Paul Stastny has retired from the NHL after 17 seasons, the veteran forward confirmed to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

Stastny was an unrestricted free agent this summer and fielded calls from potential suitors but ultimately decided to hang up his skates.

"I didn't put anything out on social media or anything," Stastny said, per LeBrun. "I kind of came into the league quietly, and I'm leaving the league quietly. That's the way I like it."

He added: "The summer got further along, and I got on the ice a few times ... I wouldn't say the spark wasn't there - I still love the game - but I think I was just ready to move forward to the next chapter.

"When you know, you know."

Statsny suited up for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2022-23 and recorded 22 points in 73 games. He was drafted 44th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in 2005 and also had stints with the St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, and Vegas Golden Knights.

The 37-year-old finished his career with 293 goals and 529 assists in 1,145 contests.

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Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy has been suspended four games for an illegal check to the head on Florida Panthers rearguard Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Tuesday.

The hit occurred in Monday's contest. McAvoy was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

Ekman-Larsson was able to stay in the game after the collision. Boston ultimately won the playoff rematch 3-2 in overtime.

McAvoy is off to a strong start to the 2023-24 campaign, as he's registered eight points in nine games while averaging nearly 24 minutes per contest. He occupies the right side of the Bruins' top defensive pairing and has played a key role in the club's 8-0-1 start.

He had been suspended once in his seven-year career prior to Monday's decision, a one-game ban for a hit to the head of then-Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson in the 2019 postseason.

McAvoy is eligible to return to the ice Nov. 11 against the Montreal Canadiens.

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NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league will explore the usage of neck guards following Adam Johnson's death.

"Obviously, something that needs to be looked at," Daly said, per TSN's Pierre LeBrun. "There is no reason we shouldn't be doing everything possible to keep our players safe."

Neck protection is not enforced in the NHL, and very few players, if any, wear them voluntarily. Daly hopes more players will choose to wear them despite having no mandate in place.

Johnson, who played 13 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019, died while playing with the EIHL's Nottingham Panthers on Saturday after his neck was cut by an opponent's skate in a freak accident.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said the organization has mandated neck protection for their AHL and ECHL teams and is exploring options for their NHL players to wear neck protection, at least for practices, as soon as possible, per The Athletic's Rob Rossi and Chris Johnston.

Pittsburgh forward Jeff Carter is among players who are open to experimenting with neck protection immediately.

"Why not?" Carter said. "We do it at every other level of hockey. They have socks and wrist (sleeves) made out of (cut-resistant) material. We should have already been trying it. Shouldn't have taken this long or something like this."

Neck guards are mandatory in youth hockey in Canada, as well as the OHL and QMJHL. However, they're not mandatory in the WHL, NCAA, or USA Hockey.

The Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins are also reportedly pursuing the use of neck protection in some form. The Carolina Hurricanes will also make neck protection available for players to try in practice.

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The great start for the Canucks has everyone talking, including Matt and Blake! They tee up the game versus the Preds, and tell you who’s in and who’s out. Plus, they react to Rick Tocchet’s thoughts on the bottom-six and the PK unit.

John Shannon stops by with his take on Mikheyev’s start to the season, and on the state of the Pacific division overall. Will Calgary sell? Will neckguards become mandatory?  Will the Canucks ever be a part of another stadium/outdoor game? All the hockey news you need, plus a chat with Whitecaps coach Vanni Sartini on his must-win playoff game on Sunday at BC Place. The guys are also going away a bunch of tickets to both the Whitecaps and the Lions playoff games this week, listen for your chance to win! Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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Weird things can happen through three weeks at the start of any NHL season. Considering an entire campaign can go by - thanks to points assigned for regulation ties - without the legitimate value of a team shining through, it shouldn't surprise that October's not a big enough sample size to make sweeping judgments on a team or player.

Let's look at five statistical outliers with a betting implication going forward.

1) Vegas 9-1 with below-average even-strength metrics

There are high expectations for the defending Stanley Cup champions, so a 9-1 record on the moneyline isn't unheard of. The Golden Knights' lone loss came as -300 favorites, and betting on them every game would have earned you six units. The surprise is Vegas has played below average at even strength, controlling 49.48% of the high-danger chances and barely above 50% of the expected goal share (XG%).

2) Colorado converts 3 of 81 high-danger chances at even strength

The 6-0 start for the Avalanche was impressive. However, it's a pretty wild beginning considering Colorado has struggled early to capitalize on its best scoring opportunities after converting even-strength high-danger chances at a 13.5% rate last season. Now clicking 3.7% of the time, the Avalanche's slumping scorers have caught up to them with back-to-back shutout losses. That should turn, and Colorado will be even more dangerous with the puck finding the twine toward a league-average rate.

