DEREK KING

Luke Richardson says he likes a challenge.

The Chicago Blackhawks have hired Kyle Davidson as general manager, dropping his interim tag instead of going outside the floundering franchise for new leadership.

U.S. sports leagues are seeing rapidly increasing COVID-19 outbreaks with dozens of players in health and safety protocols, amid an ongoing surge by the delta variant of the coronavirus and rising cases of the highly transmissible omicron mutation.

Chicago Blackhawks forward Jujhar Khaira is responsive after he was leveled by New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba and taken off on a stretcher.