The New Jersey Devils continued their busy offseason by reaching agreement on a deal with promising young defenseman Will Butcher.

The two sides avoided arbitration with a three-year, $11.2 million contract, according to the team.

The Devils have traded for All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban and former KHL star Nikita Gusev after drafting center Jack Hughes No. 1 overall.

The Devils won the Butcher sweepstakes when they signed the defenseman to a two-year entry-level contract out of Denver in 2017. With that contract up, New Jersey had to decide just how he fit with the rebuild that has taken some big steps.

Butcher, 24, had five goals and 44 points for the Devils in 2017-18, when they snapped a five-year playoff drought. But New Jersey took a step back last season -- missing the playoffs -- and Butcher's numbers also dropped to four goals and 26 assists. He was also a minus-17.

Butcher was a solid contributor on the Devils' power play this past season, however.

The Colorado Avalanche have signed defenseman Samuel Girard to a seven-year contract extension, the team announced Wednesday.

The new deal runs through the 2026-27 season. The annual average value of the deal is $5 million, according to the Denver Post.

Girard, Cale Makar and top draft pick Bowen Byram form the core of a promising young Avs blue line. They'll be counted on to contribute after the trade of Tyson Barrie to Toronto.

Girard, 21, 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.

He has played in 150 consecutive regular-season games, the longest active streak for an Avalanche player.

"Samuel has been one of our best all-around defensemen since joining the Avalanche," general manager Joe Sakic said in a statement. "He plays important minutes and is someone our coaches count on to play against other teams' top lines. He has an exceptional ability to skate and move the puck. As a member of our core, we felt it was important to sign him to a long-term deal and we are excited to announce this extension."

Nothing triggers hockey gambling more than a nationwide heat wave. Caesars posted futures and propositions for the upcoming NHL season.

Below are the top plays from ESPN Sports Betting Analyst Doug Kezirian and Senior NHL Writer Greg Wyshynski.

Note: Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.

Winnipeg Jets UNDER 96.5 points (-110)

Kezirian: This team ended last season as poorly as a playoff team can with a weak second half and an upset first-round exit. Winnipeg also lost key figures (Jacob Trouba, Kevin Hayes, Tyler Myers) this offseason and now returns to what's considered the best division in hockey.

Less than 15 months after hiring Paul Fenton as general manager, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold changed his mind. Claiming it was not "the right fit," Leipold fired Fenton, with assistant GM Tom Kurvers taking over on an interim basis until a permanent replacement can be found.

About that permanent hire, we've got some thoughts on the identity of that person, as well as the task ahead when the hire is made:

Greg Wyshynski, senior NHL writer: Before we get to the next general manager, I'd like to pour a little out for Paul Fenton. The trick to promoting either assistant coaches or assistant general managers to the big job is betting on which ones are the worker bees and which ones can run the hive. Fenton was a much-respected front-office guy with the Nashville Predators and coveted for many openings. But it turns out that, generally, he wasn't a good manager.

As owner Craig Leipold put it: "I knew him in a different way. He was assistant general manager. He was scouting. That was his role. He was tremendous at that. But it was the other portion of being a general manager: the organizational, the strategic, the management of people, the hiring and motivating of the departments. When I'm talking about not being a fit, that's what I'm talking about."

So the question is now, Emily: Who, or what, fits the Wild?

Emily Kaplan, national NHL reporter: You don't need to parse Leipold's words to understand he's looking for a strong communicator and collaborative leader. Over the next few weeks, as dirty laundry is inevitably aired, Paul Fenton's name will become somewhat of a punchline (we'll reserve judgment, except for the bizarre lizard quote, which should live in infamy).

"I told him when I was talking to him that he's like a lizard, the way a lizard takes his tongue and sticks it as far as it does and retrieves what it was trying to do." - GM Paul Fenton on @Zuccarello36

? → https://t.co/2V4Lig6AeV #mnwild pic.twitter.com/2tjfFXo1GJ

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 1, 2019

But like Greg, I think we need to give Fenton credit where it's due. He acted with conviction. Even as many outsiders questioned it, he stayed his course. That's an important attribute for the next candidate. I imagine the Wild will try to overcompensate for Fenton's weaknesses by hiring someone with experience. This is the NHL, after all. "When in doubt, simply retread!" is pretty much a league mantra. You'll hear names like Ron Hextall (fired by the Flyers last year) and Peter Chiarelli (fired by Boston, then again by Edmonton last year) mentioned.

Greg, do you think experience is necessary to clean up the mess Fenton left?

Wyshynski: No, I don't. I think there are plenty of executives with the talent and the vision to start to turn this team in the right direction. (I will forever continue to hype Bill Zito, Columbus Blue Jackets assistant GM, until he gets his shot.) But I think the problem is that the catalysts for Fenton's departure -- a lack of communication and respect with veteran leaders, a general inexperience in managing people -- probably mean Leipold is going with experience here.

If that's the case, then Ron Hextall is my guy. Drafting Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Travis Konecny, Carter Hart, Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. Handing out cap-essential deals to young stars like Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Couturier. And hey, his two biggest issues with the Flyers -- hiring the wrong coach in Dave Hakstol and failing to find a solution in goal until Hart was ready -- are arguably the Wild's greatest strengths.

