The Anaheim Ducks' firepower could use a shot in the arm, and Trevor Zegras is looking to provide that boost.

"My biggest thing is kind of just competing and working hard," he said last week, per Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com. "At the core, what I do best is compete. I love to win, and that's kind of what drives me. That's kind of how I attack every day and how I get myself going."

Anaheim's offense has been in rough shape over the past three seasons.

Since the 2018-19 campaign, the club sits second-last in goals scored, ahead of only the Detroit Red Wings. No Ducks player has eclipsed the 50-point mark since Rickard Rakell and Ryan Getzlaf registered over 60 points during the 2017-18 season. This past year, Anaheim posted a league-worst 2.21 goals scored per game and finished last in the realigned West Division.

Zegras started his NHL career last season at left wing, a move the Ducks felt would ease the 20-year-old's transition to the pros. Anaheim sent Zegras to the AHL in early April to get him readjusted to playing center, his natural position, before calling him back up to finish the NHL campaign with the Ducks.

He put up 13 points in 24 games in his first NHL season and ended the campaign on a high note, with six of those points coming during his final six contests. Zegras also honed his faceoff skills, winning 46% of his draws during his last six games after winning just 37% in his first 18 matchups.

"Down the stretch I played center and thought I played great," Zegras said. "I definitely worked on my faceoffs, and I just feel really comfortable in the middle of the ice. It just felt normal."

After a unique season altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Zegras hopes next year will be a bit more ordinary.

"Last year ... I feel like I didn't really get to experience the day-to-day life in the NHL," Zegras said. "I'm pretty excited to just get back to normal, kind of experience your first NHL season. I kind of just want to go there, be the best player I can be, and try and help the team any way I can."

Zegras, drafted ninth overall by the Ducks in 2019, is projected to begin the 2021-22 campaign at center on a line with Max Comtois and Troy Terry. The trio showed offensive promise toward the end of last season, controlling 62% of the expected goals for and high-danger chances at five-on-five.

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Auston Matthews believes years of playoff anguish for the Toronto Maple Leafs will soon pay off.

Toronto is fresh off its fifth consecutive first-round defeat after blowing a 3-1 series lead to the underdog Montreal Canadiens. Although Matthews said that loss is still fresh in his mind, he's confident in the club's current group.

"It's obviously really frustrating," Matthews said, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "It sucks right now. People have opinions and they can say what they want, and rightfully so, but I really believe in the team and I really believe in all the players on the team - the core group especially. I truly believe that we're going to get it done. We're going to be better from our losses, and from the adversity we faced.

"The only way is forward. (The playoff loss) sucked. There's no other way to put it. Extremely disappointing. But it'll just feel that much better when we eventually get to the top."

Matthews' sentiments echo those of general manager Kyle Dubas, who said earlier this offseason that he's "willing to bet everything" on the team's core.

"I don't think that's news to us," Matthews said of Dubas' remarks. "We know that's how he feels. When he reiterates that, it gives us confidence moving forward. That's all you can ask for: that your general manager and all your teammates truly believe in one another."

The Leafs' star-powered core - particularly Matthews and linemate Mitch Marner - faced intense scrutiny after they were eliminated this past spring. The pair combined for three points in their last three playoff games.

Matthews had a dominant regular season, leading the NHL with 41 goals in 52 contests while finishing second in MVP voting.

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The Calgary Flames signed defenseman Juuso Valimaki to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.55 million, the team announced Friday.

Valimaki's entry-level contract expired after the 2020-21 campaign, making him a restricted free agent.

The 23-year-old appeared in 49 games for the Flames last season and registered 11 points in just over 15 minutes per contest. Calgary drafted him in the first round in 2017.

With Valimaki's new deal in place, Calgary has approximately $6 million to sign remaining RFAs Dillon Dube, Glenn Gawdin, and Connor Mackey, according to Cap Friendly.

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Henrik Lundqvist may have never lifted the elusive Stanley Cup, but that doesn't change the fact that he's retiring as one of the top goalies the NHL has ever seen.

Backstopping the New York Rangers for his entire 15-season career, Lundqvist strung together one impressive campaign after another, accumulating several notable accolades and moments along the way. Let's take a look at seven of the most memorable.

The King denies Briere in Winter Classic

Up 3-2 with time winding down in the 2012 Winter Classic against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Rangers looked well on their way to winning the outdoor game. But in the dying seconds with Philadelphia applying pressure, Ryan McDonagh was whistled for covering the puck in the crease - gifting the Flyers a penalty shot with 19.6 seconds left on the clock.

