The Seattle Kraken signed general manager Ron Francis to a three-year contract extension Wednesday through the 2026-27 season after the franchise reached the second round of the NHL playoffs in its second year of existence.

Hired to be the first GM in franchise history, Francis navigated through a difficult first season and helped land the players who turned Seattle into a playoff team in the second year without mortgaging future opportunities or putting the Kraken into challen

Brad Treliving has been hired as the Toronto Maple Leafs' next general manager, the team announced Wednesday.

The Leafs parted ways with former GM Kyle Dubas earlier this month, opting not to renew his contract when it was set to expire June 30. Dubas has subsequently been tied to the Pittsburgh Penguins' vacant GM slot.

Treliving spent the past nine seasons as GM of the Calgary Flames. Hired in April 2014, Treliving guided the Flames to five postseason appearances, but winning just two rounds in the process. Calgary missed the postseason entirely following the 2021-22 season. With his contract on the verge of expiring on June 30, Treliving mutually parted with the Flames in April.

The Nashville Predators are making a change behind the bench, hiring Andrew Brunette to replace John Hynes, sources told ESPN's Kevin Weekes on Tuesday.

An official announcement is expected Tuesday afternoon.

Hynes spent part of four seasons with the Predators after replacing outgoing coach Peter Laviolette on Jan. 7, 2020. Nashville reached the playoffs in Hynes' first two full seasons, losing in the first round each time. The Predators failed to qualify for the postseason this year -- a first since 2014 -- after an injury-plagued 42-32-8 campaign.

The Washington Capitals named Spencer Carbery as their new head coach on Tuesday.

Carbery, 41, will receive a four-year deal, a source told ESPN.

Carbery was one of the buzziest names on the coaching circuit, most recently serving as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs and running their power play. He now returns to the Capitals organization, where he came up through the ranks coaching for its ECHL and AHL affiliates.

Sportsnet was first to report Carbery's hiring.

The Buffalo Sabres ended a lengthy wait by signing Ryan Johnston to a two-year, entry-level contract Saturday, more than a month after the defenseman completed his senior college season at Minnesota.

Johnston will report immediately to the Sabres' American Hockey League affiliate in Rochester, whose best-of-seven Eastern Conference final playoff series against Hershey is tied at 1.

The young, retooled Buffalo Sabres can rely on Kyle Okposo's veteran presence for at least one more season after the team captain signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old's re-signing was anticipated after both the player and team expressed mutual interest in his return once Buffalo's season ended last month.

From calling the action to calling the shots, the Flyers named Keith Jones their team president of hockey operations Thursday.

"I consider the Philadelphia Flyers organization the gold standard of the NHL and professional sports," Jones said in a statement. "I've seen how this city and these fans can rally around their team and there is nothing that compares to that feeling."

Jones, 54, is making the surprising career change after two decades cracking jokes as part of a talk radio morning show, all while juggling hockey broadcast gigs at NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBC and most recently for TNT's coverage of the NHL in each of the past two seasons.

The Washington Capitals re-signed forward Michael Sgarbossa to a two-year, two-way contract on Monday.

The deal pays $775,000 per season at the NHL level and $525,000 in the AHL.

The Tampa Bay Lightning signed forward Michael Eyssimont to a $1.6 million, two-year contract on Friday.

Eyssimont, 26, was acquired on March 1 from San Jose for forward Vladislav Namestnikov.

The Minnesota Wild signed well-traveled forward Marcus Johansson to a two-year contract worth $4 million on Tuesday.

The Wild acquired Johansson in a midseason trade with the Washington Capitals on Feb. 28. He posted 18 points (six goals, 12 assists), a plus-6 rating and two game-winning goals in 20 regular-season games with the Wild.