MONTREAL — The Stanley Cup Final was completed less than two weeks ago, but there's no break in the hockey calendar yet. The 2022 NHL Entry Draft begins Thursday night at Bell Centre with the first round and will continue on Friday with Rounds 2-7. Free agency opens on July 13, which could make for a much busier draft than usual.
It's already been an eventful week with a slew of new hires and even two major trades, with the Minnesota Wild sending forward Kevin Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings and the Tampa Bay Lightning getting under the salary cap by trading veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators.