Brandon Bochenski was elected the mayor of Grand Forks, North Dakota, on Tuesday, according to the Grand Forks Herald.

If that name sounds familiar, its because Bochenski spent parts of five seasons in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks, Nashville Predators, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Bochenski is from Blaine, Minnesota, but he spent three years playing for the University of North Dakota, where he tallied 154 points in 120 games. A seventh-round pick of the Senators in 2001, he received significant hype after recording 70 points in 75 games in his first AHL season before leading the NHL in goals the following preseason while skating on a line with Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley.

He was traded to Chicago after just 20 games with the Sens. He ended up playing 156 NHL contests, registering 28 goals and 40 assists. He eventually found a home in the KHL, spending eight seasons with Astana Barys before shifting his focus to real estate development and politics.

Bochenski received 49.62% of the vote, defeating Mike Brown (31.81%), who had spent 20 years in office.

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Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon believes the honor should go to New York Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin.

MacKinnon said Tuesday said on TSN 1050's "Overdrive" that he tried to recruit Panarin to the Colorado Avalanche last summer before he eventually chose to go to the Big Apple. MacKinnon tried to sell him on the idea he wouldn't have to be "the man" every night, and he even offered Panarin his spot on the power play.

"I knew he was a free agent so I was kind of watching him with Columbus. What an amazing player," MacKinnon said. "And then I watched him all season - just from talking to him, really nice guy, so maybe I'm a little biased with that - but that's why I think he should win the Hart this year."

Panarin, who signed a seven-year, $81.5-million contract with the Rangers, finished tied for third in the NHL with 95 points this year, trailing only Leon Draisaitl (110), and Connor McDavid (97). He led the league with 59 points at five-on-five.

The 28-year-old led a rebuilding Rangers team to an 11th place finish in the Eastern Conference (by points percentage), which was good enough for a berth in the NHL's expanded playoff format.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche were decimated by injuries this season, but MacKinnon still posted 93 points, 43 more than anyone else on his team. Colorado finished the season with the second-best record in the Western Conference.

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Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning remains adamant about getting pending UFA goaltender Jacob Markstrom signed to a contract extension.

"I've said all along that he's an important guy for us," Benning told The Province's Ben Kuzma. "My intent is to figure out something that works for him and us. I'm hoping to get him signed, but that's part of the business - we'll have to wait and see."

Benning previously said he hoped to re-sign Markstrom before the trade deadline in February, but a deal never materialized.

Markstrom posted career highs this season in save percentage (.918) and goals saved above average (11.4) in 43 starts despite facing personal adversity. In October, he took a leave of absence to return to Sweden after his father was diagnosed with cancer, and he left the team again in December after his father died.

"To know behind the scenes of everything he was going through - and coming back from Sweden to play that game against the Rangers (38 saves in a 3-2 win on Oct. 20) - and to just show consistency and a high standard was something," Benning said.

Markstrom said in April that he wants to stay in Vancouver, but getting him re-signed could prove difficult. If the cap ceiling stays at $81.5 million for the 2020-21 campaign, the Canucks will have a projected $17 million to work with, according to CapFriendly. Tyler Toffoli and Chris Tanev are also pending UFAs. More importantly, franchise cornerstones Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes will become RFAs after next season.

The Canucks also have to take the 2021 Seattle expansion draft into consideration. With rules only allowing each team to protect one goalie, Vancouver would risk losing either Markstrom or Thatcher Demko - a highly touted 24-year-old coming off his first full season as the team's backup.

Markstrom, 30, missed the last three weeks of the regular season with a knee injury but has been cleared to return when the NHL resumes play. The Canucks are scheduled to take on the Minnesota Wild in the best-of-five qualifying round.

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The New Jersey Devils have put their head coaching search on hold, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports.

New Jersey is down to four final candidates - including interim bench boss Alain Nasreddine - after speaking with at least eight coaches, LeBrun added.

Nasreddine took over for John Hynes following a 9-13-4 start and led the Devils to a 19-16-8 record. Despite selling at the deadline, New Jersey just narrowly missed making the playoffs in the expanded format - the Montreal Canadiens grabbed the final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference with a .500 points percentage, just ahead of New Jersey's .493 mark.

It's unknown who the other three final candidates are, but Gerard Gallant, John Stevens, and Peter Laviolette were all reportedly interviewed for the vacancy.

The organization's search for a general manager, however, remains ongoing, LeBrun added.

Former assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald was promoted to the interim role after Ray Shero was fired in January. Fitzgerald has been conducting the coaching interviews despite the interim tag and remains a candidate for the permanent position. The team also reportedly interviewed former Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis.

