The Minnesota Wild signed coach Dean Evason and his staff to multiyear contract extensions Thursday, a reward for keeping them as one of the top teams in the Western Conference.

Evason, 57, is in his second full season as Minnesota's coach after replacing Bruce Boudreau in February 2020. 

Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand became one of the most prominent NHL players to openly criticize the league's decision to opt out of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of COVID-19 postponements.

Marchand tweeted a statement on Tuesday that questioned the logic behind the NHL and NHLPA agreeing to add taxi squads to supplement rosters that are missing players thanks to COVID-19 protocols while refusing to do the same during the Olympics.

Brandon Tanev is out for the rest of the season for the Seattle Kraken with an ACL injury.

The forward left in the third period of a 5-3 home loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 18, Seattle's last game before having four postponed because of COVID-19 concerns. The Kraken said additional information on his surgery and recovery will be released when available.

The NHL is emerging from an extended holiday break with taxi squads and other roster revisions, a move made to guard against additional disruptions to the season amid more players and coaches going into COVID-19 protocol Sunday.

Each team will be allowed to have a taxi squad of up to six players and to make emergency recalls from the minors if COVID-19 absences would cause anyone to play without a full lineup.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly announced the new roster rules in a Sunday night news release.

The NHL announced that it will not resume its regular season until at least Tuesday.

The NHL and NHLPA agreed to begin their holiday break last Wednesday due to the number of players and teams impacted by COVID-19. The original plan was to begin games again on Monday.

The NHL and NHL Players' Association have come to an agreement to not participate in the 2022 Winter Olympic men's hockey tournament in Beijing.

"The National Hockey League respects and admires the desire of NHL Players to represent their countries and participate in a 'best on best' tournament. Accordingly, we have waited as long as possible to make this decision while exploring every available option to enable our Players to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

The Calgary Flames have pulled out of a deal with the city for a new arena because of increased costs.

John Bean, president and chief executive officer of Calgary Sports and Entertainment, said Wednesday that there is no viable path forward to complete the 19,000-seat Event Centre. The Flames have played in the Saddledome for 38 years.

The New Jersey Devils need greater consistency and leadership from their veteran players, general manager Tom Fitzgerald said Monday.

"I need to see the experience gained over the years they've played and parlay that into consistency," Fitzgerald said. "They're the leaders. The young guys follow the older guys. We don't have a very loud room and I respect that but saying the right things and then doing the right things are what tight teams do."

The NHL will pause its season on Wednesday, two days before its planned Christmas break, the league announced Monday evening.

All NHL team facilities will be closed from Wednesday through Saturday as the league tries to weather several COVID-19 outbreaks. Players are set to report back to team facilities on Sunday and resume daily testing. The NHL schedule is set to resume on Dec. 27.

The NHL reintroduced stricter COVID-19 protocols Saturday that include daily testing and other steps in a bid to limit a growing outbreak among players and team personnel.

The enhanced protocols will be put into effect immediately and last through Jan. 1 with an evaluation of their impact no later than Jan. 7. The move follows discussions between the NHL and NHL Players' Association as virus conditions worsen across North America.