The Anaheim Ducks have opened contract negotiations with pending unrestricted free-agent defenseman Hampus Lindholm.

"One of the first things that (general manager) Pat Verbeek ... has done, according to our sources, is reach out to Lindholm's camp led by agent Claude Lemieux and start the process of seeing if there's enough common ground to sign an extension before the trade deadline to remove Hampus Lindholm from the trade market," TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading."

Lindholm is in the final season of a six-year pact he inked with the Ducks in the fall of 2016 that carries a cap hit of approximately $5.2 million, according to CapFriendly.

It's unclear whether Anaheim will be sellers ahead of the March 21 deadline, but the 28-year-old would be among the most coveted rental blue-liners if he's available.

The Swedish rearguard is a fixture on the Ducks' back end, averaging 22:46 of ice time this campaign while collecting 20 points in 50 games entering Tuesday's action.

Anaheim also has decisions to make on pending UFA forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell, among others. The club came into Tuesday night's slate sitting fifth in the Pacific Division in both points and point percentage.

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Montreal Canadiens interim head coach Martin St. Louis has noticed his club exuding an important trait lately.

"Confidence. I think to be successful as a team in this league, and as an individual, I think you need some swagger, and I think we're building a lot of swagger right now," St. Louis told Sportsnet's Eric Engels after a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.

"Swagger is not cockiness or arrogance; it's just believing in yourself and feeling good about yourself," the bench boss clarified. "And I think we have that."

The Canadiens jumped out to a 5-0 lead against the Maple Leafs before cruising to their third consecutive victory and their second in as many days. Montreal is 3-3-0 since firing Dominique Ducharme and replacing him with St. Louis on Feb. 9.

The Habs, who remain the NHL's worst team by both points and point percentage, have begun to turn things around since the coaching change.

Cole Caufield, Jeff Petry, and Josh Anderson have all come alive offensively. Caufield, the preseason Calder Trophy favorite who struggled mightily for most of the campaign, has scored five goals in the six games under his new head coach.

Petry, the typically steady defenseman who's in the midst of a disappointing campaign, has produced two goals and three assists in the last four contests. Anderson, who the Canadiens signed to a hefty contract after acquiring him in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets for Max Domi, has collected three goals and an assist in the last two games, including two markers and a helper Monday.

Montreal has the 30th-ranked expected goals for percentage at five-on-five in the NHL this season, but it's been the 23rd-best team in that regard since St. Louis took over, according to Natural Stat Trick. The Habs sit 29th in scoring chances for percentage, but they're 22nd during the new coach's tenure.

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The Arizona Coyotes and Toronto Maple Leafs made their second trade with each other in three days, with the Coyotes sending goaltender Carter Hutton to the Leafs for future considerations Monday night.

Hutton cleared waivers earlier Monday, making him eligible to be assigned to the AHL.

More to come.

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Jean-Francois Berube will play an NHL game for the first time in nearly four years when he occupies the crease Sunday.

Berube confirmed he's starting for the Columbus Blue Jackets against the Buffalo Sabres, according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda.

The goaltender got the nod because the Blue Jackets suddenly have three injured netminders. Elvis Merzlikins got hurt in Saturday's practice, while Joonas Korpisalo and Daniil Tarasov were already dealing with ailments of their own.

Berube last suited up in the NHL as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks on April 6, 2018. He played 34 contests with the Blackhawks and New York Islanders over three seasons beginning in 2015-16.

The 30-year-old has played with four AHL clubs since his previous NHL appearance. He's 4-9-4 with an .891 save percentage across 27 games with the Cleveland Monsters - Columbus' affiliate - in 2021-22. Berube is in his second stint with the Monsters after playing 43 contests with them in 2018-19.

Berube isn't the only goalie returning to the NHL on Sunday after a lengthy absence. Andrew Hammond is also making his first start in the league since 2018 for the Montreal Canadiens against the Islanders.

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Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi will miss approximately the next four weeks with a lower-body injury, head coach Jay Woodcroft said Friday.

Puljujarvi was hurt during a 7-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.

The 23-year-old tied the game 7:26 into the second period with his 12th goal of the season before exiting just over three minutes later.

Puljujarvi was in the midst of a career campaign in his fifth year with Edmonton. The Swedish-born winger produced 16 assists to go along with his dozen markers through 46 games. He's already set a new personal best in the NHL with 28 points this season, and he's three goals shy of tying his career-high in that regard.

The Oilers' fourth overall pick in 2016 has frequently skated alongside Connor McDavid on the team's top line in 2021-22.

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The Montreal Canadiens are bringing in another Tampa Bay Lightning icon less than two weeks after naming Martin St. Louis head coach.

Vincent Lecavalier is the club's new special advisor to hockey operations, while Nick Bobrov will serve as co-director of amateur scouting along with Martin Lapointe, who already occupied that role in addition to director of player personnel.

