The NHL informed its general managers that the salary cap will increase by $1 million to a total of $82.5 million beginning next season, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

The league has operated with a cap ceiling of $81.5 million since 2019-20.

This would be the first increase and first change to the NHL's salary cap since it rose by $2 million for that same campaign.

When the league and the NHLPA renegotiated the CBA in June 2020, it was reported that part of the agreement called for the cap to remain close to $81.5 million for three seasons. Ultimately, it didn't fluctuate from that figure at all.

The cap ceiling rose every season from 2013-14 until the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Here's a look at the changes since the league reinstituted the cap in 2005-06:

(Source: PuckPedia)

The NHL first installed a salary cap during the Great Depression, when teams were allowed to spend a maximum of $62,500 on rosters and $7,000 per player.

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The NHL is changing the location of its annual awards show.

The festivities will take place on either the night before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final or on the off-day between Games 3 and 4 in the city hosting those tilts, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

It'll reportedly be a one-hour event and presumably be in-person, unlike the last two years when the league held it remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NHL has held the awards show in Las Vegas since 2009, using various hotels and casinos to host the gala. The league moved it to Vegas from Toronto that same year.

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College hockey standout Bobby Trivigno has no shortage of NHL suitors.

The Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, and Rangers are the finalists to sign the University of Massachusetts forward, reports the New York Post's Mollie Walker.

Trivigno has reportedly already met with the Rangers' front office. His former adviser, Brett Peterson, is an assistant GM for the Panthers.

He's one of 10 players vying for the Hobey Baker Award, which the NCAA hands out annually to its top men's hockey player. The 23-year-old tied for third in Division I with 49 points over 37 games during his senior year in 2021-22.

Trivigno would be the second UMass player in four years to claim the honor after Cale Makar secured it in 2019. Trivigno is the third Minutemen skater in that span to be named a Hobey Baker finalist, including John Leonard in 2020.

The undrafted free agent helped the Minutemen win their first-ever national championship last season, after which he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. The Setauket, New York-born winger also helped Massachusetts reach the national final in his 2018-19 freshman season.

The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers eliminated the Minutemen in the first round of this year's NCAA tournament Friday, thereby beginning the Trivigno sweepstakes.

"Everybody can talk about Cale Makar, but the guy who will, for me, go down in history for changing this program is Bobby Trivigno," UMass head coach Greg Carvel recently told Walker.

"He's not the hockey player Makar is, but what he did for four years here - two Hockey East Championships, a regular-season championship, and a national championship - he is more responsible for the success of this program than any other player."

Trivigno would've taken part in the Rangers' development camp before this season, according to Walker. However, he wasn't allowed to because NCAA rules prohibit players from missing school for NHL events.

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The Ottawa Senators inked top prospect and defenseman Jake Sanderson to a three-year, entry-level pact on Sunday that takes effect immediately.

Sanderson will join the Senators this week and may play in NHL games within the month.

The 19-year-old posted eight goals and 18 assists over 23 games in his recently concluded sophomore season at the University of North Dakota. He ranked third on the team in points despite missing 16 contests due to injury.

Sanderson is currently working his way back from a hand ailment.

The Montana-born blue-liner represented the United States at the Olympics in Beijing and the World Junior Championship. Ottawa selected him fifth overall in 2020.

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Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron is in the lineup for Saturday's game against the New York Islanders, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed.

Bergeron missed four games after the re-emergence of a previous injury. The club said at the time that he'd sit out at least two contests, and they were being cautious due to the risk of infection.

The 36-year-old has excelled this season, posting 17 goals and 28 assists while averaging over 18 minutes of ice time across 56 games.

Bergeron's typically stellar defensive play hasn't declined either, as he's again in the Selke Trophy conversation. He has claimed the award four times, and he's tied with Montreal Canadiens legend Bob Gainey for the most Selke wins.

Boston entered Saturday's slate sitting in fourth place in the Atlantic Division in terms of points percentage.

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Brett Howden appears to have avoided a serious injury scare.

The Vegas Golden Knights forward is no longer in the hospital after being removed from Thursday's game on a stretcher, Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer said Friday, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger.

DeBoer said Howden is sore but has no broken bones, adding that the center is "probably out for a while."

The bench boss also said Howden was at the Golden Knights' facility Friday morning, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Ben Gotz.

Howden had to be stretchered off the ice after colliding awkwardly with Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg. Howden was falling before he was hit and crashed against the boards headfirst.

The 23-year-old was in stable condition shortly after the incident but was taken to hospital for further testing.

