Twenty-seven NHL players among nine teams registered confirmed positive COVID-19 tests throughout training camps, the league announced Tuesday.

The results include 17 players on the Dallas Stars, who reportedly likely won't start their season earlier than Jan. 19 due to a recent outbreak. The league stated most cases within last season's Western Conference champs are asymptomatic, and all players are recovering without complication.

The league administered 12,000 COVID-19 tests between Dec. 30 and Jan. 11.

The NHL will provide updates on testing throughout the regular season, which begins Wednesday.

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San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner said Tuesday that Evander Kane will play the 2020-21 season following a report that Kane was considering skipping the campaign due to a bankruptcy filing and the birth of his child amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I don't think we're worried about a distraction," Boughner told reporters, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports. "I won't make a comment on any player's personal situation, but I am assured that he will be here for the whole season and that he's on board."

Kane reportedly filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Saturday, citing debts of nearly $27 million and assets of $10.2 million. The filing claimed Kane is allowed to terminate his NHL contract and opt out of the season without pay.

The 29-year-old forward signed a seven-year, $49-million contract with the Sharks in 2018 and has earned an estimated $52.9 million to this point in his career, according to CapFriendly.

Boughner said Kane will play in San Jose's season opener against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.

"I know there's other stuff going on, but he seems to be ready to go, and when he's at the top of his game, he's one of our best players and is a guy that we need," Boughner said. "He's a heck of a hockey player."

Kane notched 47 points in 64 games last season and has 457 points in 713 career contests. Drafted fourth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009, Kane spent time with the Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets franchise and the Buffalo Sabres before joining San Jose in a trade during the 2017-18 campaign.

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The Vancouver Canucks signed defenseman Travis Hamonic to a one-year, $1.25-million contract, the team announced Tuesday.

Hamonic joined the Canucks earlier in training camp on a professional tryout.

The 30-year-old was an unrestricted free agent this offseason after spending the last three years with the Calgary Flames. He was with the New York Islanders for seven seasons prior to his stint in Alberta.

Hamonic registered 12 points in 50 games last season while averaging over 21 minutes of ice time. He'll feature prominently on a revamped Canucks blue line that also added Nate Schmidt over the offseason.

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The Minnesota Wild signed winger Marcus Foligno to a three-year, $9.3-million contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.

The deal will kick in for the 2021-22 season and carries a slight increase in average annual value from the $2.875 million Foligno currently makes.

Foligno has spent the last three seasons with the Wild after playing his first six years with the Buffalo Sabres. He registered a career-high 25 points in 59 games in 2019-20.

For his career, Foligno's notched 183 points in 565 games while providing his team with physical play.

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Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin revealed he had a three-week bout with COVID-19 during the offseason, according to The Athletic's Sean Shapiro.

Khudobin missed the beginning of training camp due to visa and quarantine issues, but he took part in practice on Tuesday. With Ben Bishop expected to be sidelined for a good portion of the year, Khudobin is on track to be the team's starter to begin the campaign.

"It’s not easy, I’ll tell you that right now. It’s not easy," Khudobin said of his battle with the coronavirus, according to The Athletic's Saad Yousuf. He added he had trouble breathing and difficulty just going up stairs.

The 34-year-old was excellent in net last season, leading the Stars all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Khudobin posted a .930 save percentage and 2.22 goals-against average in 30 games during the regular season.

Dallas had six players test positive for COVID-19 last week and will have the campaign delayed as a result. At least three games have been postponed thus far, and the team will not begin its season earlier than Jan. 19.

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Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk quickly backtracked Tuesday after sharing his plan to have thousands of fans attend games at the team's arena.

Melnyk tweeted out his vision Tuesday at around noon ET but deleted it less than two hours later.

Shortly before Melnyk deleted the tweet, Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said, "Those aren't the conversations we're having at this time," when asked if his team hoped to have fans in attendance at Scotiabank Arena, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Melnyk's plan, which he first publicized in an interview last week, is still featured on his personal website.

