Toronto Maple Leafs name first U.S.-born captain

NHL general managers had money to spend this offseason with the salary cap rising from $83.5 million to $88 million.
That led to a busy free agency season in which USA TODAY Sports’ top 25 players moved within three days.
Though things are calming down and the Columbus Blue Jackets filled the final coach opening, there are more transactions to come.
Stars Leon Draisaitl, Sidney Crosby, Mitch Marner and Igor Shesterkin are eligible to receive contract extensions. Jeremy Swayman, Lucas Raymond, Seth Jarvis and Moritz Seider are among restricted free agents needing new contracts.
Here are the top NHL transactions that have occurred during the 2024 offseason:
The Toronto Maple Leafs named Auston Matthews the 26th captain in franchise history and the first U.S.-born one.
Maple Leafs center John Tavares, named captain in 2019, said he decided it was time to pass the leadership mantle to the two-time 60-goal scorer.
“This decision is a recognition of a maturation of a person who has shown a skill set that is special, unique and who has a relentless drive to win,” Tavares, who’s entering the final year in his contract, said at a news conference. “In that, I believe Auston can become more and that he is ready for this honor and responsibility.”
Matthews, who was born in California and grew up in Arizona, is entering the first year of a four-year, $53 million contract that gives him the league’s top cap hit. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft.
“To be a captain is truly special,” said Matthews, who turns 27 next month. “For (Tavares) to call me and kind of let me know that he wanted to pass on the captaincy to me was very emotional.”
The NHL Department of Player Safety said former NHL star Ryan Getzlaf is joining the staff of chief disciplinarian George Parros, his former Anaheim Ducks teammate. Getzlaf spent his entire career with the Ducks, winning a Stanley Cup in 2007, and was captain for 12 seasons. He retired in 2022 as the franchise’s leading scorer.
The St. Louis Blues tendered offer sheets to a pair of Edmonton Oilers restricted free agents, defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said.
The Oilers have an Aug. 20 deadline to match the offers. If they don’t, they will receive draft picks as compensation from the Blues.
Broberg’s offer is for two years, $9.16 million and would require a second-round pick going to the Oilers should they decline to match it. Holloway, offered two years and $4.58 million, would return a third-round pick. – Field Level Media
SKA Saint Petersburg announced it had signed forward Evgeni Kuznetsov to a four-year contract with the Kontinental Hockey League team. Kuznetsov and the Carolina Hurricanes had agreed this offseason to terminate his contract. The 2018 Stanley Cup winner with the Washington Capitals was traded to the Hurricanes at the deadline after being cleared by the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program. Kuznetsov, 32, finishes his NHL career with 575 points in 743 games.
Also: The Montreal Canadiens signed defenseman Kaiden Guhle to a six-year, $33.3M contract extension.
The final must-do item on the New York Rangers’ offseason agenda is complete.
They inked restricted free agent Ryan Lindgren to a one-year, $4.5 million contract, with details first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The 26-year-old defenseman was scheduled for an arbitration hearing Friday.
The Rangers were willing to go well above Lindgren’s $3.6 million qualifying offer in order to keep the deal short, prioritizing flexibility for next summer − when young core players such as Alexis Lafrenière, K’Andre Miller and Igor Shesterkin will be due for expensive new contracts − over a slightly lesser average annual value that likely would have resulted from offering more years.
It casts doubt about whether Lindgren will stick in New York beyond this coming season, but a one-year deal was the prudent decision given the expected 2025-26 salary cap crunch. – Vince Z. Mercogliano, lohud.com
Also: The Montreal Canadiens reached two-year deals with defensemen Arber Xhekaj ($1.3 million cap hit) and Justin Barron ($1.15 million cap hit).
The Minnesota Wild signed rookie of the year runner-up Brock Faber to an eight-year extension. It kicks in during the 2025-26 season and will average $8.5 million. Faber, 21, tied for first among rookies in assists (39) and led rookies in average ice time (24:58) and blocked shots (150). His 47 points broke the Wild’s previous record for points by a rookie defenseman (Filip Kuba, 30 in 2000-01). 
The Carolina Hurricanes and forward Martin Necas agreed to a two-year deal ($6.5 million cap hit), avoiding arbitration. Getting him signed for more than a year is a positive for the Hurricanes, who lost forwards Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen to free agency. They also mutually agreed to terminate the contract of Evgeny Kuznetsov. Necas, 25, finished fourth on the team in goals (24) and tied for third in points (53). Carolina still needs to sign forward Seth Jarvis.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and forward Kirill Marchenko avoided arbitration by agreeing to a three-year contract with a $3.85 million cap hit. The 24-year-old has topped 20 goals in his first two NHL seasons, totaling 44. A day earlier, the Blue Jackets had signed forward Kent Johnson to a three-year deal with a $1.8 million cap hit. Forward Cole Sillinger is the team’s last remaining restricted free agent.
