Chicago Blackhawks forward and former captain of Team Canada at this year's world juniors Kirby Dach will miss approximately four-to-five months after undergoing successful surgery to repair a right wrist fracture, the team announced Monday.

Dach suffered the injury during Canada's exhibition game against Russia.

More to come.

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The Los Angeles Kings signed forward Andreas Athanasiou to a one-year, $1.2-million contract, according to TSN 1040's Rick Dhaliwal.

The 26-year-old was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline last season. Athanasiou appeared in nine regular-season games with his new club, recording one goal and one assist. He went pointless in four postseason contests.

Athanasiou spent his entire career with the Detroit Red Wings prior to joining the Oilers. The team selected him in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL Draft. He amassed 83 goals and 71 assists in 294 regular-season games with Detroit.

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Team Canada is off to a scorching start at this year's world juniors.

Canada showed no mercy Saturday and easily took care of a short-staffed German team in the country's first game of the world juniors, winning 16-2.

Kaiden Guhle opened the scoring two minutes into the game. Soon after, defenseman Dawson Mercer took advantage of a mishap by German goaltender Arno Tiefensee to bury an easy shorthanded goal.

Halfway through the first, defenseman Braden Schneider was ejected from the game for delivering a hit to the head, which gave the Germans a five-minute power play. John-Jason Peterka managed to snipe one past Devon Levi to get Germany on the board at the end of the man advantage.

After the Germans saw a glimmer of hope, Canada's Phil Tomasino netted one just a minute later. As the clock expired, Peyton Krebs beat the buzzer for another goal to put Canada up 4-1 even though time seemed to have expired before the puck crossed the line.

Canada turned on the jets in the second period and scored seven goals. Mercer, Krebs, and Tomasino each netted their second, while Alex Newhook potted two. Ryan Suzuki and Dylan Cozens scored the others.

The third period didn't get any easier for the Germans as Canada scored five goals on its first five shots of the period. The onslaught continued through the end of the game, but Germany managed to squeeze in its second goal in the dying seconds.

Cozens ended the game with a hat trick. Jakob Pelletier, Thomas Harley, and Connor McMichael rounded out Canada's list of scorers as Canada outshot the Germans 44-15.

Canada's 16 goals in a single world juniors game came two shy of the country's record of 18 set in 1985 and equaled in 1986, according to Sportsnet Stats. It was the most goals the country has scored in a game since the Canadians put up 16 against Latvia in 2009.

Germany's loss was the team's second straight game with just 14 skaters due to COVID-19 quarantine requirements.

This was Canada's first game and win of the tournament. Germany already dropped its first game against Finland on Friday. Canada is set to take on Slovakia at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, and Germany will also take on the Slovaks at 9:30 p.m. on Monday.

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Russia defeated the United States 5-3 to conclude the opening day of this year's preliminary round at the world juniors.

The Russians got off to a hot start, dominating the Americans early on before Vasili Ponomaryov netted the first goal. Soon after, U.S. captain Cam York flicked a shot through traffic from the point that trickled past netminder Yaroslav Askarov to tie things up before the intermission.

However, things got out of hand for the Americans in the second frame. Zakhar Bardakov netted a goal on a breakaway just under four minutes into the period. Then, Ponomaryov picked up defenseman Jake Sanderson's errant pass into the slot and sniped his second goal of the game to take a 3-1 lead.

Minutes later, U.S. goaltender Spencer Knight allowed his fourth goal on 12 shots after misplaying the puck. As a result, Dustin Wolf replaced Knight.

The U.S showed some fight in the third, dominating possession and peppering the Russians with shots. John Farinacci cut the deficit to 4-2 midway through the final frame before Trevor Zegras brought the Americans within a goal with just over two minutes remaining. However, it proved to be too little too late, as Russia scored an empty-netter and held on for the win.

Wolf stopped all 11 shots he faced after relieving Knight in the second period. York was named the player of the game for the American side while Ponomaryov earned the honor for Russia.

The U.S. will next take on Austria at 9:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Russians will face the Czech Republic at 9:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.

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The Anaheim Ducks signed goaltender Ryan Miller to a one-year contract, the team announced Wednesday.