Ontario continues to experience a surge in COVID-19 cases amid a lockdown that will extend until at least Jan. 23. It declared a second provincial emergency - including a stay-at-home order and enhanced enforcement measures - on Tuesday.

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The Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets are two of the many teams interested in Columbus Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wrote in Tuesday's edition of "31 Thoughts."

Dubois recently inked a two-year, $10-million pact with the Blue Jackets. However, reports emerged shortly afterward stating the short-term deal was agreed upon to give general manager Jarmo Kekalainen time to trade him. The relationship between the 22-year-old and the organization apparently soured during contract talks.

The Canadiens and Jets have emerged as two potential suitors and expressed interest in acquiring the star player. Both clubs have been in dire need of a center in recent years, but the desperation isn't as urgent anymore. Montreal suddenly has Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Phillip Danault as the team's top three down the middle, and the Jets have Mark Scheifele and Paul Stastny to center the top two lines.

Columbus' asking price will likely be sky-high for the 2016 draft's third overall pick, and Kekalainen has shown he's willing to wait players out if the right deal doesn't come along. In 2019, star players Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky both left Columbus in free agency after previously indicating they wouldn't re-sign with the club.

Montreal and Winnipeg are not the only franchises interested in Dubois, and the clubs involved aren't "screwing around," Friedman added.

Dubois recorded 18 goals and 31 assists in 70 games last season. He set career-highs in his sophomore season the previous year, tallying 27 goals and adding 34 assists in 82 games.

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The Boston Bruins will honor Willie O'Ree by retiring his No. 22 jersey this season, the club announced on Tuesday.

His number will be raised to the rafters at TD Garden prior to the team's game versus the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 18.

O'Ree was the first Black player to appear in an NHL game, making history on Jan. 18, 1958. He was recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018 in the builder category.

"Willie's contributions to the game of hockey transcend on-ice accomplishments and have opened countless doors for players who have come after him. He is without question deserving of this honor," said team president Cam Neely.

"Throughout the history of the National Hockey League, there have been very few individuals that have had such a profound impact on the league and its culture than Willie O'Ree," Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs added. "After breaking the color barrier as a Boston Bruin in 1958 and eventually retiring from professional hockey in 1979, Willie became the ultimate ambassador for improving diversity and inclusion within the game of hockey."

O'Ree will be the 12th player in franchise history to have his number retired. The 85-year-old played 45 career games for the Bruins.

The league announced on Monday that it will be releasing a custom helmet decal to honor O'Ree and Martin Luther King Jr. while also celebrating equality during the upcoming season. The decal will be featured on helmets starting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 16) and be worn through the end of Black History Month (Feb. 28).

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The Chicago Blackhawks inked head coach Jeremy Colliton to a two-year extension through 2022-23, the club announced Tuesday.

Colliton is entering the final year of his original contract.

The former New York Islanders forward, who turns 36 on Wednesday, is the NHL's youngest bench boss. He guided Chicago to an unexpected series victory over the Edmonton Oilers in August's qualifying round. The Blackhawks hired him to replace Joel Quenneville - who led the club to three championships - in November 2018.

Chicago missed the playoffs during Colliton's first campaign behind the bench in 2018-19. The team went 30-28-9 after he took over midseason, then it posted a 32-30-8 record to reach the qualifying stage in 2019-20.

The Blackhawks won their best-of-five matchup with the Oilers in four games before the Vegas Golden Knights ended their best-of-seven first-round series against Chicago in five.

Chicago committed to a rebuild in October, issuing a letter to fans to explain the departures of popular franchise fixtures Corey Crawford and Brandon Saad.

The Blackhawks enter this season without captain Jonathan Toews (out indefinitely due to an illness), up-and-coming center Kirby Dach (out four-to-five months with a broken wrist), and 22-year-old forward Alex Nylander, who was ruled out four-to-six months following knee surgery in late December.

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