The Carolina Hurricanes have locked up one of their best young forwards for the long term.

Victor Rask agreed to a six-year contract with the club worth $4 million per season, the Hurricanes announced Tuesday.

The 23-year-old ranked second on the team with 21 goals and tied for second with 48 points in his second season with Carolina.

He led the Hurricanes with 18 power-play points and ranked fourth on the team in ice time, averaging 16:58.

"Victor has gotten better every season that he's been a part of our organization," general manager Ron Francis said in a statement Tuesday. "He is a big part of this team's present and future, and we are thrilled to sign him to a longer-term deal."

The move brings Carolina above the 2016-17 salary cap floor ($54 million), giving the Hurricanes a total cap hit of about $55 million, according to General Fanager.

The Hurricanes extended a qualifying offer to Rask on June 27. He was a restricted free agent.

Carolina selected him 42nd overall in 2011.

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Make it 21.

Shane Doan and the Arizona Coyotes have agreed to a one-year contract that will prolong the veteran forward's career, reports Arizona Sports' Craig Morgan.

No salary information is yet out there, but Morgan writes that the pact will be worth close to $5 million when a bonus, incentives, and deferred payments are included.

Doan will be 40 in October, but can still light it up. He scored 28 goals last season, highest on the team, and his most since 31 in 2008-09. He finished with 47 points. Let's face it: at his age, the captain deserves a season shooting 16.5 percent.

Drafted seventh overall by the then Winnipeg Jets in 1995, Doan's been with the franchise his entire career.

The Coyotes finished fourth in the Pacific Division last season with a 35-39-8 record. Goals against were a problem, but youngsters Max Domi and Anthony Duclair had strong seasons.

Domi finished with 52 points, good for second on the team, while Duclair scored 20 goals and had 44 points while averaging only 14:23 in ice time per game. Between the two kids and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and hopefully Dylan Strome next season, the Coyotes appear to have a bright future, with Doan continuing to play a part in where, eventually, the club ends up.

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When Bobby Orr speaks, you listen. It's as simple as that.

The legendary Hall of Fame defenseman shared some thoughts on the modern game with TSN's Gino Reda, and No. 4 believes the NHL must bring back the red line in order to slow the game down - it's too fast, the players too big, and the game too dangerous as a result.

"I think the center line, with the size of our players and the speed of our players, we're shooting the puck from the goal line to the other blue line, and guys are going through the middle looking back for the passes, I think our game has become more dangerous," Orr said.

Now 68, Orr said far too many players are being lost to injury due to too much open ice.

"I just don't think (hockey is a game) we can play without borders. And we need that center ice line back in to slow it down. ... With the size, the strength, I don't think we can play like that."

Orr added that he isn't concerned with a decrease in scoring if the red line comes back into play. He pointed out, in fact, that all of the rules implemented to increase scoring haven't worked.

"The coaches just coach around the style," Orr said. "If the red line was back in, now the players have to make plays coming out of their end. I think that's going to help create more offense. Forechecking can be more sustained."

Orr would know - he revolutionized his position, after all. Injuries limited him to only 657 career regular-season games, but he left hockey having averaged a remarkable 1.39 points per contest.

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It was probably slashing, but, whatever.

Tyler Bertuzzi put a new spin on playing the man and not the puck at Detroit Red Wings development camp, abusing his defender by knocking the stick out of his hands - literally - before scoring on his backhand.

The prospect was even polite enough to send the discarded stick back into the slot, so it could be more easily retrieved. Never forget your manners, kids.

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Evgeny Medvedev's foray into the NHL is over after one season.

The Russian defenseman is returning to the KHL, signing a two-year contract with Avangard Omsk, the club has announced.

The 33-year-old appeared in 45 games for the Philadelphia Flyers this past season after signing a one-year contract, recording four goals and nine assists.

Medvedev is also reportedly facing facing DUI and drug charges after an incident in late April.

Prior to signing with the Flyers, Medvedev spent eight seasons with KHL club Ak-Bars Kazan.

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Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin had the full support of team owner Geoff Molson when it came to trading P.K. Subban for Shea Weber.

