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The Carolina Hurricanes are sticking with Eric Tulsky as their general manager.

The Hurricanes said Tuesday they have taken the interim tag off and officially promoted Tulsky to GM, a move that followed Don Waddell stepping down May 24 and later taking over the front office for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Tulsky, who has worked his way through the ranks of analyst, analytics manager and assistant GM, now must oversee the retooling of a roster that has been good enough to reach six straight postseasons but has yet to reach the Stanley Cup Final in that run.

“Eric is ready for this opportunity,” owner Tom Dundon said in a statement. “He has a proven history of managing people and overseeing operations both outside of hockey and over the last decade with the Hurricanes.”

Tulsky originally joined Carolina in 2014 as a consultant before later becoming manager of hockey analytics. He was promoted to vice president of hockey management and strategy, then assistant GM by 2020 for work that included assisting with contract negotiations and salary cap compliance.

The Philadelphia native has a very different background from hockey lifers.

He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from California, conducted a two-year postdoctoral study at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington and holds 27 U.S. patents, according to his team bio. He also worked in the tech industry for a dozen years, managing research teams for nanotechnology in areas such as DNA sequencing and solar energy.

Now the test is reshaping a talented roster with free agency looming July 1.

The Hurricanes took care of their biggest free agent last month by reaching another deal with coach Rod Brind’Amour. But they have numerous key decisions ahead, such as winger Jake Guentzel, and defensemen Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce set to become unrestricted free agents; as well as young forwards Seth Jarvis and Martin Necas becoming eligible for restricted free agency.

The Hurricanes have twice reached the Eastern Conference finals in their current run and have won at least one series in all six postseason trips. But this is still a team looking for a breakthrough toward its goal of winning the Stanley Cup after losing in the second round to the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers.

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Flames’ Zary gets 2 games for elbowing Pettersson

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Flames' Zary gets 2 games for elbowing Pettersson

NEW YORK — Calgary forward Connor Zary was suspended two games without pay Thursday for elbowing Vancouver defenseman Elias Pettersson during the Canucks’ 4-3 shootout victory over the Flames.

Zary, 23, was assessed a minor penalty for interference on the play at 11:19 of the first period Wednesday night. The suspension will cost him $8,993 in salary.

After Pettersson knocked Calgary center Nazem Kadri off his skates just as Kadri unloaded the puck and crossed the blue line, Zary retaliated with a blindside hit that led to the penalty.

Pettersson had the tying goal with 6:44 remaining in regulation and scored in the first round of the shootout. Conor Garland added the winner in the fourth round of the shootout.

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Devils’ Hamilton out for regular season, GM says

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Devils' Hamilton out for regular season, GM says

New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton will miss the remainder of the regular season and “possibly” the playoffs due to a lower-body injury, general manager Tom Fitzgerald said.

When pressed if Hamilton could return if the Devils reach the second round of the postseason, Fitzgerald wasn’t too optimistic on Wednesday.

“We’re not planning on it, how’s that?” Fitzgerald said during an appearance on the “Krackin’ Canuckleheads” podcast.

Hamilton has been sidelined since he was tangled up with Stars forward Mason Marchment in the first period of a 4-3 loss to Dallas on March 4.

Hamilton, 31, has 40 points (nine goals, 31 assists) in 63 games this season. He is competing in the fourth campaign of his seven-year, $63 million contract.

Hamilton has totaled 501 points (151 goals, 350 assists) in 834 career games with the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and Devils.

Hamilton was selected by the Bruins with the ninth overall pick of the 2011 NHL draft.

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Devers: Willing to do whatever Red Sox want

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Devers: Willing to do whatever Red Sox want

Rafael Devers told reporters Thursday that he’s “good to do whatever” the Boston Red Sox want him to do, an indication that he’s willing to move away from third base and serve as the team’s designated hitter this season.

A switch of roles didn’t seem likely last month, when Devers balked at the idea at moving to DH in the wake of Boston signing Alex Bregman.

“Third base is my position,” Devers said then.

But the three-time All-Star said Thursday that he spoke with manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow a few weeks ago and told them “I’m good to do whatever they want me to do.

“I’m here to help,” he said through his interpreter, according to The Athletic. “I’ve already spoken with them about that and they know where I stand, but I’m just ready to play.

“I’m not going to share what we talked about here just because it would make me come off … those are private conversations. So I told them everything of my point of view, how I see things, and they know that.”

Devers has yet to appear in an official spring training game for Boston. It was supposed to happen Tuesday but got pushed back to this weekend. He battled soreness in both of his shoulders last season and spent the first couple of weeks of spring training trying to strengthen them ahead of the regular season.

He did play in an intrasquad game Thursday in Fort Myers, Florida, before he spoke with the media, and had a home run off new Red Sox starter Walker Buehler.

Asked if he expects to be ready for Opening Day against the Rangers on March 27 in Texas, Devers said: “I expect to be there.”

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