The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Robby Fabbri to a three-year extension carrying an average annual value of $4 million, the team announced Monday.

Fabbri has registered eight goals and six assists in 28 games this season while averaging 16:59 per contest. His underlying numbers are a bit of a mixed bag:

Fabbri was chosen 21st overall by the St. Louis Blues at the 2014 NHL Draft. After four injury-riddled years in St. Louis, Detroit acquired him in November 2019 in exchange for forward Jacob de La Rose.

The 25-year-old's current contract carries a $2.95-million cap hit. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The new deal kicks in 2022-23.

Fabbri is now the only player in the Red Wings organization that's signed through at least the 2024-25 campaign.

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The Montreal Canadiens' search for a new general manager has begun, and at least three women are being considered for the position, reports The Athletic's Arpon Basu and Marc Antoine Godin.

A committee has reportedly been formed to conduct the search. It includes owner Geoff Molson, executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, minority owner Michael Andlauer, and former Canadiens GM Bob Gainey.

The group has already put together an extensive list of potential candidates but doesn't appear to be in a rush to make a hire, Basu and Godin add.

Marc Bergevin was fired in November after nearly a decade as general manager. Molson then hired Gorton as VP of hockey operations, and while Gorton only speaks English, Molson insists he will hire a bilingual GM.

A woman has never held a GM position in the NHL. Kim Ng became the first woman to be named general manager in one of North America's four major sports leagues when the Miami Marlins hired her in 2020.

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The Dallas Stars placed goaltender Anton Khudobin on waivers Monday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The Stars entered the season with a logjam in net after adding veteran Braden Holtby during the offseason. With Jake Oettinger playing well and Ben Bishop recently deciding to retire, Khudobin now appears to be the odd man out in Dallas.

Khudobin, 35, has one year left on his contract after this season with a $3.33-million cap hit. He's struggled in the seven games he's appeared in so far in 2021-22, recording an .873 save percentage and 3.73 goals against average.

Oettinger, 22, has a sparkling .951 save percentage and 1.52 goals against average in seven contests, while Holtby seems to have found his game again as he leads the way in Dallas with 13 starts, paired with a .923 save percentage.

Khudobin had a brilliant run with the Stars during the 2020 playoffs, where he led the team to the Stanley Cup Final. He came back down to earth a bit last season, managing a .905 save percentage in 32 contests.

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Maybe the head coach matters? Perhaps not always from an Xs and Os standpoint, but at the very least, cleaning house midway through the season seems to grab players' attention. That appears to be what's happening with the Canucks.

Vancouver opened the season 8-17 on the moneyline, with an even-strength xG share of 47.89% and an even-worse 45.18 HDCF% at five-on-five, fifth-worst in the NHL.

Since bringing in Bruce Boudreau to replace Travis Green, the Canucks are 4-0, with a 51.78 xG% and a 52.17 HDCF% at even strength.

Is there a way to account for that predictively? Honestly, other than blind faith, no, there isn't. If you thought the Canucks were 10% more likely to win these games before they were played, you would have bet them and cashed four times last week. However, the Flyers are 2-2 since letting go of Alain Vigneault, and the Canadiens haven't won since cleaning out their front office. In the end, it's all just educated guessing, but if you want to build in a 10% probability bump for a week the next time a head coach gets whacked, it's hard for me to argue.

The recipe

Before the season, we provided a three-chapter series on how to use the regular-season point-total market to create team ratings, how to interpret home-ice advantage, and then how to use those to create your own moneylines.

I've taken the advanced stats I value most from those games, the market rating for regular-season win-total markets, and last season's advanced stats to rate each team. I've also made adjustments for injuries to key players.

With roughly a third of the season played, we can say goodbye to last season's metrics and are now just using pre-season priors via the regular-season point-total markets (60%) and what the teams have done on the ice this season (40%).

The cheat sheet

The following includes my fair price on the games (true moneyline) and the moneyline price I would need to bet either side. I just need a 1% edge for a favorite if we're getting better than a fair price on the team that's more likely to win. For the underdog, I'll need 4% or better to make it a bet. On games that I have projected near a coin flip, a 2.5% edge is enough to be a worthwhile wager.

This chart is a good reference to determine whether you're truly getting value betting on one side or the other. However, keep in mind that new injuries or lineup issues will naturally arise, or in the case of the Flames this week, games could even be postponed.

Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there’s a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.

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Just a few months ago, Cole Caufield was the stone-cold favorite to win the Calder Trophy.

Fast forward and the 20-year-old winger has netted just once through 21 games and seems more likely to have another stint in the AHL than to finish inside the top 10 in Calder voting.

Let's take a look at the current board and break down how the race is shaping up.

Favorites

Lucas Raymond was one of my dark horses prior to the season. He has lived up to the hype and then some, piling up 10 goals and 14 assists through 28 games while skating on the top line for the surprisingly competent Detroit Red Wings. One of the most impressive things about Raymond has been his efficiency at five-on-five. He's averaging more points per minute in that game state than the likes of Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andrei Svechnikov, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak, among many others.

It hasn't taken long for Trevor Zegras to develop into a human highlight reel at the NHL level. The flashy Anaheim Ducks pivot has picked up 22 points over 28 games and has served as the primary play-driver and facilitator on one of the league's more underrated lines with Rickard Rakell and Sonny Milano. He'll be in the mix until the end.

Moritz Seider is going to be a franchise defenseman. You can argue he already is for the Red Wings. He's on pace for 55 points this season and yet his play without the puck might be more impressive than his offensive ability. He has logged more than 22 minutes per night - often against top competition - and has shown the ability to slow down elite players with his fantastic positioning, stickwork, and anticipation. Seider is certainly carrying the heaviest workload in this rookie class, and it sure looks like he can handle it.