Lecavalier excelled over a 17-year playing career spent primarily with the Lightning. The Quebec-born forward notched 421 goals and 528 assists over 1,212 games, helping Tampa Bay win the Stanley Cup in 2004. Lecavalier won the "Rocket" Richard Trophy three years later after posting a career-high 52 goals in 2006-07.

The 41-year-old hung up his skates in 2016, and the Lightning retired his number in 2018. Lecavalier remains Tampa Bay's all-time leader in games played, ranks second in both goals and assists, and sits third in points in franchise history. He captained the team from 2008-13 after doing so in 2000-01 and sharing the "C" in the previous campaign.

Lecavalier and St. Louis were Lightning teammates for 12 seasons. The newer member of the Canadiens was a longtime client of Kent Hughes, the ex-agent who Montreal recently hired as general manager.

Bobrov was the New York Rangers' director of European scouting from 2015-21 and served the same role with the Boston Bruins from 2001-06. Canadiens executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton worked with Bobrov in both of the latter's previous stops. Montreal hired Gorton in November on the same day as former GM Marc Bergevin's firing.

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Marc-Andre Fleury's immediate future is a significant storyline ahead of the NHL trade deadline, but he shed some light on his long-term thinking Wednesday.

"I don't have that much left. So (I'll) enjoy this season and hopefully next season again and then after that, we'll see," the Chicago Blackhawks goaltender said, according to NBC Sports Chicago's Charlie Roumeliotis.

The 37-year-old pending unrestricted free agent would be one of the biggest names available if he consents to being dealt ahead of the frenzy on March 21. Fleury made it clear Wednesday he hasn't decided on his plans in that regard, but he added he'd prefer to play for a contender if it comes to that.

Fleury was initially reluctant to play for the Blackhawks because he didn't want to move his family to an unfamiliar city and needed time to determine his future after the Vegas Golden Knights traded him in July. But after spending about half a season with his new team, the veteran netminder said he'd be open to re-signing with Chicago.

Fleury is in the final season of a three-year contract he signed with the Golden Knights. It was reported Tuesday that Vegas had shown interest in a reunion, but Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon denied that shortly thereafter.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion puck-stopper has a modified no-trade clause allowing him to submit a list of 10 teams to which he can't be dealt, according to CapFriendly.

Fleury is 16-17-3 with a .910 save percentage for a Blackhawks squad that entered Wednesday's action sitting second-last in the Central Division.

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The Winnipeg Jets will once again operate at 100% capacity when they host the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night.

Manitoba's public health orders have restricted capacity at Canada Life Centre for much of the season. The Jets weren't allowed to have more than 250 fans in attendance until after Feb. 1.

The club reportedly explored alternative sites for home games in January - including asking season-ticket holders if they would approve a temporary move to SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon - before deciding to maintain the status quo.

Other Canadian NHL teams will also soon be permitted to welcome more fans into their facilities - though not as quickly - due to provincial governments easing restrictions.

The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs will both be able to operate at 50% capacity as of Feb. 21 and fully by March 14.

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The Colorado Avalanche are getting Nathan MacKinnon back for Sunday's game against the Dallas Stars, head coach Jared Bednar said Saturday, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh.

The superstar forward has missed Colorado's last four contests with a concussion and a facial fracture.

MacKinnon was hurt during a win over the Boston Bruins on Jan. 26. Bednar later said the center would miss the team's next three games.

The 26-year-old also had to forgo the All-Star Game, for which he was voted Central Division captain.

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The Minnesota Wild have traded goaltender Andrew Hammond to the Montreal Canadiens for forward Brandon Baddock, the clubs announced Saturday.

Hammond has spent the season with the Iowa Wild, Minnesota's AHL affiliate. The 34-year-old has gone 6-2-3 with a .908 save percentage over 11 games in 2021-22. He hasn't played in the NHL since suiting up for one tilt with the Colorado Avalanche in 2017-18.

Baddock has played all but one game in the AHL during this campaign, collecting three goals and four assists across 33 contests with the Laval Rocket. He was a sixth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2014. The Canadiens signed him in October 2020.

The 26-year-old's lone NHL appearance on Dec. 30 marked his league debut, but Montreal placed him in COVID-19 protocol one day later and returned him to the AHL after he came off the list in January.

The Canadiens were in need of goaltending depth, so Hammond could soon see NHL action. Sam Montembeault has been shouldering the load in the absence of Carey Price and Jake Allen, but he's playing through a wrist injury that may require surgery, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels.

Rocket netminder Michael McNiven is also banged up, and the Canadiens had no other goalie in the organization on an NHL contract before making Saturday's deal.

Montreal's weekend schedule also complicated matters. The team has a Saturday matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets and a meeting with the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.

Hammond is on a two-way pact through the end of this campaign. The veteran burst onto the scene with the Ottawa Senators in 2014-15, going 20-1-2 with a .941 save percentage and earning the nickname "the Hamburglar."

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