Colorado signed D Samuel Girard to a seven-year contract extension, the team announced Wednesday. The new deal runs through the 2026-27 season. The contract's value was not announced. Girard had four goals and 23 assists while appearing in all 82 games for the Avalanche last season, his first full campaign in Colorado after being traded by the Nashville Predators in 2017-18 as a rookie.

Follow the money on this Artem Anisimov trade by the Chicago Blackhawks. They shed his $4.55 million cap hit through 2021 by shipping Anisimov, 31, to the Ottawa Senators, a deal made possible by his trade protection lapsing after July 1. The Senators only pay him $2 million this season, after the Blackhawks paid his $2 million signing bonus for 2019-20, and $3 million next season. Zach Smith, the 31-year-old winger the Blackhawks acquired in the deal, has a $3.25 million AAV and is owed $6.5 million for the next two seasons. The Senators get a larger cap hit and save $1.5 million in real dollars. A very Ottawa move.

The Hurricanes will match the offer sheet tendered by the Canadiens to restricted free agent forward Sebastian Aho. By matching the offer sheet, the Hurricanes will re-sign Aho to a five-year, $42.27M contract, they announced Tuesday. The deal runs through the 2023-24 season and carries an average annual value of $8.454 million.