Yandle, Panthers agree on seven-year contract: report

Defenseman Keith Yandle has agreed to terms on a seven-year contract with the Florida Panthers, ESPN reported Thursday.

Yandle, 29, could have become an unrestricted free agent July 1. The contract has an average annual value of $6.35 million, Pierre LeBrun reported.

The Panthers acquired Yandle's rights from the New York Rangers on Monday for a sixth-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2017.

In 82 games for the Rangers this season, Yandle had five goals, 47 points and a minus-4 rating. He was acquired by New York in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on March 1, 2015.

Yandle has 72 goals and 369 points in 661 regular-season NHL games.

NHL Release.

2016 NHL Awards: Winners, Notes and Quotes

AWARD WINNERS:
Calder: Artemi Panarin
Ted Lindsay: Patrick Kane
GM of the Year: Jim Rutherford
Masterson: Jaromir Jagr
Mark Messier Leadership: Shea Weber
King Clancy: Henrik Sedin
NHL Foundation: Mark Giordano
Norris: Drew Doughty
Selke: Anze Kopitar
Jack Adams: Barry Trotz
Lady Bing: Anze Kopitar
Vezina: Braden Holtby
Hart: Patrick Kane

Notes, Quotes and More:
• Sidney Crosby finishes as runner-up for the Hart Trophy.

• "I'd like to congratulate the Penguins on a phenomenal year. Obviously us Capitals know that first hand - how good you guys are." - Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby

• "He’s an amazing player...plays hard every night. Always tough to play against him so it’s a well-deserved honor for him." - Bruins forward Patrick Bergeron on Anze Kopitar

• Anze Kopitar joins these other Kings to win the Lady Byng: Gretzky-1994, 1992 and 1991; Goring-1978; and Dionne-1977.

• Anze is the first Kings forward to ever win the Selke Trophy; he was also a finalist/top-vote-getter (Top 5) for Selke in 2015, 2014 & 2013.

• “I am honored to receive the Masterton Trophy. Many great players in the NHL with dedication to the game of hockey have earned this award" - Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr

Blackhawks agree to terms with Rasmussen

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that they have agreed to terms with forward Dennis Rasmussen on a one-year contract.

Rasmussen, 25, registered nine points (4G, 5A) in 44 regular-season games with Chicago this season during his National Hockey League debut.

The Vasteras, Sweden, native also added 16 points (7G, 9A) in 25 regular-season games with the Rockford IceHogs and two points (1G, 1A) in three 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs contests. He registered 27 points (13G, 14A) and a +9 plus/minus rating in 73 regular-season games with Rockford last year in his North American debut and added five shots on goal in seven Calder Cup contests.

Rasmussen has also appeared for Sweden in international competition, helping Sweden to a bronze medal at the 2014 World Championships and the 2010 World Junior Championships.

Team Release.

Blues Sign Upshall to One-Year Deal

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Blues have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with forward Scottie Upshall.

Upshall, who joined the Blues as a free agent last summer, would have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The Fort McMurray, Alberta native played in 70 games for the Blues last season, scoring six goals and eight assists (14 points) to go along with a plus-5 rating.

Overall, Upshall has played in 623 career regular season NHL games, posting 121 goals and 127 assists (248 points).

If not signed by July 1, David Backes, Troy Brouwer, Steve Ott and Kyle Brodziak will all become unrestricted free agents.

Team Release.

Rules for 2017 Expansion Draft

With the NHL awarding a franchise to Las Vegas at the Board of Governors Meeting on Wednesday, an expansion draft will take place after next season. 

Las Vegas will be the eighth team in the Pacific Division and the 15th team in the Western Conference. The NHL has 16 teams in the Eastern Conference.

The following rules were approved for the 2017 Expansion Draft: 

Protected Lists
* Clubs will have two options for players they wish to protect in the Expansion Draft: 

a) Seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender

b) Eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender

* All players who have currently effective and continuing "No Movement" clauses at the time of the Expansion Draft (and who to decline to waive such clauses) must be protected (and will be counted toward their club's applicable protection limits).

* All first- and second-year professionals, as well as all unsigned draft choices, will be exempt from selection (and will not be counted toward their club's applicable protection limits).