Miller's deal is worth $1 million, Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 40-year-old spent the last three campaigns backing up John Gibson in Anaheim. He's fared extremely well during his time with the Ducks, appearing in 71 games and recording a 29-19-12 record with a .916 save percentage and 2.72 goals-against average. Over those three seasons, he led all goaltenders (minimum 3,000 minutes) in even-strength save percentage (.931).

The former Vezina Trophy winner indicated earlier in May that while he still had a desire to play hockey, there was a chance that the COVID-19 pandemic would force him into an earlier retirement.

With Miller now off the market, Craig Anderson and Jimmy Howard are the two most notable netminders available in free agency.

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The Buffalo Sabres re-signed forward Casey Mittelstadt to a one-year, $874,000 contract, the team announced Wednesday.

Mittelstadt split time last season between the Sabres and the AHL's Rochester Americans. The 22-year-old recorded four goals and five assists in 31 games with Buffalo.

The Sabres drafted Mittelstadt eighth overall in 2017. He's appeared in 114 career NHL games thus far, tallying 17 goals and 22 assists.

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The annual World Junior Championship treats fans to the best young talent across the hockey world. Throughout the years, countries have assembled teams filled with future NHL stars or, sometimes, players who shone at the tournament before fizzling out.

Let's take a look at five of the most exciting teams to hit the ice at the world juniors.

Finland, 2016

There are few things more exciting than watching a host nation captivate its home crowd. The 2016 Finland squad did just that in Helsinki by claiming the country's fourth-ever gold medal at the tournament.

Led by the dynamic trio of Sebastian Aho, Patrik Laine, and Jesse Puljujarvi, the Finns didn't exactly cruise to an easy championship. They faced some incredibly stiff competition along the way, which included a tight 6-5 victory over Canada in the quarterfinals, a 2-1 win over Sweden in the semis, and a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory against Russia in the finals.

Puljujarvi led the tournament in scoring with 17 points in seven games, while Aho and Laine finished second and third with 14 and 13 points, respectively. The team was rounded out with defenseman Olli Juolevi, forwards Mikko Rantanen, Kasperi Kapanen, and Roope Hintz, and goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen who played all games in the playoff round. Puljujarvi was named tournament MVP, while he, Juolevi, and Laine were handed All-Star nods.

Soviet Union, 1989

The Soviet Union absolutely dominated the competition in 1989, led by a trio of future superstars - Alexander Mogilny, Pavel Bure, and Sergei Fedorov. Both Mogilny and Fedorov had already established some solid chemistry during the '88 tournament, but the 17-year-old Bure put the Soviets over the top.

At the time, the world juniors didn't feature a playoff round - it was simply a round-robin tournament. The Soviets went 6-1-0, with their sole loss coming against Czechoslovakia. They held the highest goal differential in the tournament by far, scoring 51 goals while conceding just 14 in seven games. Sweden, who finished in second place with an identical record, scored 39 and allowed 14.

Americans Jeremy Roenick and Mike Modano finished the tournament first and second in scoring, respectively, but the United States was forced to settle for fifth place. Bure ended his tournament in third, while Mogilny and Fedorov finished fifth and sixth.

The 1989 world juniors ultimately marked the final gold medal for the perennially contending Soviet Union.

Sweden, 1993

Sweden just missed out on the gold medal in 1993 but was still the tournament's best squad. Its top two players - Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund - put on what many consider to be the most dazzling world junior performances of all time.

Due to the round-robin format, Canada won gold with an identical 6-1-0 record, ultimately edging out Sweden due to a narrow 5-4 victory in the nations' second game of the tourney.

Canada finished with a respectable 37 goals scored and 17 against, but those numbers paled in comparison to Sweden's monstrous differential of 53 goals scored and 15 against. Forsberg set a tournament record by scoring 31 points in seven games, while Naslund also set a record with 13 goals. The team didn't feature a ton of depth beyond Forsberg and Naslund, but the two were so dominant on their own and skated circles around the competition.

Canada, 2005

Canada has certainly put together some of the greatest teams in world junior history. Over the past few decades, all eyes always seem to be on the Canadians entering the tournament, and they're often touted as favorites. While the team has iced some fantastic rosters through the years, the one that won gold in 2005 was on another level.

The team included future NHL stars Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf, Shea Weber, Jeff Carter, and Corey Perry. Beyond them, there was still plenty of talent that rounded out the roster, including Dion Phaneuf, Mike Richards, Brent Seabrook, and Andrew Ladd.

