The Arizona Coyotes are not rushing to name a new captain.

Instead, defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Niklas Hjalmarsson will serve as alternate captains to begin the 2017-18 NHL season, while centers Derek Stepan and Brad Richardson, as well as defenseman Alex Goligoski, will serve as a third alternate on a rotating basis.

"After numerous discussions and thorough evaluation during training camp, (head coach) Rick (Tocchet) and I have decided that it's best to go with five alternate captains to start the season," general manager John Chayka announced Wednesday.

"With a new head coach and several new players joining the organization, this will be a transition year as far as leadership is concerned. Fortunately, we have a very strong leadership group in our dressing room and collectively, we're confident that these players will do an excellent job leading our team on and off the ice."

The Coyotes are a young squad, and Tocchet - who will decide game-by-game who wears the third "A" - will rely on his veterans to provide guidance in the room and on the ice.

"This is a great opportunity for Oliver, Nik, Derek, Brad, and Alex to step up and demonstrate their leadership abilities," Tocchet said. "We need everyone in our room to lead but these five players are all great people and have the necessary NHL experience to collectively guide our team. I'm excited for them and the challenge ahead."

The captaincy was left vacant when Arizona announced it would not re-sign longtime leader Shane Doan.

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Former NHL forward Ray Whitney has accepted a role with the Department of Player Safety, the league announced Wednesday.

Whitney's hiring comes less than one month after former NHL enforcer George Parros was selected to lead the department, taking over for Stephane Quintal.

Whitney, 45, spent 21 seasons in the NHL before retiring in 2014.

A Stanley Cup champion with the Carolina Hurricanes, he finished his career with 1,064 points and 465 penalty minutes in 1,330 games.

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To celebrate the start of the 2017-18 regular season, the NHL and Twitter have teamed up to create official hashtag-triggered emojis for all 31 teams.

Fans can add team logos to their tweets by using the following hashtags:

Here they are in action:

Happy tweeting, hockey fans!

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Alex Chiasson signed a one-year, $660,000 contract with the Washington Capitals following a successful training camp tryout.

The deal is one-way in nature.

The winger registered 12 goals (11 at even strength) and 12 assists in 81 games with the Calgary Flames last season.

Chiasson was drafted 38th overall by Dallas in 2009, and has totaled 106 points (50 goals, 56 assists) in 320 career NHL games with the Stars, Ottawa Senators, and Flames.

As a reminder, Chiasson was included in a package sent to the Senators in the Jason Spezza trade back in 2014.

He'll now be counted on to provide scoring depth for a Capitals team looking to keep its Stanley Cup window wide open.

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The bar has been set.

In order for the Winnipeg Jets to succeed this season, the team simply needs to get "average goaltending" out of Connor Hellebuyck and new addition Steve Mason, head coach Paul Maurice told TSN.

"In order for them to have that, a couple of things got to happen, maybe three," Maurice added. "We've got to stay out of the penalty box. When we can't stay out of the penalty box, we've got to do a much better job killing penalties."

Maurice may be on to something. Hellebuyck, alongside Michael Hutchinson, allowed 256 goals last season, fourth most in the league. Although it didn't seem to matter how many skaters were on the ice, as Winnipeg allowed the fourth-most goals when on the penalty kill, which was only marginally better than its even-strength rank.

"In our overall five-on-five game, just an adherence to defense and a respect for the defensive part of the game," Maurice added. "Not that we don't have it, but when you're chasing goals and you're chasing the game an awful lot, and you need your goaltender to make that save and you don't get it, then that becomes who you are."

The team hopes its signing of Mason - who spent parts of the past five seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers - can bring a little more stability between the pipes.

"If they (the goalies) can start us at average, we've got to do everything we can to help our goaltenders to get us to the middle of the pack, and then we'll push from there," Maurice added.

Whether or not the change in goal will help the high-flying Jets will be answered soon enough. The team kicks off its season Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Mason getting the nod as the starter.

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Bank on the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins facing off in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.

This according to oddsmakers, who've tabbed teams respectively captained by Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby as Cup co-favorites as of opening day.

Also of note, the Dallas Stars have gone from a non-playoff team to having the fourth-best odds, while the Los Angeles Kings also experienced a bump after last season's failure. On the flip side, oddsmakers are not high on the Ottawa Senators, who were a goal away from the Cup Final last spring.

Oh, and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights have higher odds than five other teams, for those feeling especially lucky.

(Odds courtesy: Bodog)

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The Chicago Blackhawks signed defenseman Cody Franson to a one-year contract, the team announced Wednesday.

The deal is reportedly worth $1 million, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic.

Franson inked the contract after completing a training camp tryout with the Blackhawks during which he recorded four points in three preseason games.

