The Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Jason Dickinson to a three-year contract carrying an average annual value of $2.65 million, the team announced Saturday.

Vancouver acquired Dickinson from the Dallas Stars in July in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick. The 26-year-old was a restricted free agent and set for an arbitration hearing on Aug. 20.

"Jason was an important addition for our forward group this summer, and we're pleased to have agreed to terms with him on a three-year deal," Canucks general manager Jim Benning said in a statement. "He's a versatile player that can play on both the wing and at center and is also a strong penalty killer."

Dickinson registered seven goals and eight assists in 51 games last season. He also ranked sixth among Stars skaters in both hits (78) and blocked shots (49).

Dallas selected Dickinson 29th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft.

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The NHLPA is strongly encouraging its players to get vaccinated ahead of the upcoming season, reports The Athletic's Michael Russo and Katie Strang.

The union warned the players over a lengthy call last week that unvaccinated individuals may face stiff penalties if they contract COVID-19 during the 2021-22 campaign, cautioning that teams could have the power to withhold paychecks while an unvaccinated player is out due to the virus, or if he can't play because of local regulations.

Another issue discussed during the call was whether unvaccinated players would be allowed to enter Canada for games. The NHLPA said it's unlikely they'd receive an exemption to enter the country and would need to stay at home with their salaries withheld.

NHL deputy commissioner Billy Daly said that over 85% of players in the league are fully vaccinated. In comparison, 99% of WNBA players are vaccinated, while the NFL and NBA are at 90%.

The NHL sent a memo to all teams on Friday stating that anyone who works for a club and personally interacts with players must be fully vaccinated.

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The NHL's free-agency period opened with a bang in late July, as nearly every team got in on the action. There were numerous big names on the open market, and the majority of them inked new deals right out of the gate.

On Day 1 alone, 96 deals were struck worth a total of $529 million, and many more contracts trickled in over the following days. With so many deals and so much money dished around, there were sure to be a number of surprising moves that caught NHL fans off guard. Let's take a look at five of them.

Ovechkin eyeing Gretzky's record

Alex Ovechkin entered the offseason in need of a contract for just the second time in his career. After his entry-level deal with the Washington Capitals expired, he inked a 13-year contract, which he's played on until now. It was a given that the 35-year-old was going to re-sign with the Capitals, but it wasn't known how many years or how much money he'd command. When the deal came in at five years and with a $9.5-million average annual value, many were left shocked.

The Russian sniper will be nearing 41 years old when the deal expires. He hasn't shown any decline yet, and there's no reason to believe he's going to start anytime soon. There's been a looming threat that he'll return to his home country to play in the KHL before he retires from hockey, which caused some to believe his NHL career might have been nearing its end. Now, Ovechkin has at least five more seasons to accumulate 165 goals and break Wayne Gretzky's once seemingly unreachable record.

Perry joins Lightning

If you can't beat them, join them, right? Corey Perry and the Montreal Canadiens indicated they were interested in striking a deal. However, Perry broke Montreal fans' hearts several days into free agency when he opted to join the Tampa Bay Lightning - the team he lost to in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.

The move was shocking at first, but blame can't be put on Perry. Following an impressive campaign with the Habs, the Lightning handed him an attractive two-year contract. Tampa Bay gives him a much better chance of winning another Cup over the next two seasons. With the Lightning's top six still intact, Perry will provide a major boost to the third or fourth line.

Grubauer ditches Avalanche

With most marquee free-agent goalies having signed in the opening hours of free agency, it appeared Philipp Grubauer would certainly re-up with the Colorado Avalanche. There didn't seem to be many teams left that could afford Grubauer or fit him into their crease until the Seattle Kraken came out of nowhere to scoop him up.

Just a week earlier, Seattle introduced Chris Driedger at the expansion draft and made it clear that he was going to be the starting goalie moving forward. The club had a number of appealing goalie options to choose from during the expansion draft and decided to pair Driedger with Vitek Vanecek and Joey Daccord. Now, it will be interesting to see how playing time is split between Driedger and Grubauer, but the Kraken clearly couldn't pass up the opportunity to own one of the league's best tandems.

Danault cashes in, says 'au revoir' to Montreal

Between the end of the playoffs and the start of free agency, Phillip Danault and the Canadiens seemed destined to part ways. The two sides agreed that Danault would test free agency, but that the door would remain open for him to return. Many thought he would eventually circle back to Montreal, unsure if a team would break the bank for the defensive pivot on the open market.

