New York Islanders icon and Hockey Hall of Famer Clark Gilles died at 67 years old, the team announced Friday.

Gillies played 12 seasons with the Islanders, winning four consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1980s. He finished his career with a two-year stint in Buffalo, ultimately racking up 697 points in 958 games.

He had his No. 9 retired by the Islanders in 1996 and was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2002.

"The entire Islanders community is devastated by the loss of Clark Gillies," Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said.

"He epitomized what it means to be a New York Islander. The pride he felt wearing the Islanders sweater on the ice was evident by his willingness to do anything to win. Off the ice, he was just as big of a presence, always taking the time to give back to the local community.

"The New York Islanders have four Stanley Cups because of the sacrifices he and the members of those dynasty teams made for the franchise. On behalf of the entire organization, we send our deepest condolences to the entire Gillies family."

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman released the following statement:

"The National Hockey League mourns the passing of Clark Gillies, a tower of strength on the ice for the dynastic New York Islanders of the early 1980s and a pillar of the Long Island community ever since. Gillies helped define the term "power forward" during a 14-season, Hall of Fame career with the Islanders and Buffalo Sabres that was highlighted by winning four Stanley Cups with the Islanders."

Gillies was one of 17 Islanders to win every championship between 1980 and 1983.

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Marc-Andre Fleury is focused on finding a way to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to the playoffs this spring, not the trade speculation surrounding him.

"All I want is to have this team make the (Stanley Cup) Playoffs," Fleury said Thursday, per NHL.com's Tracey Myers. "Honestly, that's what's in my head right now. To me, it's not worth looking too far ahead. I just want to put this team in a good position to make the playoffs, and that's my goal."

The Blackhawks are a long shot to qualify for the postseason, sitting eight points back of the Western Conference's second wild-card spot. Fleury's frequently been mentioned as a target for playoff hopefuls looking to bolster their depth in goal due to his status as a 37-year-old pending unrestricted free agent and Chicago's struggles.

Fleury has been one of the Blackhawks' few bright spots this season, posting a .916 save percentage across 27 starts. The team won four of its last five, and its recent form is giving Fleury hope for a charge up the standings.

"We've been winning some games, so I think it's not just me," he said. "As a team in general, we've been playing well, giving ourselves a chance to win every night. I think guys are playing well in front of me, too, which makes my job easier. I feel good."

The Blackhawks acquired Fleury, then fresh off winning the Vezina Trophy, in a stunning trade from the Vegas Golden Knights this past offseason. He posted a 117-60-14 record over four years in Sin City.

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The Edmonton Oilers are actively seeking an upgrade in goal leading up to March's trade deadline, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."

"They are, according to sources, looking at all (goalie) options across the NHL," LeBrun said.

"For example, we're told they've kicked tires on Joonas Korpisalo in Columbus, who's a pending UFA at the end of the year. They've discussed internally about Anton Khudobin, who, of course, cleared waivers last month."

The Oilers rank 26th in the NHL this season with an all-situations save percentage of .897, according to Evolving-Hockey. Here's a look at how Edmonton's incumbent netminders have fared this season along with the numbers of the two goalies LeBrun mentioned.

Korpisalo carries a $2.8-million cap hit, while Khudobin is owed $3.3 million per year until 2023, according to Cap Friendly. Edmonton is currently operating with no cap space.

The Oilers are riding a significant slump and sit six points outside of a Western Conference playoff spot with five games in hand. Since the start of December, they rank 31st in the NHL with a 3-10-2 record.

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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe had a scathing review of his club's performance after Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers.

"We got exposed today for being a team that was just soft. Soft and purposeless and just kind of playing the game hoping it was gonna work out," Keefe said, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

"This one should bother us greatly," he added.

Toronto stormed out to a 3-1 lead after the first period but allowed five unanswered goals and was overmatched by New York's forecheck. The Maple Leafs have now surrendered multi-goal leads in four of their past five games.

"We took our foot off the gas ... it's becoming something that we really need to stop doing," forward Mitch Marner said, per the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan.

The Leafs sit in third in the Atlantic Division, six points back of the Florida Panthers with two games in hand. They return to action Saturday against the New York Islanders.

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The Dallas Stars are ramping up their efforts to trade disgruntled defenseman John Klingberg, reports Sportsnet's Jeff Marek.

Klingberg's name has been in the rumor mill for much of the season. Earlier this month, he said contract negotiations with the club were quiet and that he didn't feel appreciated.

The 29-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent and is likely to draw plenty of interest leading up to the trade deadline from contenders looking to bolster the right side of their blue line. The Carolina Hurricanes are among the teams that have inquired about the blue-liner's availability, Marek previously reported.

Klingberg carries a $4.25-million cap hit and a $6-million base salary, according to CapFriendly. He's spent his entire career with the Stars after being drafted in the fifth round in 2010.

The smooth-skating Swede broke into the NHL in 2014-15 and has collected 344 points in 508 games - good for ninth among all defensemen over that span.

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Dallas Stars head coach Rick Bowness appears to be sick and tired of road losses.

His club fell victim to a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of the league-leading Florida Panthers on Friday night, dropping Dallas' road record to a dreadful 4-11-1 on the season. The Stars have only one regulation victory away from American Airlines Center in 2021-22.

"We have some guys who are very comfortable playing at home and very uncomfortable playing on the road," Bowness said postgame, according to The Athletic's Saad Yousuf. "It's very obvious."

