The Toronto Maple Leafs signed goaltender Garret Sparks to a one-year, two-way contract Friday, the club announced.

Sparks is a candidate to back up new No. 1 Frederik Andersen after Jonathan Bernier was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional draft pick.

A seventh-round pick in 2011, Sparks made his NHL debut last season and was instrumental in Toronto finishing last in the league and earning the privilege to draft Auston Matthews first overall.

Sparks started 17 games, finishing with a .893 save percentage and 3.02 goals-against average. His tenure began in fine fashion, with Sparks becoming the first goalie in club history to pitch a shutout in his NHL debut, but it fell apart in March and April.

Still young at 23, Sparks had a .928 save percentage in 21 games with the AHL's Toronto Marlies last season, posting three shutouts.

Sparks will likely start the season on the farm, as head coach Mike Babcock admitted last week that Toronto is looking for a veteran backup to support Andersen.

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It appears the KHL is expanding in all directions.

After locking down expansion to Beijing in December, Georgi Kobylyansky, vice president of the Russian-based league, has reportedly gained permission from the British Ice Hockey Association to bring a team to London.

Including the new team in China, the KHL has 29 teams, spread through seven countries in Europe and Central Asia.

The United Kingdom is home to the Elite Ice Hockey League, which features 10 teams.

Earning permission to expand is the preliminary stage of the process, as no further details have been released at this point.

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The Dallas Stars announced Friday that captain Jamie Benn had surgery Thursday to repair a core muscle injury.

"His full recovery time is expected to be six weeks, putting him on schedule to be ready for the 2016-17 season. Jamie will be re-evaluated after the six-week rehabilitation process, at which time, his availability for the World Cup of Hockey will be determined," Stars general manager Jim Nill said.

It's unknown when the injury was sustained, but the 26-year-old has only missed one game over the past three seasons.

Last season, Benn was a Hart Trophy finalist for the second straight season, racking up a career high 41 goals and 89 points, adding an extra 15 points in 13 playoff contests.

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It's Sidney Crosby's day with the Stanley Cup (and the Conn Smythe trophy), so the Pittsburgh Penguins captain opted to share his hardware with students at his hockey school in his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

Of course, transporting such precious cargo requires the utmost protection:

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The New York Rangers are keeping busy this offseason.

Shortly after signing defenseman Dylan McIlrath to a one-year contract, the Blueshirts struck a deal with unrestricted free-agent forward Josh Jooris, the team announced Friday.

Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

Last season, Jooris, 26, recorded four goals and nine assists in 59 games with the Calgary Flames, but he never received a qualifying offer, thus making him a free agent.

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The New York Rangers have signed restricted free-agent defenseman Dylan McIlrath to a one-year contract, the team announced Friday.

Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but General Fanager reports it to be worth $800,000.

Both sides now avoid arbitration, as McIlrath had a hearing scheduled for July 21.

Last season, the 24-year-old played 34 games for the Rangers, registering four points and 64 penalty minutes.

McIlrath joins forward J.T. Miller - who signed a two-year contract Wednesday - as the second Ranger to avoid arbitration, with forwards Kevin Hayes and Chris Kreider awaiting deals as RFA's.

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Marcus Johansson and the Washington Capitals are heading down a familiar path.

Last offseason, the 25-year-old forward filed for arbitration, ultimately coming away with a one-year, $3.75-million contract. This year, Johansson filed again, in hopes of securing a long-term deal, but the sides are struggling to find common ground.

"(General manager Brian MacLellan) and I have tried quite a few times to see if we can talk about something longer term," Johansson's agent, J.P. Barry, told Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post. "We really haven't been successful on any attempts of sort of a longer-term negotiation. It could just be the cap and different views of what's going on. So then obviously, we have to turn around and deal with our arbitration case."

Johansson's hearing is scheduled for July 20, and the Capitals have just over $8 million in cap space with defenseman Dmitry Orlov the only other unsigned player on the roster, according to General Fanager.

Last season, Johansson suited up in 74 games, notching 46 points, one shy of his career-high set the season prior.

Although his production is steady, a second consecutive arbitration hearing is around the corner.

"We definitely have a gap on how we see free agency," Barry said. "We don't really agree on sort of the valuations or the comparables out there for free agency. I don't know how far apart we are on the arbitration. We'll probably start grinding on that now, because with the arbitration process both sides are preparing a case. I think the next step will be to just talk about the one-year deal."

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The Philadelphia Flyers signed forward Pascal Laberge to a three-year entry-level contract on Thursday, the team announced.

The 18-year-old had a career-high 23 goals and 68 points in 56 games for the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL last season.

He also added five points in five playoff games and had two goals and an assist during his team's 3-2 victory in the CHL Top Prospects game.

Laberge was selected in the second round, 36th overall at this year's draft.

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