Harman leads at Travelers

Brian Harman shot a 4-under 66 on Friday to move to 10-under par and watched that hold up for the second-round lead in the Travelers Championship, thanks in part to a 10-second rule.

Harman finished a stroke ahead of Matt Jones and first round co-leader Zach Johnson, who lost a stroke during his round of 68 when his birdie putt hung on the lip of the cup at the third hole for longer than the maximum allowed 10 seconds before falling in, giving him a par.

“After 10 seconds, the ball was moving and at that point even if the ball is moving, it’s deemed to be at rest, because it’s on the lip,” Johnson said. “Don’t ask me why, but that’s just the way it is.”

NHL

KOVALCHUK BACK IN NHL

» Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk has agreed to a three-year, $18.75 million deal to return to the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings.

The club announced the deal Saturday with Kovalchuk, who is back in North America after a five-year absence.

Kovalchuk was the No. 1 pick in the 2001 NHL draft by the Thrashers. He spent eight seasons in Atlanta and four more with the New Jersey Devils before leaving the NHL in 2013 for a five-year stint at the Kontinental Hockey League’s SKA St. Petersburg.

The 35-year-old star has scored 816 points in 816 career NHL games. He led the KHL in scoring last season for St. Petersburg, and he was the MVP of the 2018 Olympic tournament in Pyeongchang while winning gold.

HURRICANES, FLAMES COMPLETE BLOCKBUSTER

DEAL » The Carolina Hurricanes acquired defenseman Dougie Hamilton on Saturday as part of a blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames at the NHL draft.

Carolina got Hamilton, winger Micheal Ferland and prospect Adam Fox from Calgary for center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin in the biggest trade so far this offseason.

The 25-year-old Hamilton has now been traded at the draft twice after going from the Bruins to the Flames three years ago. The 6-foot-6 right-shot defender has 220 points in 423 regular-season games.

Dealing pending restricted free agents Lindholm and Hanifin is the latest shake-up for Carolina since Tom Dundon bought the team from Peter Karmanos Jr. earlier this year. They’ve already removed Ron Francis as general manager, replaced him with Don Waddell and promoted assistant Rod Brind’Amour to head coach.

This trade changes Brind’Amour’s mix as Carolina looks to end the league’s longest playoff drought, which currently stands at nine seasons. Ferland gives the Hurricanes a big winger who can produce after putting up a career-high 78 points last season with Calgary.