Connor Bedard played in his first preseason game with the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night, and fans of the Original Six franchise were ready.

So was Bedard, who had two assists in Chicago's 2-1 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues.

"I felt pretty good and comfortable and stuff, but I think I could do a lot better," Bedard said. "I don't know if there was a surprise. Obviously less room, but that's nothing I didn't expect, so just kind of get used to it here."

The Ottawa Senators appointed Steve Staios as president of hockey operations on Friday.

Earlier on Friday morning, Staios resigned from his position as special adviser to hockey operations with the Edmonton Oilers.

"I am so excited that Steve is joining me in Ottawa to lead our hockey operations," Senators new owner Michael Andlauer in a news release. "I have worked with Steve for many years and know first-hand that he will strengthen our team with his hockey acumen, attention to detail, commitment to excellence and enthusiasm for the game and its players. In hockey you can never accumulate too much talent. Having Steve and Pierre (Dorion, general manager) leading our hockey department gives us a formidable team."

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to miss the first two months of the regular season after having back surgery Thursday.

Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois announced Vasilevskiy, a five-time NHL All-Star and the 2019 Vezina Trophy winner, underwent a successful microdiscectomy Thursday morning to repair a lumbar disc herniation.

Washington Capitals defenseman Joel Edmundson is recovering from hand surgery and expected to miss four to six weeks.

He broke his hand in a scrimmage at training camp Sunday, and Tuesday's surgery was to stabilize the fracture.

The Capitals acquired Edmundson in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on July 1.

The condition of Calgary Flames assistant general manager Chris Snow, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2019, has taken a turn for the worse, his wife Kelsie Snow said Wednesday on social media.

Chris Snow and his wife, Kelsie, have been very public about his condition since he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Wednesday, Kelsie Snow announced that he went into cardiac arrest on Tuesday.

"With a shattered heart I've come to share that yesterday Chris became unresponsive and went into cardiac arrest," Kelsie Snow posted to X. "Paramedics and doctors were able to get his heart beating again but, devastatingly, a scan showed Chris has suffered a catastrophic brain injury caused by lack of oxygen. His doctors do not expect him to wake up from this."

It's been a week of firsts for women in the National Hockey League.

Professional Women's Hockey League coach Kori Cheverie was behind the bench for the Pittsburgh Penguins' preseason game Sunday, and then AHL coach Jessica Campbell did the same for the Seattle Kraken on Monday.

Other women have been behind NHL benches in the past as trainers and in other roles, but not as coaches.

Cory Schneider, who played parts of 13 NHL seasons as a goaltender primarily with the New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks, announced his retirement from the league on Tuesday.

Schneider, 37, last played in the NHL during the 2021-22 campaign and was not signed to a team ahead of the new season.

"I'm at peace with it," Schneider told the Salem News in his native Massachusetts. "I'll miss my teammates and the intensity of playing, but it's the right time for me."

Sean Couturier will skate in a game for the first time in 20 months on Monday.

The Philadelphia Flyers' forward had back surgery twice since 2021 and last played a game in December of that year. The 30-year-old said he feels "pretty good" since training camp began, but knows there's a bit of rust to shake in the coming weeks.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a while," Couturier said Monday, before the Flyers faced the New Jersey Devils in the preseason opener.

"All summer I've been thinking about it and now I'm here. I'm just excited to get warmups going and get that first shift out of the way, just play hockey. I think that's what I miss most."

Former NHL player Nicolas Kerdiles died Saturday after a motorcycle crash in Nashville, according to police. He was 29.

The former Anaheim Ducks forward drove his motorcycle through a stop sign early Saturday and hit the driver's side of an SUV, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. The SUV's driver immediately stopped, and there were no signs of impairment in either driver, police said.

Kerdiles died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Police don't anticipate any charges in the crash.

Steven Stamkos has revealed he is disappointed the Tampa Bay Lightning haven't engaged in extension talks with free agency looming in 2024.

Stamkos is entering the final season of an eight-year, $68 million contract.

"To be honest, I've been disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard. It was something that I expressed at the end of last year -- that I wanted to get something done before training camp started. There haven't been any conversations," Stamkos said Wednesday. "I'm ready whenever. I guess that was something that I didn't see coming. But it is what it is."

Stamkos was a part of two Stanley Cup championship seasons and had 84 points in 81 games in 2022-23.