Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews is one of many who was taken aback by the Arizona Coyotes' announcement last week that the team is moving on from longtime captain Shane Doan.

Matthews - a nominee for the Calder Trophy at Wednesday's NHL Awards - grew up in Arizona and cheered for the Coyotes, particularly Doan, making the 19-year-old that much more crestfallen about the news.

"I loved him growing up," Matthews said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "He was my idol. Then getting to know him, he's such an unbelievable person. As good as he is on the ice, the person he is off the ice really exemplifies everything about him. I'm pretty sad to see it, but he gives it his all and he's been with that organization for 21 years and he's made a big impact on and off the ice."

Luckily for Matthews, he was able to share a special moment with Doan earlier in the season. Matthews took the opening faceoff against Doan during Toronto's visit to Arizona in December and later in the game watched the 40-year-old score his 400th career goal.

Report: Coyotes offer Doan front-office job

On the bright side, it appears the veteran of 1,540 games plans to join a contending team to challenge for his first career Stanley Cup, meaning his playing days aren't over just yet.

Heck, maybe Toronto could fit the bill. At least one player would be open to the idea.

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The Vegas Golden Knights have a roster.

Roughly four minutes prior to the 10 a.m. ET deadline, George McPhee and his team emailed their list of picks to the NHL concluding all the months of preparation, mock drafts, trades, and endless speculation.

The team's roster will officially be announced on Wednesday night during the NHL Awards, and for McPhee and the Golden Knights the ultimate game of fantasy sports is done.

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The Chicago Blackhawks got some crushing news Wednesday morning.

Marian Hossa and the team jointly announced that the 38-year-old will miss the entirety of the 2017-18 season due to a progressive skin disorder and complications with the medication that treats it. For now it's known that Hossa will miss at least next season, but given his age and the perceived severity of the disorder, it would seem the veteran's NHL career may also be in question.

It's a dramatic and devastating loss to the Blackhawks as Hossa has been one of the most consistent and potent point producers during his time with the club, while also playing great at both ends of the ice.

Fingers will certainly be crossed with the hopes Hossa will one day don the Blackhawks jersey again, but in the meantime here is what Wednesday's news means to the club:

Loss in offense

As mentioned off the top, the Blackhawks will feel the loss of Hossa the most on the scoreboard.

Since joining the Blackhawks ahead of the 2009-10 season, he ranks third in both goals and points to only Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews with 186 and 415, respectively.

Meanwhile, his 18 shorthanded goals and eight overtime goals lead the Blackhawks over that time, while his 1,614 shots are the second most behind Kane.

He generates offense at all strengths and replacing him surely won't be easy.

Cap relief

If there are any positives to take from this situation it is that Hossa's loss should provide some significant cap relief for the Blackhawks.

Heading into next season the Blackhawks currently have a cap hit of nearly $77.5 million - or $2.5 million over the $75-million cap - and that's without considering pending restricted free agents Tomas Jurco and Dennis Rasmussen.

It's likely that Hossa will be placed on long-term injured reserve for the duration of the season, temporarily freeing the team from his $5.275-million cap hit, putting the club back under the cap and potentially giving it some wiggle room to be active in free agency or to take on another contract.

Retirement not an ideal situation for Blackhawks

The biggest fear with all of this is that Hossa could be forced to retire from the game, which of course would mean we have all seen the Slovak star's final game in the NHL, while also exposing one of the league's more questionable rules.

If Hossa were to retire, his contract would not merely come off of the Blackhawks' books. Instead, Chicago would endure a "recapture penalty" that would cost the team $3.675 million over the next four years, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.

This would be the case even despite the fact that Hossa is owed just $1 million in each of the next four years of his contract thanks to a structure that saw it front-loaded, which is no longer acceptable under the CBA.

With that, it would be in the Blackhawks' best interest to keep Hossa on LTIR to save them from the penalty - similar to what the Toronto Maple Leafs have done with defenseman Stephane Robidas and forward Joffrey Lupul of late.

Let's just hope this isn't how Hossa's historic NHL career comes to an end.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa will miss the entire 2017-18 NHL season due to a progressive skin disorder and the side effects of the medications used to treat it, the Blackhawks and Hossa announced Wednesday in a joint statement.

"Over the course of the last few years, under the supervision of the Blackhawks medical staff, I have been privately undergoing treatment for a progressive skin disorder and the side effects of the medications involved to treat the disorder," Hossa said. "Due to the severe side effects associated with those medications, playing hockey is not possible for me during the upcoming 2017-18 season. While I am disappointed that I will not be able to play, I have to consider the severity of my condition and how the treatments have impacted my life both on and off the ice."

Despite his health struggles, Hossa still played in 73 of the team's 82 games last season, contributing 26 goals - good enough for third on the team - and another 19 assists.

"This is extremely difficult for us because we all know the incredible person and player that Marian Hossa is - competitive, loyal, and humble," Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said. "He has played a major role in the success our franchise has experienced in recent years, which makes his departure from our lineup a significant loss.

"His teammates and coaches know he battled through some very tough physical difficulties but never complained or missed games despite the challenges he faced. The organization will continue to provide him every resource he needs to maintain his health."

Team physician Dr. Michael Terry "strongly supports" Hossa's decision to sit out next season, calling it "the appropriate approach for Marian in order to keep him functional and healthy in the short term and throughout his life."

