NHL Hockey

Ron Francis, center, is presented with a hockey jersey by Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, left, as Seattle Hockey Partners CEO Tod Leiweke looks on Thursday, July 18, 2019, in Seattle, as Francis is introduced as the first general manager for Seattle's yet-to-be-named NHL expansion team. Francis, a Hall of Famer and a two-time Stanley Cup winner, will have complete control of operations under Leiweke when the team debuts in 2021. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

FILE - In this May 5, 2014, file photo, Ron Francis, at the time the general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, takes questions from members of the media during a news conference in Raleigh, N.C. Seattle’s NHL expansion team is close to an agreement with Francis to become its first general manager, a person with direct knowledge tells The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday, July 16, 2019, because the team had not made an announcement. The expansion Seattle franchise is set to begin play in the 2021-22 season as the NHL’s 32nd team.(AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

Alex Morgan, a member of the U.S women's national soccer team, accepts the award for best female athlete at the ESPY Awards on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

FILE - In this March 20, 2018, file photo, Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Artemi Panarin (9) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the New York Rangers during the second period of an NHL hockey game in New York. The New York Rangers' rebuild just took a giant leap forward. Winger Artemi Panarin, the top free agent available this offseason, signed a seven-year, $81.5 million deal to join the Rangers, a person with knowledge of the signing told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team didn't announce terms of the deal Monday, July 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2018, file photo, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin carries the puck against the Vancouver Canucks during an NHL hockey game, in Columbus, Ohio. The New York Rangers' rebuild just took a giant leap forward. Winger Artemi Panarin, the top free agent available this offseason, signed a seven-year, $81.5 million deal to join the Rangers, a person with knowledge of the signing told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team didn't announce terms of the deal Monday, July 1, 2019.(AP Photo/Paul Vernon, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2013, file photo, hockey pucks are stacked on the boards as Vancouver Canucks players skate past during an informal NHL hockey practice at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. NHL free agency day began with two rivals helping each other out of a jam by way of a trade. The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired defenseman Cody Ceci, a 2020 third-round pick and minor leaguers Ben Harpur and Aaron Luchuk from the Ottawa Senators for defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, forward Connor Brown and minor leaguer Michael Carcone. The teams announced the trade early Monday, July 1, 2019, roughly 3½ hours before the start of free agency. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck, File)

FILE - In this May 22, 2019 file photo, Terry Pegula, arrives to the NFL football owners meeting in Key Biscayne, Fla. Rather than fullfilling his promise of delivering Buffalo a championship, Pegula has instead overseen a team that's endured fitful starts and stops, gone through a revolving door of players and coaches, and is in the midst of a franchise-worst eight-year playoff drought, the NHL's longest active streak. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File )

Hayley Wickenheiser poses for a portrait in Calgary, Alberta, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. Canadian women's hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser is expected to headline the Hockey Hall of Fame's class of 2019 that could also include Daniel Alfredsson among the former NHL player inductees. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube carries the Stanley Cup after the Blues defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final, Wednesday, June 12, 2019, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)