As part of the NHL Centennial Celebration, renowned Canadian artist Tony Harris will paint original portraits of each of the 100 Greatest NHL Players presented by Molson Canadian as chosen by a Blue Ribbon panel. NHL.com will reveal two portraits each Monday in 2017.

This week, the portraits of forwards Toe Blake and Pavel Bure are unveiled in the 26th installment.

The buzz that surrounded the annual Smashfest Charity Ping-Pong Challenge in Toronto this past week is a good example of what will surround the city when the Maple Leafs take the ice in October to start the 2017-18 NHL season. Center Dominic Moore, whose annual event has raised more than $500,000 for concussion and cancer research, said the Maple Leafs' success last season, when they qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2013, was a big part of his decision to sign a one-year contract to return to Toronto next season.

As part of the League's Centennial Celebration, NHL.com is taking a look back at memorable events each week.

Here are Centennial highlights for the week of July 16-22:

MONTREAL -- Tony Esposito's distinctive white mask, nearly a half-century old, is a magnificent mess.

It is scratched and chipped and dented, chunks having been knocked out of it by pucks and the metal bars he installed over the eyes bent by slashing sticks, skates and his own pliers.

For decades goaltenders never would think of donning a mask. But then again, why would they?

In the years leading up to World War I and the formation of the NHL in 1917, shots on goal were rarely as dangerous, and certainly not nearly as hard, as blasts from today's players. But by the end of World War II the NHL had become faster and more furious than ever, and so were the shots on goal.

As part of the NHL Centennial Celebration, renowned Canadian artist Tony Harris will paint original portraits of each of the 100 Greatest NHL Players presented by Molson Canadian as chosen by a Blue Ribbon panel. NHL.com will reveal two portraits each Monday in 2017.

This week, the portraits of defensemen King Clancy and Chris Pronger are unveiled in the 25th installment.

As NHL teams continue preparations for the 2017-18 season, Rick Tocchet is getting ready for his first opportunity as a coach in the League in seven years. The Arizona Coyotes hired Tocchet as coach on July 11 after he spent three seasons as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins and was part of back-to-back Stanley Cup-winning teams in 2016 and 2017. Tocchet, a former player and assistant with the Coyotes, was 53-69-26 as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2008-10.

As part of the League's Centennial Celebration, NHL.com is taking a look back at memorable events each week.

Here are Centennial highlights for the week of July 9-15:

TORONTO -- While the similarities between hockey and auto racing are few, Indy driver James Hinchcliffe identified one right away when he toured the NHL Centennial Fan Arena.

As he explored the 53-foot museum truck, Hinchcliffe was particularly fascinated with the wall featuring the evolution of goaltending masks, from the earliest wire-only ones to more modern-day styles with custom painted designs. The creative paint jobs were something he immediately related to.

As part of the NHL Centennial Celebration, renowned Canadian artist Tony Harris will paint original portraits of each of the 100 Greatest NHL Players presented by Molson Canadian as chosen by a Blue Ribbon panel. NHL.com will reveal two portraits each Monday in 2017.

This week, the portraits of defenseman Scott Stevens and goalie Martin Brodeur, who together won the Stanley Cup three times with the New Jersey Devils, are unveiled in the 24th installment.

With the NHL Expansion Draft and NHL Draft in the rearview mirror, the free agency signing period already begun and development camps having opened, preparation for the 2017-18 season, which begins Oct. 4, is in full swing.

As part of the League's Centennial Celebration, NHL.com is taking a look back at memorable events each week.

Here are Centennial highlights for the week of July 2-8:

As part of the NHL Centennial Celebration, renowned Canadian artist Tony Harris will paint original portraits of each of the 100 Greatest NHL Players presented by Molson Canadian as chosen by a Blue Ribbon panel. NHL.com will reveal two portraits each Monday in 2017.