The Calgary Flames signed forward Dillon Dube to a three-year contract with an average annual value of $2.3 million, the team announced Thursday.

Dube was a restricted free agent this offseason upon the expiry of his entry-level contract. Calgary drafted him 56th overall in 2016.

The 23-year-old is coming off the most productive season of his career. He notched 22 points in 51 games while averaging over 13 minutes of ice time per contest - all personal bests.

With Dube signed, defenseman Connor Mackey is Calgary's only remaining RFA. The Flames have approximately $3 million in cap space, according to Cap Friendly.

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Count Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher among those who are less than enthused about how the team’s 2020-21 campaign shook out.

"I can't live through another year like last year. It took years off my life and everybody else's. It's not worth it," Fletcher said, according to the Associated Press' Stephen Whyno.

The Flyers finished second in the Metropolitan Division during the 2019-20 campaign and made it to the second round of the playoffs. Philadelphia looked primed for similar success the following year, but instead, the club ended up sixth in the realigned East Division and failed to qualify for the postseason.

As a result, Fletcher saw a need to shake things up in a major way.

"At the end of the last season, I vowed that we would make changes and that it was unacceptable, and I think I was true to my word," he said. "We were aggressively looking to change our team. We've made a lot of changes. We like to think we've upgraded our club, and time will tell."

Among the most notable additions to the Flyers’ roster are defensemen Ryan Ellis, Keith Yandle, and Rasmus Ristolainen, forward Cam Atkinson, and goaltender Martin Jones. Meanwhile, Nolan Patrick, Philippe Myers, Robert Hagg, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jakub Voracek, and Brian Elliott are no longer reporting for duty in Philly.

The Flyers' offseason business didn't stop there - on Thursday, the team signed franchise mainstay Sean Couturier to an eight-year, $62 million extension.

"Sean's our best hockey player right now, and he's the key guy. And if Sean had left, that would've changed the direction of the franchise," Fletcher said of the deal. "To lock him up was incredibly important for the short and long term."

In addition to turning things around, Fletcher and the organization also have captain Claude Giroux's future to think about. The 33-year-old forward will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

"At this point, our plan is to play the season out, and we'll talk at the end of the season. I think we're both comfortable with that," Fletcher said, per NHL.com's Adam Kimelman. "Claude is our captain, he's a great player, and I'm sure we'll find a way to continue that relationship going forward."

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Staring down a brand new season with the Carolina Hurricanes, goaltender Frederik Andersen took a moment to fondly contemplate his time in the city where he spent the last half-decade.

Well, except for one glaring thing.

"I'm obviously not happy with what we accomplished in the playoffs. Everyone knows that we wanted more out of that, especially this year. We had a really good team," the former Toronto Maple Leafs netminder said Thursday on "Good Show" with Sportsnet's JD Bunkis.

The underperforming Maple Leafs were bounced in the first round of the playoffs in four of Andersen's five seasons; during the 2019-20 postseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets eliminated the squad before the opening round even began.

The 31-year-old bore the brunt of the criticism as Toronto struggled for a whiff of playoff success, but Andersen didn't mind the harsh spotlight.

"(Goaltenders) always get probably more of the credit than we deserve, same goes with the blame. That's just something that comes with the territory," Andersen said. "I never really felt that it was too unfair, I had pretty high expectations for myself ... I think, in general, fans appreciated me. I definitely appreciated the time in Toronto as well."

Andersen's ride with the Leafs ended unceremoniously. He started 23 games and played through injury this past campaign as both he and breakout goaltender Jack Campbell struggled to stay healthy.

"The way I dealt with things, playing through pain like that and injury, it wasn't the best idea long-term, looking back," he said. "I definitely don't think I was making the right move in trying to keep playing."

Andersen didn't see any game action during Toronto's first-round exit against the Montreal Canadiens, which he said "was obviously not fun," but added that he respected the coaching staff's decision to run with Campbell.

In his first three seasons as a Leaf, Andersen was notoriously one of the busiest goalies in the league, starting an average of 64 games per campaign and leading his position with 6,221 shots faced.

"Over those five years, I felt like I left it all out there for Toronto, and it just doesn't always go the way you're imagining it. That’s how sports are," he said.

Andersen inked a two-year deal worth $9 million with the Hurricanes in July and said he is ready to start his new chapter.

"Toronto never really became that serious to offering anything," he said. "I was just really grateful and happy that I was able to go to a good team like Carolina.

"A breath of fresh air would be good, so that's really what I look forward to instead of looking too far backward," Andersen added.

