After snagging a forward in free agency, the Dallas Stars turn their attention back to signing one of their own.

As the calendar nears September, restricted free agent Valeri Nichushkin remains without a contract.

The two sides are talking, at least.

"(Nichushkin's) agent and I have had great dialogue," general manager Jim Nill said Wednesday after announcing the signing of Jiri Hudler, per the team's website.

"We look forward to getting him signed and getting him in here. It’s a big year for him to continue his growth. We have high expectations for him."

The 21-year-old is coming off his entry-level contract, with mixed results over his first three NHL seasons. He impressed early with 14 goals and 34 points as a rookie, but was limited to eight games in his second year due to injury. In 2015-16, Nichushkin scored nine goals and added 20 assists, and a big jump is expected over the next few years.

At this point, a low-cost bridge contract seems likely, providing Nichushkin a period of time within which to prove he's worth a bigger commitment.

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Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill is well-aware of what Jiri Hudler can bring to an NHL club.

Related: Stars sign Hudler to 1-year, $2M deal

Nill was part of the Red Wings brain trust that drafted the forward back in 2002, and watched as Hudler appeared in 83 playoff games for Detroit, winning a Stanley Cup in 2008 and returning to the finals in 2009.

"I've known (Hudler) for 17 years," Nill said Wednesday, according to the Stars' website. "He's got a winning pedigree. He's been in the playoffs, won a Stanley Cup, played at the World Championship. He's got that pedigree. It just shows we are committed to taking that next step to be a winning team."

Hudler's a left-handed shot who can play right wing, and Nill sees him contributing in all situations.

"He can play anywhere. I project him as a top six. With our lineup, we are a top nine, top 12 some nights," said Nill. "His hockey IQ is as good as anybody in the game. I think when you look at him possibly being on our power play with the other skill guys we have, it is just another dangerous person for us as a weapon."

The Stars were already the NHL's most potent squad, leading the league with 267 goals last season. Whether they can keep the puck out of their own net enough to make a deep playoff run remains to be seen.

At any rate, Nill certainly sees the addition of Hudler as nothing but helpful, and he'd know better than almost anyone.

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Some special guests were on hand at the Rogers Centre on Wednesday, as Arizona Coyotes forward Max Domi, and New Jersey Devils winger Taylor Hall took part in batting practice at the home of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Hall proved he has some pop in his bat, driving a pitch over the right field fence.

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Wayne Simmonds has experienced racism in the NHL first-hand in the past, and according to the Philadelphia Flyers forward, it's still an issue in the league.

"I don't want to say it's completely gone - racism in the game - because I believe it's not," Simmonds told Joey Vendetta of Sportsnet 590 on Wednesday. "I've had situations arise where I've had things said to me or done to me, but I think for myself it's kind of a motivator."

Simmonds grew up in Toronto, and played junior in the OHL with the Owen Sound Attack and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, but having played his entire pro career in the United States with the Los Angeles Kings and Flyers, he's noticed a difference between the two countries.

"Growing up in Canada, I think it was a little bit different. Obviously hockey is life in Canada. So you grow up as a young black kid and everyone is playing hockey around you, so it's easy to get into," Simmonds said.

"But I think it's just easier in Canada. I think the States is kind of, as it's going now - I don't want to say it's segregated, but I think you feel it a little bit more. You feel it a little bit more in the States, whereas in Canada it's - especially in Toronto, it's a melting pot. You've got every single culture. You've got everything here under the sun. It's like a rainbow. You just don't feel it as much when you're growing up in Canada. And I moved to the States I started to notice it a little bit more, but I'm always around good people so it doesn't have an effect on me."

Simmonds generally let's his play do the talking, and lately, his performance has spoken volumes, setting a career high in goals last season with 32.

- With h/t to Today's Slapshot

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GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Arizona Coyotes have hired Dawn Braid as skating coach and say she is believed to be the first full-time female coach in NHL history.

Braid has a long association with the NHL.

She worked part-time for the Coyotes last year and has served as a skating consultant with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, and Calgary Flames.

