The Anaheim Ducks signed defenseman Jacob Larsson to a three-year, entry-level contract Friday.
The Ducks selected the 19-year-old 27th overall in June's draft.
Larsson played one playoff game for the AHL's San Diego Gulls earlier this month after spending most of the season with Frolunda in the Swedish league.
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The IIHF is taking a cue from the NHL.
The rules for overtime and shootouts will change as of 2017, the international governing body for hockey announced Friday.
Preliminary round games will feature five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime if a game is tied after three periods, followed by a three-round shootout and tiebreakers if necessary.
Medal round games - except for gold medal matches - will include 10 minutes of 4-on-4 overtime in the event that they are tied after 60 minutes, followed by a five-round shootout and tiebreaking rounds if necessary.
Gold medal games that are tied after regulation will go to a 20-minute overtime period played at 5-on-5, with a five-round shootout (or more) if required.
The changes were approved at the IIHF's annual congress.
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The restructuring of the OHL's Flint Firebirds is essentially complete.
The junior club hired Ryan Oulahen as its new head coach Friday, adding former Philadelphia Flyers forward Eric Wellwood as assistant coach.
“Today’s announcement is a further piece in putting together a strong hockey operations staff for the Flint Firebirds,” OHL commissioner David Branch said in a statement.
“Their combined knowledge and experience will help develop the Flint Firebird players both on and off the ice.”
The organization was overhauled by the league after owner Rolf Nilsen was suspended and forbidden from conducting team business for five years last month.
Nilsen fired his previous coaching staff twice last season, reportedly as part of a dispute over his son's ice time.
Longtime junior coach and executive George Burnett was appointed general manager of the Firebirds earlier this week.
Oulahen spent the last six years as the lead assistant coach of the OHL's North Bay (nee Brampton) Battalion. Wellwood was an assistant with the Oshawa Generals for the last two seasons, serving behind the bench for the 2015 Memorial Cup champions.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are ready for Game 4, as well as Phil Kessel's postgame interview.
Two days after leaving the hockey world in stitches with a hilarious postgame interview in which he mistakenly assumed that NBC analyst Pierre McGuire suggested he had bad breath, Kessel's stall was decorated with a giant bottle of Listerine and an assortment of gum.
For all that "bad breath"... pic.twitter.com/YDYfp7ABy1
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 20, 2016
Think this team's loose?
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The Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice on their centennial season this fall. With it, the franchise's Stanley Cup drought will stretch into its 49th season.
But with a slew of young talent in the system and the No. 1 overall pick in their possession, it appears a proper road map is finally in place to bring Lord Stanley's Mug back to Toronto.
These three pairings can help make that happen:
The Leafs' last first-round pick to tally 60 points while still in Toronto: Wendel Clark, way back in 1993-94. The Leafs' last first-round pick to net 30 goals with the Buds: also Clark, in 1996-97. Since then, players drafted in the first round by Toronto have put together more 30-goal seasons for the St. Louis Blues (3) than the Leafs (0).
Years of bad drafting, win-now trades, and poor grooming of top prospects left the team without much in the way of homegrown talent. An organizational commitment to re-stock cupboards that were once bare has filled the system with solid prospects. At the head of the class are Nylander and Marner, who will be tasked with being pillars of the team's developing core.
There's a decidedly different feel around the club this offseason than there's been under past regimes. Shanahan has the ship pointed in the right direction, and it won't be long before that reflects in the on-ice product.
Babcock's arrival has played a major role in the change in culture. The players' immediate buy-in to Babcock's system and philosophies offers great promise for a quick transition from a team that lost 53 of 82 games to one that ascends up the Atlantic Division standings.
Despite all the positive strides, there's still work to be done in assembling a championship roster in Toronto. A bevy of draft picks and cap space in the years ahead offer the tools needed to build a team Babcock can mold into a champion.
The necessary injection of talent begins June 24 with the No. 1 overall selection in the entry draft. Matthews is the logical choice to stand at the head of Toronto's deep 2016 draft class. Supplementing that group with a prize free agent like Stamkos in the next year or two can help accelerate the rebuild.
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Steven Stamkos' chances of suiting up in Friday's game have gone from slim to none.
The Tampa Bay Lightning captain told reporters he won't play in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.
"I think there's a big difference between playing through pain and playing with your life at risk," Stamkos said.
He gave himself a five-percent chance of playing Friday when asked about his status at Thursday's practice, adding there's a "real possibility" he may not play again for the Lightning this season following vascular surgery to treat a blood clot condition that's kept him out for the last seven weeks.
The 26-year-old center took part in Friday's optional skate and has been practicing with the team this week, but he hasn't played in a game since March 31.
"As I said since day one, I wouldn't be working if I didn't think there was a chance," Stamkos said. "There's just also a chance it may not."
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For the first time in their 22-year history, the Florida Panthers are undertaking a full-fledged rebrand.
The club will unveil their new look at a viewing party at the BB&T Center on June 2.
Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, Shawn Thornton, and Steven Kampfer will be on hand to model the new home and away uniforms, which are expected to feature this redesigned logo.
(Courtesy: sportslogos.net)
The new-look badge is expected to be stitched on a horizontal stripe across the sweater, almost mirroring the Montreal Canadiens' design scheme.
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On The Fly, theScore's NHL roundtable series, continues. With the conference finals in full swing, we look at one key storyline from each of the four remaining teams.
Ben Whyte: Steven Stamkos' NHL future has been in question all season long as he approaches free agency, but as his team pushes on while he recovers from a blood clot, that future becomes even more uncertain.
The Lightning will likely do whatever they can to re-sign him, but general manager Steve Yzerman may be forced to weigh Stamkos' health against the team's cap situation with other young stars hitting free agency this summer (Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn) and next (Victor Hedman, Ben Bishop, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat).
