It was inevitable, but the Toronto Maple Leafs officially cut ties with Jonathan Bernier on Friday, shipping the 27-year-old goaltender to the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional 2017 draft pick, thus ending a tumultuous three-year run in hockey's most critical market.

In June 2013, coming off their only glimpse of success in 10 seasons, Toronto acquired Bernier to fill an apparent need, though it was thought by many to be under control with James Reimer at the helm.

Regardless, former general manager Dave Nonis and company got their man, a backup netminder from the Los Angeles Kings, who they believed was poised to take the reins as an NHL starter.

Bernier's tenure with the Maple Leafs was never a perfect match, as many fans clung to Reimer, the hardworking underdog story that almost single-handedly carried Toronto to the second round of the 2013 playoffs.

Still, with Toronto's perennial woes seemingly in the rearview mirror, Bernier came in and made an impact, starting with a preseason brawl against then Buffalo Sabres keeper Ryan Miller.

Bernier ultimately won the starting gig in his first year as a Maple Leaf, starting 55 games and succeeding under Randy Carlyle, but the final chapter of his first season was a familiar one for Toronto - a late season meltdown knocked the Leafs from a playoff spot.

As the seasons wore on, the criticisms piled up. Bernier - and Reimer for that matter - became scapegoats for a team truly inept when it came to defensive play.

Bernier was put into the spotlight from Day 1, and the once-high expectations crashed suddenly. The constant pressure turned to nerves, and it translated to shaky on-ice results.

Over his time with Toronto, Bernier accumulated a 59-68-17 record with a .915 save percentage and a 2.80 goals against average. Decent numbers for a goalie on a team that never finished better than sixth in the division during his time.

By the same token, any capabilities Bernier possessed as Toronto's goalie were overshadowed by his blunders in the crease, and frankly, there were a lot of them. Not to mention, mistaking Nelson Mandela for an athlete didn't help his reputation.

Last season, by many accounts, was Bernier's worst. Unlike Carlyle and Peter Horachek before him, Bernier never seemed to be the go-to-guy for new head coach Mike Babcock. His confidence disappeared, and his stats crumbled, so much so that he was sent to the Toronto Marlies for a conditioning stint.

When Toronto acquired Frederik Andersen from the Ducks in June, the writing was on the wall for Bernier, concluding Nonis' experiment from 2013.

Considering the drama that's swirled around the Maple Leafs over the past three seasons, it's tough to fairly evaluate Bernier's time in Toronto, but nevertheless, it's safe to say it was never a match made in heaven.

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Pavel Datsyuk has chosen his Russian destination.

The former NHL forward has agreed to a contract with the KHL's SKA St. Petersburg, the club announced Friday.

It's a two-year pact worth about $3.9 million per season, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

The Russian squad was long rumored to be Datsyuk's preferred team. Last month, the longtime member of the Detroit Red Wings announced plans to return to Russia.

Datsyuk's agent, Dan Milstein, said earlier this week that his client had "unfinished business" and wanted to play two more seasons so he could help Russia win gold at the 2018 Olympic Games.

The final year of his NHL contract remained on the books, so the Red Wings traded it to the Arizona Coyotes at the draft, retaining none of the $7.5-million cap hit.

Datsyuk notched 314 goals and 918 points in 953 games for the Red Wings over 14 seasons. He led Detroit to Stanley Cup championships in 2002 and 2008, won the Lady Byng Trophy four times, and took home the Frank J. Selke Trophy three times.

He'll turn 38 on July 20.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded goaltender Jonathan Bernier to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a conditional pick in the 2017 draft.

In June, the teams also constructed a trade that sent goalie Frederik Andersen to the Leafs at the price of the 30th overall pick in this year's draft.

With Andersen signed and declared the new starter in Toronto, Bernier was on the outside looking in after three seasons with the club.

After a strong first season in Toronto, Bernier, acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in 2013, struggled as the Leafs starter, often sharing the net with James Reimer.

The 27-year-old endured a trying campaign in 2015-16, one that saw him sent down to the AHL for a four-game conditioning stint.

All told, Bernier wraps up his stint in Toronto with a 59-68-17 record, posting a .915 save percentage with a 2.80 goals against average.

In Anaheim, he'll serve as a backup to John Gibson.

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The worst contracts are usually handed out at this time of year.

With teams tossing money around freely as the free-agent market opened, we figured it was a good time to take a dive into some of the worst contracts in the NHL.

