Brandon University, which gave Theo Fleury an honorary degree for shining a light on child sexual abuse in junior hockey, released a statement Tuesday expressing its disappointment in the former NHLer for spreading conspiracy theories about vaccine passports.

In particular, the Canadian school called his latest inflammatory social media post "reprehensible." Fleury said vaccine passports would allow pedophiles to "know where your kids are at all times."

"Fleury's significant contributions to exposing the rot in junior hockey, and to supporting other survivors of child sexual abuse through recovery, continue to deserve respect," the university wrote.

"It is understandable that he may struggle to trust authority, and that he may see dark motives in others' actions. His recent statements, however, go beyond reasonable distrust and are a stain on his legacy, which saddens us."

The school then called on Fleury to show self-awareness and educate himself about the value of vaccinations.

"One of the tragedies of abuse is how it perpetuates itself across generations. We call on Fleury to recognize that he is now a person in a position of authority, and to recognize that his actions as an authority put him in a place where he can cause harm to others," the statement reads.

"We hope he takes advantage of the resources at his disposal and seeks greater understanding of the science behind the pandemic and the essential public health role of vaccines."

After Fleury received criticism for his since-deleted tweet, he responded by sharing a screenshot showing some of his achievements, including the honorary doctorate BU gave him in 2015.

The university emphasized Tuesday that honorary degrees aren't academic credentials and are handed out to acknowledge a person's accomplishments or contributions.

Fleury revealed in 2009 that he was abused by his former junior hockey coach, Graham James, who was found guilty after the now-53-year-old filed a criminal complaint.

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Those wondering how the Carolina Hurricanes planned to fit newcomer Jesperi Kotkaniemi under the salary cap now have an answer.

The Hurricanes will place defenseman Jake Gardiner on long-term injured reserve when he undergoes multiple procedures, thereby clearing space for Kotkaniemi's $6,100,015 cap hit before the season begins.

"We won't be in a (tight) cap situation," Carolina general manager Don Waddell said Sunday. "Gardiner, who's going to have back and hip surgery here, is not going to be ready to go this year. So we had cap space available knowing that he'll go on (LTIR)."

Gardiner was limited to 26 games and averaged a career-low 16:03 of ice time last season due to his injuries. He's played for the Hurricanes for the last two campaigns after spending his first eight with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The 31-year-old is under contract through 2022-23 at a $4.05-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly.

Carolina officially acquired Kotkaniemi on Saturday when the Montreal Canadiens elected not to match the Hurricanes' offer sheet. That move temporarily put them over the cap, a position they're allowed to be in until opening night.

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Despite the Carolina Hurricanes' numerous references suggesting otherwise, general manager Don Waddell insists the Jesperi Kotkaniemi offer sheet wasn't about getting back at the Montreal Canadiens for doing the same to Sebastian Aho two years ago.

"It certainly was not revenge," Waddell said Sunday. "We talked about this player, we know this player."

"(We used) the CBA as other teams have in the past to try to acquire a 21-year-old player," he added. "So to us, it was all about the player. We looked around the league and thought this made the most sense from where we are as a team.

"We have a couple of other good Finnish players on our team and thought this would be a great fit."

On Saturday, Montreal chose not to match an offer sheet for $6,100,015 that Carolina tendered to Kotkaniemi one week earlier, making the forward a member of the Hurricanes. Carolina was also forced to surrender a first- and third-round pick to Montreal as compensation.

Last Saturday, in the immediate aftermath of the move, the Hurricanes' press release included a quote from Waddell that was nearly identical to what Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin said after issuing an offer sheet to Aho in 2019. Carolina also included a $20 signing bonus in Kotkaniemi's deal (Aho wears No. 20), and the Hurricanes' social media team repeatedly poked fun at Montreal with callbacks to the earlier ordeal.

The club even posted a screenshot of the signing bonus on Twitter with a caption reading, "People don't forget."

"The (press) release, that's a marketing thing," Waddell said. "We're trying to continue to build our franchise here in Raleigh (and) trying to keep our fans engaged. Our social team gets huge marks from the NHL, and they had some fun with it."

The Canadiens signed Aho to a five-year offer sheet with a $8.454-million cap hit on July 1, 2019. The Hurricanes matched it several days later.

Kotkaniemi's deal is the first unmatched offer sheet since the Edmonton Oilers plucked Dustin Penner from the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.

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The Arizona Coyotes dealt center Christian Dvorak to the Montreal Canadiens for a pair of draft picks Saturday.

Arizona will receive the better selection between Montreal's own 2022 first-round pick and the first-rounder the Canadiens acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes earlier Saturday. The Coyotes will also get Montreal's second-round pick in 2024 as part of the deal.

However, if either or both of the first-rounders are in the top 10, the Coyotes will instead receive the worse selection in addition to the second-rounder.

The Canadiens landed Dvorak to replace Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the Finnish forward whose offer sheet Montreal declined to match Saturday, making him a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canadiens nabbed a first-round pick and a third-round selection as compensation in that transaction before flipping the higher one to Arizona.

The timing of the latest move wasn't exactly ideal for Dvorak.

Dvorak played five seasons with the Coyotes. He collected 17 goals and 14 assists while averaging a career-high 18:24 of ice time in 2021, suiting up for all 56 games.

The 25-year-old also won 52.1% of his 1,062 faceoffs last season and has a career average of 51.5% in that department. Dvorak authored subpar underlying numbers in 2021, but so did his team as a whole.

Arizona chose him 58th overall in 2014.

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The Montreal Canadiens chose not to match the Carolina Hurricanes' offer sheet for Jesperi Kotkaniemi on Saturday.

As a result, Kotkaniemi joined the Hurricanes on a one-year contract worth $6,100,015. The extra $15 tacked onto the deal mirrors the Finnish forward's jersey number.