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The Carolina Hurricanes signed forward Andrei Svechnikov to an eight-year contract with an average annual value of $7.75 million, the team announced Thursday.

Svechnikov just wrapped up his third season with the Hurricanes since being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. The 21-year-old put up a career-high 24 goals and 37 assists in 68 games during the 2019-20 campaign, and he's scored 59 goals and added 81 assists in 205 career contests.

"Andrei is one of the cornerstones of this organization, and we are thrilled to reach a long-term commitment to keep him here," general manager Don Waddell said. "He is one of the brightest rising stars in our sport and will play a key role in our efforts to bring the Stanley Cup to the Triangle this decade."

Svechnikov recorded 15 goals and 27 assists in 55 games last season, ranking third on the team in points (42) and second in hits (114).

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Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin will miss Thursday's pivotal clash against the United States at the women's world championship, director Gina Kingsbury said, according to Donna Spencer of The Canadian Press.

Poulin left Wednesday's game versus Switzerland in the third period after blocking a shot up high. Kingsbury said the star forward will be "resting for the next couple days."

The 30-year-old has notched one goal and two assists over three games so far during the tournament.

Thursday's contest between the North American juggernauts will determine the top spot in Group A. Both Canada and the USA have cruised to 3-0 records during the round-robin stage.

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Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith hopes his club will have a new leader in time for the 2021-22 season.

"We hope to, but that's a decision with (owner) Mr. (Eugene) Melnyk and (general manager) Pierre Dorion," Smith told Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. "But we feel we're at that time now where we're as close as we've been to naming a guy. It's time for someone to be the leader of this group."

The Senators haven't had a captain since the 2017-18 season. Erik Karlsson wore the "C" for four years before he was traded to the San Jose Sharks.

Smith believes choosing a captain will help his young core take the next step.

"I just think there has to be a face to it. We have plenty of guys who are leaders and could be captains, but I just think if you look at the Stanley Cup winners, they all have captains and they've had the same captain for three, four, five years," Smith said. "It's the voice of that team, the direction of that team and I think the real successful teams have their captains for a long time.

"We want to be that kind of hockey team."

Defenseman Thomas Chabot has seven years remaining on an eight-year extension signed in 2019 and is likely to be among the leading candidates given his reputation around the league and role with the club. Another option would be Brady Tkachuk, who is widely regarded as the heart and soul of Ottawa's attack. However, he's currently a restricted free agent.

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After dealing with severe complications from COVID-19, Marco Rossi is on the comeback trail.

He first hopes to help his home nation of Austria qualify for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and then he'll look to secure his place on the Minnesota Wild's 2021-22 roster.

"I know I haven't played a lot of games in the last year, year and a half, but now that I can see my fitness level and my shape, I know I'm better in shape than a lot of NHL players," Rossi, the Wild's 2020 ninth overall pick, told The Athletic's Michael Russo. "I see no doubt about that I can play in the NHL. I know I can play there. I know how good I am, but I have to prove myself in a training camp that I'm ready for that. I know it's going to be up to me to show I'm ready to play right away."

Rossi was diagnosed with COVID-19 in November 2020 while with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss League. He experienced only mild symptoms at the time and was cleared to play in the world juniors, at which point his condition worsened.

He reported to Minnesota in January for training camp after the tournament and failed a cardiac screening. Rossi was diagnosed with myocarditis - an inflammation of the heart - and shut down for the 2020-21 season.

In April, the 19-year-old said he was "just happy" to be alive.

Now, Rossi is back for his first game action since December; he sniped a power-play goal during Austria's Sunday friendly match against Italy ahead of the Olympic qualifiers.

"All the memories came into my mind from the past. I went through a really tough time. When I scored that goal, I was so relieved. The goal means a lot to me because it gives me more confidence that I'm healthy again," the center said.

Rossi can impress the Wild and prove he doesn't need a conditioning stint in the AHL during training camp next month, all while celebrating his 20th birthday on Sept. 23.

For now, Rossi's got a busy schedule ahead of him: Austria plays Slovakia on Thursday, Belarus on Friday, and Poland on Sunday.

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The Philadelphia Flyers signed forward Derick Brassard to a one-year contract worth $825,000, the team announced Wednesday.

Brassard, 33, spent last season with the Arizona Coyotes. He registered eight goals and 12 assists in 53 contests.

The center played for a handful of teams over the last few seasons, spending time with the Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, and New York Islanders since 2016. He also had stints with the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets earlier in his career.

Brassard played under Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault while with the Rangers and was a part of the roster that made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014.

Over his career, Brassard has appeared in 905 games, scored 194 goals, and contributed 309 assists.

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