In 2005, the stacked Canadian team ran roughshod over its competition. The Canadians went 4-0-0 in the preliminary round, scoring 32 goals and allowing just five. They beat the Czech Republic 3-1 in the semifinals before breezing past Russia with a 6-1 drudging in the gold-medal game. Canada wasn't in danger for seemingly a single second on its way to a first gold medal since 1997.

Bergeron was named MVP after leading the tournament in scoring with 13 points through six games, while Getzlaf trailed just behind with 12. Crosby and Carter, both 17 years old, also finished inside the top 10 in scoring.

United States, 2013

The Americans have iced numerous incredible teams over the years, but 2013 may have been their most well-rounded and dominant one to date. John Gibson may have put on one of the best goaltending performances in the tournament's history, but that doesn't mean the team in front of him wasn't stacked, either.

The blue line featured players such as Seth Jones, Jacob Trouba, and Shayne Gostisbehere. The forward group consisted of names like Johnny Gaudreau, J.T. Miller, Alex Galchenyuk, and Vincent Trocheck. The scoring was spread out, with Gaudreau, Trouba, and Miller leading with nine points apiece, while Galchenyuk and Jones finished with eight.

The Americans didn't fare too well in the round robin, winning twice and losing twice. But they turned on the jets once the playoff round began. They inflicted a 7-0 beatdown of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals before humiliating a solid Canadian squad 5-1 in the semis. The U.S then took care of Sweden in the finals, winning 3-1.

Gibson allowed just nine goals all tournament, with only two of them coming during the playoff round. He finished with a .955 save percentage and unsurprisingly took home MVP honors.

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Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak are being recognized in their respective home country for their accomplishments this past season.

Draisaitl became the first-ever hockey player to take home the top athlete of the year award in Germany. He joins Dirk Nowitzki as the only team-sport athlete to win the award. Pastrnak became the first hockey player to win the award in the Czech Republic since Jaromir Jagr in 2005.

The 25-year-old Draisaitl earned his first Hart Trophy last year after leading the NHL with 110 points in 71 games. The German award, which is voted on by the nation's journalists, has been given out annually since 1947.

"What a great honor for me to be voted by so many journalists," Draisaitl wrote on Instagram. "Thank you for your votes and support. It's been an incredible year and I am very proud to finish 2020 as Germany's Athlete of the Year."

Pastrnak became the fourth Czech hockey player to earn the award, joining Josef Mikolas, Dominik Hasek, and Jagr. The award, which has been given out annually since 1959, is voted on by members of the Czech Sports Journalist Association.

"I would never have imagined that I could win the Athlete of the Year of the Czech Republic," Pastrnak said, according to NHL.com's Eric Russo. "In hockey, the biggest prize is collective success, but having your name on such a trophy with a great history is something amazing."

Pastrnak earned the first Rocket Richard Trophy of his career, sharing the honor with Alex Ovechkin after finishing tied with 48 goals apiece last season. The 24-year-old finished the year with 95 points in 70 games and was tied for third-most in the league.

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The NHL released its health and safety protocols for the 2020-21 season, including COVID-19 protocols for positive tests and travel.

Some key measures include:

• The league will announce the names of players who test positive for COVID-19 during the season.
• All coaches must wear face coverings on the bench during games.
• Following a positive test, players must self-isolate based on local health regulations and need to be cleared by a team physician and cardiologist before returning to play.
• Teammates identified as close contacts won't be required to quarantine as long as they test negative and remain asymptomatic.
• Players will stay alone in hotel rooms on the road and are not allowed to dine at restaurants, go shopping, or use transportation that isn't provided by the team.

The season is set to begin Jan. 13, with the playoffs concluding as late as July 9. The league re-aligned its four divisions, and teams will only play against others in their respective divisions to minimize travel.

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The Nashville Predators signed forward Mikael Granlund to a one-year contract with a value of $3.75 million, reports The Athletic's Adam Vingan.

Granlund was an unrestricted free agent but was a member of the Predators last season. He recorded 17 goals and 13 assists in 63 games.

The 28-year-old was selected ninth overall by the Wild in 2010. He spent the first seven years of his career in Minnesota before being dealt to Nashville during the 2018-19 season. In 540 career games, he's racked up 111 goals and 241 assists.

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