After meeting with several NHL teams, college free-agent forward Jimmy Vesey has yet to rule out any interested suitor.

"Everyone is still in the mix," said Peter Donatelli, an agent of Vesey, told ESPN. "We're going to try and drill down right now to a few (teams) and then either call some teams with some questions or not.

"We'll probably reach out to a few teams with some questions that we think were either unanswered or we want clarification on, but that's the intent today."

Vesey, 23, has fielded offers from his hometown Boston Bruins, as well as the Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The possibility remains that the Hobey Baker winner could sign this weekend.

Several teams have put their best foot forward in an attempt to recruit Vesey, with the likes of Patrick Kane, John Tavares, and Sidney Crosby pitching their respective clubs.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Brian Burke believes that Jimmy Vesey is a rare college free agent who can have an impact in the NHL.

But the President of Hockey Operations for the Calgary Flames isn't as sold on other NCAA recruits.

"If you look at the college free agents, they have made a dramatically insignificant contribution to our league," Burke told TSN. "Tyler Bozak might be the best one. Of the 100 or 150 that have signed, most have very little impact."

While Burke admitted that Vesey is not in discussions with the Flames, he believes that Vesey will be a worthwhile addition to the team he joins.

"I think (Vesey) is going to play and make a difference. I think he's going to be a good player," Burke said. "But if you look at that group, and the money that the league has spent on those players, and their contribution, it is a pimple on an elephant's butt."

As the former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Burke signed Bozak as an undrafted college free agent in 2009. With Toronto, Burke also signed college free agents Christian Hanson and Brayden Irwin, who combined for fewer than 50 games in the NHL.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Tampa Bay Lightning never gave up on Jonathan Drouin.

Following a leaked trade request and an initial refusal to report to the club's minor-league affiliate, it appeared that Drouin's time in Tampa had all but evaporated.

Yet, the tide turned in the playoffs, when a recalled Drouin caught fire, tallying five goals and nine assists through 17 postseason matches - good for third in Lightning playoff scoring.

It marked a sharp contrast from Drouin's regular-season play.

"Jonathan (Drouin) always had the talent, he just had to find his way through the mental aspect of the game. When he figured that (out), the sky became the limit for this kid," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper told NHL.com.

"One of the things about our organization and the way things have been done is, we don't give up on players. We don't come in here and say, 'Well, because a player was drafted at a certain level he's expected to do certain things.' Everybody develops at a different rate."

It was certainly an adjustment for Drouin, the third overall pick in the 2013 NHL entry draft, who in his final junior season excelled to 108 points in 46 games.

"I have to give him a ton of credit because he looked himself in the mirror and said, 'I'm going to be a hockey player'," Cooper said. "He proved during that playoff run last season that he's a heck of a hockey player."

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The 2016 World Cup may just be the start.

According to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, this year's tournament could lay the groundwork for future international hockey competitions.

"We would like to do the World Cup on a regular basis, perhaps in locations throughout the world," Bettman told NHL.com. "We're looking at other competitions that we can do internationally on a regular basis."

A possible itinerary could include the World Cup played every four years, a hockey version of pro golf's Ryder Cup, as well as international exhibition and regular-season games.

"With (the World Cup) as the foundation, you're going to see an increased international presence on a regular basis," Bettman said, "Whether it's exhibition games with NHL teams against each other, against local teams, regular-season games, clinics.

"And now with this as the foundation we have an opportunity to do further exploration for a sport that has the most diverse player group of any of the North American sports."

The NHL last played international regular-season games as part of the 2011 NHL Premiere. That year, the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, and New York Rangers hosted games in Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Sweden.

The 2016 World Cup begins Sept. 17 in Toronto. Eight teams will participate in the event, including six nations (Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden, and the United States), as well as a European All-Star team (Team Europe) and a North American under-23 team.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Unable to acquire a top-six scorer this summer, the Philadelphia Flyers are confident that the answer may already be part of the team.

The Flyers had hoped to add offensive help this offseason, but their additions have been limited to winger Dale Weise and center Boyd Gordon.

Weise signed a four-year, $9.4-million deal with the Flyers on July 1. The 28-year-old split last season between the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks, combining for 14 goals.

