Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper will guide Team Canada during the 2022 Beijing Olympics if the NHL participates, Hockey Canada announced Monday.

Fellow NHL bench bosses Bruce Cassidy, Peter DeBoer, and Barry Trotz would be Cooper's assistants.

St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong will assemble the Canadian roster, as the nation's governing body of hockey confirmed in February. Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland - who'll be Canada's associate GM - will aid him, along with fellow NHL GMs Ron Francis of the Seattle Kraken and Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins.

Roberto Luongo, who served as Canada's GM at this year's World Championship, will also be part of the Olympic management group, along with longtime Hockey Canada executive Scott Salmond.

Cooper led the Lightning to a second consecutive Stanley Cup championship last month.

It remains unclear whether the NHL will take part in next year's event. The league included a February 2022 Olympic break in its 2021-22 schedule, but that's contingent upon participation.

NHL players didn't go to the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. Canada won bronze that year with a roster composed of non-NHL players.

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The Seattle Kraken and defenseman Vince Dunn agreed to a two-year contract carrying a $4-million cap hit.

Dunn was a restricted free agent who had an arbitration hearing scheduled for next Saturday. The Kraken selected him from the St. Louis Blues in last month's expansion draft.

The Ontario-born blue-liner produced six goals and 14 assists while averaging a career-high 19:15 of ice time over 43 games with the Blues in 2021. St. Louis reportedly shopped Dunn in January before exposing him to Seattle.

He played his first four campaigns with the Blues, helping them win the Stanley Cup in 2018-19 after racking up a personal-best 12 goals during the regular season.

Dunn will turn 25 on Oct. 29. St. Louis drafted him 56th overall in 2015.

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NHL players won't be allowed to mingle with fans for the time being as COVID-19 rates continue to spike in the United States.

The league prohibited all corporate, charity, and community-based fan interaction in a memo to each of its 32 clubs, reports The Athletic's Michael Russo. The disallowed activities include speaking engagements, autograph sessions, handshake lines, and fist bumps.

The NHL and NHLPA will continue observing vaccination rates and the spread of variants throughout the summer to evaluate whether similar measures will be required for training camp, adds Russo.

Many of the league's squads allowed fans back in their home arenas as this past season progressed, though most did so at less than full capacity. Infection rates had been declining until a fairly recent increase across much of the U.S. due to the more dangerous Delta variant and other strains.

The NHL allowed teams to host games in their own buildings during the 2021 campaign after resuming the previous season in bubbles based in Edmonton and Toronto with no fans in attendance.

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The Chicago Blackhawks retained forward Brandon Hagel on a three-year deal at an average annual value of $1.5 million.

Hagel had the designation of 10.2(c) in the NHL's collective bargaining agreement, as he hadn't played enough to be a Group 2 restricted free agent, according to CapFriendly. The soon-to-be 23-year-old will be a pending RFA in the final year of his new deal and will be eligible for arbitration upon its completion.

He collected nine goals and 15 assists while averaging just under 14 minutes of ice time over 52 games in 2021, his first full season with the Blackhawks. Hagel also notched eight markers and seven helpers across 14 contests with Swiss club Thurgau before the NHL campaign began.

The Blackhawks originally signed Hagel as a free agent in 2018. The Buffalo Sabres drafted him 159th overall in 2016.

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Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois is changing his jersey number to pay tribute to his late former teammate Matiss Kivlenieks, according to Winnipeg Sun's Scott Billeck.

Dubois is switching from No. 13 to 80 for the upcoming season.

Kivlenieks, who died at age 24 in a fireworks accident last month, wore No. 80 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Latvian netminder had played in the team's system since 2017-18 and appeared in eight NHL games over the last two seasons.

Dubois also began his Blue Jackets tenure in 2017-18 and played with Columbus until January of this year, when the club traded him to Winnipeg. He wore No. 18 with the Blue Jackets.

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The Winnipeg Jets inked Logan Stanley to a two-year contract carrying an average annual value of $900,000.

Stanley was a restricted free agent.

The 23-year-old remains a key member of Winnipeg's defensive corps, even after the Jets acquired Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt in recent trades.

Stanley collected only four points while averaging 13:13 of ice time over 37 games as a rookie, but the 6-foot-7 rearguard's underlying numbers were more favorable. Winnipeg controlled 51.19% of the scoring chances with Stanley on the ice at five-on-five in 2021, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Ontario-born blue-liner made his debut with the club after spending two campaigns with its AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. The Jets drafted Stanley 18th overall in 2016.

Defenseman Neal Pionk and forward Andrew Copp are Winnipeg's lone remaining NHL RFAs. Both players filed for salary arbitration Sunday.

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One of the most vocal figures in hockey will soon be back in front of the camera.

ESPN hired John Tortorella as a studio analyst for next season, reports The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

Tortorella and the Columbus Blue Jackets parted ways in May. He served as the club's head coach for six seasons, helping the team make the playoffs in four of those campaigns. Columbus shockingly knocked out the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2018-19 postseason.

The two-time Jack Adams Award winner guided the Lightning to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2004. He also helmed the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks over a coaching career spanning nearly two decades.

ESPN already added Mark Messier, Chris Chelios, Rick DiPietro, Ray Ferraro, and Brian Boucher as analysts for 2021-22, when it'll regain U.S. broadcast rights along with TNT.

