The Vancouver Canucks signed forward Adam Gaudette to a one-year contract worth $950,000, the team announced Monday.

"Adam has been an excellent young player for us and we are happy to have him continue his progress for another year in Vancouver," said general manager Jim Benning. "We look forward to his intensity and compete level continuing to be a great source of energy for our team."

The 24-year-old recorded career highs with 12 goals and 21 assists over 59 games during the final year of his entry-level deal in 2019-20.

Vancouver selected Gaudette in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. The 6-foot-1 pivot has amassed 17 goals and 45 points through 120 career contests.

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Mike "Doc" Emrick is signing off after a legendary career in the broadcast booth.

Emrick finished his journey with NBC while working from home this postseason, and the 74-year-old expressed gratitude as he reflected on his career.

"I hope I can handle retirement OK, especially since I’ve never done it before," he said Sunday, according to the New York Post's Phil Mushnick. "But I’ve just been extremely lucky for 50 years. And NBC has been so good to me, especially since the pandemic, when I was allowed to work from home in a studio NBC created.

"Now, into my golden years, this just seemed to be the time that was right."

Emrick began his career in sports broadcasting in 1973 with American radio station WHLS. The Indiana native then became the first voice of the New Jersey Devils when the club joined the league prior to the 1982-83 season. He's been the lead voice for NHL games on NBC and NBC Sports since moving to the network full time in 2011.

In 2004, Emrick became the first of now five media members to receive the NHL's Lester Patrick Award. He also received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008.

Emrick has won six national Emmy Awards for excellence in sports broadcasting, and he became the first media member to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.

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The Arizona Coyotes will ink Christian Fischer to a two-year, one-way pact, a source told NHL Network's Craig Morgan.

Arizona issued Fischer a qualifying offer but he didn't accept it by Sunday's deadline of 5 p.m. ET, according to Morgan. However, contract talks continued after the deadline passed.

Fischer is the Coyotes' lone remaining restricted free agent. The 23-year-old is not eligible for salary arbitration.

The 6-foot-2, 214-pound winger collected six goals and three assists while averaging just over 11 minutes in ice time across 56 games with Arizona this past season. It was his third full campaign with the Coyotes, who drafted him 32nd overall in 2015.

Fischer notched a career-high 15 goals across 79 contests in 2017-18 after tallying three goals over seven games in his first taste of NHL action during the previous season. However, he's failed to build on that since, combining for only 17 goals and 27 points in 127 games during the last two campaigns.

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"Jumbo Joe" got some help from another Joe who knows all about leaving Northern California after spending most of his career there.

Joe Thornton said he talked to NFL legend Joe Montana before the veteran NHL forward chose to join the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"Joe gave me some good advice," Thornton told reporters Sunday. "He just talked about leaving San Francisco and going to Kansas City."

The 49ers traded Montana to the Chiefs amid a quarterback controversy in 1993. He played 13 years with San Francisco, guiding the team to four Super Bowl titles. The all-time great suited up for two seasons with Kansas City before retiring in 1995.

Thornton spent nearly 15 of his 22 seasons with the San Jose Sharks, who acquired him from the Boston Bruins in a 2005 trade. Though the Sharks never won a championship, he helped them reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2016 and the Western Conference Final three other times.

The 41-year-old also said Sunday he signed with the Maple Leafs because he believes they're "ready to win now." He inked a one-year contract with Toronto at the league minimum of $700,000.

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Joe Thornton is hoping to finally see his name etched on the Stanley Cup, and he believes the Toronto Maple Leafs offer the best chance to get him there.

"It's the hardest hockey decision I've ever had to make, but I truly believe with the roster they have, with the guys they picked up this offseason, I think this team is ready to win now. I'm ready to win," Thornton said, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton.

"I need to win a Stanley Cup, and I think this is a great team that can do that," he added.

The 41-year-old has been chasing the Cup throughout his 22 NHL seasons. He lost in the finals once and reached the conference finals on three other occasions. He's amassed 133 points in 179 postseason games.

Thornton is particularly impressed by Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen.

"I love their goalie. I like Freddie a lot," he said. "I think that was a big part of my decision, I think he's a great goalie."

Despite the star power currently on the roster, the Maple Leafs haven't reached the second round of the postseason since 2004.

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Joe Thornton was given the opportunity to continue wearing his No. 19 jersey with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he'll take a new number for the first time in nearly 20 years instead.

Jason Spezza, who wears No. 19 for Toronto, offered it to Thornton after the club signed the 41-year-old. But the former Shark declined, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Spezza said he respects Thornton so much that he had to offer the number. And while he certainly appreciated the gesture, Thornton didn't want to take it away from Spezza.

"I couldn't do that to him," Thornton said. "He really is a special guy."

Thornton will wear No. 97 with the Leafs, a number that he's sported in international play throughout his career. He's the first player in Leafs history to don the number.

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