Aleksander Barkov is the new captain of the Florida Panthers.

The 23-year-old center will be the 10th player to wear the "C" in franchise history, the club announced Monday.

Barkov established career highs with 51 assists and 78 points last season, and was named a Lady Byng Trophy finalist for the second time.

He also finished fourth in the voting for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded to the NHL's best defensive forward, and is generally regarded as one of the league's best two-way centers.

Barkov takes over the captaincy from Derek MacKenzie, who occupied the role for the previous two campaigns.

In statements issued by the team Monday, Panthers general manager Dale Tallon expressed confidence that Barkov is ready to be captain, and head coach Bob Boughner called him "the complete package."

Barkov said he was fortunate to learn from MacKenzie and fellow former Panthers captains Willie Mitchell and Ed Jovanovski earlier in his career.

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When you need to get away from it all, head to the Gem State.

That was the offseason destination of choice for Ottawa Senators winger Bobby Ryan, who, along with his wife and two children, packed his bags for quaint Coeur d'Alene, Idaho as a way to escape the rampant rumor mill.

"Honest to God, I wanted to throw a dart at the map and be off the grid as much as I could. Somewhere remote so nobody wanted to visit," Ryan told Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "There's no people. I need(ed) to get away from hockey for a couple months. I need(ed) to recharge."

Ryan's name was thrown around throughout the offseason as a possible addition to a potential Erik Karlsson trade.

Karlsson was ultimately shipped to the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 13, while Ryan, who has four years and $30 million remaining on the seven-year pact he signed in 2014, is still a Senator.

With Karlsson gone and the offseason in the rearview mirror, Ryan has returned to the Canadian capital for training camp and is ready to start anew after a 2017-18 campaign in which he tallied just 33 points.

There will be plenty of opportunity for Ryan, as the Senators usher in a new era with coach Guy Boucher readying a more offensive game.

"I'm really encouraged. I had a couple meetings with coach, and he showed me what's going to change, where we're going from here," Ryan said. "It's stuff I think our team will relate to and get. It's going to be very simple and it's going to work."

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

When you need to get away from it all, head to the Gem State.

That was the offseason destination of choice for Ottawa Senators winger Bobby Ryan, who, along with his wife and two children, packed his bags for quaint Coeur d'Alene, Idaho as a way to escape the rampant rumor mill.

"Honest to God, I wanted to throw a dart at the map and be off the grid as much as I could. Somewhere remote so nobody wanted to visit," Ryan told Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "There's no people. I need(ed) to get away from hockey for a couple months. I need(ed) to recharge."

Ryan's name was thrown around throughout the offseason as a possible addition to a potential Erik Karlsson trade.

Karlsson was ultimately shipped to the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 13, while Ryan, who has four years and $30 million remaining on the seven-year pact he signed in 2014, is still a Senator.

With Karlsson gone and the offseason in the rearview mirror, Ryan has returned to the Canadian capital for training camp and is ready to start anew after a 2017-18 campaign in which he tallied just 33 points.

There will be plenty of opportunity for Ryan, as the Senators usher in a new era with coach Guy Boucher readying a more offensive game.

"I'm really encouraged. I had a couple meetings with coach, and he showed me what's going to change, where we're going from here," Ryan said. "It's stuff I think our team will relate to and get. It's going to be very simple and it's going to work."

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Montreal Canadiens associate coach Kirk Muller isn't going anywhere, as he and the team agreed to a two-year contract extension on Sunday.

Muller spent the past two seasons behind the Canadiens' bench, working alongside former coach Michel Therrien and current bench boss Claude Julien.

Previously, Muller spent two years as an assistant with the St. Louis Blues and parts of three seasons as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. He was also an assistant coach with the Canadiens from 2006-11.

Prior to joining the coaching ranks, the longtime NHL veteran skated in 1,349 games, including four seasons with Montreal, where he served as a captain during the 1994-95 campaign.

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The Winnipeg Jets have signed defenseman Josh Morrissey to a two-year extension worth $3.15 million per year, the team announced Sunday.

Morrissey was the Jets' only remaining restricted free agent.

In 81 games with Winnipeg last season, the 23-year-old netted seven goals and 19 assists. He also finished fourth among Jets defensemen with just over 20 minutes in average ice time.

In 164 career games, Morrissey has notched 13 goals and 33 assists.

The Jets selected Morrissey with the 13th overall pick in the 2013 draft.

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It could be some time before Victor Rask joins his Carolina Hurricanes teammates on the ice.

The 25-year-old underwent surgery on his fourth and fifth fingers on his right hand Thursday after slicing them while making food. The team ruled Rask out indefinitely, but head coach Rod Brind'Amour says "it's going to be months."

"It's not going to be quick," he added, according to Hurricanes.com's Michael Smith.

Brind'Amour noted that Rask cut tendons in the fingers, according to Chip Alexander of The News Observer.

Rask is coming off a down 2017-18 season that saw him post a career-low 31 points in 71 games.

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