Mike Richards, whose contract has been terminated by the NHL Kings, is part of an ongoing investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for an off-ice incident, a source told ESPN.com on Tuesday.

As expected, the NHL's Board of Governors has authorized commissioner Gary Bettman to formally open the expansion process and the league will now examine bids from interested markets, including Las Vegas.

NHL owners met in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning in advance of the annual NHL awards ceremony when the matter was discussed. Bettman cited Las Vegas, Seattle, Quebec and a second team in Toronto as the markets that have expressed the most serious interest, but said that the NHL has also received interest from Milwaukee, Kansas City and Portland over time.

"We will, probably starting in early July, accept formal applications from entities, people that are interested in pursuing an expansion team," Bettman said following the completion of the meeting. "We will then go through a formal vetting process."

The NHL and NHLPA jointly announced Tuesday the salary cap for next season at $71.4 million, a figure both sides agreed to after some negotiation.

The cap increased from $69 million via the league's 5 percent escalator clause, but it certainly didn't go as high as many had predicted more than a year ago, according to an ESPN.com report on Tuesday

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Kings forward Jarret Stoll, who was arrested on suspicion of cocaine and Ecstasy possession in Las Vegas in April, has been charged with felony drug possession, according to an ESPN.com report on Monday.

The city of Glendale says it's willing to renegotiate an arena lease for the NHL's Coyotes but stands by its conflict-of-interest reasoning for canceling it in the first place, according to an ESPN.com report on Tuesday.

A judge granted a temporary restraining order Friday requested by the Coyotes to prevent the city of Glendale from dissolving its arena lease agreement with the team.

The order does not address whether the city must make the next payment due to IceArizona, the Coyotes' owner, for operating the arena.

Jim Condo, an attorney for the Coyotes, said the order during the last-minute hearing was just one step in what would be a long process.

The Coyotes on Thursday began mapping out their response to the Glendale City Council's decision to dissolve an arena lease agreement with the team. It will include a variety of legal maneuvers, but no immediate plans to relocate the team and, according to the team, certainly no renegotiation of the existing agreement.

"Our view is they've done their action and we're moving forward with our legal options," Coyotes co-owner Anthony LeBlanc said during a conference call.

The Glendale City Council has voted to end an arena lease agreement with the Coyotes, thrusting the franchise's future further into doubt.

The council voted 5-2 on Wednesday night to end a 15-year, $225M lease agreement signed by Glendale and IceArizona shortly after the team was purchased from the NHL in 2013.

Penguins owners Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux are exploring selling some or all of their NHL franchise, according to an ESPN.com report on Thursday. 

The owners hired Morgan Stanley, the company that facilitated the sale of the Sabres to Terry Pegula, to evaluate their options.