Franson spent the past two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. The 30-year-old has appeared in 527 career NHL games, notching 42 goals and 163 assists.

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Jack Eichel is getting paid.

Now, he needs to show he's worthy of the eight-year, $80-million contract extension signed with the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

And he knows it, too.

"I think I have a lot to prove," Eichel said back in training camp. "Actually I think I've proven nothing, so it's a huge year for me personally and as a team.

"If you look at what I've done, it hasn't been a whole lot; two mediocre seasons on a losing team, so we just need to be better as a group this year, and I think everyone went home with the mindset this summer that we wanted to get better and head into the season and hit the ground running."

It's true that Eichel, the second overall pick in 2015, hasn't exploded onto the scene along the same lines as other recent top picks like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Patrik Laine. He doesn't have any individual awards, has not appeared in any playoff games, and maxed out last season at 24 goals and 33 assists, well below his highly touted contemporaries.

The caveat here, of course, is that Eichel started 2016-17 on injured reserve after spraining his ankle just before the regular season began. Unable to play until Nov. 29, he went on to post those aforementioned totals over the course of 61 games, good for a point-per-game average of 0.93.

Among all players to appear in at least 61 games, Eichel ranked 11th in that category, giving a more accurate reflection of his place in the hockey landscape.

What's more, Eichel ranked first in shots per game with 4.08 last season, but was stuck on a shooting percentage of 9.6. As a point of comparison, Sidney Crosby led the league with 44 goals on 255 shots (17.6 percent success rate), firing only six more pucks on net than Eichel.

With that in mind, Eichel should be in for a monster 2017-18 - one that should justify or even surpass expectations for the average annual salary that only five other players will match this sesaon.

Indeed, that's why his agent suggested he play out the final year of his entry-level contract before signing an extension, in the belief that Eichel could command even more next summer.

It's a testament to Eichel's drive to win that he "settled" for the $80 million, and it's a contract that could look like a bargain for the Sabres in a few years if Eichel can skate the skate, so to speak.

Buffalo has experienced way too much losing for this marriage not to work out.

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Congratulations, everybody. We made it.

At several different points, wading through the fruitless summer months and meaningless preseason games seemed impossible, but we've reached the light at the end of the tunnel, and hockey is officially back.

As we begin another NHL voyage, here are three things to keep an eye on during opening night. Only 27 weeks until the playoffs!

Matthews vs. Laine (and Leafs vs. Jets)

Wednesday marks another meeting between 2016's top two draft picks, and if their rookie season was any indication, Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine are destined to provide another classic. The electric Finn bagged a hat trick in their first matchup while Matthews notched three assists in round two, giving each side a win.

The sophomore phenoms will draw most of the attention, but the Maple Leafs and Jets have several supporting candidates capable of stealing the spotlight: William Nylander, Mark Scheifele, Mitch Marner, and Nikolaj Ehlers, just to name a few.

Both meetings between Winnipeg and Toronto last season were high-scoring overtime thrillers, and we should all be hoping for more of the same.

Penguins raise banner

The Penguins' quest for a three-peat begins Wednesday, with the defending champs hosting the St. Louis Blues on banner-raising night.

The target on Pittsburgh's back grew even larger after adding another ring - a rather flashy one - to its collection, and the Blues should offer a tough test right out of the gate.

Even if the game is tightly contested or low scoring, there should be no shortage of entertainment with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Vladimir Tarasenko sharing the same ice surface.

Battle of Alberta Vol. I

Based on personnel alone, the Oilers and Flames have the potential to be the most entertaining rivalry in the NHL. Both sides have hated each other for a long time, but it's been quite a while since Edmonton and Calgary have each entered a season with such high expectations.

Edmonton swept the season series last year, but Calgary has an early chance to erase those memories with a win Wednesday night. The Flames added Mike Smith and Travis Hamonic over the summer to help fix defensive issues the Oilers were able to expose, and it will be interesting to monitor how well their new pieces perform.

Oh, and there's that Connor McDavid guy. He's pretty fun to watch, too.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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Nikoaj Ehlers is beginning the 2017-18 NHL seasons with some long-term security, as the Winnipeg Jets have locked up the 21-year-old winger to a seven-year, $42-million contract extension, the team announced Wednesday.

Ehlers, the ninth overall pick in 2014, will play out 2017-18 on his entry-level contract before the extension kicks in next season.

The 21-year-old had an outstanding sophomore season, suiting up in all 82 games, registering 25 goals - 20 of which came at even strength - and 39 assists. His 64 points were good enough for a tie for third on the Jets.

Winnipeg begins its season Wednesday night versus Toronto.

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