More good news for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Up-and-coming blue-liner Nicolas Hague was named the Canadian Hockey League's defenseman of the year Saturday as the development league handed out its annual awards.

Selected with the 34th pick in last year's draft, Hague recently completed his third season with the OHL's Mississauga Steelheads, recording a team-leading 78 points with 35 goals - the most by an OHL defender since 1998.

When his junior year ended, the 19-year-old got a taste of the pro ranks, appearing in five games with the AHL's Chicago Wolves, the Golden Knights' minor-league affiliate. He's expected to return to the Steelheads next season.

Also among the award winners was Philadelphia Flyers prospect Carter Hart, who was named the CHL's goaltender of the year. The Everett Silvertips netminder is the first two-time recipient of the award after winning it in 2015-16. Earlier this month, he became the first WHL goalie to win three straight Del Wilson Memorial Trophies, presented to that league's goaltender of the year.

Alex Barre-Boulet was named player of the year after he capped his season with the QMJHL's Blainville-Boisbriand Armada by tallying 116 points in just 65 games. The performance comes after he finished the 2016-17 campaign with 81 points in 65 games. In March, the 21-year-old signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning as an undrafted free agent.

See a complete list of award winners here.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's time for the Stanley Cup Final, and to get you ready for the showdown between the Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals, we've prepared a statistical breakdown to set the table. (Advanced stats at 5-on-5 courtesy: Corsica)

Golden Knights 1P vs. Capitals 1M

It all comes down to this: The Golden Knights will either finish their fairytale year as champions in their first-ever season, or the Capitals secure a first Stanley Cup after 42 years of frustration.

Entering the NHL in 1974, the Capitals' first-year finish of just eight wins and 21 points still stands as the league's worst inaugural showing. But the Golden Knights rewrote the record books for different reasons this year, after a 109-point season.

The two sides will now meet in the Stanley Cup Final after knocking out a pair of formidable opponents in the third round. Vegas trounced the high-flying Winnipeg Jets in five games, while the Tampa Bay Lightning - a team many pundits pegged to win the Cup this year - had their season cut short after a Game 7 loss at home to Washington.

But how do the Golden Knights and Capitals match up for the final round? There is little historical reference to draw from, being that they faced off against each other just twice this season. Vegas, however, took both contests - including a 3-0 shutout victory. Will things be different in the postseason? We'll know soon enough, as the puck drops Monday for Game 1.

Schedule

* If necessary

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Phil Housley isn't a hockey scout but he plays one online.

Despite being just six weeks into his offseason, the Buffalo Sabres head coach is already looking forward to the year ahead. Of course, it helps after his team was rewarded with the top pick in this summer's entry draft and the right to select Swedish standout defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.

"It came down to the last two teams there and when they flipped over the Buffalo Sabres logo, I was jumping up and down and we were high-fiving in our family room," Housley told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. "I thought, 'This is finally a great breakthrough for this organization.' What a cornerstone for us to get Rasmus Dahlin. It really gives us hope."

While not yet a done deal, Dahlin will have the chance to finally pull on a Sabres sweater when the NHL heads to Dallas on June 22 for the 2018 draft.

The budding blue-liner, who has been likened to fellow countrymen Nicklas Lidstrom and Victor Hedman, is expected to make the immediate jump to the NHL after spending his formative years in Sweden.

Given he plays across the pond, there's been little opportunity for Housley to watch Dahlin with regularity. Enter the Internet.

"I know these are highlights and he's a young man and has to mature and really get to the NHL and North American game, but just seeing his poise and his hockey IQ of processing the game at a high speed is really, really something," Housley added. "I've been watching on YouTube and, boy, it's incredible. He's going to be a complete package in today's NHL."

Of course, Housley would recognize a top defenseman when he sees one. The Minnesota native skated in nearly 1,500 career games and accumulated 1,232 points, ranking fourth all time and first among American-born blue-liners.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The San Jose Sharks and pending unrestricted free agent Evander Kane are working toward a seven-year contract extension, sources indicated to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

The deal is expected to carry an annual cap hit of $7 million, adds TSN's Bob McKenzie.

The Sharks acquired Kane from the Buffalo Sabres at this year's trade deadline, parting with forward prospect Danny O'Regan and two conditional draft choices, including a conditional second-round pick in 2019. Should Kane re-sign with the Sharks, that selection will be upgraded to San Jose's first-rounder.

Kane tallied 14 points in 17 regular-season contests with the Sharks before adding another five points in nine playoff appearances.

The potential seven-year, $49-million pact is in line with several other wingers league-wide, including Buffalo's Kyle Okposo (seven years, $42 million) and Bobby Ryan (seven years, $50.75 million) of the Ottawa Senators.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Steve Mason shouldn't be worried about another offseason move.

The Winnipeg Jets backup goaltender, who agreed a two-year, $8.2-million deal with the club last summer, enters the offseason following an injury-riddled campaign in which he lost the top job to young netminder Connor Hellebuyck.

Still, there appears to be a spot for Mason in the Manitoba capital.

"I don't sit here and anticipate that a buyout is a course of action I would take with Steve Mason," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff told reporters during Tuesday's season-ending press conference. "Steve Mason is a capable No. 1 goaltender in the NHL. He signed with us knowing - and we were very up front with him - that this was going to be about winning, whether it was him, or whether there was going to be competition to win."

In all, Mason appeared in just 13 games this season, as he battled two concussions before later suffering a knee injury. He finished the year with just five wins and a .906 save percentage.

Given Mason's heavy salary - particularly expensive given he spent the majority of the season on the bench - his future with the team was a little unclear. Adding to the uncertainty, the cap-challenged Jets have a handful of Mason's teammates up for extensions, including Hellebuyck, defensemen Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey, plus forwards Joel Armia and Paul Stastny.

