Phil Danault’s decreasing role with the Los Angeles Kings led to the veteran two-way center getting an opportunity for a fresh start in a familiar setting after being traded to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday.

The Kings acquired a second-round draft pick while also freeing up salary cap space and ice time for other players in the trade reached just before the NHL holiday roster freeze began on Saturday. The draft pick the Kings landed is the one Montreal previously acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Prompting the move for the Kings was the development of Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere, and the offseason additions of Joel Armia and Corey Perry. General manager Ken Holland also expressed a desire to provide more playing time for Alex Turcotte and second-year center Samuel Helenius.

“Phil’s role changed here, got reduced on the penalty killing and on the power play. It’s been a bit of a struggle here offensively for Phil since the start of the year,” Holland said on a Zoom call.

“So I found a trading partner, and I think it’s going to be good for Phil,” he added. “He gets to go back to a city where he had a lot of success. And we get a second-round pick and obviously we see some cap space to use going forward.”

Danault was in the fifth season of a six-year, $33 million contract he signed with Los Angeles in the summer of 2021.

The 32-year-old Danault, who topped 40 points in each of his first four seasons with the Kings, has been limited to just five assists in 30 games this year, while missing the past four with an illness. Holland said he consulted with Danault and his agent in opening trade discussions before landing what he believed was the best offer.

Danault, who is from Victoriaville, Quebec, returns to Montreal where he spent six seasons and established himself as one of the league’s better defensive-minded forwards.

He had 54 goals and 194 points in 360 games with Montreal over a stretch that ended with the Canadiens reaching the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, which they lost in five games to Tampa Bay.

Danault was selected in the first round of the 2011 draft by Chicago, and spent his first two seasons with the Blackhawks before being traded to Montreal.

The Canadiens add a 12-year veteran to a young, up-and-coming team that reached the playoffs last year for the first time since 2021, and is in the thick of a tightly packed race this year. At 18-12-4, Montreal enters Saturday sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference standings with eight points separating the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets and second-place Washington Capitals.

The Kings, meantime, are in a similar situation in the West. At 15-10-9, they’re seventh in the standings, with eight points separating the 10th-place St. Louis Blues and fourth-place Vegas Golden Knights.

The trade comes after the Kings ended an 0-2-2 skid with a 2-1 win at Tampa Bay on Thursday night.

Holland acknowledged the Kings need more offensive production in currently ranking 28th in the NHL in averaging 2.56 goals per outing. But he’s pleased with the team’s defensive play and goaltending, with Los Angeles ranking third in allowing 2.5 goals per outing.

“Certainly we need more goals,” he said, noting the Kings are a combined 5-9 in overtime and shootout results. “I’m hoping that some of the people that have scored in the past will start to score here going forward.”

Holland also backed third-year coach Jim Hiller by noting how the Kings are no different than a number of NHL teams approaching the midway point of the season.

“If we’re in a malaise, then 25 teams are in a malaise. Like, the whole league’s packed together,” Holland said. “Jim’s done a good a good job, and our team is playing very structured and competes every night.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said defenseman Conor Timmins is expected to miss between six to eight weeks after breaking his left leg in the third period of a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night .

Timmins was hurt with 5:20 left in regulation in what appeared to be a non-contact injury while several players battled for a puck along the boards in the neutral zone. A replay showed Timmins' left skate may have caught a rut in leading to his left leg bending awkwardly.

The 27-year-old has seven season of NHL experience and in his first year in Buffalo after signing a two-year contract in free agency last summer. Timmins has six assists in 32 games, with the injury expected to sideline him through the NHL's Olympic break in February.

Ruff did not have an immediate update center Tyler Kozak, who left the game with upper body injury in the second period.

DALLAS — Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin underwent surgery to repair the ACL in his right knee, and the club said in a statement the six-time All-Star’s timeframe for recovery would be reevaluated after the Olympic break.

The surgery was performed in Dallas by Dr. Dan Cooper, who also repaired the ACL of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The 33-year-old Seguin got tangled up with Rangers defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov in the first period of their game on Dec. 2. He went down in pain, could not skate and needed help from multiple teammates and an athletic trainer to get off the ice, and then more assistance to get down the tunnel to the visiting locker room area at Madison Square Garden.

Seguin missed the majority of last season after undergoing hip surgery. He returned for the finale and the Stars’ playoff run to the Western Conference final. He has been with Dallas since joining in a trade from Boston in 2013.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Two familiar sounds were missing during the Buffalo Sabres’ first game under general manager Jarmo Kekalainen.

There was no hint of former GM Kevyn Adams pounding at the table in the Sabres’ executive suite next to the press box each time the team made a mistake. And there were no chants of “Fire Adams!” coming from the stands.

