Most of the 44 players at USA Hockey's recent Olympic orientation camp hope to make their Olympic debut in 2026, but Seth Jones' journey to Milan would be unique among that group.

Jones, a 30-year-old Florida Panthers defenseman, is the only potential Olympic rookie who both attended the last Olympic orientation camp in 2013 and was actually named to the 2022 Olympic team before the NHL withdrew six weeks before the Games.

"It was a stab in the heart when they said NHL players weren't going, right, because that's kind of like everyone's dream," he said.

It appeared Jones realized that dream in October 2021 when he was one of the first three players named to the 2022 U.S. Olympic team.

He was the lone defenseman picked, joining forwards Patrick Kane (an Olympian in 2010 and 2014) and Auston Matthews (who has already been named to the 2026 Olympic team as one of the first six).

On Dec. 22, 2021, the NHL withdrew from the Beijing Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting its season. Kane, Matthews and Jones — and 22 NHL players yet to be named — were replaced by collegians, minor leaguers and those playing for European clubs.

Jones has since seen the U.S. defenseman landscape change significantly. That was apparent as he watched last February's 4 Nations Face-Off final from home.

Jones, the top defenseman in the eyes of USA Hockey in fall 2021, wasn't one of the seven defensemen picked in fall 2024 for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

"You want to be there playing," he said of watching Canada's 3-2 overtime win over the U.S. "It was that intense. It was that competitive. I think every player that was American or Canadian wants that opportunity to play in that situation."

Four months later, Jones lifted the Stanley Cup for the first time — 24 years after attending Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final won by his hometown Colorado Avalanche.

In an oft-told story, Jones' ice path accelerated when his dad, then-Denver Nuggets forward Popeye Jones, asked Avs Hall of Famer Joe Sakic for hockey tips for his sons.

Sakic stressed skating skills. So Jones was taught to skate by a former figure skater.

In Jones' bonus room in his Dallas area home, he has hockey sticks signed by Avs Cup winners Ray Bourque and Patrick Roy, plus game-worn signed basketball shoes from Dirk Nowitzki, a former teammate of his dad.

"I was trying to beg my dad for a pair of (his) Michael Jordan signed shoes," Jones said, "but he's not going to give it to me."

Jones began making U.S. teams at age 16 for junior-level world championships. In 2013, at age 18, he was drafted fourth overall by the Nashville Predators.

As luck would have it, the Predators' general manager, David Poile, was also the USA Hockey general manager for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Three weeks after the 2013 draft, USA Hockey announced its 48-player orientation camp roster, a group from which the 25-man 2014 Olympic team was expected to be chosen. Jones was the youngest player to make the camp.

Later that fall, Jones was in serious consideration for the last defenseman spot on the 2014 Olympic team. He could have become the first teenager to play on a U.S. Olympic men's team in the NHL participation era (since 1998).

"I think (Poile) came to me and said — it was one of the last meetings — it was me or somebody else, and they (the selection committee) went with the older guy," Jones said. "I probably took it difficultly. You want to play with Team USA. You're 19 years old. Maybe if you're even sitting (out) a game or whatever it is, or you're playing a third pair, you're still playing in the Olympics, right? So that was always a goal of mine."

While Jones is still in the mix 12 years later, the other defensemen in the running have changed. Exit Ryan Suter and Brooks Orpik. Enter Adam Fox (a Norris Trophy winner), Jaccob Slavin (a breakout star at 4 Nations) and Zach Werenski (leading points scorer at 4 Nations).

Not to mention Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy, who already made the 2026 team as part of the first six players overall.

About six more defensemen will be chosen. The full team, with selection overseen by a player evaluation committee, is expected to be named in early January.

"I wouldn't want to be in their position," Jones said of the committee.

Auston Matthews leads U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team’s first six players for 2026

NHL players will return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014.

• Nick Zaccardi,

MONTREAL — Ken Dryden, the Hall of Fame goaltender who helped the Montreal Canadiens win six Stanley Cup titles in the 1970s, has died after a fight with cancer. He was 78.

The Canadiens announced his death early Saturday, saying Dryden’s family asked for privacy. A team spokesperson said a close friend of Dryden’s appointed by the family contacted the organization, adding that he died peacefully Friday at his home.

“Ken Dryden was an exceptional athlete, but he was also an exceptional man,” Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said. “Behind the mask he was larger than life. We mourn today not only the loss of the cornerstone of one of hockey’s greatest dynasties but also a family man, a thoughtful citizen and a gentleman who deeply impacted our lives and communities across generations.”

Dryden backstopped the NHL’s most successful franchise to championships in six of his eight seasons in the league from 1970-71 to ’78-79. He won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, the Vezina as the best goalie five times and the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP in 1971, while being a six-time All-Star.

“Ken embodied the best of everything the Montreal Canadiens are about,” Molson said.

Known for resting his blocker and glove hands on top of his stick in a relaxed manner that became one of hockey’s most recognizable poses, the 6-foot-4 Dryden retired at just 31 in 1979.