In 15 games with the Blackhawks, Weise tallied a single point. He scored a career-high 29 points with the Canadiens in 2014-15.

Gordon, meanwhile, is a noted penalty killer and faceoff specialist, but can't be looked toward as a scoring threat. In 65 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season, he scored two goals. The 32-year-old has never reached double-digit goals at the NHL level.

"In a perfect world, you bring in a guy who's an elite scorer, but those guys don't fall off trees," Flyers general manager Ron Hextall told NHL.com. "When you can't do that, you tend to look at depth scoring, and we felt we added depth scoring for our lineup.

"We've got to get better from within. It's on a number of our players to be better hockey players than they were a year ago."

The Flyers scored just 214 goals last season, ranking 22nd league-wide. It marked the franchise's lowest full-season goal output since 2002-03.

Philadelphia will look for improved performances from its existing stable, namely wingers Brayden Schenn and Jakub Voracek.

Schenn, 24, who recently signed a four-year extension with the club, notched career highs in goals (26), assists (33), and points (59) last season. The expectation is that he can reach another level.

"Brayden is a very good young player who has continued to get better and we hope he continues to get better," Hextall said.

The team also expects more from Voracek, whose production slid a staggering 26 points, while his goal production was half that of his previous season. The Flyers signed Voracek, to an eight-year, $66-million deal last July.

"Typically after a guy signs a big contract there's more expected of him from himself. As an organization, we signed a good hockey player and we didn't expect him to be any more than he was, (but) there's a certain burden that comes with that," Hextall said. "I'm sure there will be a lot of growth from Jake from last year.

"Sometimes you've got to struggle or maybe not play up to your potential to realize what you're doing to play your best. He learned some valuable lessons last year."

The Flyers were eliminated in six games by the Washington Capitals in the opening round of last year's playoffs. Philadelphia has missed the postseason in two of the past four years.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Another day, another hire.

The NHL's newest franchise has added David Conte to its hockey operations department, the team announced on Wednesday.

Conte will serve as the special advisor to hockey operations with Las Vegas.

The 68-year-old previously served as the director of amateur scouting for the New Jersey Devils until 2015. His scouting history with the Devils dates back 31 years.

Conte was a part of three Stanley Cup wins in New Jersey, in 1995, 2000, and 2003.

Under Conte, the Devils drafted a handful of star players, including Brendan Shanahan, Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer, Patrik Elias, and Zach Parise.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A week after the resignation of head coach Patrick Roy, the Colorado Avalanche have shortened their list of candidates to fill the team's head coaching vacancy.

According to the The Denver Post, Cleveland Monsters head coach Jared Bednar is believed to be the top candidate. Bednar, 44, has four years of head coaching experience at the AHL level, winning the Calder Cup with the Monsters last season. In 2009, he led the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays to the Kelly Cup.

Other top candidates are believed to be Lane Lambert, an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals, New York Rangers' associate head coach Scott Arniel, and Travis Green of the AHL's Utica Comets.

Lambert, 51, has coached under Capitals' head coach Barry Trotz since 2011, in both Washington and Nashville.

Arniel has been with the Rangers for the past three seasons. The 53-year-old previously spent part of two seasons as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, most recently in 2012.

Green, 45, is considered a highly-coveted up-and-coming coach, having coached the past six seasons in the WHL and AHL. He was a finalist for the Anaheim Ducks' head coaching vacancy.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

"Hi, can I speak to Jimmy Vesey? It's Sidney Crosby."

Imagine getting that phone call. It's possible young Vesey did.

The prized collegiate free agent remains the talk of the hockey world during Jimmy Vesey Week, and he was reportedly contacted by the Pittsburgh Penguins' captain on behalf of the organization, according to ESPN's Joe MacDonald.

The Penguins were one of seven teams Vesey met with during the week, as he decides his future. An announcement is expected Friday, or on the weekend at the latest.

Related: Report: Former Capitals draft pick DiPauli to sign with Penguins

The Crosby news is the latest in recruitment gossip, as teams have been pulling out all the stops. Patrick Kane was reportedly involved in the Chicago Blackhawks' pitch, while the New York Islanders put John Tavares to work.

No pressure, Jimmy.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.