The 2017-18 campaign marks the ninth year of Hossa's 12-year, $63.3-million contract, leaving three more seasons after that with a cap hit of $5.275 million.

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While much of the excitement out of Las Vegas this week is yet to come (we hope), the NHL gave its fans something to chew on as the league congregates to welcome a new era in Sin City: new uniforms.

The league joined Adidas, its new jersey supplier, in debuting its new threads Tuesday night, with some teams undergoing more significant changes than others.

Below, we outline what's changed and provide an overall grade for the teams that will rock a significantly new look to start the 2017-18 season.

Golden Knights

What's changed: Technically, nothing, but Vegas' debut uniforms introduce a fresh look. The Golden Knights are the lone NHL franchise to don gray as its primary color, and it blends nicely with black and gold accents. The red is a unique touch, and should pop on the ice.

If you look closely at the gold on the sleeves, you'll also notice added intricate details.

Grade: A

Wild

What's changed: Minnesota's made the permanent switch to forest green, and the white horizontal stripe is a terrific change to make the logo stick out. The thin red piping on the sleeve ties it all together, giving the Wild a strong case for best redesign.

Grade: A

Avalanche

What's changed: The Avs revived their glory-days sweater by bringing back the mountain range design. Given their overall performance last season, reminiscing on the franchise's peak years might be a good thing.

That said, the retro look is a little dull for such a unique color scheme.

Grade: C

Oilers

What's changed: Edmonton already announced it will sport orange at home next season, but the Oilers made another change, darkening the shade of blue to navy. Additionally, the club thinned out the stripes at the bottom to complete the look.

The Oilers already had some of the nicest uniforms in the league, so the changes, though subtle, are underwhelming.

Grade: B-

Predators

What's changed: The Western Conference champions got even more yellow. Nashville eliminated piping that ran up the torso and across the shoulders, which was the right call, but the Preds still managed to make things worse, creating a terribly bland look.

Grade: F

Hurricanes

What's changed: Carolina integrated more black into its new get-ups, and also brought back the checkered warning flag pattern along the bottom to add some personality. Neat and clean. A solid improvement.

Grade: A

Devils

What's changed: For the first time since switching their secondary color from green to black in 1992, the Devils have a different design. New Jersey ditched its stripes on the bottom and squared up the shoulders, resulting in a resounding "meh."

Grade: D

The new home get-ups for all 31 teams can be found here.

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The Vegas Golden Knights have jerseys. All they need is a roster full of players to don the newly unveiled sweater.

The Golden Knights will be the only team in recent memory with grey as the color of their primary home jersey. The gold, as it should, really stands out. Yet, undoubtedly the most questionable decision of the uniform design is pairing white gloves with the dark jersey.

The Golden Knights weren't the only team to disclose a new jersey design. Several clubs made significant changes to their get-ups, with the most notable uniform alterations made by the following teams:

• Carolina Hurricanes: The Canes added a significant amount of black trim and brought back the warning flag pattern along the bottom of the jersey.

• New Jersey Devils: The Devils have worn pretty much the exact same uniforms since 1992, but finally added a new wrinkle. The sleeve stripes are now bold and the bottom stripes are gone.

• Nashville Predators: Apparently the Predators can't get enough of the color yellow, removing some blue trim in favor of, well, more yellow.

• Colorado Avalanche: What's old is new again. The Avs go back to a jersey awfully similar to their classics from the late '90s and early 2000s.

• Minnesota Wild: For the first time since 2007, the Wild's primary home jerseys will be green - which is probably how it should be.

• Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers will commit to orange home jerseys full time. The biggest changes include what is seemingly a darker shade of blue, the sleeve number has been removed outside of the blue shoulders, and the stripes along the sleeves and bottom are noticeably thinner and more spread out.

Though subtle, if barely noticeable, the changes for the rest of the teams can be seen here, and in the image below.

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Minnesota Wild forward Erik Haula could find his way to Vegas before the expansion draft is finalized, as his agent, Jay Grossman, and Golden Knights general manager George McPhee are engaged in ongoing talks regarding a contract for the restricted free agent, reports Michael Russo of The Minnesota Tribune.

McPhee and the Golden Knights hold exclusive rights to negotiate contracts with both unrestricted and restricted free agents before they submit their official expansion roster Wednesday.

If Haula winds up signing a deal in Sin City, it would help the Wild dodge a big bullet, as Vegas wouldn't be able to claim the likes of Eric Staal, Matt Dumba, and Marco Scandella, who Minnesota left exposed.

Haula, 26, netted a career-high 15 goals last season in 72 games with the wild, totaling 26 points.

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While the bulk of the NHL Awards won't be revealed until Wednesday night, the NHL Humanitarian Awards have come and gone, and Nick Foligno might need to invest in a bigger trophy case.

The Columbus Blue Jackets' captain was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy as the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy contribution in his community.

Foligno also took home the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award as the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team on and off the ice during the regular season.

On the ice, Foligno scored 26 goals, added 25 assists, and led the Blue Jackets to a franchise-best 108 points after they finished with the fourth-worst record in the NHL the year prior.

Away from the rink, Foligno is involved in countless amounts of charity work. Perhaps most notably, he donated $1 million to the two hospitals that saved his daughter's life after she was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition.

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