The Flyers selected Daniel Briere to take the shot. With the game on the line, Lundqvist didn't crack under pressure, coming up with a huge save to secure the victory for New York.

Lundqvist finally secures Vezina

Lundqvist was a perennial Vezina Trophy contender for most of his career. He was nominated for the award in each of his first three NHL seasons from 2006-08 but never managed to come out on top.

He wasn't nominated again until 2012 when he went up against Pekka Rinne and Jonathan Quick. But the fourth time was clearly the charm, as Lundqvist was finally voted the long-overdue winner thanks to a 38-19-5 record, a sparkling .929 save percentage, and a 1.97 goals-against average. Lundqvist garnered his fifth and final Vezina nomination in 2013.

Hank earns career win No. 400

Only 13 goalies in NHL history have hit the 400-win mark, and Lundqvist became one of them with a victory against the Colorado Avalanche in 2017. He was the first European-born goalie to reach the mark and the fastest NHL netminder to do so, needing just 727 games. He joined Martin Brodeur and Tony Esposito as the only goalies to win 400 games with one franchise.

Lundqvist retires sitting sixth all-time in wins among goalies with more victories than any other non-Canadian NHL netminder.

Lundqvist helps Rangers reach Stanley Cup Final

Lundqvist and the Rangers ran into a hot Montreal Canadiens squad in the 2014 Eastern Conference Final. Entering Game 6 with a 3-2 series lead, New York needed a win to clinch its first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 1994.

The contest was still scoreless when Lundqvist made an incredible twirling save on a redirected shot from Thomas Vanek near the end of the second period. The stop clearly sparked the team in front of him, as Dominic Moore scored two minutes later for the eventual game-winner and series-clincher.

Etched in Rangers record books

It seemed inevitable that Lundqvist would end his Rangers tenure as the franchise's leading netminder in most regards. On March 18, 2014, he secured his 302nd regular-season win with the club in an 8-4 thumping of the Ottawa Senators, officially eclipsing Mike Richter as the winningest goalie in franchise history.

Lundqvist finishes his career leading all Rangers goalies in games played (887), wins (459), saves (23,509), save percentage (.918), and shutouts (64). It's safe to say nobody will touch some of those records anytime soon.

Sweden snags gold in Turin

Early in his career, Lundqvist helped lead his native Sweden to a gold medal at the Turin Olympics in 2006. He started six games at the tournament, surrendering just 12 goals and recording a .907 save percentage.

Facing rival nation Finland in the gold medal game, Lundqvist delivered a fantastic performance, stopping 25 of 27 shots and making several highlight-reel saves in the third period to keep Sweden on top. He would also help Sweden secure a silver medal in Sochi in 2014.

Lundqvist dethrones Hasek

Dominik Hasek was one of the first European-born goaltenders to make a significant mark in the NHL and is considered one of the best goalies to ever suit up in the league.

But on New Year's Eve in 2016, Lundqvist backstopped the Rangers to a 6-2 victory over the Avalanche to earn career win No. 390 - surpassing Hasek for the most regular-season wins by a European goalie.

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The Calgary Flames have signed defenseman Nikita Zadorov to a one-year deal worth $3.75 million, the team announced Friday.

Zadorov was a restricted free agent and had filed for arbitration. He'll be an unrestricted free agent after the 2021-22 season.

The Flames acquired the 26-year-old from the Chicago Blackhawks in July in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick.

Zadorov skated in 55 games with the Blackhawks last season, recording one goal, seven assists, and 190 hits. He's collected 23 goals and 60 assists in 411 career games split between the Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, and Buffalo Sabres.

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Legendary goaltender Henrik Lundqvist announced his retirement from the NHL after spending 15 seasons with the New York Rangers.

Lundqvist was forced to sit out this past season after undergoing surgery to repair a heart condition. He had signed a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals last offseason before team doctors discovered the condition.

The 39-year-old was gearing up for a potential return to the NHL this year, but didn't receive medical clearance to play.

“I was hoping I would be 100% by this time," Lundqvist said, according to The New York Post's Larry Brooks. "But I was told that inflammation takes a long time to correct and with medication I might be out of the woods, but it could be another full year before I would be 100%.

“So I thought about this, talked with my closest friends, my family, and my wife, Therese. This year was probably harder for her than for me. She is such a strong woman. It came down to how badly I wanted to push it, how much of a gamble did I want to take? And I came to the conclusion that there are too many unknowns and too much risk for not enough reward for me to keep playing."

Lundqvist retires as the sixth-winningest goalie in NHL history, recording a 459-310-96 record with the Rangers alongside a .918 save percentage, 2.43 goals-against average, and 64 shutouts.

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