Oscar Fantenberg will play in Europe next season.

The defenseman, who most recently suited up for the Vancouver Canucks, signed a one-year contract with SKA Saint Petersburg, the KHL announced Tuesday.

Fantenberg became an unrestricted free agent after posting six points over 36 games for the Canucks in 2019-20. He signed with Vancouver for $850,000 in July 2019.

The 29-year-old also played for the Calgary Flames and the Los Angeles Kings during his two previous NHL campaigns. Fantenberg spent six full seasons overseas - mostly in his homeland of Sweden - before joining Los Angeles in May 2017.

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The Colorado Avalanche inked defenseman Devon Toews to a four-year contract, the club announced Tuesday.

Here's a year-by-year breakdown of the pact, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun:

Based on those figures, the average annual value would be $4.1 million.

Toews was a restricted free agent who had a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Oct. 31.

The Avalanche acquired Toews in a trade with the New York Islanders on Oct. 12, with two second-round picks heading the other way.

He collected six goals and 28 points over 68 games with the Islanders in 2019-20. It was his second NHL season, and he spent both with New York.

The 26-year-old ranked fifth on his former club in average ice time (20:30) this past campaign.

Toews essentially replaces Nikita Zadorov on Colorado's blue line. The Avalanche traded Zadorov to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Brandon Saad in a four-player swap on Oct. 10.

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The Arizona Coyotes don't plan to distance themselves from Mitchell Miller, their 2020 draft pick who the club selected despite knowing he bullied a Black, developmentally disabled classmate.

"Our fundamental mission is to ensure a safe environment - whether in schools, in our community, in hockey rinks, or in the workplace - to be free of bullying and racism," Coyotes president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez said in a statement, according to Craig Harris and Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic.

"When we first learned of Mitchell’s story, it would have been easy for us to dismiss him - many teams did," Gutierrez continued. "Instead, we felt it was our responsibility to be a part of the solution in a real way - not just saying and doing the right things ourselves but ensuring that others are too."

Miller, who the Coyotes picked in the fourth round earlier in October, admitted in court in 2016 that he bullied Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, who grew up with him in Ohio. Meyer-Crothers said Miller frequently called him the N-word and "brownie," while harassing him for years.

"He pretended to be my friend and made me do things I didn't want to do," Meyer-Crothers told Harris and Romero. "In junior high, I got beat up by him. … Everyone thinks he's so cool that he gets to go to the NHL, but I don't see how someone can be cool when you pick on someone and bully someone your entire life."

Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong, who got the job before the draft but didn't take part as a condition of his hiring, confirmed Arizona's scouts knew about Miller's bullying history.

Gutierrez said the organization has made its expectations "very clear" to Miller, and they want him to become a leader in the anti-bullying and anti-racism movements.

Meyer-Crothers' mother Joni called on the team to apologize and accused it of being "part of the problem." Miller has never personally apologized to Isaiah aside from a court-mandated letter.

In early September, the NHL launched a series of anti-racism initiatives, and Gutierrez was among 15 people named to the new Executive Inclusion Council. The Hockey Diversity Alliance - a group of current former NHL players aiming to eradicate racism in the game - initially had conversations with the league but cut ties in early October, calling the NHL's anti-racism work "performative public relations efforts."

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The Ottawa Senators and forward Chris Tierney have agreed to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $3.5 million, reports Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.

More to come.

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Former Arizona Coyotes forward Martin Hanzal's career has come to an end.

"It's a little bit of a relief because the last couple of years I wasn’t sure if I'd play another NHL game or be healthy again so now it's official: I am retired from the NHL," Hanzal told NHL Network's Craig Morgan. "If I was healthy, I would probably still be playing, but after three back surgeries and especially after the last one, I just can't do it anymore. I was doing everything I could after this last one and it took me a year to get back on the ice."

Hanzal sat out this past season while rehabbing in Europe and was limited to only seven games with the Dallas Stars in 2018-19. He played only 38 with the club in the previous campaign.

"When I went to see the doctor again, it was either do another surgery or be done playing," Hanzal added. "Even the doctor said, 'We're not sure another surgery will help.' I still have a long life ahead of me. I don't want to do another surgery when it's not 100 percent sure it will even help."

Hanzal collected 127 goals and 338 points in 673 career contests. The 33-year-old spent nearly 10 of his 12 NHL seasons with the Coyotes, and he also appeared in 20 games for the Minnesota Wild in 2016-17.

The Czech center notched the fastest hat trick in team history (20:27) while playing for Arizona against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008. It was the first three-goal game of his career.

The Coyotes drafted him 17th overall in 2005.

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The Detroit Red Wings and forward Tyler Bertuzzi opened salary arbitration proceedings Sunday after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

On Friday, Bertuzzi reportedly filed at $4.25 million, while the club did so at $3.15 million.