Do you have someone in mind for the gig?

Kaplan: Like you, I'm not in the camp that a candidate must have experience to thrive in this job. Plenty of rising stars in front offices could mop up this mess -- if given the opportunity. I've heard terrific things about Chris Drury's work with the New York Rangers, first as director of player development, now as assistant GM and GM of the Hartford Wolfpack. I've been told the former NHL center is the next great ex-player to become a general manager, though I'd bet this specific opening is a long shot.

I wonder if the Wild will revisit New Jersey's Tom Fitzgerald, who was runner-up when Fenton got the gig. If I were Leipold, I'd also circle back with Bill Guerin. Former NHL goaltender Sean Burke (most recently Canada's GM for the 2018 Olympics) could get an interview, and I see Mark Hunter (the best candidate not currently in the NHL) as a wild card. Minnesota native Tom Kurvers, who is serving as interim GM, is widely respected in the league, especially for his longtime work with the Lightning. However, Kurvers was diagnosed with lung cancer in January, and I'm not sure where he stands health-wise.

Greg, anyone you don't think should get the job?

Wyshynski: If Peter Chiarelli earns another chance after mangling the Edmonton Oilers' roster to the point where Connor McDavid's saintly patience is being tested, then we might as well rename it the Old Boys League and be done with it. Even Dean Lombardi, builder of a two-time Stanley Cup champion in Los Angeles, whose roster looks glacial by 2019 standards, would be a more palatable choice.

But my quandary here is less about which GM they hire than what that GM is going to be allowed to do. Take Ron Hextall. He likes to develop prospects at a moderate pace and horde draft picks to select them, while also icing a competitive team. Does that square with what Leipold wants, considering the age of the core that's apparently calling the shots here? It should be, if he likes winning. But after owning two different franchises since 1997 and never having watched his team in even the conference final, maybe he should leave the driving to someone else.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- MLS Players Association executive director Bob Foose said that a work stoppage is "never the goal" but that the MLSPA is preparing for one if an agreement can't be reached with the league on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The MLSPA met with members of the media ahead of Wednesday's MLS All-Star Game against Atletico Madrid. The meeting included Foose, director of player relations Ty Harden as well as bargaining committee members Brad Guzan of Atlanta United, LAFC defender Walker Zimmerman and Atlanta defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez.

With the existing CBA set to expire on Jan. 31, 2020, Foose said that the union has been in consistent discussions with the league. But he added that the MLSPA has already begun preparing for a possible work stoppage, with players drawing up plans for alternative housing and training options.

"A strike is never the goal, and it's not our goal," said Foose. "If we each come to the table and work hard to find common ground, I'm very confident we can reach an agreement that will benefit both the player pool and the league. That's my hope and the hope of all the players. If it doesn't happen, at that point the player pool will be making a decision as to whether or not they're willing to play with the terms that are on the table."

- Garber defends pace of MLS expansion reveals
- Carlisle: Top moments from past MLS All-Star games

He added, "Our players have been preparing and talked consistently over the last year for the possibility of a stoppage. We continue to talk about it and make plans both big picture and little details kinds of plans. That's what we have to do. We have to be prepared."

When asked if the union's strike fund is sufficiently large enough for the players to ride out an extended work stoppage, Foose said he felt it was, although he added that reaching a successful deal will depend on other factors.

"You can never have too much money in a strike fund, especially when you're negotiation against mostly billionaires. The strike fund is a lot bigger, the [union] staff is a lot bigger. We will use every penny and every minute of our time to help players through a stoppage. But the reality is that's not what is going to make it successful. It's going to be the work that the players put in through their solidarity, their leadership, and educating their younger teammates as to what this is about."

Foose laid out the union's goals for a new agreement. They include players having more say on where they live and work, as well as a fairer system in which players can compete for dollars instead of being pigeon-holed into roster spots that have a limited range of salaries. The MLSPA will also push for more transparency and accountability by the league's clubs by giving the teams more freedom to construct rosters as they see fit, rather than be dictated to by the league.

"If you're going to be a league of choice and you're going to compete with the best leagues in the world, at its most basic level it means MLS starting to look and act like leagues you compete with," said Foose.

In terms of league investment, the MLSPA wants teams to travel by charter more often, the idea being it will improve the product on the field through better preparation and recovery.

"Because of the country we live in, the travel requirements are massive," said Guzan. "Not spending three quarters of the day in an airport, not allowing your body to become fatigued mentally and physically, ultimately charter flights allow you to get to your destination much quicker in a way that allows you to be focused solely on the game and physically you feel much better stepping on the field. It's the same thing after the game."

Soccer's world governing body FIFA has approved the expansion of the Women's World Cup from the existing 24 teams to 32 for the 2023 edition and reopened the bidding process for potential hosts.

"The FIFA Council has unanimously agreed to a proposal to expand the number of teams taking part in the women's World Cup from 24 to 32, with effect as of the next edition of the tournament in 2023," it said in a statement.