Player Exposure Requirements
* All Clubs must meet the following minimum requirements regarding players exposed for selection in the Expansion Draft:

i) One defenseman who is a) under contract in 2017-18 and b) played in 40 or more NHL games the prior season OR played in 70 or more NHL games in the prior two seasons.

ii) Two forwards who are a) under contract in 2017-18 and b) played in 40 or more NHL games the prior season OR played in 70 or more NHL games in the prior two seasons.

iii) One goaltender who is under contract in 2017-18 or will be a restricted free agent at the expiration of his current contract immediately prior to 2017-18. If the club elects to make a restricted free agent goaltender available in order to meet this requirement, that goaltender must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the club's protected list.

* Players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 60 consecutive games (or who otherwise have been confirmed to have a career-threatening injury) may not be used to satisfy a club's player exposure requirements, unless approval is received from the NHL. Such players also may be deemed exempt from selection by the League.

Regulations Relating to Expansion Franchise
* The Las Vegas franchise must select one player from each presently existing club for a total of 30 players (not including additional players who may be acquired as the result of violations of the Expansion Draft rules).

* The Las Vegas franchise must select the following number of players at each position: 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders.

* The Las Vegas franchise must select a minimum of 20 players who are under contract for the 2017-18 season.

* The Las Vegas franchise must select players with an aggregate Expansion Draft value that is between 60-100% of the prior season's upper limit for the salary cap.

* The Las Vegas franchise may not buy out any of the players selected in the Expansion Draft earlier than the summer following its first season.

The 30 NHL Clubs must submit their Protection List by 5:00 P.M. ET on Saturday, June 17, 2017. The Las Vegas team must submit their Expansion Draft Selections by 5:00 P.M. ET on June 20 and the announcement of their selections will be released on made on June 21. 

2017 NHL Draft Lottery

The Las Vegas franchise will be given the same odds in the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery as the team finishing with the third-fewest points during the 2016-17 regular season.

The Las Vegas franchise's First Round selection in the 2017 NHL Draft will be determined in accordance with the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery and, as a result, the Las Vegas franchise will be guaranteed no lower than the sixth overall selection.

The Las Vegas franchise then will select third in each subsequent round of the 2017 NHL Draft (subject to trades and other potential player transactions).

Alignment

The Las Vegas franchise will begin play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in 2017-18. There will be no other changes to the NHL's alignment.

2017-18 Schedule Matrix

Each club will continue to play an 82-game schedule, with 41 home games and 41 road games.

The schedule matrix, which ensures that all teams play in all arenas at least once each season, will be adjusted to the following in 2017-18:
Eastern Conference (Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions - 8 Teams)

Within Conference (Division): 28 games
* 7 Teams: 2 Home / 2 Away
* 7 x 4 = 28 games

Within Conference (Non-Division): 24 games
* 4 Teams: 2 Home / 1 Away
* 4 Teams: 1 Home / 2 Away
* 4 x 3 = 12 games
* 4 x 3 = 12 games

Non-Conference: 30 games
* 15 Home / 15 Away
* 2 x 15 = 30

Western Conference (Central Division - 7 Teams)

Within Conference (Division): 26 games
* 4 Teams: 2 Home / 2 Away
* 1 Team: 3 Home / 2 Away
* 1 Team: 2 Home / 3 Away
* 4 x 4 = 16
* 1 x 5 = 5
* 1 x 5 = 5

Within Conference (Non-Division): 24 games
* 4 Teams: 2 Home / 1 Away
* 4 Teams: 1 Home / 2 Away
* 4 x 3 = 12 games
* 4 x 3 = 12 games

Non-Conference: 32 games
* 16 Home / 16 Away
* 2 x 16 = 32 games

Western Conference (Pacific Division - 8 Teams)

Within Conference (Division): 29 games
* 6 Teams: 2 Home / 2 Away
* 1 Team: 3 Home / 2 Away
* 6 x 4 = 24 games
* 1 x 5 = 5 games

Within Conference (Non-Division): 21 games
* 4 Teams: 2 Home / 1 Away
* 3 Teams: 1 Home / 2 Away
* 4 x 3 = 12 games
* 3 x 3 = 9 games

Non-Conference: 32 games
* 16 Home / 16 Away
* 2 x 16 = 32 games

NHL Release.

