The St. Louis Blues re-signed forward Zach Sanford to a one-year contract worth $2 million, the team announced Wednesday.

Sanford, who was a restricted free agent and avoided arbitration by striking the deal, will be an unrestricted free agent when it expires.

The 26-year-old recorded 10 goals and six assists in 52 games last season. Over the past three campaigns with the Blues, Sanford's totaled 36 goals and 35 assists in 183 games.

St. Louis has now signed all of its restricted free agents except for forward Robert Thomas.

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Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois is changing his jersey number to pay tribute to his late former teammate Matiss Kivlenieks, according to Winnipeg Sun's Scott Billeck.

Dubois is switching from No. 13 to 80 for the upcoming season.

Kivlenieks, who died at age 24 in a fireworks accident last month, wore No. 80 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Latvian netminder had played in the team's system since 2017-18 and appeared in eight NHL games over the last two seasons.

Dubois also began his Blue Jackets tenure in 2017-18 and played with Columbus until January of this year, when the club traded him to Winnipeg. He wore No. 18 with the Blue Jackets.

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The Winnipeg Jets inked Logan Stanley to a two-year contract carrying an average annual value of $900,000.

Stanley was a restricted free agent.

The 23-year-old remains a key member of Winnipeg's defensive corps, even after the Jets acquired Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt in recent trades.

Stanley collected only four points while averaging 13:13 of ice time over 37 games as a rookie, but the 6-foot-7 rearguard's underlying numbers were more favorable. Winnipeg controlled 51.19% of the scoring chances with Stanley on the ice at five-on-five in 2021, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Ontario-born blue-liner made his debut with the club after spending two campaigns with its AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. The Jets drafted Stanley 18th overall in 2016.

Defenseman Neal Pionk and forward Andrew Copp are Winnipeg's lone remaining NHL RFAs. Both players filed for salary arbitration Sunday.

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One of the most vocal figures in hockey will soon be back in front of the camera.

ESPN hired John Tortorella as a studio analyst for next season, reports The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

Tortorella and the Columbus Blue Jackets parted ways in May. He served as the club's head coach for six seasons, helping the team make the playoffs in four of those campaigns. Columbus shockingly knocked out the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2018-19 postseason.

The two-time Jack Adams Award winner guided the Lightning to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2004. He also helmed the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks over a coaching career spanning nearly two decades.

ESPN already added Mark Messier, Chris Chelios, Rick DiPietro, Ray Ferraro, and Brian Boucher as analysts for 2021-22, when it'll regain U.S. broadcast rights along with TNT.

The network's NHL broadcasts will feature several female voices as well. A.J. Mleczko, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, and Hilary Knight will provide color, and Leah Hextall will do play-by-play. Hextall will also fulfill other roles.

Tortorella was well known for being incredibly outspoken during his coaching career, but he was also tight-lipped at times. The NHL fined him $25,000 last August after he abruptly walked out of a press conference following the Blue Jackets' postseason elimination. He was reportedly fined more than $160,000 throughout his coaching career, usually for comments criticizing officiating.

The 63-year-old previously worked as an in-studio broadcaster for TSN when he was between jobs in 2008.

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Like Montreal Canadiens fans, Carey Price’s wife Angela is certainly relieved all the expansion draft drama is over.

Angela detailed the experience on her lifestyle blog, "By Angela."

"With your world dependent on what seemed like a game of chicken was bizarre and something I hope to never experience again," she wrote.

Carey waived his no-movement clause ahead of the expansion draft, and the Habs created quite a stir when they left their franchise icon unprotected and free for the Seattle Kraken's picking - a decision the organization made so it could protect backup netminder Jake Allen instead.

"Really, there was no other option," Angela wrote. "I was not stressed about it at all - because of Carey’s contract, his age, and his injury, Seattle wouldn’t even give him a second glance ... or so we thought."

Then, the rumor mill started churning, and Angela "spent the next couple of days living on Twitter."

"It definitely got to a point where I thought we were for sure headed to Seattle, so I let myself start mentally preparing for it and even talking about it. Just in case it did happen," she wrote.

Of course, seeing as the Kraken opted to select defenseman Cale Fleury from Montreal instead, Carey will be suiting up for Montreal once again next campaign.

"Our heart, my heart is with the Canadiens organization," Angela wrote, adding that she "hated" the way the news of Carey's choice to waive his no-movement clause broke before the news of his injury.

"His injury was the entire reason we had lifted his no-trade and he was left unprotected," she said. "It hurt my heart to read that people thought we wanted out of Montreal. I was so thankful when it came out the next day that Carey was going to need surgery, but at the same time Carey’s agent was calling to say that Seattle didn’t seem too concerned about his injury and him being picked up could really happen."

Carey received knee surgery on July 23, and he's expected to be ready for the start of the regular season in October.

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The time's come to crown the Greatest Sports Movie of all time.

Sixty-four of cinema's best sports films enter our bracket, from tearjerkers to family favorites, and a few Oscar winners, as well. Vote below throughout the week to determine which movie is crowned champion.

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Several of Evander Kane's San Jose Sharks teammates would prefer he didn't play for the club in 2021-22, reports The Athletic's Kevin Kurz.

The Sharks reportedly tried to trade Kane earlier this offseason, and his uneasy relationship with a number of his teammates was a major reason why, Kurz adds.

The NHL is investigating Kane after his wife, Anna, said Saturday on Instagram that he threw games to support his gambling addiction. Kane denied the allegations Sunday. The league's probe is reportedly expected to be completed by training camp in September.

Kane is under contract with the Sharks through 2024-25. The seven-year pact he inked with San Jose in 2018 carries a $7-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly. Kane is owed another $26 million in total salary over the life of the deal.

The 12-year veteran has a modified no-trade clause as part of that pact. It allows him to submit a list of just three teams to which he can be dealt.

Kane filed for bankruptcy in January. While the Sharks had the option to void his contract in the proceedings, they chose not to do so in March. Kane said in May that the bankruptcy filing was a "weight off" his back.

The winger, who turned 30 on Monday, collected a career-high 0.88 points per game in 2021. He notched 22 goals and 27 assists while playing all 56 contests.

Kane has been a Shark for three full seasons and the final 17 games of 2017-18, the latter of which he played after the Buffalo Sabres traded him to San Jose.

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