Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain George Armstrong died at 90 years old, the team announced Sunday.

Armstrong, who played all 21 of his NHL seasons with the Maple Leafs, was the team's captain for 12 years and led the club to four Stanley Cups, including the team's most recent championship in 1967.

"George is part of the very fabric of the Toronto Maple Leaf organization and will be deeply missed," said team president Brendan Shanahan. "A proud yet humble man, he loved being a Maple Leaf but never sought the spotlight even though no player played more games for Toronto or captained the team longer.

"Always one to celebrate his teammates rather than himself, George couldn't even bring himself to deliver his speech the day he was immortalized on Legends Row."

Armstrong is one of 14 Maple Leafs players to have a bronze life-sized statue outside of Scotiabank Arena, known as Legends Row. The organization retired his No. 10, and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975.

The Skead, Ontario, native ranks first in franchise history with 1,188 games played and fifth in points with 713. Armstrong was one of the first players of Indigenous descent to play professional hockey.

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Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen has already had preliminary talks with Patrik Laine's camp about a contract extension, he told The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

Laine, acquired from the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday as part of a blockbuster trade, is playing out the final year of his current contract and will be a restricted free agent this summer. The Blue Jackets hold his rights through the 2022-23 season.

Kekalainen indicated he wants Laine in Columbus for the long haul.

"We're going to try to build a long-term relationship with him," Kekalainen told Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

With Winnipeg retaining a portion of Laine's salary, the Finnish sniper carries a cap hit of only $5 million for Columbus this season. However, as one of the game's most prolific goal-scorers at 22, he'll certainly require a substantial raise - especially on a long-term deal.

Columbus projects to have over $25 million in cap space this summer, according to CapFriendly, with veterans Nick Foligno, David Savard, and the injured Brandon Dubinsky coming off the books after this season.

Laine's averaged 38 goals per 82 games since entering the league in 2016-17.

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Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger believes Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov should be disciplined for his collision with goaltender Carter Hutton on Tuesday.

"If you look at the way the elbow comes extended, you know what you're doing," Krueger said postgame, according to The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor. "It's the fourth game where a player of ours has had a violent hit to the head and hopefully there will be action for this one."

It appeared Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour pushed Provorov into Hutton.

Provorov wasn't penalized on the play.

Hutton initially stayed in the game but didn't return following the second intermission. Krueger said after the contest that Hutton was still being assessed.

With Linus Ullmark already sidelined, the Sabres turned to third-string netminder Jonas Johansson, who allowed a goal on nine shots in relief.

One of the other plays Krueger is referring to is likely Nic Dowd's headshot on Eric Staal last week. The Washington Capitals forward received a two-minute elbowing minor but no supplemental discipline.

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The Colorado Avalanche traded defenseman Ian Cole to the Minnesota Wild for blue-liner Greg Pateryn, the team announced Tuesday.

Both veteran rearguards are pending unrestricted free agents. Cole carries a cap hit of $4.25 million, while Pateryn's deal holds an annual value of $2.25 million. Colorado is retaining $800,000 of Cole's cap hit, according to CapFriendly.

Cole, 31, is a veteran of 543 NHL games. He won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins and is known for his gritty defensive play. His career high in points is just 26 - which he tied last season - but he's also posted strong underlying numbers, accounting for nine goals above replacement in 2019-20, according to Evolving Hockey.

Pateryn is one year younger than Cole, but also far less experienced with 270 NHL games under his belt - and 41 career points. He was worth 3.9 goals above replacement in his last full NHL season in 2018-19. Injuries limited him to just 20 games last season, though.

It's possible the Avalanche made this move to create room in the lineup for rookie Bowen Byram. Colorado was deep on the left side of the blue line with Devon Toews, Ryan Graves, Sam Girard (who had been playing his off side), and Cole. Byram, the No. 4 pick in 2019, now has an easier path to playing time, and the team saves cap space in the process.

Pateryn, a righty, will likely jostle for playing time with Conor Timmins until Erik Johnson returns from injury.

Cole is projected to play on the Wild's third pairing with Carson Soucy. Minnesota already boasted one of the league's best blue lines before adding the experienced depth piece.

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Elias Lindholm believes new Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom is worthy of the team's splashy offseason investment.

"For now, he deserves the contract," Lindholm said with a smile about his fellow Swede, according to Postmedia's Wes Gilbertson.

Markstrom signed a six-year, $36-million contract with the Flames as a free agent this offseason after seven campaigns in Vancouver. After shutting out the Canucks on Saturday, Markstrom picked up a second straight win against his former team on Monday, stopping 25 of 27 shots in the 5-2 victory.

Lindholm was especially impressed with Markstrom's performance early in Monday's contest.