The Stars found themselves two goals behind less than 10 minutes into Friday's clash. Florida eventually went ahead 6-0 before Roope Hintz stopped the bleeding with a third-period tally.

Bowness didn't mince words about what went wrong.

"There was a lot," he said. "A lot. It starts with just not being willing to compete. Starts with that. If you don't want to work, you don't want to compete, you get that."

Bowness has made his frustration clear on numerous occasions of late. He was fined $25,000 by the league after destroying a stick on the Stars' bench following a 2-1 road loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

Dallas sits three points outside a wild-card spot in the Western Conference with four games in hand. Despite their road woes, the Stars have been able to stay in the race thanks to a 14-3-1 record at home.

The Stars return to the ice Saturday in Tampa Bay.

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Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter believes his club needs to play with more passion in order to snap out of an extended slump.

The Flames dropped a season-worst fourth straight game Thursday at the hands of the Ottawa Senators, a listless 4-1 defeat.

"The big thing is with our team, I'd like to get in some sort of rhythm of playing games. I don't think there's enough disappointment when they lose and just not enough emotion in our game right now," Sutter said, according to Kristen Anderson of the Calgary Sun.

The loss to the Senators was Calgary's eighth in its last 10 contests. Over that span, the Flames have been outscored 39-26.

"We've got some guys that are on the ice for too many goals against the last little, while which is a concern," Sutter said. "I just think the emotional level of our group has been lacking for a period of time now."

The Flames' skid has dropped them out of the Western Conference playoff picture, but they're only three points behind the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division with three games in hand.

Sutter's group returns to the ice Tuesday versus the Florida Panthers.

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Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid addressed rumors of Evander Kane joining the club on Wednesday.

Kane has been heavily linked to the team in recent days after becoming a free agent. He became eligible to sign with any club after his deal with the San Jose Sharks was terminated for breach of contract and violation of the AHL's COVID-19 protocol.

"Right now, it's all speculation," McDavid told reporters. "Obviously, Evander is an amazing player and he's had lots of success over the last couple of years. Whatever else is going on, it's not something I look into much."

Kane has been the subject of multiple NHL investigations over the past year. The league cleared him in one case after his wife, Anna, claimed Kane gambled on NHL games. Kane was later suspended 21 games for violating the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. He was also investigated for allegations he abused Anna, which the league stated "could not be substantiated."

"I’m not really here to discuss optics issues," said McDavid. "If fans don’t like it and media doesn’t like it, I think it is what it is. I think there are a lot of things that go on the ice and whatnot that fans don’t like and we don’t necessarily have to discuss that up here with you guys."

McDavid added: "I think Evander is a great player and can help us a lot on the ice and that’s first and foremost."

Oilers general manager Ken Holland confirmed Tuesday he's spoken to Kane's agent, but it appears unlikely Kane signs anytime soon. Teams were recently notified that the NHL is investigating Kane for crossing the U.S.-Canada border in December eight days after testing positive for COVID, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported.

Kane, 30, played five games for the AHL's San Jose Barracuda this season, notching eight points. He had a career year for the Sharks in 2020-21, registering a team-leading 49 points across 56 contests.

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Vegas Golden Knights sniper Jonathan Marchessault is excited to welcome old friend Marc-Andre Fleury back to Sin City on Saturday.

The Chicago Blackhawks netminder is set to play his first game in Vegas since his four-year run with the team came to an abrupt end this past summer after a stunning trade to the midwest.

"I'm really looking forward to that moment after the video he's going to get," Marchessault said, according to NHL.com's Danny Webster. "He built this city. He built sports in this city. He's the one who made us successful. I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it."

Fleury was the Golden Knights' headline pick at their expansion draft in 2017. He previously played 13 seasons and won three Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins before he was selected to join the NHL's 31st franchise.

The 37-year-old led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, then won the first Vezina Trophy of his career in 2021. In 192 appearances with Vegas, Fleury posted a 117-60-14 record with a .917 save percentage.

Fleury received the warmest of receptions when he returned to Pittsburgh as a Golden Knight for the first time and feels his debut trip to Vegas as a Blackhawk will be the same.

"I'm sure it will be similar," Fleury said, per NHL.com's Tracey Myers. "It brings back so many memories from my time there. It'll be good to see some of those old teammates and friends and staff from the team and stuff. The fans, right? They've always been very kind to me. So it'll be special."

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Minnesota Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov left Thursday's game versus the Boston Bruins and was unable to return after being boarded by Bruins forward Trent Frederic.

The hit took place in the second period and resulted in an upper-body injury for Kaprizov, the Wild announced. Kaprizov skated off the ice cradling his arm as a scrum broke out after the collision.

Frederic was penalized for boarding and for the ensuing fight with Wild blue-liner Dmitry Kulikov. Minnesota enforcer Marcus Foligno then dropped the gloves with Frederic in the third period.

Wild head coach Dean Evason was predictably upset about the play.

"Really frustrated with how Kirill got hurt," Evason said postgame, according to Sarah McLellan of the Star Tribune. "It's a predatorial hit. It's one that the league, we don't want that. The puck is sitting right there. You know what he's doing. He's going to hurt our best player."

Evason continued: "That is not a hockey play. The puck's sitting right there. Why not just take the puck and go? In a vulnerable position, you hit a player from behind. We see it all the time, and it gets taken care of. I hope it gets taken care of here."

Kaprizov scored his 14th goal of the season earlier in the contest, marking his team-leading 40th point through 32 games.

Minnesota held on to win 3-2 over the Bruins, snapping a five-game losing streak.

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