The network's NHL broadcasts will feature several female voices as well. A.J. Mleczko, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, and Hilary Knight will provide color, and Leah Hextall will do play-by-play. Hextall will also fulfill other roles.

Tortorella was well known for being incredibly outspoken during his coaching career, but he was also tight-lipped at times. The NHL fined him $25,000 last August after he abruptly walked out of a press conference following the Blue Jackets' postseason elimination. He was reportedly fined more than $160,000 throughout his coaching career, usually for comments criticizing officiating.

The 63-year-old previously worked as an in-studio broadcaster for TSN when he was between jobs in 2008.

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Several of Evander Kane's San Jose Sharks teammates would prefer he didn't play for the club in 2021-22, reports The Athletic's Kevin Kurz.

The Sharks reportedly tried to trade Kane earlier this offseason, and his uneasy relationship with a number of his teammates was a major reason why, Kurz adds.

The NHL is investigating Kane after his wife, Anna, said Saturday on Instagram that he threw games to support his gambling addiction. Kane denied the allegations Sunday. The league's probe is reportedly expected to be completed by training camp in September.

Kane is under contract with the Sharks through 2024-25. The seven-year pact he inked with San Jose in 2018 carries a $7-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly. Kane is owed another $26 million in total salary over the life of the deal.

The 12-year veteran has a modified no-trade clause as part of that pact. It allows him to submit a list of just three teams to which he can be dealt.

Kane filed for bankruptcy in January. While the Sharks had the option to void his contract in the proceedings, they chose not to do so in March. Kane said in May that the bankruptcy filing was a "weight off" his back.

The winger, who turned 30 on Monday, collected a career-high 0.88 points per game in 2021. He notched 22 goals and 27 assists while playing all 56 contests.

Kane has been a Shark for three full seasons and the final 17 games of 2017-18, the latter of which he played after the Buffalo Sabres traded him to San Jose.

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The Chicago Blackhawks are pledging to reveal the findings of an independent review into the sexual assault allegations against former video coach Brad Aldrich.

"(The Blackhawks will) share results with you, our partners, and our fans and will promptly implement changes to address the findings and shortcomings of our organization," the club's CEO Danny Wirtz wrote in an internal memo that The Athletic's Mark Lazerus obtained.

"I can assure you that we are using this process to engage in the self-reflection necessary to better our organization and ensure that our workplace is safe and inclusive," Wirtz added. "And while we await the results, we will continue a process of self-evaluation."

In May, an unnamed former Blackhawks player sued the organization, claiming Aldrich sexually abused him and a teammate in 2010.

About a month later, Wirtz reportedly said the club had hired a former federal prosecutor to lead an independent review into the allegations against Aldrich and the team's reported unwillingness to inform law enforcement.

Susan Loggans, the lawyer for the player who filed the lawsuit, said in early July that her client wouldn't take part in the independent investigation. She questioned a process that "has been paid for by the Blackhawks" while wondering why she and her client should participate if the results weren't going to be publicized. However, she later said the player would be open to being involved under certain conditions.

John Torchetti, who was Chicago's associate coach at the time of the alleged abuse, said in late June that the team met during the 2009-10 Stanley Cup Playoffs to discuss the allegations, and ultimately chose not to notify the police.

Last month, former Blackhawks defenseman Brent Sopel said he believed nearly all of the team's then-players knew about the allegations against Aldrich. Sopel also said Joel Quenneville, Chicago's bench boss at the time, worked in the same office as Aldrich. Quenneville denied knowing of the alleged abuse and claimed he found out through the media this summer.

Quenneville, who now coaches the Florida Panthers, has offered to take part in the independent review.

The NHL isn't investigating the matter.

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Evander Kane denied several allegations his wife, Anna, made Saturday, including her claim that he threw games for gambling reasons.

"Unfortunately, I would like to address the completely FALSE accusations that my estranged wife and soon-to-be ex-wife has made against me," the San Jose Sharks forward wrote Sunday on Twitter.

"Even against the advice of my legal team, I feel strongly that the public and fans hear this directly from me. I have NEVER gambled/bet on hockey, NEVER gambled/bet on a Sharks game, NEVER gambled/bet on any of my games, and NEVER thrown a hockey game."

Kane pointed to the fact that he posted his best and most consistent season in 2021.

"I'm proud of that," he wrote. "I love the game of hockey and would never do any of what was alleged. I look forward to cooperating fully with the league's investigation, having my name cleared, and looking forward to this upcoming season."

The veteran winger also described Anna as "mentally unwell."

She responded shortly thereafter on Sunday, referring to a New York Post story about Kane's comments. Anna claimed her husband said his gambling associates would kill her and their daughter Kensington if she revealed his alleged activities.

She also accused the media of allowing Kane to control the narrative due to his status.

The player's wife posted a series of slides to her Instagram story Saturday, including one accusing her husband of being "a compulsive gambling addict who's obviously throwing games." That slide has since been deleted.

However, another one from Saturday - which remains - is directed at the NHL. In it, Anna wonders if "someone" could ask commissioner Gary Bettman "how they can let a player gamble on his own games?"

The league responded shortly after Saturday's posts circulated, saying it takes the allegations "very seriously" and would investigate.

Kane, who'll turn 30 on Monday, reportedly filed for bankruptcy in January.

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