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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Fully vaccinated Winnipeg Jets fans will be able to pack the Canada Life Centre during the 2021-22 season, the club owners announced in a statement Wednesday.

True North Sports and Entertainment outlined that they will be selling to full capacity and that all venue employees, event staff, and guests will be required to provide proof of full vaccination.

"The majority of our season seat holders have shared with us that having a proof of COVID-19 vaccination policy ... is important to them," the company wrote.

Attendees will also be required to wear masks.

A limited number of Winnipeg healthcare workers were allowed to attend games during the 2020-21 playoffs. The Jets were unceremoniously swept by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round.

The ownership groups of the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks announced vaccinations will be mandatory for full-time employees.

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For the first time in five NHL seasons, Keith Yandle won't be suiting up for the Florida Panthers next year, and the veteran is excited to write his next chapter.

The defenseman was bought out by Florida earlier this offseason and signed a one-year, $900,000 deal with the Philadelphia Flyers almost two weeks later. A major selling point to draw the ironman to Philly was young netminder Carter Hart.

"He's a stud," Yandle recently said, according to Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. "He's a guy when you think of young goalies in the league, you think of him - a guy that I'm definitely excited to play in front of."

That's high praise from the 34-year-old Yandle, who has played alongside iconic goaltenders such as Henrik Lundqvist and Roberto Luongo.

"You hear that he carries himself like he's a 10-year vet," Yandle continued. "Definitely one of those guys that when you look at signing with the Flyers, you see how good of a goalie they have - that's a big thing."

For Hart's part, he's excited to turn the page on a rough season and recently signed a three-year, $11.9-million pact with the Flyers.

"The past is in the past," Hart told reporters after signing the deal Monday. "We're going to have a great locker room. Just looking forward to getting started."

Hart referred to the Flyers' new additions as "beauties" and said it'll be "fun" to play behind a new blue line that includes the likes of Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Yandle.

General manager Chuck Fletcher's offseason acquisitions have impressed Yandle as well.

"I think seeing what Chuck's done even before free agency and making moves, making big moves, just helping the team get better - I thought it was a no-brainer for me," Yandle said. "It just seems like it's a win-now situation, and that's something that I'm all about. I thought it was the best fit."

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Vancouver Canucks restricted free-agent forward Elias Pettersson remains confident a deal is going to get done with the club that drafted him.

Pettersson weighed in on the discussions between his camp and the team with a Swedish news outlet on Wednesday.

"My agents do all the talking (with the Canucks), and then they inform me about what’s going on. Right now, we're not in an agreement, but I'm not worried that we're not going to solve it eventually," Pettersson said, as translated by Hockeysverige's Uffe Bodin. "Both parties need to be happy in order to find a solution, but I'm not worried about that."

The 22-year-old was limited to just 26 games this past season due to an upper-body injury and registered 21 points. A two-time All-Star already in his young career, Pettersson put up 66 points in his previous two seasons in Vancouver.

"I want to stay there (Vancouver) now, but I also want to play for a team that's winning and has the chance to go far into the playoffs every year. I feel like we've got a chance to do that next year," he said. "If we have that chance when my next deal expires … I don’t know. I just wanna play where there's a chance of winning."

Pettersson has made the playoffs once with the Canucks so far.

Vancouver currently has a little over $13 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly. They still have to pay fellow restricted free agents Jason Dickinson and defensive dynamo Quinn Hughes.

The Swedish talent is considered a top offer sheet target this offseason.

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Chicago Blackhawks franchise icon Tony Esposito died Tuesday at the age of 78 following a short battle with pancreatic cancer, the team announced.

The Hall of Fame goaltender played all but one of his 16 NHL seasons in the Windy City, and he remains the all-time franchise leader in shutouts (74) and career wins (418). Three Vezina Trophies (1970, 1972, 1974) and one Stanley Cup victory with the Montreal Canadiens in 1969 punctuated Esposito's decorated career. The Blackhawks retired his No. 35 in 1988.

"Tony was one of the most important and popular figures in the history of the franchise as we near its 100th anniversary," team chairman Rocky Wirtz said in a statement. "He was tireless, reliable, and a great teammate."

Esposito authored a career .906 save percentage and was awarded the Calder Trophy in 1970 for his stellar rookie campaign. Esposito's 423-306-151 career record ranks 10th in NHL history.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also mourned the death of the "fierce competitor."

"It was Esposito’s style, charisma, and heart that endeared him most to hockey fans not only in Chicago but across the NHL," Bettman wrote in a statement. "The hockey world will miss him greatly. The NHL family extends its deepest sympathies to his wife, Marilyn, sons Mark (Kim) and Jason, and grandchildren Lauren and Kamryn."