There instead were cheers following a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, in an outing the Sabres began showing the character — and some of the consistency — Kekalainen placed an emphasis on in taking over after Adams was fired.

In extending their winning streak to a season-high four games, the Sabres overcame a slow start in which they were out-shot 12-4 in the opening period, and a 2-1 second-period deficit. Most importantly, they clamped down on defense by killing off a delay of game penalty in the final two-plus minutes, before Ryan McLeod sealed the victory with an empty-net goal.

“Obviously, one game doesn’t mean anything,” said Tage Thompson, who scored to extend his goals streak to five games. “But we’ve started to string some games together where we’re playing the right way. And we’re feeling confident knowing that we’re going to be able to close out games.”

This is the type of shot-blocking, don’t-let-down character Kekalainen said he was looking for in his opening news conference. The problem, he said in having spent the past six-plus months watching the Sabres as a senior adviser, wasn’t the team’s talent, but it’s effort and consistency in too often getting out-worked.

The outing represented but a start, because the Sabres still have much to do if they intend to climb back into contention and avoid extending their NHL-record playoff drought to a 15th season.

Improving to 15-14-4, Buffalo moved into 15th place in the 16-team Eastern Conference standings. But they’re only five points behind eighth-place Tampa Bay.

“Nothing really changes and nothing should change,” said goalie Alex Lyon, who stopped 24 shots and has accounted for all four wins in Buffalo’s run.

“I think it’s obviously been well documented that at times we get a little bit high and we get a little low,” he added. “It doesn’t matter what the score is. It doesn’t matter what your record is. You have to try to put the same product out there in practice, in games, all the time.”

Lyon’s was a message coach Lindy Ruff re-emphasized following his 915th career win, which moved him into fourth place on the NHL list.

“We need really to worry about one game,” he said, only looking ahead to Buffalo’s next outing, a home game against the New York Islanders.

For all his wins, including 622 in what is now his second stint in Buffalo, Ruff has plenty at stake now working under a new GM and in the final year of his contract.

“I’m focused on finishing the job. I’m disappointed,” he said a day earlier in reference to the front-office shakeup.

“But we’ve got ourselves in position where we can really push ahead,” Ruff added, noting his roster was filling out with center Josh Norris and defenseman Michael Kesselring returning from injuries. “The getting healthier part is the part that excites me. We get to see the team we envisioned it to be.”

PITTSBURGH — Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl became the fourth-fastest active player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points in the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Draisaitl had the secondary assist on a power-play goal by Zach Hyman at 11:38 of the first period. He sent a pass to Connor McDavid, who slid it in front to Hyman for a one-timer past Stuart Skinner.

Skinner was Draisaitl’s teammate before Edmonton traded him to Pittsburgh for Tristan Jarry on Friday. After Hyman’s goal, the Oilers’ bench emptied and congratulated Draisaitl on the milestone in the corner.

Draisaitl scored his 1,001th point 14 seconds later on a goal by McDavid. He has 416 goals and 585 assists in 824 games. Draisaitl and McDavid assisted on a goal for the 136th time in their career, passing Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky for fourth-most by a pair of teammates in NHL history.

Draisaitl, the No. 3 pick in 2014, became the 103rd player in NHL history, first German-born player and fifth in franchise history to reach 1,000 points.

Draisaitl, a four-time 50-goal scorer, who helped Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Final the previous two seasons, is the fifth-fastest to reach the milestone among players born outside North America.

The Minnesota Wild have acquired Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in the biggest blockbuster trade of the NHL season.

The teams announced the seismic move Friday night, after the 2024 Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenseman had been the most talked-about trade candidate over the past couple of weeks.

Minnesota sent center Marco Rossi, defenseman Zeev Buium, winger Liam Ohgren and a first-round pick in the 2026 draft to suddenly rebounding Vancouver to complete the deal. Rossi at 24, Ohgren at 21 and Buium at 20 fit the young players the Canucks were speculated to be targeting if they were to trade Hughes.

“Quinn played hard, led by example and did a lot of very good things for the Canucks,” Vancouver general manager Patrik Allvin said. “Trading away a player of this caliber is never an easy decision to make, but it was one we had to do to make our team better. We are so excited to add a solid centre in Marco, a good young blueliner in Zeev and a versatile forward in Liam. This year’s draft is a strong one, so acquiring a first-round pick was also a big part of this deal.”

Hughes, only 26 and considered the best at player at the position behind Colorado’s Cale Makar, has one season left on his contract after this one before he can become an unrestricted free agent. There has been plenty of buzz around Quinn wanting to play with brothers Jack and Luke on the New Jersey Devils.

