Hockey

Evander Kane and the San Jose Sharks have settled the grievance the NHL Players' Association filed last season on his behalf over the termination of his contract, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

"The agreement has been approved by the NHL and the NHL Players' Association," the Sharks said in a statement. "We are satisfied that its terms will not adversely impact the team, either financially or competitively, in this or future seasons."

The Sharks terminated what was left of Kane's seven-year, $49 million contract in January, citing a "breach of his NHL Standard Player Contract and for violation of the AHL COVID-19 protocols"

At the time, Kane was in the fourth year of that contract, which paid him $7 million annually. He was due $19 million for the last three years of his contract, per Wyshynski.

An NHL source told Wyshynski that the settlement "is expected to bridge the gap between the money owed Kane by the Sharks and the money he's making on his new deal with the [Edmonton] Oilers."

Following his termination, Kane signed a one-year deal to join the Oilers and recently agreed to a four-year, $20.5 million contract extension in July. The left wing notched 22 goals and 17 assists in 43 games in his first season with the team.

Kane's divorce with the Sharks was somewhat expected because of a number of issues that arose during his tenure.

The NHL opened an investigation into the 31-year-old after his estranged wife, Anna Kane, accused him in August 2021 of placing bets on NHL games and said he would intentionally throw games to win money.

The league announced a month later that it found no evidence that those claims were true.

As training camp opened for the 2021-22 season, the NHL was also investigating domestic abuse allegations made by Anna Kane against him. The Sharks and Kane agreed that he would not take part in training camp while the investigation was ongoing.

The NHL announced that October it found no evidence to support Anna Kane's claims of domestic abuse.

That same month, Kane was investigated again for allegedly submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. After concluding its investigation, the NHL announced a 21-game suspension for the veteran.

After Kane served his suspension, he was placed on waivers and sent to the AHL's San Jose Barracuda.

The Vancouver native began his NHL career with the Atlanta Thrashers (now the Winnipeg Jets) in 2009 after being drafted fourth overall. He was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in 2015 before he was dealt to the Sharks in 2018.

The St. Louis Blues announced Tuesday they signed Jordan Kyrou to an eight-year, $65 million extension.

"I'm so thankful to the Blues organization for putting their trust in me and giving me the opportunity to wear the Blue Note for the foreseeable future," Kyrou said of the deal. "Being able to call St. Louis my home is amazing. I can't say enough about how much I love the city. And to the best fans in the League, I can't thank you enough for always showing me love and support."

The 24-year-old is coming off a breakout 2021-22 season. He had 27 goals and 48 assists, with his 75 points the fourth-highest on the team. The 2016 second-round pick continued to deliver in the postseason, chipping in nine points (seven goals, two assists) across 12 games as St. Louis reached the second round.

The Athletic's Dom Luszczyszyn thought Monday's deal can turn into a great piece of business:

The Blues are now counting on Kyrou and Robert Thomas to lead the attack for the long term. Thomas, who turned 23 this summer, signed his own eight-year, $65 million extension in July after scoring 20 goals and assisting on 57 more in 2021-22.

Building around Kyrou and Thomas makes plenty of sense but raises some questions for general manager Doug Armstrong.

Ryan O'Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko and Ivan Barbashev are all due to hit unrestricted free agency in 2023.

Assuming they hit the open market next summer, O'Reilly and Tarasenko will have no shortage of suitors, and re-signing them will become more difficult with the salary cap when Kyrou and Thomas combine to make almost $16.3 million.

Look ahead to 2024-25 and the Blues will have just five forwards under contract: Kyrou, Thomas, Brayden Schenn, Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad. That could present a challenge for Armstrong in terms of getting the necessary depth.

Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion announced Wednesday that the team signed Tim Stützle to an eight-year extension worth $8.35 million annually.

In just his second season in the NHL in 2021-22, Stützle had 22 goals and 36 assists in 79 games.

"Reaching a long-term agreement with Tim represents another significant step forward for this organization," Dorian said. "Tim is a dynamic offensive player who utilizes an exceptional blend of speed and skill to be a consistent difference-maker. He's electrifying and has quickly become a fan favorite for good reason."

After the Senators finished next to last in the Atlantic Division last year, the GM has been aggressive in making sure Ottawa not only makes the playoffs in 2022-23 but also is set up for the long term.

The team acquired Alex DeBrincat, who turns just 24 in December, from the Chicago Blackhawks and added more veteran experience by trading for Cam Talbot and signing Claude Giroux.

The deal for Stützle also follows fellow forwards Brady Tkachuk (seven years, $57.5 million), Josh Norris (eight years, $63.6 million) and Drake Batherson (six years, $29.9 million) getting long-term deals within roughly the last calendar year. Defenseman Thomas Chabot is tied down with an eight-year, $64 million contract as well.

The Senators are already seeing Dorion's aggressive approach pay some dividends.

"I can tell you that the season-ticket membership is the highest it's been in years," team president Anthony LeBlanc told Sportsnet's Wayne Scanlan. "We've seen a significant, significant increase—and it all started, really, around the time when Pierre started making some trades."

LeBlanc said Wednesday season-ticket sales have climbed 60 percent.

The Senators still need to see all of their young talent make a breakthrough together, but it's impossible not to get excited about the future of the franchise.

New York Islanders defenseman Sebastian Aho was arrested in Sweden for drunk driving on August 13.

Norran, a Swedish-language newspaper, first reported the arrest. It has since been confirmed by Ethan Sears of the New York Post, who also noted that Aho's driver's license was suspended as a result.

