New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello is hoping he can keep his roster mostly intact while knowing he still must re-sign star forward Mathew Barzal, despite having limited room under the NHL's flat salary cap.

In saying he is exploring every possible option, Lamoriello on Tuesday wouldn't completely rule out what he called "a last resort'' of having to part ways with a core player or two.

The New York Rangers are buying out the final year of star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's contract to end his 15-year career with the team, a source told ESPN, confirming a report by the New York Post.

Lundqvist, 38, will become an unrestricted free agent, joining a crowded market of veteran goaltenders when the signing period begins on Oct. 9.

The Dallas Stars are starting Anton Khudobin in goal for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night, as they face elimination against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Khudobin has played in 23 games for the Stars this postseason. That includes their Game 4 loss on Friday night, 5-4 in overtime to the Lightning, in which Khudobin faced 35 shots.

NHL teams are allowed to reopen their training facilities for voluntary workouts on Oct. 15.

The NHL announced its offseason training protocols Thursday in a 19-page document that takes into account social distancing; increased health and safety measures during the coronavirus pandemic; and competitive balance. A team will need notice from at least five players before reopening its facilities for voluntary workouts, and a maximum of 12 players can be on the ice at the same time.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman admitted on Saturday that he "would not be surprised" if the start date for the 2020-21 season "slips into later December, [or] could slip into January."

"There's still too much we don't know," Bettman said Saturday, speaking from the Edmonton bubble ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. "Nobody can tell me whether or not the border between Canada and the United States will be open by a certain date, nobody can tell me what the state of COVID-19 is going to be, nobody can tell us whether our arenas will have either socially distanced or fully occupied buildings. And we're going to have to do the same thing we did for return to play: explore all the options, be flexible and agile enough to implement when the appropriate time comes."

Mikko Koivu's extraordinary career with the Minnesota Wild is over.

General manager Bill Guerin said Friday the team will not resign Koivu, whose contract is expiring.

Koivu, 37, is the only full-time captain the club has had -- he was appointed in 2009 after the role was rotated monthly over the first nine years of the franchise. He is the all-time Wild leader in games, assists, points and several other categories,

Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said settling the team's volatile goaltending situation with Robin Lehner and Marc-Andre Fleury is his top priority this offseason.

"Those are exactly the types of decisions that we're going to be working on immediately. We don't have those answers right now. The first order of business, in many respects, is to sort that out," McCrimmon said Wednesday, two days after Vegas was eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals.

Geoff Ward will remain coach of the Calgary Flames.

Contract details were not announced Monday.

Ward replaced Bill Peters as coach on Nov. 29, when Peters resigned three days after the NHL and the Flames announced they were investigating a claim that he directed a racial slur at a player while coaching in the American Hockey League during the 2009-10 season.

Rick Bowness has earned the chance to return as Dallas Stars coach, general manager Jim Nill said Saturday.

"We talked when he took the job over. We said, 'You know what? Let's get us through the regular season. Let's get through the playoffs, and we're going to sit down and talk,'" Nill told Sportsnet. "But he's earned it, and I hope that down the road he wants to be the head coach."

The Stars, who promoted Bowness Dec. 10, are one win from reaching the Stanley Cup Final after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on Saturday.

Nill three days ago said the sides would wait until the season was complete before addressing Bowness' status.

At 65, he's the oldest coach in the NHL.

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner has a handshake agreement on a five-year contract extension with a $5 million average annual value, according to an NHL source.

The agreement was made earlier this week, according to the source, but Lehner denies that he and the team have an understanding on a new contract ahead of his unrestricted free agency this offseason.

No contract has been signed or registered with the NHL.