One of hockey’s most well-respected, well-rounded veterans gave his hometown team a hometown discount, a couple of younger players signed the longest contracts still available to them and trade dominos began falling Friday around the NHL.

An 84-game season is coming to the NHL as part of an extension of the collective bargaining agreement.

Connor Hellebuyck is starting to again look like the goalie that was so dominant in the regular season for Winnipeg.

Brad Marchand scored on a deflected shot at 15:27 of overtime and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Friday night to cut their deficit in the Eastern Conference semifinal series to 2-1.

The Dallas Stars emerged from a seven-game series against Colorado, and the Edmonton Oilers rallied from down 2-0 to eliminate Los Angeles and move on in the NHL playoffs.

Mitch Marner’s third career hat trick spoiled Todd McClellan’s Detroit coaching debut as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the struggling Red Wings 5-2.

David Pastrnak and David Kampf scored as the Czech Republic shut out Switzerland 2-0 to win the ice hockey world championship.

Craig Berube led the St. Louis Blues to a Stanley Cup in 2019.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are eager to leave nearly two decades of playoff futility behind them.

John Tavares scored 4:35 into overtime, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 for their first NHL playoff series win in nearly two decades.

John Tavares scored his 400th goal as the Toronto Maple Leafs raced by the Penguins 5-2.

Phil Kessel matched the NHL record for consecutive games played, Chandler Stephenson scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.

The NHL is wrapping up the first round of the playoffs with a rare treat.

The eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference have been set since before the All-Star break.

Michael Bunting had three goals, Rasmus Sandin scored the tiebreaker with 2:51 remaining and the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied for five unanswered goals in the third period to beat the Detroit Red Wings 7-4.

The NHL pushed back its return from an already extended holiday break an extra day by postponing its entire 14-game Monday schedule for COVID-19 testing reasons.

John Tavares had a goal and two assists and Petr Mrazek made 26 saves for his first victory with Toronto in the Maple Leafs’ 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.

The NHL regular season is two weeks away.

Four people with direct knowledge of the player’s decision have told The Associated Press that Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel is changing agents while in the midst of a long-standing dispute with the team over how to treat a neck injury.

Captains are leading the way into the second round of the NHL playoffs.

The New York Islanders have evened their series with Pittsburgh by keeping Penguins star Sidney Crosby in check.

Postseason experience can be a valuable asset in the NHL playoffs.

Toronto captain John Tavares was removed from the ice on a stretcher and taken to a hospital after a collision early in Game 1 of the Maple Leafs’ 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

(Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)TORONTO, ONT – Ontario’s minister of sport says the provincial government is examining how a Canadian division in the NHL might work. Lisa MacLeod says discussions about the league’s return-to-play plan are being studied by Ontario public health authorities, the province’s chief medical officer of health and officials from Toronto and Ottawa. Seven of the NHL’s 31 teams are in Canada: Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. The Ontario Hospital Association on Thursday asked the Ontario government for a strict four-week lockdown in regions with high rates of COVID-19 positivity that would include Toronto and Ottawa, the two Ontario cities with NHL teams. Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Wednesday the province’s public health measures shouldn’t impact a resumption of activities for the Montreal Canadiens.

Rewind to 2019 and early 2020 and that description fits the Tampa Bay Lightning, who added some grit and toughness to their talented core and went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Lightning effect was clear as soon as NHL free agency opened. “You need guys that are going to have a little bit of sandpaper. “We maybe have taken a little bit of a step back from the most skillful lineup we’ve ever had to more of a balance between the will and the skill," Poile said. We certainly have a little bit more physicality, a little bit more grit and I think it’s probably and hopefully a better mix than we had last year.”___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

TORONTO Goalie Joonas Kirpisalo and the Columbus Blue Jackets proved how they learned their lesson about holding three-goal leads. Korpisalo stopped 33 shots, Zach Werenski's floater from the left point in the first period held up as the winner, and the Blue Jackets defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 win in a decisive Game 5 on Sunday night. The Maple Leafs ran out of offense with captain John Tavares misfiring by hitting the post while facing a wide-open side in the first period. The Maple Leafs continued their one-and-done playoff woes in making their fourth straight postseason appearance, and fifth since the 2004-05 NHL lockout. NOTES: Maple Leafs LW Andreas Johnsson returned to play after being activated off injured reserve earlier in the day.

TORONTO, ONT Auston Matthews and John Tavares scored and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 on Tuesday to even their best-of-five qualifying series at one game. Five Leafs power plays helped keep the Blue Jackets on their heels. Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno was just as disappointed. ... Blue Jackets D Dean Kukan left the bench for observation in the first period after a big hit by Toronto's Kyle Clifford but returned later in the period. That also was the first playoff shutout in Blue Jackets history.

NHL players could start participating in voluntary small-group workouts, and teams began opening their training facilities Monday. Players learned Thursday training camps can open July 10, pending an agreement on returning to play later this summer. Now, the players are expected to trickle back in preparation of the resumption of the season. Players started skating by the handful this week in places like Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Edmonton, while some teams waited to open their doors. Veteran Nashville general manager David Poile said that while almost a dozen players remained in the area, the NHL has instructed teams not to ask or encourage players to show up because this stage is voluntary.

The announcement came at nearly the same time the Pittsburgh Penguins revealed one of their players had tested positive for the coronavirus. The team said the unidentified player was not in Pittsburgh, was isolated after experiencing symptoms and has recovered. So far, nine NHL players have tested positive: five from Ottawa, three from Colorado and one from Pittsburgh. Everybody is used to a best of seven, Pittsburgh player representative Kris Letang said. Any team that is going to win five rounds, four rounds of best of seven ...

Staple Center is one of the possible locations the NHL has zeroed in on to host playoff games if it can return amid the coronavirus pandemic. Seven of the 10 locations the NHL has zeroed in on to hold playoff games if it resumes are American cities not restricted by Canadas 14-day mandatory quarantine upon arrival. Before the NHL commits to where games could be held, officials are planning for multiple scenarios. But that isnt stopping NHL executives from pitching the ability to host playoff games. None of us would agree to a situation where we are taking away testing from people that need it, Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said.