Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid has taken home the Ted Lindsay Award (formerly the Lester B. Pearson Award), presented to the "most outstanding player" in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA. He edged out Penguins center Sidney Crosby and Sharks defenseman Brent Burns.

In his second NHL season, McDavid led the league with 100 points, scoring 30 goals and tallying 70 assists. He also led the Oilers to their first playoff berth since 2005-06.

McDavid, 20, joins Crosby and Mario Lemieux as the only players to win the award before the age of 21.

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LAS VEGAS (AP) Commissioner Gary Bettman says the NHL will look to enforce slashing penalties more next season and is not interested in more expansion at this time.

Following the league's board of governors meeting, Bettman said pointless slashes to players' hands will be called more. Ottawa's Marc Methot and Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau were among the players to miss time last season with hand injuries from slashes.

In response to questions about Seattle and Quebec City, Bettman says owners weren't interested in considering another expansion process. Vegas, which will announce its expansion draft selections tonight during the awards show, begins play as the 31st team next season.

Bettman also says he doesn't believe anything is ''amiss'' with the Chicago Blackhawks and Marian Hossa, who won't play next season because of side effects to medication for a progressive skin disorder. Hossa can be placed on long-term injured reserve, giving the Blackhawks much-needed salary relief.

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The Vegas Golden Knights selected Washington Capitals defenseman Nate Schmidt in the expansion draft, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post.

Schmidt, 25, is one of the smoothest-skating defensemen in the NHL, but he was stuck behind a plethora of proven rearguards in Washington, averaging just 15:29 minutes per game this past season.

He recorded just 17 points in 60 games, but in what's expected to be a top-four role with power-play time in Vegas, he'll have a chance to produce more offensively. He posted an impressive Corsi For percentage of 53.6 this past season, largely due to his ability to skate the puck out of his own zone. He's the definition of a puck-moving defenseman.

Schmidt wasn't necessarily the obvious choice, though. Vegas could have selected goaltender Philipp Grubauer, who has a .923 save percentage and a 2.25 goals-against average in 66 career games with the Caps. Washington would have no doubt preferred that outcome, as backup goaltenders are easily replaceable - especially when Braden Holtby starts 60-plus games - while losing Schmidt is a crushing blow.

The Capitals aren't expected to re-sign pending unrestricted free-agent defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner, so Schmidt likely would have been in line for an expanded role had Vegas passed on him.

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The Florida Panthers are expected to add former longtime NHL defenseman Chris Pronger as a high-ranking executive with the club, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.

Pronger hasn't played since 2011-12 with the Philadelphia Flyers, but his seven-year, $34.55-million contract that was signed in 2008 just expired at the end of the 2016-17 season. The 42-year-old never officially retired, but was forced to stop playing after suffering a concussion from a high stick.

In 2014, Pronger joined the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

Through 18 NHL seasons, he logged 1,167 games and 698 points. He won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1999-00, along with the Norris Trophy, awarded to the top defenseman. He also nabbed a Stanley Cup, two Olympic gold medals, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015 to cap an illustrious playing career.

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The Vegas Golden Knights drafted defenseman Colin Miller from the Boston Bruins in the NHL Expansion Draft, according to Fluto Shinzawa of The Boston Globe.

With Miller's acquisition, Vegas general manager George McPhee gains a dependable young defenseman who's under contract for next season.

Over his two seasons with the Bruins, Miller, 24, totaled 29 points in 103 games to go along with 72 blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating.

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Toby Enstrom doesn't appear to be going anywhere.

The Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights have worked out a deal to shelter the defenseman from being selected in the expansion draft, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

McKenzie adds the likely cost for the Jets to protect Enstrom is moving spots within the first round of Friday's NHL draft, and an additional selection in a later round.

Enstrom had agreed to waive his no-movement clause prior to the expansion process, but now it's apparent the Jets made the request with a view to protecting someone else while ensuring the veteran would not be lost.

Under contract for one more season at a cap hit of $5.75M, Enstrom registered one goal and 13 assists in 60 games this past season.

Winnipeg, by the way, owns the 13th overall pick in this year's draft.

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A pair of Florida Panthers forwards are reportedly Vegas-bound.

Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith have been informed they'll become members of the Vegas Golden Knights, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

While the Golden Knights can only select one player in the expansion draft, it's possible they've worked out a side deal with Florida to nab Marchessault as incentive for taking on Smith's contract.

Marchessault led the Panthers with 30 goals in 2016-17, while Smith is on the books for five more seasons, carrying a $5-million annual cap hit.

Florida left both players unprotected, opting instead to protect defensemen Mark Pysyk and Alex Petrovic.

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The Vegas Golden Knights have added another name to their roster, as Sportsnet's Eric Engels reports the club selected Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin in the NHL Expansion Draft.

Emelin's Montreal exit comes on the heels of defensemen Nathan Beaulieu and top prospect Mikhail Sergachev being - separately - shipped out of town, continuing a trend of change on the Canadiens' blue line. Meanwhile, Emelin immediately provides Vegas with a stabilizing veteran presence on the back end.

In six seasons with the Habs, Emelin racked up 14 goals and 58 helpers to go along with an impressive 1,235 hits, and will add a bit of much-needed truculence to Vegas' blue line.

Emelin becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season.

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The Vegas Golden Knights' full roster won't be officially announced until Wednesday night, but Larry Brooks of the New York Post and Steve Zipay of Newsday Sports are both reporting that the New York Rangers lost center Oscar Lindberg in the expansion draft.

Lindberg, 25, recorded 20 points in 65 games for the Rangers last season. He's perhaps best known for his red-hot start to begin the 2015-16 season, when he scored seven times in the first 13 games. However, he only finished the year with 13 goals.

Lindberg's possession numbers have been poor throughout his brief career, but it's possible they could improve in a situation where he isn't being dragged down by fourth-liners. He averaged just 11:31 minutes of ice time per game over the past two seasons.

Vegas is expected to be shallow down the middle, but could feature some scoring talent down the wings, presenting Lindberg with a glorious opportunity to succeed. He's shown flashes of promise, but there were plenty of mouths to feed in New York with the team's depth at center.

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Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee has sent in his expansion draft selections, and team owner Bill Foley is looking forward not only to revealing the roster, but also seeing the players take to the ice.

"I believe we put together a great team from the net out," Foley said following his first Board of Governors meeting as an official owner, according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. "I believe the fans are really going to like the team and the trades and the draft picks and the prospects that we have."

Foley said McPhee and his staff got a bit creative in assembling the roster.

"It's not just a player per team. In many cases, it might have been two players a team. It might have been an upgraded draft pick plus a player, all kinds of different situations. Sometimes the player might be an unrestricted free agent who may or may not come with us.

"We've already signed two restricted free agents to contracts with fellows that we drafted that were restricted free agents."

Foley wasn't naming names, of course, choosing instead to wait for Wednesday night's official announcement as part of the NHL Awards. He did say a handful of Golden Knights will be at the event, and that he intends to call others personally to welcome them to the organization, adding, "I'm very proud of some of these players."

"The people of Las Vegas are going to be happy with what we did. They're going to be pleasantly surprised."

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