center currently under contract, after Nick Bonino was signed by the Nashville Predators earlier in the summer as a potential replacement for Fisher.
The Nashville Predators expressed their gratitude to retiring captain Mike Fisher with a retrospective of some of his accomplishments.
Fisher scored some big goals for the Predators and the Ottawa Senators over the course of his 17-year career, and Nashville highlighted some of those moments in the tribute.
The 37-year-old was named Predators captain last September following the departure of Shea Weber.
Fisher finished his career ranked in the top 10 in goals scored for both the Predators and Senators.