Patrik Laine’s request to be traded by the Columbus Blue Jackets received a significant boost.
The Finnish forward was released from the NHL/NHL Players’ Association’s player assistance program, clearing him to personally speak with coaches, executives and players from around the league for the first time since entering the program Jan. 28 for undisclosed reasons.
Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell did not comment on Friday’s news but told the Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Tuesday he’s confident a trade for Laine can be worked out this summer. A big holdup in trade talks, according to Waddell, was Laine’s inability to speak with him or opposing GMs while in the NHL/NHLPA program. – Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch
Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny signed an eight-year, $70 million contract extension. The new deal, which is to begin in 2025-26, will make Konecny, 27, the highest-paid player on the Flyers’ roster. He had career highs in goals (33), points (68) and short-handed goals (six) in 76 games last season. He led the team in goals, assists and points. “There’s such a bright and exciting future with this team and I can’t wait to be a part of it for the next nine years and see what we will accomplish,” Konecny said. – Field Level Media
The Buffalo Sabres avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to terms with goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on a five-year deal with a $4.75 million cap hit. The restricted free agent gets a big bump from last season’s $837,500 after setting career highs with 54 appearances, 27 wins and a 2.57 goals-against average. The Sabres will go with a young goaltending duo of Luukkonen, 25, and Devon Levi, 22, next season as they try to end a 13-season playoff drought.
New Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman is known both for his three Stanley Cup titles and for stepping down after a 2021 report criticized how the Chicago Blackhawks handled a sexual-assault complaint during their 2010 championship run. He was recently reinstated by the league. Bowman detailed the steps he took during his absence from the NHL and said, “I can tell you without a doubt that those things will never happen on my watch again.”
OILERS: What Stan Bowman, others said about Blackhawks scandal
Forward Beck Malenstyn, acquired from the Washington Capitals in an offseason trade, agreed to terms with the Buffalo Sabres on a two-year contract with a $1.35 million cap hit. He had filed for salary arbitration. Malenstyn is known for his defensive work, penalty killing and physical play. He led the Capitals last season with 241 hits while recording career highs with six goals, 15 assists and 21 points.
Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen also has filed for arbitration.
Also: The Toronto Maple Leafs and forward Connor Dewar agreed to a one-year, $1.18 million deal. He had filed for salary arbitration.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have settled on a new head coach.
Dean Evason will run the Blue Jackets’ bench after agreeing to a multi-year contract to fill a void created by the June 17 firing of Pascal Vincent. Not counting interims, Evason, 59, becomes the 11th coach in the franchise’s 24-year history.
Evason steps into the role after veteran Todd McLellan removed himself from the search process earlier this month. Evason doesn’t have as much experience as an NHL head coach as McLellan, but handled that role with the Minnesota Wild for five years before he was fired in November. Evason went 147-77-27 in 251 games with the Wild, including four trips to the playoffs. – Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch
Joe Pavelski, who said in June he would take next season off, is retiring, he and the Dallas Stars announced. Pavelski, 40, finishes with 476 goals and 1,068 points in 1,332 career regular-season games between the San Jose Sharks and Stars. He’s the NHL’s leading U.S.-born playoff goal scorer with 74 and helped lead the Stars to back-to-back trips to the Western Conference final. Pavelski never won a Stanley Cup but he went to the Final in 2016 with the Sharks, scoring a playoff-leading 14 goals and four game-winners, and in 2020 with the Stars. He had been captain of the Sharks.
Winger Daniel Sprong’s deal with the Vancouver Canucks is for one year at a reported $975,000. He’s coming off back-to-back 40-point seasons despite averaging 11 to 12 minutes a night. He’ll add secondary scoring to a team that ranked sixth in goals per game last season. Sprong will get another chance to prove himself after the Seattle Kraken didn’t give him a qualifying offer in 2023 and the Detroit Red Wings let him go to free agency.
The Detroit Red Wings and forward Joe Veleno agreed to a two-year, $4.55 million contract, according to Sportsnet. He had filed for salary arbitration after getting a career-best 12 goals and 28 points in a bottom six role.
The Carolina Hurricanes placed forward Evgeny Kuznetsov on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. He cleared waivers and the contract was terminated, which will allow Kuznetsov to play in Russia. He had one year, at a $7.8 million cap hit, left on his contract. The Washington Capitals, who traded him to the Hurricanes last season, retained half of that, and both teams are now free of that cap hit.
The mutual decision brings another offseason change to the Hurricanes roster. They weren’t able to re-sign trade deadline acquisition Jake Guentzel and traded his rights to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he signed. Defensemen Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce and forwards Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen left in free agency. Defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Matt Walker and forwards Jack Roslovic and William Carrier are among the offseason additions.