Howden is in his first season with Vegas after playing his first three NHL campaigns with the New York Rangers.

Meanwhile, the injury-riddled Golden Knights got more bad news Friday. Max Pacioretty suffered a setback in his recovery and won't be available to play in the near future, DeBoer said. Pacioretty hasn't suited up since March 11 due to an undisclosed ailment.

Vegas currently has six players on IR, including Pacioretty, starting goaltender Robin Lehner, and star winger Mark Stone. The Golden Knights also have two players (Brayden McNabb and Michael Amadio) on the COVID-19 list.

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The Montreal Canadiens will be without two key forwards for the foreseeable future.

Jonathan Drouin is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury for the second time this season and remains at home as a precaution after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The Canadiens placed him on injured reserve Friday.

The winger, who'll turn 27 on Monday, missed Montreal's 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

Drouin has had horrible luck this season even before his latest concerns. He was also out indefinitely with an upper-body ailment in late January, missing 22 games before returning on March 19. In early November, an errant puck hit Drouin in the head, forcing him to sit out six contests.

Despite Drouin's numerous absences, he's produced 20 points (six goals and 14 assists) over 34 games this season.

Meanwhile, Brendan Gallagher will be out for another week due to a lower-body injury. The Canadiens will play four times in the next seven days. Gallagher has already missed the last three games. The 29-year-old has five goals and nine assists across 43 contests in 2021-22.

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No one would blame Evgenii Dadonov for being upset at what he had to endure this week, but the Vegas Golden Knights forward said it's water under the bridge after scoring a goal in his first game back with the club.

After finding the back of the net in a 6-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night, the veteran acknowledged the uncertainty and difficulty of the trade debacle.

"I would say it was a stressful couple of days," the veteran said postgame, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger. "(There was) nothing I could do. I was just waiting on the decision."

The 33-year-old was playing his first game with the Golden Knights since the NHL voided the trade Wednesday that sent him to the Anaheim Ducks two days earlier. Dadonov didn't suit up for the Ducks and missed Vegas' games on Monday and Tuesday while in limbo.

Dadonov reportedly had Anaheim on his no-trade list, but the league didn't have the list on record, mistakenly rubber-stamping the swap before reviewing and canceling it.

When asked postgame Thursday if he was upset that Vegas attempted to deal him, Dadonov replied, "I guess so," but then quickly expounded his feelings.

"I kind of try and be a pro," Dadonov said. "I’ve been around the league. I understand every decision, so I wasn’t really mad. I just have my right and just was waiting."

The fans at T-Mobile Arena cheered loudly for the winger ahead of puck drop Thursday and then again after the game when he was named second star.

Dadonov finished Thursday's victory with three points after adding a pair of secondary assists on goals by Jack Eichel and Alex Pietrangelo. The Russian is on a three-game goal streak with four markers in that span. He has five tallies and two assists in his last five contests.

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Aaron Ekblad and the Florida Panthers appear to have avoided a major injury scare.

Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said Sunday it's "probably fair to say" Ekblad is considered week-to-week, according to the Miami Herald's David Wilson.

Brunette added the club will know more once the swelling in the injured area decreases, according to team reporter Jameson Olive. He also said there's "nothing overly concerning long term" about the injury.

Ekblad had to be helped off the ice with an apparent leg injury after an awkward collision during the Panthers' win over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Brunette said at the time that there was "nothing structural" about Ekblad's injury and that the diagnosis appeared "way better" than the team expected.

Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reported Sunday that Florida will place Ekblad on long-term injured reserve and that he'll miss the rest of the regular season before returning "sometime during the first round" of the playoffs. If the Panthers go that route, Ekblad will only be required to sit out a minimum of 10 games and 24 days.

Florida has 20 regular-season games remaining. Its schedule runs until April 29 following the delayed start to the 2021-2022 season.

The Panthers added defensive depth Sunday, acquiring Robert Hagg from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2022 sixth-round pick. Florida also landed rearguard Ben Chiarot in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

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Carolina Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter will sit out one game for slashing Washington Capitals winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Saturday.

Niederreiter struck Jonsson-Fjallby in the face with his stick while the Capitals rookie was sitting on the bench during the Capitals' shootout win over the Hurricanes on Friday night. The officials handed Niederreiter a minor penalty.

The league cited Niederreiter's lack of significant disciplinary history in its decision, adding that the suspension is not more severe because of the lack of force Niederreiter exerted.

Niederreiter, who's in his 10th full NHL season, has been fined once. This is the 29-year-old's first suspension.

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