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PITTSBURGH -- Blake Lizotte is now part of the Pittsburgh Penguins' long-term plan.
The Penguins signed the veteran forward to a three-year contract extension on Monday. The deal, which runs through the 2028-29 season, carries an average annual value of $2.25 million.
The 28-year-old Lizotte has been one of the brightest spots on one of the NHL's most surprising teams. A dependable penalty killer, Lizotte also has five goals and five assists in 35 games this season with Pittsburgh, which began the year with modest expectations but finds itself firmly in the mix to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
Lizotte, who signed a two-year agreement with the Penguins in the summer of 2024, tied a career-high with 11 goals last season. His 16 goals since joining Pittsburgh rank fifth on the team over that period.
The Penguins have thrived this season when Lizotte is in the lineup. Pittsburgh is 20-9-6 with Lizotte available and went 1-5-3 when he missed time in December with an upper-body injury.
Columbus fires coach
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets fired coach Dean Evason and named hockey-lifer Rick Bowness as his replacement on Monday.
Evason is the first NHL coach fired this season. General manager Don Waddell announced the abrupt change with his team sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference 45 games into the season with a record of 19-19-7.
"This season has been a frustrating one for all of us and the bottom line is we are not performing at a level that meets our expectations," Waddell said. "We all share in that responsibility, me included, and while this was not a decision that was made lightly, it is one that needed to be made at this time. Dean did a tremendous job last year under extremely difficult circumstances, and I thank him for that."
Assistant Steve McCarthy, who had been with the organization for nearly a decade, was also fired.
Bowness is back in the league after he retired in the spring of 2024, ending a stint with the Winnipeg Jets. Bowness, who coached Dallas to the Stanley Cup Final in the 2020 pandemic bubble, turns 71 on Jan. 25, and at 70 becomes the oldest head coach in the NHL.
Bowness during his lengthy career has been head coach for seven different teams, dating to the original Jets in 1988. He did some broadcasting with TNT since stepping away from his most recent job in Winnipeg.
Evason was just past the midway point of his second season in charge of the Blue Jackets. Waddell's first order of business upon becoming GM was to fire then-coach Pascal Vincent and put Evason behind the bench.
Elsewhere:
– Matthew Tkachuk wants to watch the Miami Hurricanes play for the College Football Playoff national championship. Thing is, he and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers have a home game that night.
Problem solved, sort of.
The start time of Florida's game against San Jose on Jan. 19 has been moved up to 6 p.m., one hour ahead of the previously scheduled puck drop in Sunrise. The NHL announced the change on Monday.
The CFP title game between Miami and Indiana down the road in Miami Gardens is set to start shortly after 7:30 p.m., so the Panthers-Sharks game could end around the time the Hurricanes and Hoosiers are starting the second quarter.
– With highly prized prospect Gavin McKenna as the centerpiece, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced on Monday the Buffalo Sabres will host the league's draft in June.
Bettman made the announcement while joined by Sabres executives, including team owner Terry Pegula, during a news conference before Buffalo's home game against the Florida Panthers.