One of ESPN's first hires for its future NHL broadcasts is a historic one.

The network is bringing on Leah Hextall to do play-by-play in addition to other roles, reports the New York Post's Andrew Marchand.

She will be the first female play-by-play voice to be regularly involved in a national NHL TV broadcast package, according to Marchand. It's unknown how many games she'll call when ESPN's new TV and multimedia rights deal with the league begins next season.

Hextall has been a broadcaster for nearly two decades. She became the first woman in Canada to do play-by-play for a nationally televised NHL game last season, working a game between the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights. She was also the first woman to call the NCAA men's hockey tournament when she did so for ESPN.

The network reportedly hired Ray Ferraro and Brian Boucher as lead analysts from TSN and NBC, respectively, last week.

Hextall's trailblazing accomplishment follows similar strides by female broadcasters in other sports. Beth Mowins has called the NFL for CBS, as well as Chicago Cubs games. Lisa Byington became the first woman to call the NCAA men's basketball tournament when she did that this past March.

The Walt Disney Company, which owns ESPN, signed a seven-year deal with the NHL to be its primary broadcast partner beginning in 2021-22. TNT followed suit with a seven-year contract of its own with the league. The NHL's current rightsholder, NBC, will not be part of the new agreement when its pact expires at the end of this season.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs' blue line will return to full strength in time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as Zach Bogosian has been medically cleared from his shoulder injury, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Bogosian wore a full-contact jersey during Monday's practice after sporting a non-contact red kit on Sunday, according to The Hockey News' David Alter.

The defenseman suffered the injury in April against the Vancouver Canucks after falling awkwardly into the corner boards. Bogosian missed nearly four weeks of action as a result.

The 30-year-old had four assists in 45 games during the regular season while averaging 14:40 of ice time per game.

Toronto will take on the rival Montreal Canadiens in the opening round of the playoffs for the first time since 1979. Game 1 is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Vancouver Canucks forward Jake Virtanen is being sued for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in 2017.

The civil lawsuit was filed in Kelowna, B.C., last week, according to The Canadian Press. It says Virtanen took the woman to a Vancouver hotel and assaulted her despite her repeated pleas for him to stop.

Nothing has yet been filed on the defense's behalf. Additionally, the allegations haven't yet been heard in court.

The lawsuit says the woman endured both physical and emotional damages.

The Canucks placed the winger on leave May 1, calling the allegations "concerning" and stating the club had sought external assistance to conduct an independent investigation.

Virtanen has spent his entire six-year career with Vancouver.

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Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett will sit out Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning for boarding forward Blake Coleman in Game 1 on Sunday.

Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday night.

More to come.

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Two days after earning her medical degree, Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser took yet another step in her multi-faceted career.

The Toronto Maple Leafs elevated her to senior director of player development Monday and named fellow Canadian hockey legend Danielle Goyette the department's director.

Wickenheiser joined the Maple Leafs as assistant director of player development in 2018. She fulfilled her duties with the team while studying at the University of Calgary.

The 42-year-old shared her academic achievement Saturday.

Wickenheiser is arguably the greatest Canadian women's hockey player ever. She's the all-time points leader with 379 in 276 games, and she won four Olympic gold medals along with seven World Championship titles before retiring in 2017. She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2011 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.

Goyette is also a decorated Canadian star. The 55-year-old was teammates with Wickenheiser for many of the aforementioned triumphs, including gold-medal victories in 2002 and 2006. The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Goyette in 2017. She most recently served as head coach of the University of Calgary's women's hockey team, a post she occupied since 2007.

The Maple Leafs made two other personnel moves Monday. Player development consultant Darryl Belfry will now handle the technical development of the team's players and staff, while Will Sibley was promoted from director of video and prospect analysis to director of development operations and analysis.

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