Henrik Lundqvist was about 72 hours away from heading to the United States to meet up with the Washington Capitals in April when he learned he had heart inflammation that ultimately forced him to conclude his career.

"It was three days before I was going back to Washington that I found out that I had pericarditis," Lundqvist told Swedish publication Goteborgs-Posten, as translated by NHL.com, according to the league website's Tom Gulitti. "I was very close to coming back. It was very tough to go through that again, but this was a completely different thing because it had nothing to do with the operation."

Lundqvist, who retired at 39 last week, never played for the Capitals after signing with them as a free agent in October. In December, the longtime New York Rangers star netminder said he wouldn't play all season due to a heart condition, and he underwent open-heart surgery shortly thereafter.

He appeared to make progress following the procedure and began to skate in the spring. However, on April 11, Lundqvist halted his comeback bid and revealed he had inflammation around his heart that would keep him out for a few more months.

The Capitals inked Lundqvist to a one-year, $1.5-million deal before doctors identified his condition. The Rangers bought out his contract in late September.

Lundqvist spent his entire 15-year on-ice career with New York. He was one of the best NHL goalies ever, ranking among the league's all-time leaders in wins, games played, saves, and shutouts.

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The Minnesota Wild signed defenseman Jordie Benn to a one-year contract worth $900,000, the team announced Friday.

Benn spent last season with the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks. The 34-year-old collected one goal and nine assists in 39 games while also blocking 51 shots.

The blue-liner is a veteran of 556 career games, scoring 24 goals and adding 103 assists. Benn's also managed 670 hits and 908 blocked shots.

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John Tavares appears to be on track to return at full health next season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs captain is recovering from a big collision that sent him to the hospital during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"It's been a great offseason for myself, obviously from a health standpoint, but even more so I think just continuing to get back to work and try to get better and recover well, obviously I think some time really helps," Tavares said on NHL Network. "I'm really fortunate that it wasn't anything much more than the incident and I really kind of came out of the hospital and I've been doing really well ever since and didn't really have any hiccups or any issues, just kind of kept building from there.

"So it's been a good offseason, I'm doing great."

Tavares collided with Montreal Canadiens forward Corey Perry in the opening minutes of the playoffs, taking a knee to the head at full speed. He suffered a concussion and knee injury on the play but was discharged from the hospital the following day.

The 30-year-old resumed light skating not long after being discharged but had no timetable for a return to playing. He's slowly ramped up his offseason routine to get ready for the upcoming campaign.

"It was nice to just kind of get back out and working on some things I wanted to work on," Tavares said. "Come off the injury and be on the ice a lot and get a good feel for my game and go from there and then just try to be out there with a good bunch of guys up here up north."

Tavares posted 19 goals and 31 assists in 56 games last season.

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The Jack Eichel saga in Buffalo has a new development.

The Sabres star has parted ways with longtime agents Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli and is now represented by Pat Brisson of CAA Hockey, reports The Buffalo News' Mike Harrington.

Brisson is one of the biggest agents in hockey, representing the likes of Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Anze Kopitar, Patrick Kane, and John Tavares. His roster of clients also includes young stars such as Trevor Zegras, Jack Hughes, Elias Pettersson, and Cole Caufield.

Eichel's previous agents were actively trying to broker a trade for the disgruntled forward over the summer. In late July, the agents issued a statement that the "process is not working" and they expected a trade to happen before the opening of the league's free-agency period.

The 24-year-old is still reportedly seeking to undergo an artificial disk replacement surgery for his neck, but the Sabres have denied his request to undergo the procedure. With the season now rapidly approaching, it's unclear when Eichel will be able to resume play.

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Canada sent a message to its biggest rival Thursday night, defeating the United States 5-1 at the Women's World Hockey Championship.

The win secured top spot in Group A for the Canadians heading into the quarterfinal round and brought their record to a perfect 4-0. The Americans fell to 3-1 for the tournament and saw their 29-game winning streak at the worlds come to an end.

Canada hadn't beaten the U.S. at the event since 2013.

Melodie Daoust and Renata Fast scored for Canada in the first period before Jamie Rattray buried twice and Sarah Nurse added another in the middle frame to put the game out of reach. Lee Stecklein gave the United States a consolation tally in the third.

The quarterfinals are scheduled to begin Saturday.

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Montreal Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme says he wasn't worried that the Seattle Kraken would select Carey Price in the expansion draft last month.

"I was never nervous," Ducharme said Thursday, according to NHL.com's Sean Farrell. "We knew it was a possibility we could lose Carey but it was the organization's decision, and they had evaluated every situation and the reasons they believed he would stay with us."

The Canadiens exposed Price in order to protect backup netminder Jake Allen. Price waived his no-move clause - for expansion-draft purposes only - to facilitate the moves.

Three days before the expansion draft, it was reported Price was dealing with a knee issue that could require surgery and that he'd also have his hip examined. Seattle selected defenseman Cale Fleury from Montreal during the proceedings, and two days later, the Canadiens said Price was expected to be ready for next season after undergoing a knee procedure. He was given a recovery timetable of 10-12 weeks on July 23.

Ducharme echoed the team's projection Thursday, adding he'd have a more definitive update in the near future.

"He just arrived in Montreal not too long ago," Ducharme said. "I'll have more news next week, and he should be there for the start of (training) camp, and if not at the start, very soon after that."

Price's wife, Angela, wrote in early August that she "thought we were for sure headed to Seattle."

The 34-year-old goalie helped the Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Final this summer for the first time since 1993. He's under contract through 2025-26 at a $10.5-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly.

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