The Arizona Coyotes have signed defenseman Dysin Mayo to a three-year contract.

Terms of the deal announced Friday were not released.

Mayo, 25, has three goals and three assists in 42 games with Arizona this season. 

Former NHLer Sean Avery was released Friday by the Orlando Solar Bears of the East Coast Hockey League -- just two days after they signed the 41-year-old forward.

Avery last appeared in an NHL game on Dec. 10, 2011, while a member of the New York Rangers. He had been placed Wednesday on the team's reserve list and the team announced on Friday that he was released from his standard player contract.

Capitals star Alex Ovechkin issued an anti-war statement on Friday in his first comments following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Please, no more war. It doesn't matter who is in the war -- Russia, Ukraine, different countries -- we have to live in peace," he said following the Capitals' practice.

Ovechkin, 36, has been an supporter of Vladimir Putin over the years. In 2017, he campaigned on behalf of Putin by starting a social media movement called Putin Team, writing, "I never made a secret of my attitude toward our president, always openly supporting him."

When asked whether he supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ovechkin said, "I'm Russian, right? It's not something I can control. It's not in my hands. I hope it's going to end soon and there's going to be peace in both countries. I don't control this one."

He said the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is "a hard situation" for him.

Zdeno Chara stands alone.

The New York Islanders blueliner set a record for most games played by an NHL defenseman after he skated in his 1,652nd career contest in Thursday night's 4-3 road loss to the San Jose Sharks.

Hall of Fame defender Chris Chelios had held the mark since 2010, when he retired after 26 seasons in the NHL. Chara is also tied for having played the seventh-most games ever at any position in the league.

Pekka Rinne, who led the Nashville Predators to their lone Stanley Cup Final in 2017, is adding another first to his long list of accomplishments.

The longtime goaltender will become the first player to have his jersey retired by the organization when the Predators raise Rinne's No. 35 to the rafters before the Thursday night game against Dallas.

"A huge honor," Rinne said. "It is. I consider myself very fortunate. There's been a lot of great players in this organization over the years, but also I realized that I was lucky enough to play for a long time for this organization and that's obviously a big thank you to [general manager] David [Poile] as well.

Sean Avery has signed a standard player contract with the ECHL Orlando Solar Bears, the team announced Wednesday.

The 41-year-old forward last appeared in an NHL game on Dec. 10, 2011, with the New York Rangers. He has been added to the team's reserve list.

Hall of Fame forward Bobby Hull is no longer serving as a team ambassador for the Blackhawks.

Hull played for Chicago for 15 years, collecting 604 goals and 549 assists. He was named a Blackhawks ambassador in a ceremony with fellow Hall of Famer Stan Mikita in 2008.

Finland won its first ever Olympic men's ice hockey gold medal with a 2-1 victory over the Russian Olympic Committee on Sunday in Beijing.

Finland forward Hannes Bjorninen scored the game-winning goal just 31 seconds into the third period. He added an assist on Ville Pokka's goal in the second period that tied the game after the ROC opened the scoring in the first period.

The Pittsburgh Penguins signed defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to a two-year contract extension on Saturday.

The deal carries an average annual value of $800,000 and runs through the 2023-24 season.

In a late-night trade on Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs sent forward Nick Ritchie and a conditional draft choice to Arizona in exchange for defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin and forward Ryan Dzingel. The Coyotes will have their pick of the Leafs' third-round choice in 2023, or second-round pick in 2025.

"We are excited to have Nick join our roster," said Coyotes' general manager Bill Armstrong.