The Canadiens receive first- and third-round draft picks from Carolina next year as compensation. Montreal had seven days to match after the Hurricanes initiated the transaction last Saturday.

"Carolina has used a tool available to them in the collective bargaining agreement and we accept that decision," Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said in a statement.

The Hurricanes reportedly tried to acquire Kotkaniemi in a trade last week before tendering the offer sheet.

Carolina made it abundantly clear last Saturday that this move was in response to the Canadiens filing an offer sheet for Hurricanes star Sebastian Aho in 2019, which the Metropolitan Division club ultimately matched.

The Hurricanes made multiple references to that incident last week on social media and in their press release confirming their bid to sign Kotkaniemi.

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San Jose Sharks associate coach Rocky Thompson is no longer with the club because the NHL's new vaccination protocols prohibit him from being a part of the team.

"Due to a medical exemption that prevents me from taking the COVID-19 vaccine, under the new league protocols, I am not permitted to fulfill my duties on the Sharks coaching staff at this time," Thompson said in a statement. "I will have no further comment on this matter."

The NHL's new rules reportedly allow for the suspension of unvaccinated players with certain exceptions, including for medical reasons. The protocols also severely limit what unvaccinated players can do and where they can go. However, the restrictions for coaches are unclear.

The Sharks will replace Thompson soon. The 44-year-old joined San Jose's staff as Bob Boughner's second-in-command in September 2020. Thompson previously guided the AHL's Chicago Wolves as their head coach for three seasons beginning in 2017-18.

He also led the OHL's Windsor Spitfires to the 2017 Memorial Cup championship, and before that served as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers.

Thompson played 25 NHL games over four campaigns as a defenseman with the Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames. The former enforcer spent the majority of his on-ice career in the AHL.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins inked forward Brian Boyle to a professional tryout contract on Friday.

Boyle didn't play in the NHL last season, but he helped the United States claim bronze at this year's World Championship with a pair of goals and an assist in 10 games. The veteran took over as team captain midway through the tournament after Justin Abdelkader's injury forced him out for the rest of the event.

The 36-year-old last suited up in the NHL with the Florida Panthers in 2019-20, collecting six markers and nine helpers over 39 contests. He won the Masterton Trophy in 2018, a year after he was diagnosed with leukemia.

Boyle has logged 12-plus seasons in the league with seven teams. He's played for the Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, and Los Angeles Kings.

The Massachusetts-born grinder has registered 231 points across 805 NHL games.

The Penguins also signed defenseman Matt Bartkowski to a pro tryout. The 33-year-old played four NHL games - three in the regular season and one in the playoffs - with the Minnesota Wild over the last three campaigns.

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The Detroit Red Wings inked restricted free-agent defenseman Filip Hronek to a three-year contract.

Hronek led the team in points (26), assists (24), and average ice time (23:23) last season. He was one of only two Red Wings to play all 56 games along with Marc Staal.

The Czech blue-liner has spent three campaigns with Detroit, which drafted him 53rd overall in 2016.

Hronek, who turns 24 on Nov. 2, was the last remaining free agent of any kind on the Red Wings' NHL roster.

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The Arizona Coyotes are eyeing a Phoenix suburb as a potential site for their new home.

Two weeks after the city of Glendale told the Coyotes the upcoming season would be their last at Gila River Arena, the team submitted a bid to build an arena in nearby Tempe.

"We remain incredibly excited about this extraordinary opportunity," the club said in a statement the Arizona Republic's Paulina Pineda obtained. The Coyotes confirmed the proposal but declined further comment, according to Pineda.

The site is a 46-acre plot near Tempe Town Lake. The city took other bids as well and required submissions by 3 p.m. PT. Thursday. A committee of city staffers will now review the proposals and make a recommendation to city council, which can then approve or reject it.

The Coyotes and the city of Tempe have reportedly been negotiating for at least two years.

Glendale informed the club in mid-August it wouldn't renew the operating agreement for the city-owned Gila River Arena. That pact expires at the end of the 2021-22 NHL campaign.

The Coyotes have played at their current facility since 2003-04.

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NHL clubs will be able to ban players who decline to get vaccinated if they can't take part in team activities, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

That includes if an unvaccinated player isn't allowed to travel due to regulations in a jurisdiction, according to Friedman. A player would be docked one day's salary for each day he's unable to be with his team.

Medical reasons and "sincerely held" religious beliefs are reportedly among the exceptions to the policy.

Players who want to opt out of the upcoming season can do so by Oct. 1 if they're unvaccinated or can prove an immediate family member in the same household is at high risk of becoming severely ill if they contract the virus. The club will then get 30 days to determine whether to roll the player's contract over to next season or strike 2021-22 from the pact.

A player who opts out can't play in another league or the Olympics.

Testing will continue this season, and fully vaccinated players will undergo PCR exams at least every three days, while unvaccinated players will be tested every day. The NHL will treat any fully vaccinated player's positive COVID-19 test as a hockey-related injury in accordance with the league's CBA.

Unvaccinated players will essentially live in a bubble, according to Friedman. They won't be allowed into "internal venues" on the road aside from the arena, practice rink, and team hotel. They also won't be permitted to use shared facilities at the hotel or host visitors in their hotel room other than fully vaccinated family members. Unvaccinated players also aren't allowed to eat or drink at establishments that are open to the public.

Fully vaccinated and masked media members will be able to interview players in dressing rooms, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo.

It's estimated that 95% of NHL players are fully vaccinated, an increase of about 10% from mid-August, a source told Russo.

Numerous businesses and leagues have recently implemented vaccination policies while many areas of North America struggle to contain the Delta variant of the coronavirus. The NBA will reportedly require players to be vaccinated in places where mandates are already in place, and all NBA referees must be vaccinated.

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