The Buffalo Sabres inked forward Sam Reinhart to a one-year deal worth $5.2 million, the club announced Sunday.

Reinhart was a restricted free agent who had a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

The 24-year-old ranked second on the Sabres with 22 goals and 50 points while averaging a career-high 20:38 of ice time over 69 contests in 2019-20. It was the third straight season in which he played in all of the team's games.

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The Calgary Flames signed forward Josh Leivo to a one-year deal worth $875,000, the team announced Saturday.

Leivo spent the last two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. He totaled seven goals and 12 assists in 36 games this past campaign with Vancouver.

Leivo hasn't played since Dec. 19 after he fractured his right kneecap in a win over the Vegas Golden Knights. He was projected to be out for two-to-three months but he missed the rest of the season, including the league's restart.

The 27-year-old winger has recorded 65 career points in 169 NHL games after being drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round in 2011.

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John Scott believes members of the Chicago Blackhawks' front office should be ashamed of themselves for the message they conveyed to fans earlier this week.

"The fact that they are just giving in to their fan base and having to write that letter is embarrassing," the former Blackhawks agitator said on his "Dropping the Gloves" podcast Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Blackhawks shared a letter in which they committed to rebuilding their roster.

Chicago parted with two pieces of the core from their championship years, allowing goaltender Corey Crawford to sign with the New Jersey Devils on the first day of free agency and trading Brandon Saad to the Colorado Avalanche in a deal that netted them defenseman Nikita Zadorov one day later.

A day after the trade, Blackhawks players aired their frustration, as other core veterans were reportedly "pissed" about the moves and said to have "had enough." Captain Jonathan Toews said "a lot of this comes as a shock because it's a completely different direction than we expected."

"I would be upset if I were Toews or (Patrick) Kane, I would be embarrassed if I was the organization, and if I was a fan, I'd be like, 'Great, I complained and they answered me, so guess what? I'm going to complain some more and they better answer me again or else I'm going to be super upset," Scott said.

"You shouldn't have to explain your moves to Twitter trolls just because you made a couple trades," he continued. "It just looks weak. It looks soft. I don't like it."

Scott also mentioned he believes the club wouldn't have written the letter had former team president John McDonough still been with the organization. The Blackhawks fired McDonough in April and replaced him with Danny Wirtz, the son of owner Rocky Wirtz.

McDonough was widely credited with resurrecting the franchise and helping it win three titles in six years.

Scott played parts of two of his eight NHL seasons with Chicago. He retired in 2016.

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If the age disparity between Joe Thornton and many of his new Toronto Maple Leafs teammates wasn't apparent enough, Travis Dermott offered a reminder Saturday.

"I'm really excited to meet him," the young defenseman said of the veteran forward, according to TSN's Mark Masters. "It's going to be really cool to have him on the bench beside me. It's definitely a guy I never thought I'd be playing with. Someone that I definitely grew up watching a lot."

Dermott, who will turn 24 in December, re-signed with the Maple Leafs on a one-year deal worth $874,125 on Friday. Meanwhile, the 41-year-old Thornton inked a one-year, $700,000 pact with Toronto last week.

The Maple Leafs boast several young stars, including 23-year-olds Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and 24-year-old William Nylander. Toronto iced the NHL's sixth-youngest team this past season, but the club now ranks 15th, according to Elite Prospects.

That change is due not only to the addition of Thornton, but also 32-year-old forward Wayne Simmonds and goaltender Aaron Dell, who's 31, as well as 30-year-old blue-liners TJ Brodie and Zach Bogosian.

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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Max Domi is excited to get things going with his new club and aims to return to being one of the league's top players.

"Great chapter in my life for sure (playing in Montreal), but this next one up here is super exciting for me too," Domi said during "Tim and Sid" on Friday. "You're going to a team that is ready to win, it's a heck of a hockey team. I know first hand how hard it is to play against them - well-coached, a lot of depth. And obviously going into a place where you're wanted and you got a big role, so I'm looking forward to the challenge and I can't wait to get down to Columbus and be a part of the Blue Jackets."

The Blue Jackets acquired the 25-year-old and a third-round draft pick earlier in October from the Montreal Canadiens for Josh Anderson.

After a career-best season in his first year with the Canadiens, during which he posted 28 goals and 72 points, Domi endured the worst statistical campaign of his career during 2019-20. He managed 17 goals and 27 assists in 71 games and was often relegated to a bottom-six role.

However, Domi is looking ahead and betting on himself to have a big comeback season with the Blue Jackets.

"Even Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky, those guys had tough games, tough years," Domi said. "So it's how it goes and you just gotta bounce back. So I'm looking forward to the challenge of bouncing back now and having a huge year this year with Columbus and helping them try to win a Stanley Cup."

Domi, who was a restricted free agent at the time of the trade, inked a two-year, $10.6-million contract with Columbus in the days following the trade.

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NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said that planning next season is proving to be a highly difficult task.

"It's a totally different challenge and requires a whole bunch of different considerations that I think probably, in some respects, are more challenging than the return to play plans," Daly told The Athletic's Michael Russo. "You need to gather as much information as you can, you need to take as much time as you can, and you need to make the best decisions you can."

One of the league's major obstacles continues to be the Canadian government's 14-day quarantine period for international travelers.

However, the federal government will test international travelers as a means to provide added flexibility to the existing quarantine rules, The Toronto Sun's Bryan Passifiume reports. Those who test negative for COVID-19 upon entering the country can forgo quarantine if they agree to a second test within a week.

Daly said that if the pilot program is successful and ultimately becomes permanent, his job will be significantly easier.

"The pilot program, at least on its face, if it goes well and it becomes more widespread, and that is the mechanism (for) health and safety ... that could be very, very helpful to a return to play strategy next season for us," Daly said.

If the 14-day quarantine remains in place, the league may be forced to get creative in terms of a realignment. With seven teams based north of the border, the league could conceivably form an all-Canadian division.

Daly, however, isn't committed to any specific format.

"I'm being honest when I say that there is no likely scenario. In other words, I couldn't pick one. I could identify 10-12 scenarios for you right now and I wouldn't be able to pick a likely scenario," he said. "While we have to make these decisions in a matter of weeks, I couldn't tell you that we're leaning any one over any other. It really is going to be a product of a whole bunch of considerations that have yet to materialize."

The NHL is targeting Jan. 1 as the potential start date for next season and reportedly hopes to do so at an aesthetically pleasing site.

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