They could potentially be teammates on the U.S. Olympic team, either in February in Milan or in 2030. Wild GM Bill Guerin runs USA Hockey’s management team.

Hughes has two goals and 21 assists for 23 points in 23 games this season with the last-in-the-NHL Canucks. He has been their captain since 2023, and his abrupt exit paves the way for more change in Vancouver 11 months since the trade of J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers and in the aftermath of coach Rick Tocchet’s departure.

“With the circumstances surrounding JT and now Quinn, we are fortunate to acquire these very good young players from Minnesota,” Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said. “They will be a key part of the rebuild that we are currently in, giving us a bright future moving forward. The hockey club will continue to build with talented young players using that as a blueprint to become a contender sooner rather than later.”

Minnesota cannot extend Hughes until July 1, and it’s unclear if he would entertain signing another contract. He had nothing in the way of trade protection on his current deal, paying him an average of $7.85 million annually, that would have allowed him to block a trade anywhere.

The Wild are taking a shot at challenging the two top teams in the NHL, Colorado and Dallas, in the Central Division, which also includes reigning Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg. Hughes vastly upgrades their blue line, which already included captain Jared Spurgeon and smooth-skating Swede Jonas Brodin. Winger Kirill Kaprizov only this past fall signed the richest deal in hockey history to stay in the “State of Hockey” for eight more years.

It was the second major trade of the day after two-time Stanley Cup Final runner-up Edmonton finally made a move for a goaltender, acquiring Tristan Jarry from Pittsburgh.

DENVER — The Stanley Cup was in the building as part of the pregame celebration to honor the 1995-96 Colorado Avalanche squad.

It could be in the building again later this season, too.

At least, longtime forward Claude Lemieux believes so. He’s been on four Stanley Cup-winning teams, including the ‘95-96 Avalanche squad. This team, he surmised after watching a 6-2 win over the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers, has all the necessary ingredients.

“I love watching them play,” said Lemieux, whose squad back then won the Mile High City’s first major professional championship in their first season in town after relocating from Quebec. “They’re fun to watch.”

In a lot of ways, this version is built in the image of that squad. No real surprise there, given the architect of this team is Hall of Famer turned front office executive Joe Sakic.

Back then, Sakic, the captain, and fellow Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg helped provide the scoring punch in a season that ended with a Stanley Cup Final sweep over Florida. Colorado had a blue line that include a rugged defender in Adam Foote and a scoring defenseman in Sandis Ozolinsh. They also had another Hall of Famer in goaltender Patrick Roy.

This team has that same sort of makeup. They have an elite goal scorer (Nathan MacKinnon), leadership (captain Gabriel Landeskog), even more leadership (40-year-old Brent Burns), a scoring defenseman (Cale Makar) and reliable goaltending (Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood).

The current crew watched as the players from the ’95-96 squad were recognized. They heard the applause. They then went out and put on a show for them.

“This team knows what it takes,” Lemieux said. “They have players, quite a few of them, that were on the ‘22 Cup. I think it could be the ’26 Cup.”

The Avalanche (22-2-7) have a league-leading 51 points so far this season as they became the sixth team in the last 20 years to reach the 50-point plateau in 31 or fewer games. What’s more, they still haven’t lost a game at home in regulation (12-0-2).

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar thinks it was a valuable experience having the older players back in the building. The current roster briefly got to chat with them Thursday morning, and hear some stories.

“Obviously, they accomplished that two years before I was born,” Makar cracked. “But I’ve obviously heard a lot about it. It’s pretty cool they bring legends like that back.”

Some of the Avalanche players who made the trip to the rink for the ceremony from the 1995-96 squad included Forsberg, Stephane Yelle, Valeri Kamensky, Lemieux, Ozolinsh, Mike Ricci and, of course, Sakic.

“For them to be able to come back and get together as a group and share their stories with our guys and amongst one another, I’m sure it’s been a great couple days for them,” Bednar said. “We’ve been really happy that they were able to come and visit us.”

It gave the old-timers a chance to stroll down memory lane.

“When it’s happening, when you’re in the middle of it, you don’t quite appreciate it as much as you should,” said Lemieux, who also won Stanley Cup titles with Montreal (1985-86) and two with the New Jersey Devils (1994-5, 1999-00). “So you get to relive it now.”

How has the game has changed?

“We think we’re better — no, we’re just kidding,” Lemieux said. “The game’s change. It’s not as physical as it was, but to counter that physicality they’ve got so much more skills. So we appreciate the game. We appreciate their skills and everything they bring.”