Braid also spent seven years with the Athletes Training Center as director of skating development. Among the skaters she worked with there is New York Islanders center John Tavares.

The hiring is the latest in a series of breakthroughs for women in men's sports.

Last year, the Buffalo Bills made Kathryn Smith the NFL's first full-time assistant coach. Smith is the team's quality control coach.

The NBA has had two female assistant coaches - Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Spurs and Nancy Lieberman of the Sacramento Kings.

A year ago, the Arizona Cardinals made Jen Welter the first woman to hold a coaching position of any kind in the NFL when she served as an intern in the preseason.

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Roberto Luongo is hopeful he won't miss any regular-season action after undergoing hip surgery back in late May to repair an issue that bothered him throughout last season, albeit not enough to hinder what was an outstanding overall performance by the veteran goaltender.

The procedure carried an expected recovery time of five months, meaning Luongo was initially projected to miss at least a handful of Florida Panthers games at the beginning of next season. But after returning to the ice Aug. 5, it seems as though he could indeed be manning the crease when the club opens 2016-17 on Oct. 13 against New Jersey.

"I'm excited, hopeful to be where I want to be when everything gets going," Luongo told George Richards of the Miami Herald on Wednesday.

"I'm not 100 percent; it's a five-month rehab. But I'm feeling better than I thought I would. I thought it would be a slower progression, especially on the ice. It has gone fairly quickly and I'm happy about that. If the season were to start tomorrow, I probably wouldn't be able to go. But I feel good where I'm at and I'm excited about it."

The Panthers added both James Reimer and Reto Berra to the roster during the offseason, with the former expected to garner a fair share of starts in order to ensure Luongo is fresh for the postseason, or even step in as the starter in the event of another injury.

At this point in his career, the added rest isn't something Luongo will complain about.

"I'm mature enough now to see that at 37, it's tough to play 60 games especially with the travel and all that. To me, it's all about the success of the team here. With Reimer backing me up and playing some games, it should put us in a good position where we want to be come playoff time and that's what it is all about."

For now, however, it's all systems go with a view to starting strong once the puck drops on a new season.

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Canada made another amendment to its World Cup of Hockey roster on Wednesday, replacing injured Chicago Blackhawks defender Duncan Keith with Jay Bouwmeester of the St. Louis Blues.

Keith is still recovering from a knee injury sustained last season.

Bouwmeester, who joins fellow Blues rearguard Alex Pietrangelo on the squad, has a decorated history with the Canadian national team. He won an Olympic gold medal in Sochi, owns three World Championship medals, played for the world junior team three times, and represented Canada at the last World Cup in 2004.

P.K. Subban, Kris Letang, and fellow left-shot defenseman Mark Giordano are a few of the elite defenseman who remain left off the 23-man roster.

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Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Jurco had minor surgery on his back last week after a workout injury and will miss four-to-six weeks, general manager Ken Holland said, according to MLive.com's Ansar Khan. The recovery time means Jurco's chances of being healthy for the start of the season could be in jeopardy.

The 23-year-old split last season between the big club and the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League, with whom he posted five goals and nine points in just five games.

Holland also shed some light on defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who earlier in the day it was announced won't play for Sweden at the World Cup of Hockey due to a knee injury. Holland noted that Kronwall is feeling better, but that his decision to pull out of the tournament was due to him still not feeling 100 percent.

The Red Wings GM wasn't done there, as he also announced that 2015 third-round draft pick Vili Saarijarvi will miss three months after having wrist surgery.

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If old habits die hard, banter is everlasting.

James van Riemsdyk chopped down former Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Dion Phaneuf by punching in the perfect comment to his latest Instagram post.

(Courtesy: @dionphaneuf/Instagram)

- with h/t to Steve Dangle

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Matt Dumba can run like a nine-time Olympic gold medalist ... when he's on the treadmill.

The Minnesota Wild defender, perhaps feeling inspired by the happenings at the Rio Olympics, did his best Usain Bolt impression during a recent workout.

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