"Obviously, the way the first period went he stole us a point or two there," Lindholm said, according to Sportsnet's Eric Francis. "We could have been out of the game there."

Vancouver outshot Calgary 16-4 in the first period and won the high-danger scoring chance battle 6-1, according to Natural Stat Trick. Markstrom held down the fort, allowing just one goal in the opening frame, and the Flames scored three second-period goals to secure the victory.

Markstrom now owns a sparkling .935 save percentage in three games with his new club.

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One of the NHL's most quietly impressive streaks came to an end on Monday.

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton failed to record a shot on goal for the first time since April 5, 2016, ending a streak of 296 consecutive games, according to NHL.com's Michael Smith. It was the longest active streak in the NHL.

Hall of Famer Ray Bourque holds the all-time record of 360 straight contests with a shot on goal since the league began recording the statistic. Bourque also holds records for most career shots (6,206) and most shots in a single game (19).

Alex Ovechkin and Jeff Carter have come close to Bourque's streak in recent years, but both came up 45 games short, TSN's Frank Seravalli wrote in 2017.

Hamilton still managed to pick up an assist in Carolina's 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators. He'll have a chance to start a new streak Tuesday in the Music City.

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The emotion in Keith Yandle's emphatic goal celebration Sunday showed it was no ordinary tally.

Yes, it was the 100th career goal for the Florida Panthers defenseman, but he admitted he wasn't even aware of the milestone until he got back to the bench. The tally clearly meant a lot to Yandle, who had his ironman streak put in jeopardy this week when the team initially planned to have him serve as a healthy scratch before changing course.

"Anytime I score I'm pretty excited, but it was definitely a special one," Yandle said postgame, according to Fox Sports. "Seeing the guys and how excited they were for me definitely meant a lot."

Here's a look at Yandle's goal and the celebration that followed:

Yandle added that it was a relief when he was told he was going to play.

"Anytime you get to put on an NHL jersey and be able to represent your team is a special thing," he said.

A report initially surfaced Tuesday that Yandle had fallen out of favor with the Panthers and would eventually be a healthy scratch. Head coach Joel Quenneville confirmed three days later that the veteran blue-liner wasn't expected to play, but he then changed his mind prior to Sunday's contest.

"I was happy for him," Quenneville said postgame, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "And the bench was lit up as well. It's one of those moments where you look back at it and you can have a big smile."

Yandle's run of consecutive games played now sits at 867, which is the longest active streak in the league and the fourth-longest of all time.

The 34-year-old has three years remaining on his contract, which carries an annual cap hit of $6.35 million and includes a full no-movement clause. He's one of the league's most productive offensive defensemen, ranking fifth among blue-liners in points over the last three years. He's drawn criticism for his defensive play, though.

However, the Panthers produced 58.9% of the expected goals while Yandle was on the ice at five-on-five during Florida's 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks - the best among the team's defensemen, according to Natural Stat Trick.

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Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier will miss at least two weeks after suffering a Costochondral separation Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team announced.

A Costochondral separation occurs when your rib tears away from the cartilage connecting to the breastbone. Symptoms include sharp pain while breathing, coughing, or sneezing.

Couturier took a hit from Jared McCann on Friday during his second shift and didn't return.

Couturier produced 22 goals and 59 points last season and won the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward.

The 28-year-old is Philadelphia's first-line center. It's unclear how the Flyers will fill his spot in the lineup, but moving winger Claude Giroux back to his natural center position is among the team's options.

It's also possible Morgan Frost gets inserted into the lineup. The 2017 first-rounder is a natural center and played 20 NHL games in 2019-20 but has yet to appear this season.

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Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier will undergo an MRI on his shoulder Saturday after leaving Friday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team announced.

Couturier took a hit from Jared McCann during his second shift of the game and didn't return.

The reigning Selke Trophy winner registered 22 goals and 59 points in 69 contests last season.

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The Edmonton Oilers placed goaltender Mike Smith on long-term injured reserve, the team announced Friday.

Details of his ailment weren't revealed.

Smith posted a .902 save percentage and 2.95 goals-against average in 39 games with the Oilers last season. The 38-year-old veteran re-signed with the club on a one-year, $1.5-million contract in the offseason and was projected to serve as Mikko Koskinen's backup.

The Oilers recalled Stuart Skinner, who has no NHL experience, on an emergency basis. The 2017 third-round pick registered an .892 save percentage in 41 AHL games last season.

Additionally, the team reassigned Olivier Rodrigue, a 2018 second-round pick, from the Austrian League to the club's taxi squad, pending quarantine protocols. The 20-year-old owned a .908 save percentage in 23 games overseas.

The Oilers could also look to add a backup with NHL experience while Smith is sidelined.

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