Speaking at a press conference Monday to announce the Canadiens' AHL affiliate moving to nearby Laval, Molson addressed the negative reaction from fans in the trade's aftermath, affirming Bergevin did what was in the best interest of improving the on-ice product.

Related: Bergevin not looking back after Subban-Weber trade

"I think that P.K. is a bigger-than-life person on and off the ice, and our fans love him, and still will love him, and I heard a lot of it on my Twitter account and I appreciate that," Molson said, according to Sean Farrell of NHL.com.

"But I also appreciate what I've hired Marc (Bergevin) to do, and that is to make our team better, and I'm confident he has done that."

On top of adding Weber, Bergevin also brought in forwards Andrew Shaw and Alexander Radulov, and Molson again affirmed his belief in the GM's decision to deal the fan favorite.

"For sure, P.K. is, obviously, we all know, an excellent hockey player and played an important role in the community as well," Molson said. "And at the same time, Marc Bergevin, he works to make our team better, and I think all of the work he has done this spring to improve our team has been 100 percent supported by me.

"And that's what I pay him for, is to make our team better, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the evolved team on the ice and I think our fans are going to really appreciate the improvements."

A healthy Carey Price will no doubt be the biggest boost for the Canadiens, but the jury remains out in the court of public opinion on the merits of the Subban trade, no matter what Bergevin and Molson say about it.

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The Kid is finally on the Conn Smythe.

Sidney Crosby, who was deemed the most valuable player of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, has officially been added to the 51-year-old trophy.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain recorded six goals and 13 assists in 24 games en route to the second Cup of his career.

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Korbinian Holzer is staying in Anaheim.

The Ducks reportedly signed the defenseman to a one-year, one-way contract worth $700,000, according to TVA Sports' Renaud Lavoie.

Holzer played 29 games for the Ducks last season, recording three assists. A fourth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2006, he has two goals and 10 assists in 87 career NHL games.

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Hockey fans in need of a summer puck fix need to head to Edina, Minn.

Beginning Tuesday, the town's Braemar Arena will play host to the newly formed Da Beauty League, which will feature several notable NHL players/beauties, defined by the league as "the guy who plays for the love of the game, who is also talented and loved by the rest of the team.".

The league's six teams will be captained by Alex Goligoski, Ryan McDonagh, David Backes, Nick Bjugstad, Taylor Chorney, and Brock Nelson, while Zach Parise, Dustin Byfuglien, Nick Leddy, Anders Lee, Paul Martin, James van Riemsdyk, and Jake Gardiner will be among the other NHL notables.

Games will be played four-on-four in two 20-minute halves, and while the standard rules of the game will apply, the league will feature two primary regulations:

1. Have Fun!

2. No room for Non-Beauties

The league will run through Aug. 10, and the six teams will be playing for the right to hoist the John Scott Cup at season's end.

The 2016 NHL All-Star Game MVP was named honorary part-time commissioner, presumably for embodying the essence of a true hockey beauty.

Funds raised from ticket sales - $5 per personand free for kids shorter than Byfuglien - will be donated to various charities.

- with h/t Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune

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The Las Vegas expansion franchise appears close to naming its first general manager.

This according to owner Bill Foley, who has indicated the search process is nearing an end.

"We’re hoping to have an announcement in a few days," Foley said Monday, according to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "We’ve got two primary candidates and we’re trying to get this done. We need to get a scouting staff hired and whoever we hire as our GM will be responsible for putting the (scouting) staff together."

Foley wasn't naming names, but whoever lands the job will apparently be a familiar face within the hockey community.

"I can tell you the people we talked to are all well-known in the hockey community and are well-respected," Foley said. "They’re all very smart and they’ve done different things for different teams. Some are strong on the (salary) cap. Some are strong when it comes to assessing talent. But they all have strong backgrounds."

One person out of the running is Dale Tallon of the Florida Panthers, who told Carp he was never contacted by Foley despite the fact team ownership was contacted for permission to do so.

Earlier in the offseason, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reported former Vancouver assistant GM Laurence Gilman, former Washington GM George McPhee, Pittsburgh assistant GM Jason Botterill, former Arizona GM Don Maloney, and Montreal executive Scott Mellanby were considered to be at the top of the list of candidates.

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