NHL

4:51 PM ET The Ottawa Senators have re-signed restricted free agent forward Josh Norris to an eight-year, $63.6 million contract, the team announced Thursday. Norris, 23, was the Senators’ leading goal scorer last season with 35 goals while also posting 20 assists. “We’re very pleased to come to a long-term agreement with Josh,” Senators general

8:43 AM ET The New Jersey Devils have agreed to terms with former Tampa Bay Lightning winger Ondrej Palat, bringing a veteran Stanley Cup champion onto their young roster of forwards. The Devils landed Palat on a five-year deal with an average annual value of $6 million, a source told ESPN, confirming multiple reports. Palat,

2:36 PM ET Johnny Gaudreau shocked the hockey world when he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets on the opening day of NHL free agency Wednesday. But according to Gaudreau — who was one of this year’s most coveted unrestricted free agents — the decision to agree on a seven-year, $68.25 million pact with the

10:12 PM ET The opening hours of NHL free agency did not bring us an answer as to where Nazem Kadri and John Klingberg would be skating in 2022-23, but there was no shortage of money being doled out elsewhere. Plus, we were treated to some blockbuster trades, as the Carolina Hurricanes added Brent Burns

6:02 AM ET ESPN staff The 2022 NHL offseason is in full swing, as the draft is now in the rearview mirror and teams look to mold their rosters via trades and re-signings. While the start of free agency is traditionally on July 1, it will begin this year on July 13 because of the

6:55 PM ET While free agent signings dominated the discussion Wednesday as the market officially opened, there were a few trades as well. The Vegas Golden Knights dealt forward Max Pacioretty and defenseman Dylan Coghlan to Carolina for future considerations. No salary was retained in the deal as Vegas looked to clear cap space. Who

6:55 PM ET The San Jose Sharks traded defenseman Brent Burns and AHL forward Lane Pederson to Carolina for forward Steven Lorentz, AHL goalie Eetu Makiniemi and a conditional 2023 3rd-round pick. The Sharks retained 34-percent of Burns’s cap hit. Who comes out ahead in this one? Here’s how both GMs did in the swap:

2:25 PM ET The NHL free agency signing period for 2022 is underway. For each key deal, ESPN NHL reporters Greg Wyshynski and Kristen Shilton will assess the player’s fit with his new team, weigh whether the terms of the deal make sense and hand out an overall grade for the team. We’ll continue to

7:47 PM ET Following the Minnesota Wild‘s re-signing of Marc-Andre Fleury this past week, there was much speculation that Cam Talbot could be on the move via trade. That speculation turned to reality on Tuesday, with the Wild trading Talbot to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for netminder Filip Gustavsson. It’s the second goalie deal

8:35 AM ET The four days between the end of the draft and the start of free agency occur at a frenetic pace behind the scenes. It’s crunch time for teams to sign their pending unrestricted free agents before they lose their coveted trump card: an eighth year on a contract. Front offices toggle between

8:30 AM ET NHL free agency officially begins on Wednesday at noon ET, but it’s already been an absolutely wild offseason in hockey. With the salary cap rising by only $1 million from last season, teams have been forced into difficult decisions, such as: Still, some potential free agents removed themselves from the market by

12:20 AM ET The Pittsburgh Penguins signed veteran forward Rickard Rakell to a six-year contract extension, the team announced late Monday night. The contract runs through the 2027-28 season, and carries an average annual value of $5 million. Rakell, 29, among some of the trade-deadline departures from the Anaheim Ducks last season, found a fit

9:07 PM ET The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired goaltender Matt Murray, a third-round selection in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and a seventh-round selection in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for future considerations. Ottawa will retain 25% of Murray’s salary as part of the trade. Murray has two

8:35 AM ET Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland has surveyed the NHL free-agent landscape every summer since 1997. What does he see as the 2022 market prepares to officially open Wednesday at noon? “Lots of teams are tight on the cap, so it’s going to be interesting,” Holland told ESPN. “And then other teams

5:44 PM ET The Colorado Avalanche have signed pending restricted free agent Alexandar Georgiev to a three-year extension, the club announced on Sunday. Financial details were not disclosed in the release, but sources confirmed to ESPN the deal comes with a $3.4 million AAV ($10.2 million total). Colorado acquired Georgiev’s negotiating rights from the New

2:07 PM ET Associated Press EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — All-Star forward Adrian Kempe has agreed to a four-year, $22 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Kings. The club announced the deal Sunday with Kempe, who set career highs with 35 goals and 54 points last season while earning his first All-Star Game selection. Kempe

11:11 AM ET The Nashville Predators have re-signed forward Filip Forsberg to an eight-year contract extension days before he was set to reach unrestricted free agency, the team announced on Saturday. Forsberg’s deal carries an average annual value of $8.5 million against the NHL salary cap, a source confirmed to ESPN. There was no word

5:23 PM ET MONTREAL — The 2022 NHL draft is in the books, as 225 players were selected over the course of seven rounds and two days. Before getting to the annual list of draft winners and draft losers, let’s focus on the event’s biggest leader: Holding the draft in person again, and in Montreal.