The NHL will feature advertisements on jerseys starting in the 2022-23 season, ESPN's Greg Wyshynski confirmed Sportico's initial report.

The league surveyed teams and found that the majority were in favor of implementing ads. The move was approved through a formal vote with the board of governors, Wyshynski added.

The ad will need to fit a rectangle that is 3 inches by 3.5 inches, which is slightly larger than the patches NBA teams added to their jerseys in 2017.

Last season, the league allowed teams to place advertisements on the side of players' helmets. The move allowed clubs to recoup a chunk of money that was lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advertisements on jerseys are widespread across the world in most sports but have not generally been implemented in North America. The NBA, WNBA, and MLS have all embraced the idea in recent years.

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The WHL will require all players, hockey operations staff, and league personnel to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to the 2021-22 season, the league announced Monday.

All three of the CHL's umbrella leagues will enforce the policy, as the OHL and QMJHL recently made announcements of their own.

"The health and safety of our players and staff continues to be the number one priority for the WHL," said WHL commissioner Ron Robison. "The policy is designed to further protect our players and staff in the WHL from the potential risk of exposure to COVID-19."

"With travel restrictions currently in place with the Canada-U.S. border as well as the province of Manitoba, it is important all players and staff are fully vaccinated in order to be eligible to play a full season in the WHL."

The WHL played an abbreviated 24-game season in 2021 due to the pandemic, and teams only played within their respective divisions. The QMJHL operated under a similar format, while the OHL canceled its campaign entirely.

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The possibility of CSKA Moscow poaching reigning Calder Trophy winner and restricted free agent Kirill Kaprizov doesn't faze Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin.

"It's not my decision. It doesn't bother me at all," Guerin said Monday, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo.

"I think things are going well enough," he continued. "We still have lots of time, there's no rush or panic. I'm in constant communication with Kirill's agent. We continue to move forward."

Kaprizov's former KHL club has reportedly offered the dynamic winger a contract to return to his native country this coming season. Meanwhile, the 24-year-old and the Wild continue to negotiate a new NHL deal.

The Wild currently hold just over $13 million in cap space, according to Cap Friendly. Kaprizov is the club's final RFA this offseason after Kevin Fiala signed his new deal on Monday.

Kaprizov was the Wild's fifth-round pick in 2015, and last season was his first in the NHL after playing five years in Russia. He made an immediate impact in Minnesota, leading the team with 51 points over 55 games to help the Wild reach the playoffs.

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The Minnesota Wild and Kevin Fiala have settled on a one-year contract worth $5.1 million, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Fiala had filed for arbitration. He was seeking $6.25 million while the team came in at $4 million, according to Friedman. Fiala will again be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent at the conclusion of the contract, per CapFriendly.

The 25-year-old recorded 20 goals and 20 assists in 50 games this past season. He had a career-best campaign during 2019-20, scoring 23 goals and adding 31 assists in 64 contests.

Minnesota acquired Fiala from the Nashville Predators at the 2019 trade deadline. The former 2014 11th overall pick has appeared in 337 career games while scoring 91 goals and adding 107 assists.

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The Nashville Predators re-signed goaltender Juuse Saros to a four-year contract with an average annual value of $5 million, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The 26-year-old was a restricted free agent and had filed for arbitration.

Saros has played with the Predators for the last five seasons since being selected by the club in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Draft. For the majority of his career, he served as the backup to Pekka Rinne but took over as the primary starter over the past two campaigns.

Last season, Saros put together a 21-11-1 record alongside an impressive .927 save percentage and 2.28 goals-against average. He ranked first among all goalies with 24.64 goals saved above average at five-on-five and ranked fourth with a .868 high-danger save percentage.

The Finland native has appeared in 161 career games, managing a .920 save percentage and 2.51 goals-against average. He's projected to be the team's starting goalie for the foreseeable future after Rinne announced his retirement early in the offseason and with top prospect Yaroslav Askarov working his way up to the NHL.

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The Detroit Red Wings and forward Adam Erne have settled on a two-year deal with an average annual value of $2.1 million, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Erne filed for arbitration after posting 11 goals and nine assists over 45 games for the Red Wings last season, the best output of his five-year NHL career.

The news comes just five days after the Red Wings settled with electric forward Jakub Vrana on a three-year deal with an average annual value of over $5 million.

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