Cam Ward Signs Two-Year Deal With Hurricanes

Former playoff MVP and Stanley Cup winner Cam Ward has signed a two-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, choosing to stick with the only NHL team he has ever played for rather than test free agency this summer.

The Hurricanes announced Thursday that the goaltender's contract will pay him $3.5 million in the first year of the deal and $3.1 million in the second for an annual salary-cap hit of $3.3 million.

"Cam has been a major face of the Hurricanes both on the ice and in our community for more than a decade," general manager Ron Francis said in a statement. "We are happy he has chosen to continue his career in Carolina."

The 32-year-old is coming off a six-year deal that carried a $6.3 million average annual cap hit.

Kopitar Named Kings' Team Captain

Two years after Dustin Brown accepted the Stanley Cup from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for the second time, the Los Angeles Kings' longtime captain has lost the job.

The Kings named Anze Kopitar their new captain Thursday, restructuring their leadership after a second straight early summer.

"It's time for Kopitar to take over," Kings president Dean Lombardi said. "He's one of our best players, and he's moving into his prime. It's his turn."

Brown had been the Kings' captain for eight seasons since 2008, and he led the franchise to its only NHL titles in 2012 and 2014. But Brown's production has dipped alarmingly since that first Cup win; he has failed to score 30 points in any of the past four seasons.

Kopitar is the Kings' first-line center and their leading scorer for nine consecutive seasons. He has served as an assistant captain since 2008, but he never entertained the notion of becoming Los Angeles' captain until Lombardi asked him.

Coyotes Acquire Goligoski

John Chayka, the NHL's youngest general manager, made his first trade Thursday, striking early to bulk up the Arizona Coyotes' defense.

The Coyotes acquired the negotiating rights for defenseman Alex Goligoski from the Dallas Stars for a 2016 fifth-round pick.

The Coyotes are flying Goligoski into Arizona within the next week to sell him on the team and the market.

Goligoski, 30, is potentially one of the top free-agent defensemen available on the market and had 37 points in 82 games last season with the Stars. -- By ESPN