3) Philadelphia flies in rare air

With a regular season point total of 75.5 in the betting market, the Flyers were rated 27th in the NHL. Through nine games, Philadelphia has a 55.6% even-strength XG%. The four teams above the Flyers (Avalanche, Oilers, Stars, Kings) and the four clubs below them (Maple Leafs, Bruins, Devils, Panthers) were all rated as Stanley Cup contenders. It's early, but Philadelphia appears better than their 4-5 moneyline record suggests.

4) Penguins, Oilers battle for lead in even-strength high-danger chances

For all the concern about the scoring depth on the Penguins, their 100 high-danger chances at even strength are one short of the Oilers' league-leading total. Despite the teams owning an above-average XG% and boasting big names like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin, the clubs are a combined 5-12 on the moneyline. Conversion rates should even out, but both teams could use better goaltending.

5) Sharks are rare blacklisted NHL team

There's usually a price any team can be bet. However, with the Sharks allowing 119 high-danger chances at even strength (by far the most in the league) and a woeful 3-for-72 conversion clip of their own, the team rated the worst in the NHL before the season is somehow even worse than expected. Bettors would be better served leaving San Jose alone when searching for valuable underdogs.

The cheat sheet

The dirty little secret in the betting world is that, while there are no bad bets at the right price, the discovery process of what a good price looks like is hidden.

Each week, we balance market information from regular-season point totals and in-season advanced metrics - with an even-strength focus - to determine the win probability for each team and the moneyline needed to bet on either side. The idea is to remove the cognitive bias of win-loss records, which can be skewed by outliers like special-team results, poor goaltending performances, and other unreliable events.

You can use whatever parameters you like to decide how much of an edge you need to trigger a bet, but here are mine:

• True line favorite of -111 or longer: 1%
• True line between -110 and +110: 2.5%
• True line underdog of +111 or longer: 4%

I also have a 5% win probability consideration for a team playing in the second game of a back-to-back with travel and a 3% consideration for the second leg of a home back-to-back. When it comes to injured players, an estimation is made on the player's impact on their team's win probability.

When the betting markets open up the night before, you can compare those prices with our "price to bet" column to see if you're getting any value with either side's moneyline. There's a possibility that a moneyline moves into a bet-friendly range at some point between the market opening and puck drop.

Matt Russell is the lead betting analyst for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on social media @mrussauthentic.

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The Calgary Flames have paused all contract extension discussions, including those with Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm, amid the club's poor start to the campaign, reports Sportsnet's Eric Francis.

The Flames are 2-6-1 through nine games, placing them 31st in the NHL standings - ahead of only the winless San Jose Sharks. Calgary's minus-15 goal differential is also the second-worst in the league.

The wretched start may not necessarily result in a full rebuild, but Francis noted that a significant re-tooling, which would almost certainly involve trading Hanifin and Lindholm, is a possibility.

Hanifin and Lindholm are both scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the campaign. Hanifin was reportedly expected to be traded during the summer, but a deal never materialized. He said in September he was open to an extension but didn't want to sign over the summer. Lindholm also said in September that he was willing to re-sign.

Each player is in his sixth season with the Flames. They were both acquired in the 2018 trade with the Hurricanes that sent Dougie Hamilton to Carolina. Lindholm, 28, scored a career-high 42 goals in 2021-22 and has developed into a strong two-way center. He's tied for the team lead with six points this season. Hanifin, the No. 5 pick in 2015, leads all Flames blue-liners with four points and ranks second in average ice time (23:20). He's just 26 years old.

The Flames have multiple other pending UFAs who would be highly sought after if the club shifts into fire-sale mode, including defensemen Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov.

Calgary is led by first-year general manager Craig Conroy and first-year head coach Ryan Huska.

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Buffalo Sabres rookie Zach Benson is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, general manager Kevyn Adams announced Tuesday.

Benson has two assists and six penalty minutes in six games. He's played 13:17 per contest.

The Sabres drafted him 13th overall in June. A standout with the Winnipeg Ice, Benson tallied 36 goals and 98 points as a two-way force last season in the WHL.

The injury is an aggravation of a previous ailment the 18-year-old had been dealing with earlier in camp, Adams told The Buffalo News' Lance Lysowski.

Buffalo recalled forward Brandon Biro from the AHL's Rochester Americans on Tuesday. The 25-year-old has six points in five games to begin the season. He scored 51 points in 49 contests last year.

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