Wild card

Dawson Mercer, like the New Jersey Devils as a whole, has slowed a bit as of late. However, he remains within striking distance of entering the race. Mercer sits two goals back of the team lead and owns a plus-7 goal differential at five-on-five while playing for a team that is minus-4 on the year. Put another way, the Devils are -11 when Mercer isn't on the ice. If New Jersey's power play can get going and help Mercer prop up his offensive output a little bit, he could get back into the mix.

Long shot

Anton Lundell plays for the powerhouse Florida Panthers so he's not asked to do as much as the aforementioned rookies. Even so, he deserves plenty of credit for what he has accomplished thus far. At five-on-five, the Panthers have controlled 52.50% of the shot attempts with Lundell on the ice. They've fared even better when looking at goals (58.33%). He has helped Florida maintain an edge when its depth lines are on the ice and is already the team's ace on the penalty kill. Lundell has played 65 minutes shorthanded; Jonathan Huberdeau (55) is the only other forward on the roster who has logged more than 40 minutes. Lundell likely needs Aleksander Barkov or Sam Bennett to miss considerable time in order to really push - he won't put up enough points otherwise - but his two-way prowess could place him in the conversation.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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The Calgary Flames have postponed at least their next three games after six players and one staff member entered the NHL's COVID-19 protocol over the last 24 hours, the league announced Monday.

Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Brad Richardson, Adam Ruzicka, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov are the players that were put on the COVID-19 list, the team announced.

The Flames were scheduled to play on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night and then versus the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Calgary was concerned about border issues as its players may have had to face lengthy quarantine requirements upon returning to Canada if they tested positive, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Calgary's home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night has also been postponed.

The Flames are the third NHL team to have games postponed due to COVID-19, following the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators, and eight games in total have had to be rescheduled.

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"When Goalies Were Weird" is a six-part narrative podcast about 1990s-era NHL goalies. In the '90s, the position was undergoing a revolution in style and substance, as the butterfly goalie replaced the stand-up while advancements in equipment technology helped usher in a modernized, more athletic playing style. The old guard's quirks and the new guard's innovations melded together to produce an era of pure chaos in the blue paint.

Eddie "The Eagle" Belfour was the dogged perfectionist, a tireless competitor whose intensity was unrivaled. Belfour, who played for five NHL teams, most notably Chicago, Dallas, and Toronto, meticulously prepared for games. He was a warrior on the ice and a wild card off it. This is his story.

To hear the full Ed Belfour episode, click here to listen on:

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(Note: This excerpt has been lightly edited for clarity and length.)

Determination was one of Ed Belfour's staples.

Coaches never had to worry about his fitness levels or daily commitment.

The Dallas Stars equipment staff even transported a piece of luggage across the continent called the "Eddie Trunk." Inside were stretching straps, bungee cords, free weights - they packed whatever the goalie needed to be his best.

Belfour, who played 60 or more games in a single NHL season nine times, gravitated towards anything that might aid his conditioning or flexibility, such as pilates and yoga, two workouts that had yet to fully infiltrate pro sports.

Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Mike Hudson vividly recalls Belfour diligently going about his business - fueling his body with nutrients, for example - in an era in which some guys were still smoking cigarettes.

"I'll never forget one time in the minors, he thought that if he could train for one or two years that he could become the boxing champion of the world," Hudson said.

"He really did think that, if he just had the time - you know, he needed to get in shape and learn and do it all - he could become the champion of the world at his weight, or whatever weight he was going to be," Hudson added. "I laughed at him when he said it, but after playing with him for a number of years, you start thinking, 'Well, it could be true ...'"

Between the pipes, Belfour started off in a low and wide stance. He relied on his boundless energy and ability to read the play. He was excellent at playing the angles and would also challenge shooters to shoot for his five-hole but snap it shut in a millisecond.

As a youngster, he had admired Tony Esposito, a pioneer of the butterfly, and the style eventually appeared in his game in the form of what was labeled a "half-butterfly."

But Belfour's calling card wasn't anything technical. It was instead his next-level competitiveness, which ex-Toronto Maple Leafs goalie coach Steve McKichan witnessed on more than a handful of occasions.

Case in point, one morning during the 2004-05 lockout, Belfour decided to join McKichan's dryland training group near London, Ontario, for a 45-minute race around the track behind the arena. The group was mostly elite 14- and 15-year-old athletes, plus Belfour, who was 40.

You can probably guess who took the race as a legitimate challenge.

"About five minutes left to go, he's getting beat by this kid named Michael McCarthy," McKichan said. "Ed's an ugly man, as you know, and he got about 12% uglier and caught this little bugger with about 10 meters to go and beat him. In a meaningless race, with nothing on the line, with his Hall of Fame credentials already secured.

"He stumbles over to me, pukes on the ground near my shoes. He's got puke hanging out of his mouth, and he looks up at me with that soft-spoken voice he has. He goes, 'That kid will never beat me.' And he's brought that story up every other phone call I have with him. He goes, 'What's that Michael McCarthy doing? Do you remember me kicking his ass?'

"So, that right there tells you all you need to know about him: He has to kick your ass in something - for a Stanley Cup or something meaningless - and he remembers it, and it's burned in his brain that he beat you."

To hear the full Ed Belfour episode, click here to listen on:

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
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And be sure to follow the podcast to check out all six episodes of "When Goalies Were Weird."

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