“From the moment Ken Dryden joined the Montreal Canadiens as a 23-year-old rookie in 1971, he made an immediate and lasting impact on the NHL, the Canadiens franchise and the goaltending position,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “Ken’s love for his country was evident both on and off the ice.”

Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, Dryden was 258-57-74 with a .922 save percentage, 2.24 goals-against average and 46 shutouts in just over seven seasons and went 80-32 in the playoffs.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on social media he was “deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the Hon. Ken Dryden, a Canadian hockey legend and hall of famer, public servant and inspiration.”

“Few Canadians have given more, or stood taller, for our country,” Carney said. “Ken Dryden was Big Canada. And he was Best Canada. Rest in peace.”

From Hamilton, Ontario, Dryden played three seasons at Cornell University from 1966-69, leading the Big Red to the 1967 NCAA title and finishing with a career record of 76-4-1.

Dryden entered the NHL in 1971 and spent just six games in the crease before making his NHL postseason debut. He and Montreal upset rival Boston in the first round and beat Chicago in the final.

“We looked at him and we thought he was coming from another planet,” Hall of Fame teammate Serge Savard said Saturday. “We didn’t see hockey players coming into the dressing room with books under their arms. After practice, he was going to McGill University.”

He was a cornerstone of Canada’s 1972 Summit Series team that beat the Soviet Union, starting in goal in the decisive 6-5 victory in Game 8.

“I feel the history of that tournament, the legacy of that team just as strongly as all Canadian fans do,” Dryden told The Canadian Press in a 2022 interview. “It never goes away. It’s kind of like a good wine, I guess. Actually, the legacy of it grows.”

He also worked at a Toronto law firm while sitting out the 1973-74 NHL season - after previously earning a law degree atMcGill.

After retiring as a player, he went into broadcasting and wrote “The Game,” one of the best known books about the sport, after publishing “Face-off at the Summit” as part of an accomplished career as an author. He was the color analyst alongside Al Michaels for the “Miracle on Ice” when the U.S. beat the Soviet Union and went on to win the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

Carey Price, the Canadiens' starter in net for more than a decade, posted on social media: “Thank you Mr. Dryden, for your service not only as a Canadien, but also as a Canadian. You helped me as a young goaltender and I will always be grateful for your thoughtful words of encouragement.”

Dryden served as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1997 through 2004 - a stretch accented by trips to the Eastern Conference final in both 1999 and 2002 - before resigning to enter politics. He ran for the federal Liberals in 2004 and was named minister of social development in Prime Minister Paul Martin’s cabinet.

Dryden, who also taught at various universities across Canada, held onto his seat in Toronto’s York Centre riding in 2006 when the Liberals were ousted, and again in 2008, but lost in 2011.

Dryden is survived by wife Lynda and their two children.

Brother Dave Dryden was a longtime NHL and WHA goalie. He died in 2022 at the age of 81.

Longtime NHL players Joe Pavelski, Zach Parise and Scott Gomez headline the United States Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2025.

Olympic gold medal-winning women’s defender Tara Mounsey and photographer Bruce Bennett are also set to be enshrined at a ceremony in St. Paul, Minnesota. USA Hockey announced the quintet of inductees Wednesday.

“All five of these members of the class share a common bond through the Winter Olympics,” USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said on a video call with reporters. “It’s appropriate as we gear up for another Olympic and Paralympic year that all of these people are going into the Hall together.”

Gomez was one of the first Latino players to make the league and made history as the first to come from the state of Alaska. He won the Stanley Cup twice with New Jersey.

Overlapping for much of their careers, Gomez, Pavelski and Parise combined to play 53 seasons and all represented the U.S. at the Olympics.

Mounsey helped the U.S. win the first women’s hockey gold medal at the Games in 1998 and was part of the team that reached the final in 2002.

“To be a part of that team was incredible,” Mounsey said. “To look back and see how the sport of women’s ice hockey has just exploded since the 1998 year, it’s just incredible to witness the opportunity that these young girls have now on the ice and the role models that they have to look up to.”

Bennett has photographed nearly 6,000 games in the NHL and internationally over his 50 years in the business. He joked that

The NHL will implement a playoff salary cap and remove team dress code requirements beginning this season, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the decisions had not been announced.

The league and Players’ Association agreed to those changes as part of a new collective bargaining agreement that begins in September 2026.

The sides opted to make the playoff cap and dress code policy adjustments immediately rather than waiting another year. Teams will be required to submit a cap-compliant 20-player roster for each playoff game.

Several teams over the past decade have used the lack of a postseason cap to win the Stanley Cup or make a deep run, with players on long-term injured reserve not returning until the first round. Chicago did so with Patrick Kane in 2015, Tampa Bay with Nikita Kucherov in 2021, Vegas with Mark Stone in 2023 and Florida with Matthew Tkachuk this past year, going on to become champions, and it was all allowed under the current CBA.

Extending the regular season to 84 games from 82, reducing the maximum length of contracts and other changes will go into effect in 2026-27. Until Sept. 15, 2026, players can re-sign with their own teams for up to eight years or join another for up to seven - and that will go to seven and six, respectively.

DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche added depth at forward by signing Victor Olofsson to a one-year deal.

