National Hockey League roundup

[July 12, 2017]  July 11 (The Sports Xchange) - One month after helping to guide the Pittsburgh Penguins to their fifth Stanley Cup championship as an assistant coach, Rick Tocchet is leaving to pursue a new challenge as the next head coach of the Arizona Coyotes.

Tocchet, 53, was hired as the 18th bench boss in Coyotes' franchise history Tuesday after three seasons as an assistant in Pittsburgh. The team signed him to a multi-year contract, but did not release terms of the deal.

Tocchet filled in for Wayne Gretzky as the Coyotes' coach when Gretzky took an indefinite leave in 2005 to be with his ailing mother. He joined the Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant in 2008 and became the team's interim coach on Nov. 14 of that year before being named Tampa Bay's head coach after the 2008-09 season. The Lightning went 53-69-26 in two seasons under Tocchet's guidance.

As a player, Tocchet was a three-time All-Star forward who played 18 seasons and was a member of the Penguins' Cup-winning squad in 1992.

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The Dallas Stars re-signed forward Gemel Smith to a one-year, two-way contract, the club announced.

Smith played 17 games for Dallas last season and had three goals and six points. The 23-year-old also played in 53 games for the AHL's Texas Stars and tallied 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists).

Smith was a fourth-round pick in the 2012 NHL draft.

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The Washington Capitals signed right wing Wayne Simpson to a one-year, two-way contract, the team announced.

The 27-year-old Simpson spent last season with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League. He established career bests across the board in his second full AHL season with 16 goals, 33 assists and 49 points.

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The New York Islanders announced the signing of goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis to a one-year, two-way deal.

Gudlevskis, 24, was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Carter Verhaeghe on July 1. Gudlevskis was a fifth-round draft pick of the Lightning in 2013.

Gudlevskis appeared in one game with Tampa Bay last season.

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