But as Cheveldayoff alluded to, the Jets can benefit from added insurance between the pipes.

"Steve was a real pro. I've seen a shell of our scheduled next year; you're going to need some goaltending and need some people to back things up," Cheveldayoff added. "There's a lot left for (Mason) with respect to being a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL."

For those curious, a buyout of Mason would carry a $1.37-million cap penalty for each of the next two seasons, according to CapFriendly.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice has opted to shake up his lineup ahead of a do-or-die Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

In Sunday's game, the Jets will dress defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Joe Morrow, who are replacing regular blue-liners Toby Enstrom and Ben Chiarot. Up front, Joel Armia will play in place of winger Andrew Copp, per Brian Munz of TSN 1290.

In the pregame line rushes, Kulikov was paired alongside Tyler Myers, while Morrow skated with fellow defender Dustin Byfuglien.

This will mark Kulikov's first appearance since March 8, as he missed the final 15 regular-season contests and every playoff game to date while recovering from a back injury.

The Jets trail the Golden Knights 3-1 in the Western Conference Final.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Team USA defeated Team Canada 4-1 on Sunday to claim the bronze medal at the World Championship.

After a 0-0 first period, New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider opened the scoring for the Americans midway through the middle frame, notching his ninth point of the tournament when he picked up a turnover courtesy of Canada's Connor McDavid before tucking the puck past netminder Curtis McElhinney.

Canada got on the board with less than two minutes remaining in the second period, as San Jose Sharks blue-liner Marc-Edouard Vlasic slipped into the offensive zone to bury one by American goaltender Keith Kinkaid.

A power-play marker by U.S. forward Nick Bonino with less than seven minutes remaining in the third period sealed the victory for the Americans, as he knocked a backhand rebound by McElhinney.

Anders Lee and Kreider added a pair of empty-netters to bump the final score to 4-1. Kreider was named Player of the Game for the Americans, while McElhinney took home the same honor for Canada.

The bronze marks Team USA's first medal finish at the World Championship since 2015, when the Americans defeated the Czech Republic to capture third place. The United States has not played in the gold medal game since 1960.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers have added to their defensive depth, agreeing to a one-year contract with Swedish free-agent blue-liner Joel Persson, the team announced Friday.

Persson spent the 2017-18 campaign with the Vaxjo Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League, where he led all defenders with 34 points in 51 games. He then posted five points across 13 playoff games en route to the SHL championship.

"(Joel) has progressed rapidly in the last year and has shown a very good offensive side to his game which is compatible with some of our needs," Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli said in a statement.

Chiarelli added that the Oilers intend for Persson to play in Sweden next season, but that the club has the right to recall him to the NHL.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The math doesn't add up for the NHL to return to Quebec City, according to Boston Bruins owner and NHL executive committee chairman Jeremy Jacobs.

Speaking at an end-of-season press conference Wednesday, Jacobs was questioned on a variety of topics, including the potential for Quebec City to resurface as an NHL market. He saw little hope in the prospect.

"Quebec is challenged, to put it nicely," Jacobs told reporters. "Look at the income base and the population base. There probably isn't a smaller market, so they're really going to have to distinguish themselves in some other way."

The NHL played out of the Quebec capital from 1979 until 1995, when financial concerns forced a relocation. The Nordiques were uprooted to Denver and rebranded as the Colorado Avalanche.

Attempts have been made to bring the NHL back to Quebec City, including the unveiling of the 18,000-seat Videotron Centre, a new arena built to league standards that opened its doors in 2015.

During the NHL's most recent expansion process, Quebec City's bid was deferred because of the declining Canadian dollar and a need to correct the league's geographic imbalance.

Now the NHL could be preparing to add a 32nd team. But it appears Quebec City is once again on the back burner, with the league primarily focused on the Pacific Northwest and the addition of a team in Seattle.

There's also been strong interest from Tilman Fertitta, who owns the NBA's Houston Rockets and would like to recruit a second franchise to share the Toyota Center.

"You look at Houston and you look at (Quebec), it's the fifth largest city in North America versus the 105th, let's say, so they have a different situation there," Jacobs added. "Economically, they're challenged and numerically there is challenge to them. They just don't have the numbers.

"But we've got enthusiastic fans there, there is no doubt about that. It's a great market and I'm not being critical of it."

If economic challenges were a hurdle for Quebec City during the NHL's last open-expansion bid, the push for a return could be even trickier this time. Potential ownership in Seattle, backed by American billionaire David Bonderman and Hollywood filmmaker Jerry Bruckheimer, would have to pay a $650-million expansion fee. That's $150 million more than the Golden Knights paid in 2017.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Alex Ovechkin is a man on a mission.

After failing to capture the Stanley Cup through his first 12 years in the NHL, the Washington Capitals captain is seemingly out to carve a new path in the 2018 postseason.

Ovechkin has tallied 19 points in 14 playoff games, including a game-winning goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. He's powered the Capitals to their first third-round appearance since 1998.

The charge has only continued as Ovechkin and the Capitals have taken the first two games against the favored Tampa Bay Lightning.

"I think he has taken 14 years of frustration out on one playoff. Not just us, but this whole playoff season," Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters Monday. "There's a reason he has 600 goals and he's done all these wonderful things in the league."

Ovechkin has picked up a pair of points in each game against the Lightning. The Capitals can push Tampa to the brink of elimination in Washington on Tuesday, which would make Ovechkin's dominance even more impressive.

"In the past, (Ovechkin) has not had playoff success, and when you do get to taste a little bit of it, it really tastes good," Cooper added.

Ovechkin is just two points back of tying his career high in the playoffs. He notched 11 goals and 10 assists during the 2009 postseason.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.