The Florida Panthers signed forward Anthony Duclair to a one-year contract, the team announced Thursday.

Duclair's deal is worth $1.7 million, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

The 25-year-old became an unrestricted free agent in October after the Ottawa Senators declined to give him a qualifying offer.

"Anthony is a dynamic and highly skilled player who is capable of being a dependable offensive contributor for our team" Panthers general manager BIll Zito said. "He possesses tremendous speed and goal scoring ability and earned an opportunity to be named an NHL All-Star last season. We're excited to welcome Anthony and look forward to what he can add to our team."

Duclair notched a career-high 23 goals while adding 17 assists through 66 games with the Senators in 2019-20.

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Henrik Lundqvist won't suit up for the Washington Capitals this season due to a heart condition, the veteran goalie announced Thursday.

Lundqvist says doctors determined it's best he doesn't play during the upcoming campaign following weeks of tests. He'll spend the coming months figuring out his plan going forward.

"For the past two months, I've been so inspired by the opportunity to play in D.C. and committed to my game, spending every day at the rink to prepare for the upcoming season. The news was very difficult to process, but after the last test result earlier this week, we knew there was only one way to go from here," Lundqvist said.

"I want to thank the entire Capitals organization for not only giving me this opportunity but also for their support throughout this challenging time. I will take the next few weeks to be with my family and I'll be back to share the next steps."

Lundqvist signed a one-year, $1.5-million contract with the Capitals after he was bought out by the New York Rangers in September.

The 38-year-old spent 15 seasons on Broadway, earning 459 wins - good for sixth all time - while posting a .918 save percentage. Lundqvist won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top netminder in 2011-12 and was a finalist for the award on four separate occasions.

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Veteran St. Louis Blues forward Alexander Steen has called it a career after 15 NHL seasons, the team announced Thursday.

"This has been an emotional process," Steen said in a release. "But as I look back on my years in hockey, I would like to thank our organization, our city, our fans, and my teammates as I am so proud of all the teams I was part of."

Steen has one more year at $5.75 million on his current contract. The Blues have already placed him on long-term injured reserve because he was injured during the NHL's buyout period, meaning the team can exceed the salary cap by $5.75 million this coming season, according to The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford.

Steen's decision to retire is linked to "multiple levels of degenerative herniated discs of his lumbar spine," according to St. Louis. The 36-year-old was limited to 55 regular-season games in 2019-20 and only made four postseason appearances.

The Blues acquired Steen from the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2008-09 season. The 24th overall pick of the 2002 NHL Draft played 1,018 career games, registering 622 points. He won a Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2019 and claimed a silver medal with Sweden at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

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Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner is hoping to find the back of the net more frequently this upcoming season.

When asked what he's been working on this offseason, Marner said getting to the net has been a key area of focus.

"Being around the net more to put the puck in," the winger told Josh Clipperton of The Canadian Press. "Goals is something where I need to ask more of myself."

Marner has always been a pass-first player, as 208 of his 300 career NHL points are assists. He notched a personal-best 26 goals in 2018-19, but only managed 16 tallies in 59 contests this past season.

However, the 23-year-old said he's starting to learn to trust his shot.

"I've been trying to really be OK and comfortable with myself shooting regardless of how the shot comes off," Marner said. "That's something I'm trying to get my head wrapped around and something I'm becoming more confident with."

The NHL is reportedly working on returning Jan. 13, but there are still several obstacles to overcome. However, the upcoming season is apparently set to feature an all-Canadian division, which would include Marner's Maple Leafs.

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The Chicago Blackhawks named incumbent general manager Stan Bowman the club's new president of hockey operations, the team announced Wednesday.

He'll perform in both roles moving forward.

"This is a special day for the Blackhawks organization and shows the bright future ahead for the team. I would like to thank Rocky and Danny Wirtz for their continued support and the opportunity to serve in this new role. Their leadership in developing the new organizational structure has set the stage for sustained success in the coming years," Bowman said in the release.

The Blackhawks also named Jaime Faulkner the new president of business operations and Danny Wirtz the club's chief executive officer in a significant front-office overhaul.

Faulkner was named one of Sports Business Journal's women game-changers in sports in 2015. She becomes the fourth woman in Chicago's hockey ops after the club recently hired Olympian Kendall Coyne Schofield as a player development coach.

Chicago abruptly fired former president and CEO John McDonough in April after 13 years with the organization.

Bowman was hired as Chicago's general manager in 2009 and led the franchise to three Stanley Cups from 2010-15.

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America's most respected infectious disease expert is recommending the NHL employ its backup plan for the 2020-21 campaign rather than the league's favored strategy.

"I'm told that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has sought the counsel of Dr. Tony Fauci from the National Institutes of Health over the course of this pandemic, and one of the recommendations that Dr. Fauci had made to Gary Bettman over the last number of weeks was, 'If you want to pull this off and start the NHL season safely, the best way to do that would be in hubs,'" TSN's Frank Seravalli reported Thursday on "Insider Trading."

"That's not the preference of both clubs and players, but I'm told that hubs very much remain a Plan B and are on the table," Seravalli added.

The NHL and NHLPA are in the midst of talks seeking to establish terms for the upcoming season. While the two sides reportedly prefer a 56-game schedule, Bettman says putting the players in a bubble for longer than the duration of the 2019-20 return to play wouldn't be ideal.

"(Playing in home arenas) will not be as risk-averse as being in a bubble or a hub, but for an entire regular season, even if it's abbreviated, we didn't think we could put the players in a bubble for six months," the commissioner said Wednesday, according to NHL.com's Nicholas J. Cotsonika. "That just wasn't practical."

However, Bettman acknowledged the league is exploring the possibility of using hubs in some capacity.

"If enough teams can't play, again, without fans, in their own facilities, then we may have to move more and more toward a hub," he said. "It may be that some teams are playing in other buildings. It may be that a whole group of teams have to play in other buildings."

The NHL resumed its 2019-20 season in August with a 24-team playoff in the hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto.

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