The NHL Stadium Series outdoor game set for Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina has been postponed from its scheduled date of Feb. 20, 2021.

"While we are extremely disappointed that we will not be able to host an outdoor game this season, the health and safety of our fans remains our top priority," Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said in a statement. "We look forward to hosting the game in the near future and rewarding our incredible fan base with an unforgettable experience."

The contest on the NC State campus is slated to be the NHL's 32nd regular-season outdoor game, and the first to feature the Hurricanes. Other historic college football venues that have hosted NHL games include Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, and Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Nashville Predators signed forward Erik Haula to a one-year, $1.75-million contract, the team announced Wednesday.

Haula was perhaps the top unrestricted free-agent center remaining on the market.

The 29-year-old concluded this past campaign with the Florida Panthers, recording a pair of assists in seven games. The Carolina Hurricanes traded him to Florida in a package that netted them forward Vincent Trocheck on Feb. 24.

Haula has battled injuries over the last two seasons after racking up a career-high 29 goals and 55 points with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18.

The dependable two-way pivot began his career with the Minnesota Wild, who drafted him 182nd overall in 2009. He reunites with good friend and former Wild teammate Mikael Granlund, who re-signed with Nashville on a one-year, $3.75-million contract earlier Wednesday.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Due to Ontario's imminent lockdown, the OHL is once again delaying the start of its 2020-21 season.

The OHL was most recently targeting Feb. 4 for its opening puck drop, with training camps slated to begin in mid-January. Players were scheduled to report to camp in early January.

"This decision follows Premier (Doug) Ford’s announcement of a province-wide shutdown in Ontario commencing on Dec. 26, 2020," OHL commissioner David Branch said in a statement. "The league will continue to consult and work closely with governments and health authorities to determine potential start dates in the new year."

Branch also cited cross-border travel restrictions as a factor in the decision.

In early August, the league pushed the target start date for the season to Dec. 1. In late October, the OHL was reportedly eyeing a 40-game season that would begin in early February.

The lockdown will go into effect on Dec. 26 at 12:01 a.m. ET and last until Jan. 23 for all of southern Ontario. Nearly all non-essential businesses will be ordered shut, and most schools will be closed for in-person learning for over two weeks.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.

Team Canada needed to get back on track at the 2015 world juniors following back-to-back fourth-place finishes. It was the first time since 1979-81 that the program failed to win a medal in consecutive years due to losses in the bronze-medal game.

More than a handful of players, including Connor McDavid and Sam Reinhart, returned for this tourney in Montreal and Toronto after experiencing the 2014 disappointment in Sweden. They would ultimately redeem themselves both individually and as a team.

The roster

*Denotes returning player
All ages are as of the start of the tournament

The tournament

Canada opened its tournament schedule by crushing Slovakia 8-0 with Fabbri posting two goals and two assists. A day later, Canada cruised to a 4-0 shutout victory over Germany.

The competition got a bit tougher after that, but the Canadian squad didn't waver and beat Finland 4-1. Before the medal round, Canada's biggest scare came on New Year's Eve against a U.S. team featuring Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews. However, a pair of goals from Domi helped Canada defeat the Americans 5-3 in both nations' final round-robin contest.

Canada's first game of the medal round invoked a bit of deja vu, as the hosts trounced Denmark 8-0 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinal, Slovakia had a chance to avenge its tournament-opening loss to Canada by the same score, but the result wasn't much better for the Slovaks. Petan potted a hat trick and the Canadian side coasted to a 5-1 win, setting up a gold-medal showdown with Russia.

The championship game reached a crescendo in the second period. Canada led 2-1 after 20 minutes, but McDavid, Domi, and Reinhart buried goals in a span of about seven minutes in the middle stanza. Russia responded shortly after, notching a trio of markers in just over three minutes to get back to within one. However, Canada clamped down in the third period and secured the gold with a 5-4 victory.

The stars

Canadians dominated the tournament's scoring leaderboard. Reinhart, Domi, and Lazar led all skaters with five goals apiece, while Petan and Duclair finished among those tied for second with four. McDavid tied for third in goals with three and led all players with eight assists, tying for the points lead with 11.

