A few weeks after the New Jersey Devils closed their worst season in nearly 30 years, GM Ray Shero has something to smile about.

"We finally won something,'' Shero told The Associated Press by phone shortly after the Devils won the NHL draft lottery on Saturday. "It's the first piece of great news the Devils have had for a while to be honest.''

Given only an 8.5 percent chance of winning, the Devils bucked the odds by vaulting four teams including the last-place Colorado Avalanche and expansion Vegas Golden Knights for the right to the first pick in the draft.

NBC Sports launched a Snapchat lens that will give anyone a full playoff beard and an animated Stanley Cup that appears overhead.

“Through Snapchat and the lens, we bring the Stanley Cup ‘into the hands’ of our fans, allowing them to participate with the sport,” Jenny Storms, NBC Sports’ chief marketing officer, told USA TODAY Sports in an email. “Whether your team is in the playoffs or not, this fun and shareable content will keep everyone engaged through the playoffs."

Storms said NBC Sports saw Snapchat and its 160 million daily users as an attractive way to market its NHL playoff coverage. 

GM George McPhee says the Vegas Golden Knights are open for business to any teams seeking to protect their players in the upcoming NHL expansion draft.

McPhee told The Associated Press he already had preliminary discussions with most teams over what trades could be made before the draft is held in Las Vegas on June 21, two days before the traditional draft. Without going into much detail, McPhee said talks have focused on which players teams would prefer the Golden Knights either select or don't.

In exchange, McPhee is open to acquiring draft picks to begin stockpiling for depth. The team opens its first season in October.

The Bruins are bringing Bruce Cassidy back next season, dropping the interim tag from his title as a reward for leading the team back to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.

Cassidy replaced Claude Julien, the winningest coach in the history of the Original Six franchise, on Feb. 8 and led the team to an 18-8-1 record to finish out the season and earn a postseason berth. 

The Vancouver Canucks are promoting Travis Green from the AHL to be their next coach, according to TSN.

The Canucks tweeted that they would make a coaching announcement Wednesday.

Green has been the head coach of the Canucks' AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, for the past three seasons. The Comets lost in the Calder Cup finals two seasons ago and in the semifinals last season.

Before Sharks center Joe Thornton heads into an uncertain offseason where he could be a free agent, he had more pressing business.

Thornton underwent surgery on a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee Monday to repair an injury that sidelined him less than two weeks before he returned to play the final four games of a first-round series loss to the Oilers.

"I've been in this business a long time," GM Doug Wilson said. "You see a player play with that type of injury tells you all you need to know about him."

The Chicago Blackhawks have fired assistant coach Mike Kitchen.

After the Blackhawks became the first top-seeded team to be swept in the first round of the playoffs since the NHL adopted its current playoff format in 1994, GM Stan Bowman promised changes.

"We believe this decision is best for our organization moving forward," Bowman said in a statement. "Mike had an impact on two different Stanley Cup championship teams during his tenure in Chicago. We appreciate his many contributions and wish he and his family success in the future."

The Kings named assistant John Stevens their new head coach on Sunday.

New GM Rob Blake announced the decision. Blake never expanded his search past Stevens, a source confirmed to ESPN, focusing his discussions only with Stevens in determining whether there was a fit.

"John and I had very productive dialogue this last week in relation to his head coaching philosophy and specifically how he would implement a strategy to activate our players offensively while maintaining the defensive philosophies we have come to be known for," Blake said in a statement. "I am confident that we are both in agreement on how that can be executed. With that said, we believe John has the ideal qualities to lead our hockey club. His wide array of coaching experience, including success as an NHL head coach and his inherent knowledge of our players and those in our development system, is very appealing to us. We are confident he is the best person to lead our hockey club forward."

Coach Joel Quenneville will be back next season. Everything else is on the table for the Blackhawks.

GM Stan Bowman is promising changes after Chicago was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year. The Blackhawks, who won the Stanley Cup in 2010, '13 and '15, were swept by Nashville this time around, managing just three goals in 13 periods.

Criticizing the Sabres' management structure for being flawed under its previous regime, team owner Terry Pegula accepted the blame and vowed Friday to take a hands-on approach to fix what went wrong.

The first step, Pegula said, begins with him directly overseeing the search to hire a new front office. He spoke one day after the Sabres cleaned house by firing general manager Tim Murray and coach Dan Bylsma.

"Accountability starts with me," Pegula said. "We are not happy with our season this year, and there are no excuses."