Per Sears, Aho and his wife visited friends the night before while on vacation. He was arrested at 10:30 a.m. local time after being stopped at a checkpoint.

"I deeply regret and learn from this mistake and will definitely never drive again the next day," Aho told Norran (h/t Sears).

Claude Lemieux, who is Aho's agent, provided a statement via text to the Post.

"He had no idea he would still be over the limit by the next morning and felt 100 percent, but unfortunately he made a mistake and he is very sorry!" Lemieux wrote.

Aho was also fined 40,000 Swedish Krona ($3,769), per Aftonbladet (h/t Sears).

Islanders president of hockey operations and general manager Lou Lamariello released an official statement Wednesday.

"We were made aware immediately of the situation regarding Sebastian Aho. We have a copy of the police report indicating that he registered a 0.03 blood alcohol content, which is .01 over Sweden’s legal limit of .02.

"Sebastian apologizes for his mistake and as an organization we will work with him to make sure this never happens again."

Aho posted two goals and 10 assists in 36 games for the Isles last season. The 25-year-old re-signed with the team on a two-year deal over the offseason.

James Dolan is shutting down any speculation that he's looking to sell the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.

Speaking to TMZ Sports about the rumors, Dolan laughed them off and said "no" about selling the two sports franchises.

The rumors began earlier this week when MSG sports analyst Jonathan Boyar said on CNBC's Closing Time that it's "likely" Dolan would sell the teams after the construction of MSG Sphere, a music and entertainment arena being built in Las Vegas, is completed in 2023.

There have been rumblings in the past that Dolan was looking to sell the iconic New York franchises.

Aaron Elstein of Crain's New York reported in June 2018 that Dolan "may be laying the groundwork" to sell the clubs after announcing he "was exploring a spin-off that would separate the Knicks and the Rangers from the rest of Madison Square Garden."

One analyst told Elstein that Dolan wanted to "be more Elon Musk than George Steinbrenner."

MSG released a statement denying there was any interest in selling:

Dolan is the executive chairman of Madison Square Garden Sports and Madison Square Garden Entertainment. He is also the executive chairman of MSG Networks, which is the main broadcast home for Knicks and Rangers games.

After Cablevision, which Dolan was CEO of from 1995-2016, bought out ITT Corp. in 1997, the Dolan family gained full control of the Knicks. Dolan was named MSG chairman in 1999 after taking over for his father, Charles.

Dolan has been running the Knicks and Rangers since 1999. Madison Square Garden Company also used to be the governor of the WNBA's New York Liberty from 1999 until Jan. 2019 when the franchise was sold to Joseph Tsai.

Per Mike Ozanian of Forbes, the Knicks' $5.8 billion franchise valuation is the highest among all NBA teams. The Rangers are currently the only NHL team with a franchise value of at least $2 billion.

The Knicks have made eight playoff appearances under Dolan's leadership, including an appearance in the 1999 NBA Finals. The franchise's two worst seasons by winning percentage have come in the past eight seasons (.207 in 2014-15 and 2018-19).

The Rangers have made 13 playoff appearances since the 1999-2000 season. They have also won two division titles and reached the Stanley Cup Final after the 2013-14 season, losing to the Los Angeles Kings in five games.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is expected to miss the entire 2022-23 season because of a knee injury that has not responded well to treatment, general manager Kent Hughes told reporters Thursday.

Hughes added that it's unlikely Price can return to action by just rehabbing his knee and that an operation would be required. The veteran netminder will likely be placed on long-term injured reserve, per Eric Engels of Sportsnet.

Price underwent offseason knee surgery in the summer of 2021 and, while recovering, announced that he had voluntarily entered the NHL and NHLPA's player assistance program in October:

"Over the last few years, I have let myself get to a very dark place and I didn't have the tools to cope with that struggle. I made the decision to enter a residential treatment facility for substance abuse. Things had reached a point that I realized I needed to prioritize my health for both myself and for my family. Asking for help when you need it is what we encourage our kids to do, and it was what I needed to do."

Due to a number of setbacks in his recovery, Price missed all but five games of the 2021-22 season. He went 1-4-0 in his return to the lineup with a 3.63 goals-against average and .878 save percentage.

Since putting pen to paper on an eight-year, $84 million contract in July 2017, Price has not lived up to expectations, posting a 91-86-24 record with a 2.77 GAA, .908 save percentage and 10 shutouts in 203 games, including 200 starts.

Through the first 10 years of his career, he was one of the best in the NHL, posting a 270-175-55 record with a 2.40 GAA, .920 save percentage and 39 shutouts in 509 games (500 starts).

Price also won the 2014-15 Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goaltender, won the 2014-15 Hart Trophy as the MVP and was also selected to the All-Star team in 2014-15. He hasn't finished among the top three in Vezina Trophy voting since the 2016-17 campaign.

The British Columbia native has four more years on his contract with an average annual value of $10.5 million. Placing him on LTIR will give the Canadiens more salary cap flexibility, which is greatly needed following the acquisition of Sean Monahan from the Calgary Flames.

According to CapFriendly, the Habs are currently over the salary cap by $6.1 million.

With Price expected to be sidelined in 2022-23, the Canadiens will have to rely on a combination of Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault in goal.

Allen started 35 games for Montreal last season and posted a 9-20-4 record with a 3.30 GAA and .905 save percentage. Montembeault, meanwhile, started 30 games for the Habs and posted an 8-18-6 record with a 3.77 GAA and .891 save percentage.

Montreal finished the 2021-22 season with a 22-49-11 record and the team isn't expected to compete for a playoff spot this coming season either despite selecting Juraj Slafkovsky first overall in the 2022 NHL draft.