The Florida Panthers have bought out defenseman Keith Yandle, the club announced Thursday.

Yandle had two seasons remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $6.35 million. He signed the seven-year, $44.45-million deal with Florida in 2016.

"While a decision of this kind is never an easy one to make, we believe that this shift is necessary as we look towards the 2021-22 season and our club's future," Panthers general manager Bill Zito said.

Here's a breakdown of the salary-cap implications of Yandle's buyout, according to CapFriendly:

The 34-year-old appeared to fall out of favor with the Panthers at times this past season. It was reported in January that he wasn't in the team's plans moving forward and would begin the campaign as a healthy scratch. But he ended up playing in all 56 regular-season games, recording 27 points.

Florida scratched Yandle for two games during its first-round loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Yandle owns the second-longest ironman streak in NHL history, having played in 922 consecutive regular-season games. The blue-liner has 600 points in 1,032 career contests.

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The Ottawa Senators have appointed Pierre McGuire as senior vice president of player development, the team announced Monday.

McGuire will work closely with general manager Pierre Dorion and owner Eugene Melnyk.

"We are excited to add Pierre to our hockey management group. His experience will be instrumental as we continue to build an elite team," Melnyk said. "Pierre's knowledge of the game and its players is highly regarded, and I am confident that he will positively assist our team as it progresses to the next level."

McGuire, 59, has spent the last 24 years as a broadcaster. Prior to that, he served as a head coach, assistant coach, and scout with various NHL, ECHL, and college teams.

"I wanted someone that knew as many of the players as possible," Melnyk said, according to the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch. "That's one of the key elements, is knowing who you're acquiring. ... You want to know that player's family, friends, who he hangs out with, who influenced him, and everything possible to know you're getting the right person."

Despite posting a 23-28-5 record last season, the Senators finished the 2021 campaign as one of the league's strongest teams. For Melnyk, that was apparently enough for him to deem the rebuilding club as ready to be competitive again.

"There's no more excuses. It's showtime," Melnyk said. "We've done the rebuild. We're still building, but we're almost done."

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The mystery behind Jeff Petry's bloodshot eyes has been cracked.

The Montreal Canadiens defenseman said Friday the condition was the result of him passing out while getting his broken pinky finger reset during Montreal's second-round series against the Winnipeg Jets.

"The eyes were all because when they were setting my finger back into place to put the cast on, I basically passed out and popped all the blood vessels in my eyes," Petry said, courtesy of TSN.

Petry broke his finger in Game 3 against the Jets after getting it stuck in a camera hole in the glass. He missed two contests as a result and returned for Game 2 against the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 3.

Fans immediately took notice of Petry's new look when he returned to the lineup.

The 33-year-old added that he could have had surgery to repair the broken finger but decided against it because it would require six-to-eight weeks of recovery, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels.

Petry finished the postseason with six assists in 20 games and averaged 24:03 of ice time per game.

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The New Jersey Devils re-signed defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler to a two-year contract that carries an average annual value of $1.125 million, the team announced Friday.

Siegenthaler, 24, was acquired by the Devils from the Washington Capitals in April. He only skated in eight games with New Jersey, missing time while in COVID-19 protocol.

He appeared in 64 games with the Capitals in 2019-20, recording two goals and seven assists. He played a vital role on their penalty kill, leading the club with an average of 3:11 minutes of shorthanded ice time per contest.

Siegenthaler has two goals and 11 assists across 105 career games. Washington drafted him 57th overall in 2015.

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Joel Bouchard has left the Montreal Canadiens organization.

The Anaheim Ducks announced Friday that Bouchard will be the new head coach of their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.

Bouchard guided the Laval Rocket to an 83-67-24 record over the past three campaigns. Last season, the Rocket won the Canadian Division and had the AHL's second-highest points percentage (.694).

"The opportunity to bring in Joel Bouchard as head coach of our American Hockey League club was something that we could not pass up," Ducks general manager Bob Murray said. "Joel has a strong track record coaching and developing players at the professional, junior, and international level. This is the primary focus for us, and Joel fits the bill perfectly."

Bouchard was seen as a leading candidate for the Canadiens' head coaching job. Interim bench boss Dominique Ducharme recently guided the team to a Stanley Cup Final appearance.

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Corey Perry isn't ready to call it a career.

The 36-year-old said Friday he wants to keep playing, and that he hopes to spend next season with the Montreal Canadiens.

"There's still a lot of good hockey left in me, and I would love to come back to experience Montreal for what it's like really being in Montreal," Perry said, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels.

