Ottawa Senators blue-chip prospect Tim Stuetzle requires surgery after suffering an arm injury in Germany and will remain sidelined for six-to-eight weeks, the Mannheim Eagles announced Tuesday, as E.H.C's Szymon Szemberg translated.

Stuetzle, 18, was the top-ranked European skater following last season, and Ottawa selected him third overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.

The injury occurred when Stuetzle collided awkwardly with another player during practice.

"I wasn’t there but according to the coach Pavel Gross when I talked to him after he said it was a drill they had and two players bumped into each other," said Mannheim GM Jan-Axel Alavaara, according to the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch.

"It was Tim Stuetzle and another player and he was cutting his lane a little bit and it wasn’t a hard check or anything," he added. "They bumped into each other and it was an unlucky angle."

The 6-foot-1 forward recorded seven goals and 34 points over 41 contests with Mannheim last season.

Stuetzle also represented Germany at the 2020 world juniors, contributing five assists over five games.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are nearing a one-year contract with veteran forward Mikko Koivu, according to theScore's John Matisz.

The deal is worth roughly $1.5 million, Matisz adds.

Koivu, 37, has spent his entire 15-year NHL career with the Minnesota Wild. Wild GM Bill Guerin said in September that the team wouldn't sign the longtime captain.

The 6-foot-3 pivot contributed four goals and 21 points in 55 games last season before the pause.

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The Boston Bruins signed forward Craig Smith to a three-year deal worth $9.3 million, the team announced Saturday.

Smith, 31, has spent his entire nine-year career with the Nashville Predators since being selected by the club in the 2009 NHL Draft.

The 6-foot-1 winger can play up and down the Bruins' lineup and adds a needed element of depth scoring to the team.

Smith was on pace to hit the 20-goal mark for the sixth time over his previous seven full campaigns before the pause, finishing with 18 goals and 31 points through 69 games with the Predators last season.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Wayne Simmonds to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

More to come.

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Mr. Game 7 is officially calling it a career.

Veteran forward Justin Williams announced Thursday his retirement after 19 NHL seasons.

"Since I first broke into the league a day after my 19th birthday back in 2000, this game has brought me so much that I will never be able to repay it," Williams said in a statement, thanking several people who helped him throughout his career.

"The countless experiences, relationships, lessons, and hardships will remain with me forever as I move on to the next stage in my life."

The 6-foot-1 winger spent the last three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes - his second stint with the franchise - and previously suited up for the Washington Capitals, Los Angeles Kings, and Philadelphia Flyers.

Williams captured his first of three Stanley Cups with the Hurricanes in 2006. He also won two championships with the Kings (2012, 2014), earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP following L.A.'s 2014 run.

The 39-year-old Ontario native recorded 320 goals and 797 points across 1,264 career contests. Known for his clutch play under the spotlight, Williams amassed 41 tallies - including eight game-winners - and 102 points over 162 playoff games. He notched seven goals in Game 7s to share the NHL record with Hall of Fame forward Glenn Anderson.

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The Winnipeg Jets signed defenseman Dylan DeMelo to a four-year, $12-million extension, the team announced Wednesday.

DeMelo, 27, was set to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.

Winnipeg acquired DeMelo from the Ottawa Senators ahead of the trade deadline in February. The 6-foot-1 blue-liner recorded 10 assists while averaging 20:09 of ice time over 59 games with the Senators and Jets in 2019-20.

DeMelo boasted favorable possession numbers last season, as well, owning a Corsi For of 53.1% and an expected goals of 53.9%, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Extending DeMelo is a big step for a Jets team that lost the majority of its blue-line talent last offseason. Winnipeg has just over $11 million in projected cap space for 2020-21 but currently has just 15 players on its roster, according to CapFriendly.

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The Vegas Golden Knights are exhausting "all efforts and opportunities" to trade veteran netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, TSN's Frank Seravalli reported on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading," making it their No. 1 focus.

The Golden Knights are apparently willing to offer a second-round pick for a club to take on up to half of Fleury's remaining salary. The 35-year-old has two years remaining on his deal, which carries an annual cap hit of $7 million.

Vegas has engaged with a number of teams, including the Carolina Hurricanes, but would likely need to include upwards of a first- and second-round pick for teams to be willing to take on that much salary, Seravalli reports.

Fleury owned a 2.77 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage over 48 starts in 2019-20.

The Golden Knights locked up 29-year-old puck-stopper Robin Lehner to a five-year, $25-million pact Saturday.

With the salary cap remaining flat at $81.5 million in 2020-21, Vegas is currently $60,000 over the limit, per CapFriendly.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have ruled out dealing four players this offseason, but captain Steven Stamkos isn't one of them, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

The Lightning told other teams that forwards Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, along with defenseman Victor Hedman and netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy, are considered untouchables, McKenzie adds.

General manager Julien BriseBois is looking to offload contracts this offseason as Tampa faces a serious cap crunch. The club has just $5.33 million in projected cap space for 2020-21 with key restricted free-agent forward Anthony Cirelli, and defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak up for new deals.

Stamkos, 30, has four years remaining on his current contract, which carries the team's third-highest annual cap hit at $8.5 million. He also has a full no-move clause in his deal.

The 6-foot-1 sniper ranked second on the Lightning in goals (29) and points (66) through 57 games this season. Stamkos was sidelined with an injury for most of the club's Stanley Cup run and contributed one goal in just 2:47 of ice time in the playoffs.

Lightning forward Tyler Johnson, who is on the books for $5 million in each of the next four seasons, has reportedly agreed to help the club find a potential trade.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are looking to move longtime forward Tyler Johnson in an effort to weather their salary cap crunch this offseason.

Johnson, 30, has given the Lightning several teams to work with for a potential trade, TSN's Darren Dreger reported Tuesday.

The 5-foot-8 pivot has four years remaining on his current deal, which carries an annual cap hit of $5 million.

The Lightning are one of several teams that have been significantly impacted by the flat salary cap in 2020-21. Tampa Bay has $5.3 million in projected cap space with several key restricted free agents - including forward Anthony Cirelli and defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak - in line for new deals.

Johnson tallied 14 goals and 31 points through 65 games this season and added seven points in 25 playoff contests en route to the Stanley Cup.

He's spent all eight of his NHL seasons with the Lightning after signing with the club as an undrafted free agent in 2011.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in adding unrestricted free-agent forward Wayne Simmonds "at the right price," according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Simmonds, 32, signed a one-year, $5-million deal with the New Jersey Devils last offseason and was traded to the Buffalo Sabres at the February deadline. He recorded eight goals and 25 points in 68 games with the two clubs.

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said Monday he's looking to make his club more difficult to play against. The 6-foot-2 Simmonds recorded 145 hits in 2019-20 - a department in which Toronto ranked 29th.

The possible signing would mark a homecoming for Simmonds, who played minor hockey in Scarborough, Ontario.

Dubas has already begun shoring up his forward depth, signing each of Denis Malgin and Jason Spezza to a one-year, $700,000 deal.

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