The 30-year-old Olofsson spent last season with the Vegas Golden Knights, where he had 15 goals and 14 assists over 56 games. He turned in the longest road point streak in Golden Knights history when he notched at least a point in 10 straight games from Dec. 4 to Jan. 23.

Olofsson got his first taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season, scoring two goals as the team reached the second round.

A seventh-round pick by Buffalo in 2014, Olofsson has 105 goals and 106 assists in 370 games with the Sabres and Golden Knights. He reached two milestones last season — recording his 100th career assist on Jan. 17 and notching his 100th career goal the next night.

The 5-fot-11, 180-pound Olofsson was on the 2019-20 all-rookie team.

Before arriving in North America, Olofsson played in the Swedish Hockey League for parts of the 2013-18 seasons.

He was a member of Team Sweden at the IIHF World Championship in 2021 and 2024. He helped the squad to a bronze medal in ’24.

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Blues are bringing in 37-year-old forward Milan Lucic, who last played in 2023, for a tryout.

Lucic was a member of the Boston Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup championship team who also played for the Kings, Oilers and Flames before returning to the Bruins in 2023. He had two assists in four games that year before he took a puck off his ankle and went on long-term injured reserve.

Three weeks later, police were called to Lucic’s home by his wife, who told them he pulled her hair and tried to choke her. He was arrested on suspicion of assault and battery on a family member, but the charges were dropped when his wife declined to testify in court.

Lucic entered the league’s Player Assistance Program. The Blues say he has completed the program and has been reinstated by the NHL.

Lucic has 233 goals, 353 assists and 1,301 penalty minutes in 17 NHL seasons. He had a career-high 32 goals with 30 assists in 2010-11 and assisted on the overtime winner in Game 7 of the first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens to help the Bruins win their most recent Stanley Cup title.

TAMPA, Fla. — The home of the Tampa Bay Lightning has a new name, Benchmark International Arena, after the NHL team unveiled a multiyear agreement Wednesday with the mergers and acquisitions company.

The change takes effect immediately. The building that opened in 1996 had been known as Amalie Arena since 2014, and it was the site of the Lightning hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2021 for their second of back-to-back championships.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Benchmark International and Vinik Sports Group, which owns the Lightning, said their partnership includes more than $3 million in nonprofit contributions to benefit the area.

Vinik Sports Group CEO Steve Griggs called Benchmark “a well-respected brand with global reach and strong ties to the Tampa Bay community” and said Amalie Motor Oil will continue to be a corporate partner of the organization.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Forward Alex Laferriere has agreed to a three-year, $12.3 million deal to stay with the Los Angeles Kings.

The Kings announced the deal Saturday for Laferriere, who was a restricted free agent this summer after playing out his entry-level contract.

The 23-year-old Laferriere had 19 goals and 23 assists last year for the Kings, emerging as a dependable scorer in only his second NHL season. He largely played on the right wing alongside center Quinton Byfield, another key member of Los Angeles’ young core, and high-scoring Kevin Fiala.

A third-round pick in the 2020 draft, Laferriere has 31 goals and 34 assists in 158 games for the Kings.

New Los Angeles general manager Ken Holland has taken care of his most pressing summer contract issues after the signing of Laferriere, but Holland said last month that he would be eager to sign Adrian Kempe to a long-term deal as the Swedish forward heads into the final season of his current contract.

GAVLE, Sweden — Nicklas Backstrom is resuming his hockey career back in his native Sweden with Brynas IF after missing all of last NHL season because of a nagging hip injury.

The Swedish club announced Monday that Backstrom was signing there to play this coming season. The 37-year-old center’s NHL contract with the Washington Capitals expired this summer.

“I have always felt that I would like to represent Brynas again someday if the opportunity arose,” Backstrom said in a statement about rejoining the organization where he started. “After undergoing rehab and being away from the game for almost two seasons, I feel very charged and full of energy to contribute to the club’s future successes.”

Backstrom underwent hip resurfacing surgery in June 2022, hoping to address a chronic issue, and by training camp in September 2023 insisted he felt “way better.” He last played in a competitive, meaningful game on Oct. 29, 2023, saying on Nov. 1 he was taking a leave of absence because of what the team called an “ongoing injury situation.”

Before that, Backstrom skated in more than 1,200 games with the Capitals, recording more than 1,100 points, and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2018. The Capitals in a statement thanked Backstrom and wished him luck in the future, saying he “gave everything he had each and every day.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Sabres avoided a salary arbitration hearing with Conor Timmins by signing the newly acquired defenseman to a two-year, $4.4 million contract on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Timmins was a restricted free agent and acquired with defenseman Isaac Beliveau in a trade that sent blue-liner Connor Clifton to the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 28. The Sabres are Timmins’ fifth team in six NHL seasons since the 2017 second-round draft pick broke into the league with Colorado in 2019-20.

He finished last season with a career-high three goals and 15 points in 68 games split between Pittsburgh and Toronto. Overall, he has six goals and 46 points in 159 games.

Timmins’ signing leaves the Sabres with goalie Devon Levi as their only unsigned restricted free agent.