"There's definitely a bright future in Montreal, and, hopefully, I'm a part of it," he added, per The Athletic's Arpon Basu.

Perry's coming off a one-year, $750,000 contract. Despite not being in the Canadiens' lineup for a handful of early-season games, he recorded 21 points in 49 contests while leading their fourth line throughout the campaign. The veteran forward also notched four goals and six assists during Montreal's surprise Stanley Cup Final run.

Perry played a similar role in the Dallas Stars' postseason run last year. He lost the title to the Tampa Bay Lightning both seasons.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed defenseman Travis Dermott to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.5 million, the team announced Thursday.

Dermott, 24, recorded two goals and four assists through 51 games last season. He averaged 13:13 of ice time per contest.

Toronto selected the Newmarket, Ontario, native 34th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. He's managed 11 goals and 36 assists during 208 career games over four campaigns.

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Carey Price is shouldering the blame after his Montreal Canadiens lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final.

"At the end of the day, I just don't think I played well enough at the start of the series," Price said postgame Wednesday, per TVA Sports.

Captain Shea Weber, who was seated next to Price, dismissed his star goalie's comments and quickly interjected.

"I don't think that's the case at all, to be honest. I think that we weren't good enough in front of Carey," Weber said. "Give them credit, they're a heck of a team, they're here for a reason, and they were better than us in the end."

Price was outstanding for the first three rounds of the playoffs, helping guide the Canadiens to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1993. However, he and the team in front of him weren't as sharp in the opening games against the highly talented Lightning.

Through Game 3, Price allowed 13 goals on 79 shots for an .835 save percentage. The Canadiens were outscored 14-5 over that span, unable to generate much on either side of the ice.

Price seemed to regain his form after calling out his own play following Game 3, but it was ultimately too little too late. He made 32 saves in an overtime win in Game 4 and stopped 29 of 30 shots in the following contest.

The 33-year-old sees a bittersweetness in the defeat and the experience of his team's improbable run.

"It's incredibly disappointing," Price said, according to The Athletic's Arpon Basu. "But I'm only disappointed in the result."

Price finished the postseason with a .924 save percentage and 2.28 goals-against average.

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Tampa Bay Lightning forward Alex Killorn revealed he was sidelined with a broken fibula after blocking a shot from Jeff Petry in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Killorn underwent surgery last week to have a rod inserted in his calf and hoped to return if the series was extended, Friedman adds.

The Lightning ultimately needed just five games to take down the Montreal Canadiens and win back-to-back Cups. Though he didn't take part in the majority of the Final, Killorn played an integral role in getting Tampa Bay through the postseason.

Killorn, who grew up in the Montreal area, had eight goals and nine assists in 19 games during Tampa's run.

The 31-year-old wasn't prepared to let the injury stop him from hoisting the Stanley Cup in front of a full home crowd after winning it without fans in the stands in the bubble last season.

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Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has provided some insight into what his club will look like in the future.

"I think it’s building. I think that’s the right way to say it. We have a lot of young players that are talented," Adams said to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

"Sometimes, when players come into the league at a really young age, some people feel like maybe they’re older than they are. But guys like (Rasmus) Dahlin, (Dylan) Cozens, (Casey) Mittelstadt, these are very, very young players. So, we want to build.

"And I’ve been energized about this young core of Sabres we have that are hungry, and they want to be part of the solution. … These guys are proud to be Buffalo Sabres, they want to fix this and get this right, they want to move forward together. So that’s the young core that we’re working to build around."

Adams didn't mention captain Jack Eichel as part of the young core amid reported trade talks surrounding the star. In May, Eichel told reporters there was a "disconnect" between him and the franchise following a disagreement over how to treat his neck injury.

The 24-year-old has five years remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $10 million. Buffalo selected him with the second overall pick in the 2015 draft.

The Sabres have had several lottery picks since picking Eichel. The club grabbed Mittelstadt with the eighth pick in 2017, Dahlin first overall in 2018, and Cozens at No. 7 in 2019. All three are under the age of 22 and played extremely well under new head coach Don Granato last season.

With a plethora of youthful talent, Adams has made it clear that his goal is to surround the budding trio with players that can help turn Buffalo back into a contender.

"We need to do a lot of building, we need to surround those young players with the right people, the right culture every day, with players who truly love being a Buffalo Sabre and want to get this right," Adams said.

Once again, the Sabres have the first overall pick in the upcoming draft and will add another fresh player to the mix. The team also selected Jack Quinn with the eighth pick in last year's draft, but he has yet to make his NHL debut.

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