Nick Schmaltz has agreed to a new seven-year deal with the Arizona Coyotes, the club announced Saturday.

The contract extension carries a $5.85-million average annual value, or $40.95 million in total, The Athletic's Craig Morgan reports.

Schmaltz has been out since December with a knee injury. The 23-year-old collected 14 points in 17 games before being forced out of the lineup.

He was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in November for forwards Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini.

The Blackhawks selected Schmaltz with the 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft.

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Mark Giordano, Robin Lehner, and Corey Crawford are among the 2018-19 nominees for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

The Calgary Flames defenseman, New York Islanders goaltender, and Chicago Blackhawks netminder are among 31 players selected by the corresponding chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers Association for the award that recognizes the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.

Giordano is having the best season of his career at the age of 35 and is the heart and soul of a resurgent Flames club. He's also likely to be a Norris Trophy finalist as one of the top blue-liners in the NHL.

Lehner has overcome addiction, a bipolar disorder diagnosis, and opened up in September about having suicidal thoughts last season. The 27-year-old Swede enters Saturday's games with a .926 save percentage, and he's helped the Islanders defy expectations by fighting for the Metropolitan Division crown.

Crawford returned to action in late February after suffering his second concussion in the last two seasons. He missed most of the 2017-18 campaign and more than two months of 2018-19, but has helped the Blackhawks make a late-season playoff push this spring. He came into Saturday's schedule with an 8-4-1 record and a .921 save percentage since his return.

Here's the full list of the nominees from each club:

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The Vegas Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues officially clinched playoff spots with the Arizona Coyotes' shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.

St. Louis' turnaround is one for the history books, as the team sat dead last in the NHL on Jan. 3. The Blues are 25-9-4 since that date, miraculously salvaging their season and moving within four points of the Central Division lead following Friday's action.

The Blues head back to the playoffs for the seventh time in the last eight years after missing out by a single point last season.

Vegas enjoyed a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season, but it won't be a surprise if the league's youngest franchise makes a deep playoff push in its second year.

The Golden Knights have rolled through the competition since adding Mark Stone at the trade deadline, posting a record of 10-4-1.

With the Blues and Golden Knights clinching, only two playoff spots remain up for grabs in the Western Conference.

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A change of scenery has done wonders for Robin Lehner.

After being non-tendered by the Buffalo Sabres last year, Lehner is enjoying a career season with the New York Islanders after signing a one-year, $1.5-million contract this summer.

Lehner is in a clear state of mind after his alcohol and sleeping pill addiction, as well as his bipolar disorder, almost led to his own suicide. While those are certainly contributing factors to his performance, Lehner credited his new organization - and atmosphere - for his turnaround.

“It’s a different feeling this year in general,” Lehner told Newsday's Andrew Gross. “We’re having fun. It’s a positive atmosphere. It’s not surrounded by negativity. That was one of the hard things when I was in Buffalo, just this cloud and atmosphere of negativity.”

The New York media market has a reputation of being hard on athletes, but Lehner claims it's a cakewalk compared to Buffalo.

“No, Buffalo prepared me,” Lehner said. “It couldn’t be any worse. Buffalo would prepare me to go to Toronto. It was so bad there sometimes. You would walk out to games and the game hadn’t started and people are already booing. It’s an incredibly passionate fan base and they’re filling that building but it can be miserable in that rink."

Now, Lehner may need to begin clearing his trophy shelf. He's New York's nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy, but he could also take home the Jennings Trophy along with fellow Islanders netminder Thomas Greiss.

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Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog was back in the lineup Friday against the Arizona Coyotes after missing nine games with an upper-body injury, the team announced.

Landeskog was originally given a four-to-six-week timetable on March 8.

The Avalanche hold the Western Conference's second wild-card spot, with the Coyotes just two points behind.

Landeskog was playing his best hockey prior to the injury, tallying 33 goals and 69 points - both career highs - in 68 games.

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The Calgary Flames are nearing an agreement with KHL goalie prospect Artyom Zagidulin on a one-year, entry-level contract, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Zagidulin was the backup to KHL legend Vasili Koshechkin this past season for Metallurg Magnitogorsk. In 25 games, the 23-year-old posted a 1.96 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.

The goaltending duo of Mike Smith and David Rittich has led the Flames to first place in the Western Conference this campaign, but the former is 37 years old and without a contract next season.

Tyler Parsons, a second-round pick in 2016, is considered the Flames' top goalie prospect, but he's struggled in the AHL this season with a 3.83 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage.

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Montreal Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw won't have a hearing for Thursday's hit on Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Adam McQuaid, a league spokesperson told TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Shaw was handed a two-minute minor for interference on the play, while McQuaid, who has a history of concussions, left the game and didn't return.

After the game, Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella called the hit "ridiculously suspendable."

Shaw has been suspended three times in his career, most recently in 2016.

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Former Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault will be behind the bench for Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

The rest of the coaching staff is expected to be announced early next week, Dreger added. Jason Botterill, Ron Francis, and Ron Hextall have already been tasked with selecting the team's roster.

Vigneault has been out of coaching since being fired by the Rangers after missing the playoffs in 2017-18, the last of his five seasons in charge. New York is still on the hook for one more year of his contract, which pays him $4.1 million, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Prior to his stint in the Big Apple, Vigneault coached the Canucks from 2006-2013, which was the club's most successful era. Along the way, he won five straight division titles, took home the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year in 2006-07, and brought the team to within one game of winning the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Vigneault also coached the Montreal Canadiens from 1997-2001.

The 57-year-old could potentially be handed a loaded World Championship roster, as some of Canada's brightest stars - including Connor McDavid, Claude Giroux, Jonathan Huberdeau, Jonathan Toews, Bo Horvat, and Drew Doughty - could miss the NHL playoffs.

The tournament will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia, from May 10-26.

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