Kuznetsov spent time last season in the NHL/NHL Players’ Association assistance program and finished with only 24 points in 63 games. He scored a league-best 32 points during the Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup run. He also was known for his goal celebration of flapping his arms like a bird.
The Hurricanes announced later in the day that they had re-signed forward Jack Drury to a two-year contract with a $1.725 million cap hit.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft will get five years at a $6.25 million average. The Los Angeles Kings forward was a restricted free agent. The deal follows a breakthrough last season with a jump from three goals and 22 points to 20 goals and 55 points while being moved into a top six role. If he continues that progress, the deal will look good years from now.
Also: The St. Louis Blues said defenseman Torey Krug has been diagnosed with pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle and will be evaluated in six to eight weeks. If he needs surgery, he will miss the 2024-25 season. The team said the injury is a cumulative result of a bone fracture from earlier in his career. … Vancouver Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs signed a two-year contract. He was pressed into action in the playoffs after an injury to Thatcher Demko.
The New York Rangers re-signed defenseman Braden Schneider to a two-year contract with a reported $2.2 million cap hit. The Columbus Blue Jackets and goalie Jet Greaves settled on a two-year deal and avoided arbitration. It’s a two-way deal the first year that pays him less in the American Hockey League, but the second year is a one-way deal.
Igina, the son of Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla, was the Utah Hockey Club’s first draft pick, taken sixth overall in June. He had 84 points in 64 games last season with Kelowna of the Western Hockey League. Iginla and Detroit Red Wings selection are the 13th and 14th of June’s 32 first-round picks to sign a three-year, entry-level contract.
Also: The Lightning and defenseman J.J. Moser reached a two-year, $6.75 million contract, avoiding arbitration. He was acquired from Utah in the Mikhail Sergachev trade.
Defenseman Ryan Suter, 39, who was bought out for the second time in his career, signed a one-year, $775,000 contract. He can earn another $2.225 million in performance bonuses. The Dallas Stars bought out the final year of his three-year contract. He was bought out by the Minnesota Wild in 2021.
Chris Patrick becomes the seventh general manager in Capitals history after being promoted from associate GM. Brian MacLellan was promoted to president of hockey operations. Patrick is the son of Capitals chairman Dick Patrick.
The Capitals were one of the busier teams this offseason, trading for Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Jakob Chychrun and Logan Thompson and signing Matt Roy, Brandon Duhaime and Taylor Raddysh.
No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini (Sharks) and No. 2 pick Artyom Levshunov (Blackhawks) signed three-year, entry-level deals rather than return for another season at college. They could end up at different levels. Celebrini, who was the clear-cut No. 1 pick, is expected to open the season with the Sharks. Levshunov, depending on what happens in training camp, could start in the American Hockey League.
Fourteen restricted free agents have filed for salary arbitration, the NHL Players’ Association announced.
They are (in alphabetical order): Jake Christiansen (Blue Jackets), Connor Dewar (Maple Leafs), Jack Drury (Hurricanes), Ty Emberson (Sharks), Jet Greaves (Blue Jackets), Ryan Lindgren (Rangers), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Sabres), Beck Malenstyn (Sabres), Kirill Marchenko (Blue Jackets), J.J. Moser (Lightning), Martin Necas (Hurricanes), Spencer Stastney (Predators), Joe Veleno (Red Wings) and Oliver Wahlstrom (Islanders).
The key one is Necas, who has been linked to trade rumors. Moser and Malenstyn were acquired in offseason trades.
Hearings will be held from July 20 to Aug. 4, though nearly all players reach a settlement beforehand.
Jessica Campbell made history when she was hired to join Dan Bylsma’s coaching staff on the Seattle Kraken.
She becomes the first female full-time assistant coach in NHL history to work behind the bench
Campbell, 32, made similar history in the American Hockey League when Bylsma hired her as an assistant coach with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2022. Bylsma, a former Stanley Cup winner, is bringing Campbell with him to the NHL after being named Kraken coach in May.
“I just know that if the team has success and my impact is a good one, it could potentially open the doors for others,” she said.
The Nashville Predators were among the winners by signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. The Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights lost key players early but have added back. On Day 3, the Detroit Red Wings signed two-time Stanley Cup winner Vladimir Tarasenko.
A look at the opening days of 2024 NHL free agency
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals were busy on the trade front. The Lightning moved out Mikhail Sergachev and Tanner Jeannot, then acquired the rights to Jake Guentzel and signed him to a seven-year, $63 million contract. The Capitals traded for forwards Dubois and Mangiapane, defenseman Chychrun and goalie Thompson, moving out goalie Darcy Kuemper and Beck Malenstyn.