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Ottawa Senators forward Bobby Ryan expressed gratitude Tuesday for his selection as the team's nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy after enduring a tough year off the ice.

"Obviously I'm honored. I think it's a great thing and a silver lining for the year that I went through," Ryan told team reporter Craig Medaglia.

He added: "To be recognized for some of the work that I put in during the months leading up to my comeback is a very small but fulfilling thing for me."

The trophy is awarded annually to the player "who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey." Each team's nominee was announced Tuesday.

Ryan took a leave of absence from hockey in November to enter the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program for an alcohol issue he said he dealt with for years. He returned to action on Feb. 25 after being in the program for over three months.

The 33-year-old also said he wasn't sure he'd be able to play again when he left the team in November.

"Right when I left was the hardest time because I knew leaving that I might have played my last game in the NHL. That was the hardest thing to swallow and to get over," Ryan said.

"I doubted that I'd be able to get my body where I needed to be to play," he added. "I have to thank the staff because not only was I able to do that but I was in the best shape of my life for an entire month before I got back up to game speed. I did worry about it but I had an incredible group around me."

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The newly formed Hockey Diversity Alliance is independent of the NHL, but the group's co-head, Evander Kane, hopes to form some sort of partnership with the league.

"We want to work with the league in order to establish and create this necessary change in our game and the culture of our game," Kane said, according to The Point Hockey's Sheng Peng. "It's imperative that we work with the league in order to accomplish some of those goals."

Former NHL defenseman Akim Aliu is the group's other co-head. The rest of the executive committee is made up of active and former black NHLers, including Trevor Daley, Wayne Simmonds, Matt Dumba, Joel Ward, and Chris Stewart.

The alliance's mission is to combat racism in hockey, as well as in society as a whole.

"What we seek from the league is really an ear," Kane continued. "Somebody who can really listen to some of the things that we want to implement, policies we think that can help change the present time and moving on into the future. That starts with the NHL, trickling down to minor hockey. There are things that the NHL can bring to the table. We feel very strongly, as an alliance, there's a lot we can bring to the table, knowledge when it comes to rectifying a lot of these issues."

The NHL appeared to show support for the alliance with a string of retweets Monday, but the league has not formally announced whether it will work with the group.

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Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares returned to the ice with several teammates Tuesday as part of Phase 2 of the NHL's return-to-play plan.

"Going back to the rink, seeing each other - even with things being different, it's such a breath of fresh air," Tavares said, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Limited to the six-player maximum, Tavares skated in a group that included winger Ilya Mikheyev, defenseman Jake Muzzin, and goaltender Jack Campbell. The 6-foot-1 pivot also expects Mitch Marner and Cody Ceci to join the club Thursday.

Most players around the league have not been able to skate since the NHL suspended play March 12, and Tavares stressed how crucial it is for his club to take advantage of these early summer skates.

"Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we can take steps to play together (as a full team)," Tavares said, according to the Toronto Sun's Lance Hornby. "We have to benefit from this opportunity to maximize (training). It’s not like we’re going to have four preseason games. We need to perform right off the bat."

Tavares said the small group of Leafs and a few coaches are "brainstorming" different drills to help maximize the 45-minute ice time limit allotted under Phase 2 protocol.

The Maple Leafs are slated to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets in a best-of-five qualifying series under the NHL's 24-team playoff format.

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Philadelphia Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom, St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, and Ottawa Senators forward Bobby Ryan are among the 31 finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, the Professional Hockey Writers' Association announced Tuesday.

Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma - a type of cancer that occurs in bones or soft tissue - in December. The 23-year-old missed the rest of the regular season. The Flyers rallied around him, and their fans gave the blue-liner a standing ovation when he attended a game in January. As of late April, Lindblom was scheduled to undergo his final cancer treatments.

Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac episode during a game between the Blues and Anaheim Ducks, a February contest that was postponed as a result. The 36-year-old rearguard later underwent surgery to implant a defibrillator, which restored his heart's normal rhythm. He also missed the remainder of the regular season.

Ryan took a leave from the Senators to enter the NHL and NHLPA's player assistance program in November. The winger later revealed he had a panic attack and was battling alcohol abuse. Ryan, who turned 33 in March, returned from the program in February and notched four goals in eight games, including a hat trick against the Vancouver Canucks.

The NHL awards the Masterton Trophy to the player "who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey." The PHWA annually votes on the award and narrows down the list to three finalists before the winner is determined.

Here's the complete list of 2019-20 nominees:

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