The get-together provided a chance to remember old teammates, too. The late Chris Simon was represented during the on-ice ceremony by his children. He died in 2024 at 52.

“It’s very difficult, and especially with Chris passing at such a young age,” Lemieux said. “We have to count our blessings — be grateful for the days that we have and enjoy and appreciate those times when we get together.”

Lemieux certainly enjoyed being around this new cast of Avalanche.

“We hope we bring them good luck,” Lemieux said, “and inspire them to win another Cup.”

ST. LOUIS — Dillon Dube, the only remaining unsigned player among the five members of Canada's 2018 world junior team who were acquitted of sexual assault in the high-profile case, has agreed to an American Hockey League professional tryout with the St. Louis Blues.

General manager Doug Armstrong announced the deal with the 27-year-old on Wednesday. Dube, fellow forwards Michael McLeod and Alex Formenton, defenseman Cal Foote and goaltender Carter Hart were found not guilty by a judge in London, Ontario, after being charged in connection to an incident there in 2018.

Hart with the Vegas Golden Knights is the only one who has played in the NHL since the trial ended last summer and all five were reinstated. Foote signed with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last week, while Formenton is playing in Switzerland and McLeod in the Russia-based KHL.

The Blues said Dube would report to the Springfield Thunderbirds after receiving his work visa. Dube played 42 games with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL last season. He was with the Calgary Flames from 2018-24.

Also Wednesday, St. Louis brought back Robby Fabbri on a deal that pays him the prorated league minimum of $775,000 when he's in the NHL and $300,000 in the AHL. Fabbri played parts of his first four seasons with the club before getting traded to Detroit and playing last year with Anaheim.

Fabbri's signing came as the Blues put forward Jordan Kyrou on injured reserve. Kyrou was listed as week to week with a lower-body injury.

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning signed veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh to a three-year extension worth $12.3 million.

General manager Julien BriseBois announced the deal. McDonagh will be 37 when the new contract kicks in that counts $4.1 million against the salary cap through the 2028-29 NHL season.

McDonagh helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21 and reach the final in ’22 before losing in six games to Colorado.

They traded him to Nashville that summer to clear cap space at a time

Record cap increases will have McDonagh account for less than 4% of the cap each of the next three years.

McDonagh currently is injured, one of several players Tampa Bay has been missing, along with No. 1 defenseman Victor Hedman. The team has still won 16 of 26 games and leads the Atlantic Division.

NEW YORK — Tyler Seguin is expected to miss the rest of the NHL season with a torn ACL in his right knee, another major injury blow to the already-shorthanded Dallas Stars.

Coach Glen Gulutzan said Wednesday that Seguin would be out a significant amount of time. The 33-year-old forward was injured Tuesday night at the New York Rangers.

“It’s not just us, it’s the league, and it’s very unfortunate,” Gulutzan said. “It’s a tough day for us today with the news. Other guys now have to step in and play.”

Seguin got tangled up with Rangers defenseman Vladislav Gavirkov in the first period. Seguin went down in pain, could not skate and needed help from multiple teammates and an athletic trainer to get off the ice and more assistance to get down the tunnel to the visiting locker room area at Madison Square Garden.

Gulutzan said the team did not get positive news about Seguin’s knee after it was looked at more closely.

“There’s lots of injuries piling up and lots of games, so we just got to keep moving forward,” Gulutzan said. “There’s lots of guys that their opportunity is born from some of this misfortune. We just have to take that away: It’s next guy up, next guy’s opportunity and run with it. That’s what good teams do is they just keep pushing forward with the players that they have.”

Seguin missed the vast majority of last season after undergoing hip surgery. He returned for the finale and the Stars' playoff run to the Western Conference final. He has been with Dallas since joining in a trade from Boston in 2013.

“I didn’t live it with him last year, but I did talk to our leadership group here and what I did know is just how hard he (worked) and the effort that he put in to come back last year and how diligent he was,” Gulutzan said. “He’s a great leader for us, and he’s a great pro and he’s been a guy, quite frankly, that I’ve been maybe the most impressed with - just his leadership ability when I’ve come in here.”

Nathan Bastian was expected to take Seguin's spot in the lineup Tuesday night at the New Jersey Devils. Long term, the team hopes center Matt Duchene is able to help fill the void once he returns from his injury.

That could come “sooner than later” if Duchene's current progress continues, according to Gulutzan.

“You’re going to have to have other guys step up,” Gulutzan said. “If Duchy comes back, he’s going to have to take some of that. (Mavrik Bourque is) going to get more opportunity. There’s going to be more opportunity for more guys, and then you’re going to see who takes it. So, you’re not really pigeonholing anybody. You’re just seeing who grabs it.”