Former Coyotes captain Shane Doan is retiring from the NHL after 21 seasons, he announced in a letter to fans Wednesday.

Doan, 40, has played only for the Coyotes, dating back to before the franchise moved from Winnipeg. He was the seventh overall pick by the Jets in 1995.

"I'm so grateful and thankful to the Winnipeg Jets for drafting me and giving me a chance to play my rookie season and when the team moved to the Valley in 1996, all I wanted to know was if the Coyotes would keep giving me a chance to play," Doan said in a first-person letter published in the Arizona Republic.

Danis Zaripov will get the chance to take his talents to North America after the NHL approved the Russian winger's eligibility following a doping ban in the Kontinental Hockey League and international play.

The 36-year-old Zaripov is free to sign with any team and could be the latest established Russian player to make an immediate impact in the NHL. Agent Dan Milstein said Zaripov is looking for a one-year contract so he can prove himself.

New York Rangers Hall of Famer Jean Ratelle will finally get his No. 19 raised to the rafters at Madison Square Garden, the same season Eric Lindros will have his No. 88 retired by the Philadelphia Flyers.

The New Jersey Devils continued stockpiling young talent this offseason by landing college hockey's top player, Will Butcher.

The University of Denver defenseman agreed to a two-year, $1.85 million contract with New Jersey on Sunday after spending much of the past two weeks meeting with nearly a dozen NHL teams.

The Winnipeg Jets signed center Matt Hendricks to a one-year, $700,000 contract Saturday.

The 36-year-old former St. Cloud State player spent the last four seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, finishing with four goals and three assists in 42 games last season with a 56.9 percent faceoff winning percentage.

He has 49 goals and 51 assists in 521 career games with Colorado, Washington, Nashville and Edmonton.

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed restricted free-agent forward Connor Brown to a three-year contract extension Saturday.

The deal has an average annual value of $2.1 million per season.

The Colorado Avalanche agreed to a two-year, entry-level deal with Alexander Kerfoot after the forward became a college free agent earlier this month.

The Devils have signed veteran winger Drew Stafford to a one-year deal worth $800,000.

General manager Ray Shero announced the contract Friday, less than a month before the start of training camp.

Stafford, 31, had eight goals and 13 assists last season with Winnipeg and Boston. The Jets traded him to the Bruins at the deadline and had two goals in six playoff games.

The Anaheim Ducks have signed Francois Beauchemin.

Beauchemin was a member of their Stanley Cup championship team in 2007.

RDS reported the contract is worth $1 million with up to $500,000 in performance bonuses.

Jack Eichel continues to negotiate what he hopes will be a long-term contract with the Buffalo Sabres, he told the Lowell Sun.

"We're in the midst of it. It's between my agent and [general manager Jason] Botterill," the 20-year-old said. "I'm just going to work hard this summer. All of that tends to take care of itself. Obviously the contract is important. But for me it's all about the play."

Eichel and the Sabres reportedly are negotiating an eight-year extension that would begin next season. This will be the final season of his three-year, entry-level contract, which has an NHL salary cap charge of $925,000.