Under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement, an arbitrator must decide within 48 hours of the hearing's conclusion. However, unlike previous years, the team and the player are no longer permitted to continue negotiating after the session begins.

Bertuzzi's hearing was scheduled for Sunday when the full list was released on Oct. 13. The 25-year-old restricted free agent is coming off a two-year contract carrying an average annual value of $1.4 million. He signed that pact in June 2018.

He collected 21 goals and 48 points across 71 games this past season, matching his goal total from 2018-19 and notching one more point in two fewer contests. This was the left winger's second full campaign with Detroit, and he's played parts of four years with the Red Wings, who drafted him 58th overall in 2013.

Bertuzzi is the first player to get to this stage this offseason. Other NHLers who had hearings this year signed beforehand, including Sam Reinhart, Ilya Mikheyev, Connor Brown, and Jake Virtanen. Buffalo Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark is on the docket for Monday, while his teammate, Victor Olofsson, is slated for Nov. 4.

Of the 26 players who filed for arbitration on Oct. 10, there are 13 who've yet to settle their cases, according to CapFriendly. The hearings are scheduled through Nov. 8.

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The Buffalo Sabres inked forward Sam Reinhart to a one-year deal worth $5.2 million, the club announced Sunday.

Reinhart was a restricted free agent who had a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

The 24-year-old ranked second on the Sabres with 22 goals and 50 points while averaging a career-high 20:38 of ice time over 69 contests in 2019-20. It was the third straight season in which he played in all of the team's games.

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John Scott believes members of the Chicago Blackhawks' front office should be ashamed of themselves for the message they conveyed to fans earlier this week.

"The fact that they are just giving in to their fan base and having to write that letter is embarrassing," the former Blackhawks agitator said on his "Dropping the Gloves" podcast Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Blackhawks shared a letter in which they committed to rebuilding their roster.

Chicago parted with two pieces of the core from their championship years, allowing goaltender Corey Crawford to sign with the New Jersey Devils on the first day of free agency and trading Brandon Saad to the Colorado Avalanche in a deal that netted them defenseman Nikita Zadorov one day later.

A day after the trade, Blackhawks players aired their frustration, as other core veterans were reportedly "pissed" about the moves and said to have "had enough." Captain Jonathan Toews said "a lot of this comes as a shock because it's a completely different direction than we expected."

"I would be upset if I were Toews or (Patrick) Kane, I would be embarrassed if I was the organization, and if I was a fan, I'd be like, 'Great, I complained and they answered me, so guess what? I'm going to complain some more and they better answer me again or else I'm going to be super upset," Scott said.

"You shouldn't have to explain your moves to Twitter trolls just because you made a couple trades," he continued. "It just looks weak. It looks soft. I don't like it."

Scott also mentioned he believes the club wouldn't have written the letter had former team president John McDonough still been with the organization. The Blackhawks fired McDonough in April and replaced him with Danny Wirtz, the son of owner Rocky Wirtz.

McDonough was widely credited with resurrecting the franchise and helping it win three titles in six years.

Scott played parts of two of his eight NHL seasons with Chicago. He retired in 2016.

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If the age disparity between Joe Thornton and many of his new Toronto Maple Leafs teammates wasn't apparent enough, Travis Dermott offered a reminder Saturday.

"I'm really excited to meet him," the young defenseman said of the veteran forward, according to TSN's Mark Masters. "It's going to be really cool to have him on the bench beside me. It's definitely a guy I never thought I'd be playing with. Someone that I definitely grew up watching a lot."

Dermott, who will turn 24 in December, re-signed with the Maple Leafs on a one-year deal worth $874,125 on Friday. Meanwhile, the 41-year-old Thornton inked a one-year, $700,000 pact with Toronto last week.

The Maple Leafs boast several young stars, including 23-year-olds Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and 24-year-old William Nylander. Toronto iced the NHL's sixth-youngest team this past season, but the club now ranks 15th, according to Elite Prospects.

That change is due not only to the addition of Thornton, but also 32-year-old forward Wayne Simmonds and goaltender Aaron Dell, who's 31, as well as 30-year-old blue-liners TJ Brodie and Zach Bogosian.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs agreed to terms with defenseman Travis Dermott on a one-year contract worth $874,125, the club announced Friday.

Dermott was the Maple Leafs' final restricted free agent who's expected to crack the NHL roster. Joey Anderson is on the team's reserve list.

His signing puts Toronto more than $1 million over the salary cap, according to CapFriendly.

The 23-year-old collected 11 points across 56 games while averaging 17:19 in ice time during the 2019-20 campaign.

Dermott has spent all three of his NHL seasons with the Maple Leafs, who drafted him 34th overall in 2015.

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