Petan and Reinhart equaled McDavid atop the points race. Domi tied for second in that department with 10 and was named the tourney's best forward. McDavid, Reinhart, and Morrissey joined Domi as All-Stars at the event.

The key moment

Just over five minutes after Domi gave Canada a 4-1 lead in the gold medal game, Reinhart provided the dagger, tipping home Domi's shot to extend Canada's lead to four with seven and a half minutes remaining in the second period. Reinhart's goal was his team's third in a span of 7:22.

While it appeared to be a mere insurance marker at the time, it turned out to be the most important play of the night, and thus the tourney, because Russia stormed back with three consecutive goals to cut the lead to 5-4 late in the middle frame.

The fallout

After the Edmonton Oilers won the NHL draft lottery in April 2015, they selected McDavid with the No. 1 pick - to no one's surprise - that June. He was considered the game's next generational talent at the time, and the 2016-17 Hart Trophy winner has lived up to the hype, becoming arguably the league's best player over the last few seasons.

The Buffalo Sabres chose Reinhart second overall about six months before the tourney began. While he hasn't become a superstar, he's blossomed into a dependable offensive player who has shown chemistry with Eichel.

Several other players on Canada's 2015 world junior roster turned into talented NHLers, including Point and Theodore. However, Petan and Lazar haven't lived up to the potential they displayed at this event - particularly in the latter player's case.

Like McDavid, Nurse debuted for the Oilers in 2015-16. Though he managed only a single point in this tournament, he's become a vital cog on Edmonton's blue line.

After its 2015 triumph, Team Canada stumbled for a sixth-place finish in 2016 and a silver medal the following year before reclaiming gold in 2018.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak are being recognized in their respective home country for their accomplishments this past season.

Draisaitl became the first-ever hockey player to take home the top athlete of the year award in Germany. He joins Dirk Nowitzki as the only team-sport athlete to win the award. Pastrnak became the first hockey player to win the award in the Czech Republic since Jaromir Jagr in 2005.

The 25-year-old Draisaitl earned his first Hart Trophy last year after leading the NHL with 110 points in 71 games. The German award, which is voted on by the nation's journalists, has been given out annually since 1947.

"What a great honor for me to be voted by so many journalists," Draisaitl wrote on Instagram. "Thank you for your votes and support. It's been an incredible year and I am very proud to finish 2020 as Germany's Athlete of the Year."

Pastrnak became the fourth Czech hockey player to earn the award, joining Josef Mikolas, Dominik Hasek, and Jagr. The award, which has been given out annually since 1959, is voted on by members of the Czech Sports Journalist Association.

"I would never have imagined that I could win the Athlete of the Year of the Czech Republic," Pastrnak said, according to NHL.com's Eric Russo. "In hockey, the biggest prize is collective success, but having your name on such a trophy with a great history is something amazing."

Pastrnak earned the first Rocket Richard Trophy of his career, sharing the honor with Alex Ovechkin after finishing tied with 48 goals apiece last season. The 24-year-old finished the year with 95 points in 70 games and was tied for third-most in the league.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL released its health and safety protocols for the 2020-21 season, including COVID-19 protocols for positive tests and travel.

Some key measures include:

• The league will announce the names of players who test positive for COVID-19 during the season.
• All coaches must wear face coverings on the bench during games.
• Following a positive test, players must self-isolate based on local health regulations and need to be cleared by a team physician and cardiologist before returning to play.
• Teammates identified as close contacts won't be required to quarantine as long as they test negative and remain asymptomatic.
• Players will stay alone in hotel rooms on the road and are not allowed to dine at restaurants, go shopping, or use transportation that isn't provided by the team.

The season is set to begin Jan. 13, with the playoffs concluding as late as July 9. The league re-aligned its four divisions, and teams will only play against others in their respective divisions to minimize travel.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Nashville Predators signed forward Mikael Granlund to a one-year contract with a value of $3.75 million, reports The Athletic's Adam Vingan.

Granlund was an unrestricted free agent but was a member of the Predators last season. He recorded 17 goals and 13 assists in 63 games.

The 28-year-old was selected ninth overall by the Wild in 2010. He spent the first seven years of his career in Minnesota before being dealt to Nashville during the 2018-19 season. In 540 career games, he's racked up 111 goals and 241 assists.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.