Oilers’ longtime locker room attendant, Joey Moss, dies at 57

The Edmonton Oilers lost a beloved member of their family Monday, as legendary locker room attendant Joey Moss died at age 57.

"Joey was a remarkable person who taught us to love, laugh, and enjoy life always," his family said in a statement. "While Joey is most recognized as the dressing room attendant for the Edmonton Oilers and the Edmonton Football Team, and singing the national anthem; Joey is also remembered for his incredible dance moves and putting a smile on your face when you are feeling down."

Moss, who was born with Down syndrome, had been working with the Oilers since 1984 when Wayne Gretzky asked the team to hire him. Gretzky was dating Moss' sister at the time.

He was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions to both the Oilers and Edmonton Football Team.

Many people whose lives were impacted by Moss shared their condolences and heartfelt messages on social media late Monday.

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Colliton: Blackhawks veterans must help with rebuild process

After the Chicago Blackhawks recently sent a letter to fans stating their commitment to a rebuild, head coach Jeremy Colliton is hoping the team's veterans will be on board and aid in the process.

"They need to help on this," Colliton recently said to the Chicago Tribune's Phil Thompson. "They have a part to play in helping bringing young guys along and being an example of how we want them to act on and off the ice. That's going to speed up this process, and in the end, it's going to be good for them as well."

The Blackhawks have been among the NHL's most successful teams over the last decade, winning three Stanley Cups from 2010-15. Since winning the championship in 2015, however, Chicago has failed to make the playoffs twice and hasn't advanced beyond Round 1.

Its core veterans, who helped lead the club to those Cup victories, include the likes of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook. The four players each have multiple years left on their respective contracts and will combine for a $33.4-million cap hit over the next three seasons.

"We need it to come from young players (because) we can't afford to go out and get established veterans who can already do it - who you just plug right in - because of our cap situation," Colliton said. "So this is the way we're going to be competitive."

Chicago has added some bright, young talent through the draft and trades in recent years, such as Alex DeBrincat, Dominik Kubalik, Kirby Dach, Dylan Strome, and Adam Boqvist. The club also recently parted ways with veteran goaltender Corey Crawford to give 26-year-olds Malcolm Subban and Collin Delia the crease.

Colliton believes the Blackhawks aren't far from being an elite team again, and he saw his young players' potential throughout last season.

"We saw the fruits of that in the playoffs. We had a lot of young guys playing big roles who helped us beat Edmonton and be competitive against Vegas," Colliton said. "If we wouldn't have given them (an) opportunity during the season, I don’t think we would've been nearly as competitive."

He added, "For the past couple of years, we've been a bottom-half team, a bubble team at best, hoping to sneak in and catch lightning in a bottle. I'm not excited about that. I don't think they should be either."

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Trevor Daley retires after 16-year career, joins Penguins’ front office

Longtime NHL defenseman Trevor Daley is hanging up his skates after 16 seasons in the show, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced Monday.

Daley is joining the Penguins' front office as a hockey operations advisor. He'll report directly to general manager Jim Rutherford and assist in player evaluations at the NHL and AHL level, in addition to acting as an "eye in the sky" for the coaching staff during games.

The 37-year-old spent the last three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings but won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pens in 2016 and 2017.

Daley was valuable to those Cup teams. In 2016 he averaged 22:08 per game during the playoffs (second-most among Pens blue-liners), and in 2017 he played 19:07 per contest in the postseason (fifth-most).

The Toronto, Ontario, native played with the Dallas Stars in his first 11 seasons in the NHL. In total, Daley ends his career with 309 points in 1,058 regular-season games.

Pittsburgh further shook up its front office on Monday by firing assistant GM Jason Karmanos. In a corresponding move, director of hockey research Sam Ventura will assume Karmanos' duties on an interim basis, and manager of hockey operations Erik Heasley has been named interim GM of the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

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Coyotes won’t renounce draft pick who bullied Black, disabled teen

The Arizona Coyotes don't plan to distance themselves from Mitchell Miller, their 2020 draft pick who the club selected despite knowing he bullied a Black, developmentally disabled classmate.