Danault wasted no time once free agency opened and put pen to paper on a six-year contract with a $5.5-million average annual value to join the Los Angeles Kings. The length and money were surprising, but the addition suddenly makes the Kings an intriguing team in a weak division. Danault seems like he'll be a perfect fit behind Anze Kopitar in the immediate future, but with young centers Quinton Byfield and Alex Turcotte looking to make the jump to the NHL, his role in the later years of the contract couldn't be more unclear.

Devils reel in Hamilton

Most teams should have lined up to try to recruit Dougie Hamilton as a free agent. It's not often that an elite, two-way defenseman hits the open market at 28 years old. Rumors swirled about where Dougie would end up, but not many had the New Jersey Devils penciled in as the winners of the sweepstakes. New Jersey saw the opportunity to bring in a franchise-altering blue-liner and didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

The Devils haven't been a model of consistency as of late, missing the playoffs in eight of the last nine seasons. However, the club is certainly on the rise with an injection of youthful talent thanks to a handful of lottery picks over the years. Hamilton could have chosen any of a number of teams, but his faith in the organization is a good sign for the Devils, who will now look to jump back into perennial contention.

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Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews will miss at least six weeks after undergoing wrist surgery, the team announced Friday.

Matthews experienced discomfort during his on-ice training earlier this week and opted for surgery after consulting with specialists and the team's medical staff.

The 23-year-old center dealt with wrist issues throughout the 2020-21 season.

Toronto opens training camp Sept. 22 and is scheduled to kick off its preseason campaign three days later at Scotiabank Arena against the Montreal Canadiens.

Matthews is coming off another stellar season. He notched a league-leading 41 goals to become the first Maple Leafs player to capture the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy.

The three-time All-Star was also a finalist for the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award.

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The NHL sent out a memo to all of its teams on Friday detailing some of the league's vaccine requirements ahead of the upcoming campaign, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

"Any person whose job, role, position, or access entails or entitles them to have personal interactions (within 12 feet) with club hockey operations personnel (including Players) are required to be fully vaccinated," the statement reads.

There are a limited number of exceptions - such as valet parking attendants, Friedman added. Protocols for the players are not yet complete.

The league had strict rules for players and clubs for the majority of last season but relaxed them for certain squads in May. The protocols were loosened and allowed more freedoms to players and staff on teams that were at least 85% fully vaccinated.

Once a franchise hit the 85% threshold, players were allowed to gather socially outside of team facilities, sit at restaurants outdoors, and spend time in each other's hotel rooms on the road. Players also stopped receiving PCR tests on off days and were allowed to attend team meetings without face coverings.

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True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Winnipeg Jets, announced Friday that it's submitted an application to rename a portion of Graham Avenue in honor of the late Dale Hawerchuk.

If approved, Honourary Dale Hawerchuk Way, which would stretch between Donald Street and Carlton Street, is expected to be unveiled in time for the beginning of next season.

The club will also erect a statue of Hawerchuk, who died last August at the age of 57 after a battle with cancer, in True North Square. The statue is expected to be unveiled in August 2022.

Erik Blome, who designed the Wayne Gretzky statue in front of the Staples Center and created the 14 sculptures in the Toronto Maple Leafs' "Legends Row," will design Hawerchuk's statue.

"Dale, quite simply, is part of the fabric of this city and of the Winnipeg Jets organization," executive chairman Mark Chipman said.

"Beyond that, he has contributed so much to the sport of hockey. We are so proud to give Dale these much-deserved honors to showcase his extraordinary career and the remarkable person he was, and ensure his legacy lives well beyond the fans who followed his career and who were lucky enough to see him play."

Hawerchuk was drafted first overall by the Jets in 1981. He played his first nine seasons in the league with Winnipeg, winning the Calder Trophy in 1982. Hawerchuk then joined the Buffalo Sabres for five seasons before wrapping up his career with the St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers.

Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001, Hawerchuk produced 1,409 points in 1,188 career games.

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The Florida Panthers signed veteran forward Joe Thornton to a one-year deal, the club announced Friday.

Thornton's contract is worth $750,000 and has no bonuses or incentives, according to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.

The 42-year-old has played in 1,680 career games between the Boston Bruins (1997-06), San Jose Sharks (2006-20), and Toronto Maple Leafs (2020-21).

"With more than 1,600 games played in the NHL, Joe will bring a wealth of experience to our locker room and lineup," Panthers general manager Bill Zito said in a statement. "His drive to succeed is unmistakable and we are thrilled that he chose to sign with our club and that he believes in what we are building here in South Florida."

Thornton is sixth all time in games played in NHL history. He has amassed 1,529 points during his career, which included a Hart Trophy in the 2005-06 campaign.

The six-time All-Star has never won the Stanley Cup despite all his on-ice accolades.

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