New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will be sporting some absolutely fire pads this season. Not only are the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline at the forefront, but the pattern of Madison Square Garden's unique roof fills in the background. The crowned pattern above the Statue of Liberty is also likely in regard to his nickname, "King Henrik."

Now, if only the Rangers would bring back the Statue of Liberty jerseys they wore as an alternate for a decade from 1996-97 to 2006-07.

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American NHL fans will get to see Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews a few times each in the upcoming season.

Both young superstars will appear in three games apiece on NBC/NBCSN in 2017-18, the league revealed Monday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will get one game on the main network and two on the cable channel.

All three of the Edmonton Oilers' games are scheduled to air on NBCSN.

Other interesting U.S. broadcast notes include:

• The Chicago Blackhawks lead the way with 17 appearances, although only one of those will be on NBC - against the Boston Bruins on March 11.
• The Nashville Predators, fresh off their unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Final, are scheduled to be seen seven times, but none of those games will be on the main network.
• The two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins will be shown 16 times, including three NBC games.
• The Vegas Golden Knights will be seen five times, beginning with the expansion franchise's first-ever home opener Oct. 10 against the Arizona Coyotes.
• Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres get seven games, including the Winter Classic against the New York Rangers at Citi Field in New York City on Jan. 1, 2018.

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Andrei Markov will spend the next couple of seasons playing in his homeland.

The former Montreal Canadiens defenseman signed a two-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL, the league announced Monday.

Markov revealed his intention to play in the KHL last Thursday, but the length of his stay in Russia wasn't clear at the time.

The Canadiens announced they were parting ways with the 38-year-old earlier that day.

Markov spent 16 seasons in a Canadiens uniform and insisted last week that he wanted to finish his career in Montreal.

He leaves the Canadiens having tied Guy Lapointe for second on the franchise points list among defensemen (572) and ranks second all time among Montreal blue-liners with 990 games played.

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From the NCAA's Division I ranks to a multi-year deal in the NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins newly-signed forward Conor Sheary's path to pro hockey has been far from linear.

The undrafted forward spent four seasons playing with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Minutemen between 2011-14, plying his trade in college rinks in hopes of one day cracking an NHL roster.

Skip forward to today, and the 25-year-old winger finally has what he's always wanted: job stability.

"My career has kind of been a whirlwind," Sheary told Michelle Crechiolo of Pens Inside Scoop. "Just going from three years ago, to think that I'd be signing this contract is something I never would have imagined.

"I was fortunate enough to pick the Penguins as the team I wanted to play for and they were obviously giving me every opportunity to prove myself, so I'm happy with that."

Sheary's new deal comes on the heels of fellow Pens Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz signing their new contracts.

"We're all pretty close friends," Sheary said. "We definitely have congratulated each other. We've said some inside jokes with each other about how much money Schultzy is making or whatever it may be.

"But it's all in good fun and I'm happy for those guys as well."

With two Stanley Cups rings and a 50-plus-point season to his credit, Sheary will now be counted on to contribute to a Penguins club looking to three-peat as champions.

Last season, Sheary scored 23 goals and added 30 assists across 61 regular-season games.

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The Minnesota Wild have signed restricted free-agent forward Nino Niederreiter to a five-year contract worth $26.25 million, the team announced Sunday.

That amounts to an average annual valuation of $5.25 million, making Niederreiter the team's third-highest paid forward.

"Nino has had a big impact on our club during the last four seasons and we're very happy to know that will continue in the future," said general manager Chuck Fletcher. "He's grown into his role as one of the offensive leaders of this group and his shot and net-front presence will continue to play a major role in our team's success.

"Nino has a great attitude and personality, and we know our fans will be as happy as we are about this news."

The two sides were scheduled for an arbitration hearing on Aug. 3.

Niederreiter, who will turn 25 prior to the start of this coming season, set career highs in goals (25), assists (32), total points (57), power-play goals (8), power-play assists (6), power-play points (14), and shots on goal (186) in 2016-17.

He's entering his fifth season with the Wild after being acquired from the New York Islanders, who selected him fifth overall at the 2010 NHL Draft.

Minnesota will now focus attention on Mikael Granlund, who remains an unsigned RFA.

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Jim Rutherford is refocusing his center of attention.

The Pittsburgh Penguins general manager was able to avoid arbitration with restricted free agents Brian Dumoulin and Conor Sheary, as the latter signed a three-year, $9-million contract Sunday. Now, he'll look to fill a hole at center left open by the departures of Nick Bonino (free agency), Matt Cullen (possible retirement), and Oskar Sundqvist (trade).

CapFriendly reveals free-agent options are limited at this point in the summer, and the Penguins have only $3.28 million in available salary cap space heading into next season, meaning Rutherford will be working the phones and further exploring the trade market in the coming days.

"There’s more talk going on now than there was a week or two ago," Rutherford added.

Pittsburgh's center depth is paltry at best following Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, with Carter Rowney slotted to play pivot in a limited role and Jake Guentzel clearly more suited as a scoring winger at this point.

The third-line center role has been filled by Jordan Staal, Brandon Sutter, and Bonino in recent years, leaving rather large skates to fill in Pittsburgh's quest for a third straight Stanley Cup win.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Conor Sheary to a three-year, $9-million contract, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.

Sheary scored 23 goals

More to come.

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