Esposito retired from the league in 1984 and was enshrined into the Hall of Fame just four years later. The brother of star NHL forward Phil Esposito, "Tony O" had been working as Chicago's team ambassador since March 2008.

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Newly hired goaltending coach Dusty Imoo will no longer be joining the Toronto Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate, president Brendan Shanahan announced Tuesday in a statement.

The Toronto Marlies hired Imoo on Sunday and promoted former goalie coach Jon Elkin into a goaltender evaluation and development role.

"We made a mistake by not thoroughly following our organizational protocols when considering this candidate for the position of goaltending coach for the Toronto Marlies," Shanahan wrote.

Fans expressed concern about the hiring on social media, pointing to Imoo's liked Tweets which included anti-vaccination and election conspiracy comments. Soon after, Imoo deactivated his Twitter account.

Imoo spent time on the Los Angeles Kings' goaltending development staff and is largely credited with helping Leafs netminder Jack Campbell get his career back on track.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed restricted free-agent forward Zach Aston-Reese to a one-year deal worth $1.725 million, the team announced Thursday.

Aston-Reese had filed for arbitration.

The 26-year-old had offseason shoulder surgery last August and made his 2020-21 season debut in February. He went on to post a career-high nine goals in 45 games, while Pittsburgh scored 59% of the goals with Aston-Reese on the ice at five-on-five. His 84 minutes of shorthanded ice time ranked second among all Penguins forwards.

"Zach is a versatile forward that brings energy and edge to our lineup," Penguins general manager Ron Hextall said. "He is a responsible, two-way player, and we're glad we were able to re-sign him."

Aston-Reese has 51 points in 161 NHL games, all with Pittsburgh.

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Like Montreal Canadiens fans, Carey Price’s wife Angela is certainly relieved all the expansion draft drama is over.

Angela detailed the experience on her lifestyle blog, "By Angela."

"With your world dependent on what seemed like a game of chicken was bizarre and something I hope to never experience again," she wrote.

Carey waived his no-movement clause ahead of the expansion draft, and the Habs created quite a stir when they left their franchise icon unprotected and free for the Seattle Kraken's picking - a decision the organization made so it could protect backup netminder Jake Allen instead.

"Really, there was no other option," Angela wrote. "I was not stressed about it at all - because of Carey’s contract, his age, and his injury, Seattle wouldn’t even give him a second glance ... or so we thought."

Then, the rumor mill started churning, and Angela "spent the next couple of days living on Twitter."

"It definitely got to a point where I thought we were for sure headed to Seattle, so I let myself start mentally preparing for it and even talking about it. Just in case it did happen," she wrote.

Of course, seeing as the Kraken opted to select defenseman Cale Fleury from Montreal instead, Carey will be suiting up for Montreal once again next campaign.

"Our heart, my heart is with the Canadiens organization," Angela wrote, adding that she "hated" the way the news of Carey's choice to waive his no-movement clause broke before the news of his injury.

"His injury was the entire reason we had lifted his no-trade and he was left unprotected," she said. "It hurt my heart to read that people thought we wanted out of Montreal. I was so thankful when it came out the next day that Carey was going to need surgery, but at the same time Carey’s agent was calling to say that Seattle didn’t seem too concerned about his injury and him being picked up could really happen."

Carey received knee surgery on July 23, and he's expected to be ready for the start of the regular season in October.

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The Minnesota Wild's Kevin Fiala and Philadelphia Flyers' Travis Sanheim are headed to salary arbitration, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Neither Fiala nor Sanheim were among the restricted free agents who filed for player-elected arbitration by Sunday's deadline, but their respective teams decided to move forward with the process.

The deadline for team-elected salary arbitration notification was at 5 p.m. ET Monday. Hearings are set to be held from Aug. 11-26.

Both Fiala and Sanheim can continue to work toward a deal in the meantime.

Fiala, 25, registered 40 points across 50 games this past campaign. He just wrapped up a two-year deal that carried an average annual value of $3 million.

Sanheim put up 15 points in 55 contests during the 2020-21 season. The 25-year-old defenseman finished a two-year pact with a cap hit of $3.25 million.

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The Colorado Avalanche signed defenseman Ryan Murray to a one-year deal worth $2 million, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.

Murray accrued 14 points in 48 games while averaging 18:36 of ice time per contest with the New Jersey Devils during the 2020-21 campaign. The 27-year-old has eclipsed the 20-point mark three times over his career.

The 6-foot-1 left-handed shot is projected to slot into the Avalanche's middle pairing. He's joining a strong, defensively minded team in Colorado; the President Trophy-winning Avs led the league in shot attempts for (58%) and expected goals for (60%) while giving up the fewest high-danger goals (55) at all strengths last season.

Murray was drafted second overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2012 and has 124 points in 395 career games.

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