So without further ado, here's the 2016-17 bad contracts team:

Forwards

Notes:

• Moulson's signed for another three years at $5 million per. He scored only eight times last season, but even more alarmingly, he averaged under 12 minutes of ice time.
• To his credit, Zajac followed up a career-worst 28-point 2014-15 season with 42 points in 2015-16, but he's 31 and signed through 2021 at a cap hit of $5.75 million. It's doubtful he hits the 50-point mark in his career again.
• That the Toronto Maple Leafs were able to get out from the horrific Clarkson contract is almost unfair. They deserved it. Four more years at $5.25 million, with a full no-movement clause. Courage, Columbus.
• Gaborik and Brown are costing the Los Angeles Kings $10.75 million against the cap for the next five years. Gaborik's 34 and Brown's 31, and they scored a combined 23 goals last season.
• The Florida Panthers have made excellent decision after excellent decision and put together a quality division-winning roster. The Bolland signing, though, was a mistake. That's life. Three more years at $5 million.
• Kane makes the club because $5.25 million should get you more than 20 goals and 35 points. On top of him being seemingly unable to reach his potential on the ice, he has off-ice troubles, which are arguably more concerning. He's an unrestricted free agent in July 2018.
• Grabovski's vastly overpaid at $5 million per. Two more years.
• Lupul is the highest-paid forward on the Maple Leafs. With two more seasons at $5.25 million left on his deal, Lou Lamoriello will try to make him disappear.
• At this point, even Bickell knows his contract is terrible. Only one more year left on it, though.
• Sutter isn't worth $4.375 million. Period. While we won't blame him for being injured last season, he's hit the 40-point mark in his career only once. Sure, he's a responsible two-way player who can contribute on the penalty kill, but after what Nick Bonino did in the playoffs, Sutter's contract - he's signed through 2021 - looks even worse. Over his last four seasons, Sutter has a 45.8 percent Corsi For rating. There's more: a full no-trade clause through 2019, and a modified one (he can submit a list of 15 teams he won't accept a trade to) after that over the last two years of the deal.
• Callahan's eating $5.8 million in valuable cap space for the Tampa Bay Lightning and his production (10 goals and 28 points in 73 games) leaves much to be desired. The 31-year-old has four years left on his deal, a no-move clause, and a limited no-trade clause in the final two years.
• Foligno, Staal, and Helm round out the club for depth purposes. Foligno cashed in on a career year, and has a no-move. Staal, while serviceable, is overpaid at $6 million against the cap for another seven seasons, and the Helm contract - $3.85 million for the next five seasons for a guy with a career high of 33 points - simply doesn't make a lot of sense.

Defensemen

Notes:

• Phaneuf is the seventh-highest paid defenseman in the league, signed through 2021 at $7 million against the cap, with a no-move. Toronto moving his deal without eating any salary was a massive coup.
• Bogosian's locked up through 2020 at over $5 million against the cap. The production isn't there, and the puck's in the Sabres' end when he's on the ice. No bueno.
• Sekera costs $5.5 million against the cap through 2021, with a no-move through 2018, and a modified no-trade clause in the final two years of the deal. Good one, Edmonton.
• Girardi, 32, posted a horrific 41.7 percent Corsi For rating last season. Four more campaigns at $5.5 million against the cap with a no-move. Yikes.
• MacDonald is taking up $5 million of the Flyers' cap for another four seasons. He played more games in the AHL than the NHL last season, which says it all.
• Greene's 43.7 percent Corsi For rating in 2015-16 was, well, not good. He'll be 34 in October and has four more seasons at $5 million against the cap left on his deal.
• Orpik and Ericsson are in the press box, and paid handsomely to be there. Orpik will be 36 in September and has three seasons left on his deal with a cap hit of $5.5 million. Ericsson, 32, accounts for $4.25 million against the Red Wings' cap for the next four seasons.

Goalies

Notes:

• Lehtonen's finished the past two seasons with .906 and .903 save percentages, respectively. He'll be 33 in November and is making $5.9 million against the cap for the next two campaigns. There's a reason why Dallas Stars fans are desperate for Ben Bishop.
• Howard's a $5-million backup and signed for the next three years.
• Bobrovsky has the second-highest cap hit among all NHL goalies at $7.425 million. He had a .918 save percentage in an injury-shortened 2014-15, and played even fewer games in 2015-16, posting a ghastly .906 save percentage. He's locked up through 2019 and like seemingly everyone else with a long-term deal on the Blue Jackets, he's got a no-movement clause.

- Salary information courtesy General Fanager

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Jimmy Vesey's representative said they were satisfied after their sit-down with the Buffalo Sabres.

"I felt the first meeting with the Sabres went quite well and was certainly informative," Peter Fish wrote in an email to WGR 550's Howard Simon. "Jimmy was very comfortable with (general manager) Tim Murray and (head) coach (Dan) Bylsma."

Vesey and his camp met with the Sabres' brass for more than two hours in Boston on Thursday, according to Mark Divver of The Providence Journal.

Fish also represents Sabres forward Jack Eichel, who like Vesey, is a Massachusetts native. Eichel and Vesey have been playing together this summer in the Foxboro Pro League.

Vesey intends to become a free agent when he's eligible on Aug. 15. He chose not to sign with the Nashville Predators in March, and they traded his negotiating rights to the Sabres last month.

The 23-year-old won the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's top college hockey player after posting 24 goals and 46 points in 33 games during his senior season at Harvard.

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The hockey world, like the rest of America, was shocked and saddened by the shootings that left five officers dead following a police brutality protest in Dallas on Thursday night.

The Dallas Stars' Twitter account sent out a heartfelt message early Friday morning.

The Stars' two best players offered their thoughts.

Their teammates followed suit.

Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban provided a short but particularly poignant statement.

Former Stars blue-liner Jason Demers also chimed in.

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