Music to Gary Bettman's ears.

Auston Matthews remains a long shot to be drafted by his hometown team, but regardless, the Arizona Coyotes will stay close to the projected No. 1 overall draft selection's heart.

"(The) Coyotes are the reason I started playing hockey," Matthews said while in attendance Saturday at Gila River Arena. "We're pretty fortunate to have them in the Valley."

Matthews, a native of Scottsdale, Ariz., scored 24 goals and 46 points in 36 games for the Zurich Lions in Switzerland's top division, emerging as one of the very best players in the high-skilled division and on his unconventional path to the NHL.

He'll be the first of what the league hopes will be a steady stream of talent to come out of the area, reflecting meaningful growth in the market.

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Ken Holland doesn't sound too worried about the prospect of losing one of his star players.

On Saturday night, the Detroit Red Wings' general manager addressed a report that Pavel Datsyuk may be headed home to Russia after this season.

"I haven't talked to Pavel," Holland said, according to The Detroit News' Ted Kulfan. "He has a year to go (on his contract). Are the rumors news to me? I hear a lot of rumors.

"I'll sit down with all of our players at the end of the year, one by one, and talk to them all."

According to Saturday's report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Datsyuk may head for the KHL for family reasons, forgoing the final season of his contract, which pays "The Magic Man" $5.5 million and accounts for $7.5 million against Detroit's salary cap.

Datsyuk had an assist Saturday, giving the 37-year-old 48 points on the season. Detroit moved into a playoff spot - temporarily, at least - with its win in Toronto.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning cannot catch a break.

A season full of adversity was dealt its biggest blow Saturday, when general manager Steve Yzerman announced that captain Steven Stamkos will have surgery Monday for a blood clot in his arm and miss one-to-three months. The timing, of course, is brutal, as the playoffs are set to begin on April 13.

But Stamkos' injury may mean the return of exiled forward Jonathan Drouin, who is playing in the AHL after asking for a trade earlier this season.

Calling up Drouin is "certainly something we have to consider," Yzerman said Saturday night, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Joe Smith.

Drouin scored his 11th goal of the season for the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, and is playing his best hockey right now. He has goals in five straight games, and six over that span. He'll turn 22 on March 28, and has 11 goals and two assists in 17 games in the AHL.

The disgruntled forward, drafted third overall in 2013 by Tampa Bay, has two goals and six assists in 19 games with the Lightning this season. He suited up in six playoff games on Tampa Bay's run to the Stanley Cup Final last season, going pointless.

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Tampa Bay Lightning captain and star winger Steven Stamkos has been diagnosed with a blood clot in his arm, general manager Steve Yzerman announced Saturday.

He will undergo vascular surgery Monday and miss one-to-three months.

"Obviously this situation is extremely disappointing because I wanted to help my team clinch a playoff spot and prepare for the start of the postseason," Stamkos said in a statement. "During my recovery I will do all I can to help my teammates, and I hope to rejoin them soon in the Stanley Cup Playoffs."

Stamkos, who leads the Lightning with 36 goals and 64 points, did not practice with the team Friday and was ruled out of Saturday's win over New Jersey with what was called an upper-body injury.

The reigning Eastern Conference champions are already without defenseman Anton Stralman, but Yzerman is trying to stay positive.

"For us, it's an opportunity for others," Yzerman said. "It's something we'll have to rally around."

If Stamkos is indeed out for the full three months, that rules him out of the Stanley Cup playoffs and brings him to July 2, the day after he's set to become an unrestricted free agent.

The good news is he's expected to make a full recovery.

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Boone Jenner wasn't drafted to be a goal scorer.

The Columbus Blue Jackets chose Jenner 37th overall in 2011, a few months after the two-way center totaled 25 goals in his draft season - or 32 fewer than OHL leading goal scorer, Tyler Toffoli.

Fast forward almost five seasons, and Jenner, 22, has joined Rick Nash, Geoff Sanderson, Ryan Johansen, and Nick Foligno in becoming just the fifth player in Blue Jackets' history to record 30 or more goals in a single season.

His milestone marker on Saturday versus the Carolina Hurricanes moves him into the upper-echelon of NHL scorers (only 12 have more this season). Jenner's not just ahead of Toffoli, but out-pacing Brandon Saad, who signed for $36 million this summer with expectations to hit 30 with regularity.

So if for a moment, he might live to regret the bridge contract he signed on trade deadline day - even if more than 50 percent of his production has come this season.

But while the eight goals and 13 points he's compiled since signing the deal might have helped him squeeze a few extra dollars in negotiations, leading the team in goal scoring in a contract season isn't enough to cash in restricted free agency or arbitration.

Mike Hoffman knows that.

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