Las Vegas awarded NHL franchise

LAS VEGAS -- The NHL is coming to Vegas baby, Vegas. 

Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Wednesday in the ballroom of Encore at Wynn Las Vegas that the League has granted an expansion franchise to Las Vegas that will start playing as its 31st team in the 2017-18 season. The Las Vegas franchise was approved in a vote conducted during the Board of Governors meeting here Wednesday.

The NHL becomes the first of the four major North American professional sports leagues to put a team in Las Vegas. This will be the NHL's first expansion team since the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild came into the League in the 2000-01 season.

The League will receive a $500 million expansion fee from Bill Foley, the billionaire businessman who spearheaded the Las Vegas expansion bid and will be the franchise's principal owner. The $500 million will be distributed equally among the existing 30 franchises.

The approval of the Las Vegas franchise comes two days prior to the one-year anniversary of the NHL announcing the Board of Governors authorized a formal expansion process.

The Board of Governors also voted to defer the application for an expansion team from Quebecor Inc., which maintains the goal of bringing NHL hockey back to Quebec City. 

The NHL announced that while it views Quebec City as a viable option for an NHL franchise in the future, the League's geographic imbalance, the difficulty of bringing two new teams in at the same time and the struggling Canadian dollar led the BOG to defer the application.

The Canadian dollar was trading at 78 cents on the U.S. dollar on Tuesday.

Las Vegas will be the eighth team in the Pacific Division and the 15th team in the Western Conference. The NHL has 16 teams in the Eastern Conference. 

The Las Vegas franchise will play its home games at T-Mobile Arena, a state-of-the-art facility located just west of the famed Las Vegas Strip. T-Mobile Arena opened in April and can hold 17,368 for a hockey game.

Las Vegas has received more than 14,000 deposits for season tickets and has sold all of the luxury seats in T-Mobile Arena since Foley launched a season-ticket drive 16 months ago.

In addition, the NHL announced the rules for the expansion draft that will take place next summer to create the Las Vegas team.

Las Vegas must select one player from each of the existing 30 teams, including at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies. 

It must select a minimum of 20 players who have existing contracts that carry through the 2017-18 season and the average annual value of the total contracts it takes on must be at least 60 percent of the 2016-17 season salary-cap limit, which is $73 million.

The earliest Las Vegas can buy out any of the contracts it takes on is the summer of 2018.

The existing 30 teams will have the option to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters regardless of position and one goalie from the expansion draft. 

All players with "no movement" clauses in their contracts at the time of the expansion draft must be protected and will count toward their team's protection limits unless the player agrees to waive his no-movement clause.

Teams have to submit their protection lists by 5 p.m. ET on June 17, 2017. Las Vegas has to submit its selections for the expansion draft by 5 p.m. ET on June 20. The results of the expansion draft will be released publicly on June 21.

All forwards and defensemen exposed for the draft must be under contract for the 2017-18 season. Teams must expose a minimum of one defenseman and two forwards who played 40 or more games in the 2016-17 season or 70 or more games in the previous two seasons. 

Goalies exposed for the draft can either be under contract for the 2017-18 season or scheduled to become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2017. In order to expose a goalie entering RFA status, the team must extend him his qualifying offer before submitting its protection list.

All first- and second-year pros and all unsigned draft picks are exempt from the expansion draft and will not have to be protected. 

Las Vegas will be inserted into the NHL Draft Lottery with the same odds as the team that finishes with the third fewest points in the 2016-17 season. It will be guaranteed to have no lower than the No. 6 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft and will own the third pick in each subsequent round.

NHL Release.

Canadiens agree to terms on a one-year contract with Joel Hanley

MONTREAL - Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin announced Wednesday that the team has agreed to terms on a one-year, two way contract (2016-17) with defenseman Joel Hanley.

Hanley, acquired via free-agency on July 1, 2015, made his NHL debut on March 20 after making his way to the Canadiens as part of an emergency recall to bolster the Habs blue-line. 

The 24-year-old rearguard laced up the skates for 10 games with the Habs where he registered six assists.

Hanley had previously suited up for 64 games with the St. John’s IceCaps of the American Hockey League registering 13 points (5G-8A).

Team Release.