Teammate Andrei Vasilevskiy was able to return to action after a similar vascular surgery, but other NHLers - Tomas Vokoun and Pascal Dupuis - saw blood clots end their careers.
A return during the East final would certainly quell any hesitancy by the Lightning - and other suitors - toward a long-term deal, but the risk/reward of signing Stamkos is sure to be the biggest question of the offseason.
Craig Hagerman: While Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns have been heralded for their incredible postseason contributions, the man atop the playoff scoring leaderboard deserves his due.
Logan Couture broke the San Jose Sharks' single-playoff points record Tuesday, then added to it with an assist in Thursday's Game 3 victory. His breakout has been one of the most dominant postseason offensive outbursts of the last two decades.
At this pace, if the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup Final and win out their remaining games, he'd finish with 28 points - the highest total by any player in six years.
If we give Couture the benefit of the doubt with an extra game in each series, he'd hit 31 points, the highest total since Evgeni Malkin's 36 in 2009 and the third highest since 1996. He's having an outstanding postseason - far better than he's been given credit for.
Sean O'Leary: Sullivan has transformed the Penguins into what everyone expected from them: a dominant offense that's lethal in transition. He reinvigorated Sidney Crosby, who shook off a slow start and notched 66 of his 85 points under Sullivan as Pittsburgh steamrolled its competition down the stretch.
Phil Kessel found his stride under Sullivan, too, scoring 20 points in 21 games to close out the regular season. United with fellow blazers Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino on the third line, Kessel finally looks the player the Penguins hoped they acquired in July.
Pittsburgh is rolling, and it's hard to imagine this is the same team - apart from depth additions at the trade deadline - that was outside the playoff picture looking in under Mike Johnston.
This Penguins resurgence is eerily familiar to 2009, when Dan Bylsma took over coaching duties mid-season and led them to a championship.
Josh Gold-Smith: The St. Louis Blues have been smothered by the San Jose Sharks in the first three games of their conference final series.
The Blues have been shut out in back-to-back contests, being held without a goal since midway through Game 1 - a span of over 150 minutes - and they've been outscored 8-2 in the series.
It hasn't been for lack of opportunities. St. Louis outshot San Jose in both their losses, and actually had fewer shots on the goal than the Sharks in their Game 1 win.
The most concerning issue for the Blues is the power play. They went 0-for-7 on the man advantage in Games 2 and 3 combined, including six squandered chances in Game 2.
Credit Martin Jones and the Sharks for neutralizing the Blues' scoring chances and making the most of the ones they've created for themselves.
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On The Fly, theScore's NHL roundtable series, continues. With the conference finals in full swing, we look at one key storyline from each of the four remaining teams.
Ben Whyte: Steven Stamkos' NHL future has been in question all season long as he approaches free agency, but as his team pushes on while he recovers from a blood clot, that future becomes even more uncertain.
The Lightning will likely do whatever they can to re-sign him, but general manager Steve Yzerman may be forced to weigh Stamkos' health against the team's cap situation with other young stars hitting free agency this summer (Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn) and next (Victor Hedman, Ben Bishop, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat).
Teammate Andrei Vasilevskiy was able to return to action after a similar vascular surgery, but other NHLers - Tomas Vokoun and Pascal Dupuis - saw blood clots end their careers.
A return during the East final would certainly quell any hesitancy by the Lightning - and other suitors - toward a long-term deal, but the risk/reward of signing Stamkos is sure to be the biggest question of the offseason.
Craig Hagerman: While Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns have been heralded for their incredible postseason contributions, the man atop the playoff scoring leaderboard deserves his due.
Logan Couture broke the San Jose Sharks' single-playoff points record Tuesday, then added to it with an assist in Thursday's Game 3 victory. His breakout has been one of the most dominant postseason offensive outbursts of the last two decades.
At this pace, if the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup Final and win out their remaining games, he'd finish with 28 points - the highest total by any player in six years.
If we give Couture the benefit of the doubt with an extra game in each series, he'd hit 31 points, the highest total since Evgeni Malkin's 36 in 2009 and the third highest since 1996. He's having an outstanding postseason - far better than he's been given credit for.
Sean O'Leary: Sullivan has transformed the Penguins into what everyone expected from them: a dominant offense that's lethal in transition. He reinvigorated Sidney Crosby, who shook off a slow start and notched 66 of his 85 points under Sullivan as Pittsburgh steamrolled its competition down the stretch.
Phil Kessel found his stride under Sullivan, too, scoring 20 points in 21 games to close out the regular season. United with fellow blazers Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino on the third line, Kessel finally looks the player the Penguins hoped they acquired in July.
Pittsburgh is rolling, and it's hard to imagine this is the same team - apart from depth additions at the trade deadline - that was outside the playoff picture looking in under Mike Johnston.
This Penguins resurgence is eerily familiar to 2009, when Dan Bylsma took over coaching duties mid-season and led them to a championship.
Josh Gold-Smith: The St. Louis Blues have been smothered by the San Jose Sharks in the first three games of their conference final series.
The Blues have been shut out in back-to-back contests, being held without a goal since midway through Game 1 - a span of over 150 minutes - and they've been outscored 8-2 in the series.
It hasn't been for lack of opportunities. St. Louis outshot San Jose in both their losses, and actually had fewer shots on the goal than the Sharks in their Game 1 win.
The most concerning issue for the Blues is the power play. They went 0-for-7 on the man advantage in Games 2 and 3 combined, including six squandered chances in Game 2.
Credit Martin Jones and the Sharks for neutralizing the Blues' scoring chances and making the most of the ones they've created for themselves.
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