"Our fundamental mission is to ensure a safe environment - whether in schools, in our community, in hockey rinks, or in the workplace - to be free of bullying and racism," Coyotes president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez said in a statement, according to Craig Harris and Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic.

"When we first learned of Mitchell’s story, it would have been easy for us to dismiss him - many teams did," Gutierrez continued. "Instead, we felt it was our responsibility to be a part of the solution in a real way - not just saying and doing the right things ourselves but ensuring that others are too."

Miller, who the Coyotes picked in the fourth round earlier in October, admitted in court in 2016 that he bullied Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, who grew up with him in Ohio. Meyer-Crothers said Miller frequently called him the N-word and "brownie," while harassing him for years.

"He pretended to be my friend and made me do things I didn't want to do," Meyer-Crothers told Harris and Romero. "In junior high, I got beat up by him. … Everyone thinks he's so cool that he gets to go to the NHL, but I don't see how someone can be cool when you pick on someone and bully someone your entire life."

Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong, who got the job before the draft but didn't take part as a condition of his hiring, confirmed Arizona's scouts knew about Miller's bullying history.

Gutierrez said the organization has made its expectations "very clear" to Miller, and they want him to become a leader in the anti-bullying and anti-racism movements.

Meyer-Crothers' mother Joni called on the team to apologize and accused it of being "part of the problem." Miller has never personally apologized to Isaiah aside from a court-mandated letter.

In early September, the NHL launched a series of anti-racism initiatives, and Gutierrez was among 15 people named to the new Executive Inclusion Council. The Hockey Diversity Alliance - a group of current former NHL players aiming to eradicate racism in the game - initially had conversations with the league but cut ties in early October, calling the NHL's anti-racism work "performative public relations efforts."

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Sabres avoid arbitration with Ullmark on 1-year deal

The Buffalo Sabres signed goaltender Linus Ullmark to a one-year, $2.6-million contract, the team announced Sunday.

The restricted free agent was set to have an arbitration hearing Monday.

Ullmark posted a .915 save percentage and a 2.69 goals-against average in 34 games this past season. He projects to be the club's No. 1 goaltender next year after vastly outplaying veteran Carter Hutton. Both Ullmark and Hutton will be unrestricted free agents next offseason.

The Sabres picked the 27-year-old during the sixth round in 2012.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has been busy Sunday, with the club also avoiding arbitration with forward Sam Reinhart on a one-year, $5.2-million agreement. Victor Olofsson, Casey Mittelstadt, and Lawrence Pilut are the team's remaining RFAs.

Buffalo has $6.5 million left in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly.

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Longtime NHLer Martin Hanzal retires

Former Arizona Coyotes forward Martin Hanzal's career has come to an end.

"It's a little bit of a relief because the last couple of years I wasn’t sure if I'd play another NHL game or be healthy again so now it's official: I am retired from the NHL," Hanzal told NHL Network's Craig Morgan. "If I was healthy, I would probably still be playing, but after three back surgeries and especially after the last one, I just can't do it anymore. I was doing everything I could after this last one and it took me a year to get back on the ice."

Hanzal sat out this past season while rehabbing in Europe and was limited to only seven games with the Dallas Stars in 2018-19. He played only 38 with the club in the previous campaign.

"When I went to see the doctor again, it was either do another surgery or be done playing," Hanzal added. "Even the doctor said, 'We're not sure another surgery will help.' I still have a long life ahead of me. I don't want to do another surgery when it's not 100 percent sure it will even help."

Hanzal collected 127 goals and 338 points in 673 career contests. The 33-year-old spent nearly 10 of his 12 NHL seasons with the Coyotes, and he also appeared in 20 games for the Minnesota Wild in 2016-17.

The Czech center notched the fastest hat trick in team history (20:27) while playing for Arizona against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008. It was the first three-goal game of his career.

The Coyotes drafted him 17th overall in 2005.

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