Former Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy met with the media during the first period of the North America-Europe World Cup pre-tournament game in Quebec City on Thursday night, and spoke about his very public breakup with his former employer.

Roy resigned on Aug. 11, leaving Colorado scrambling to find a new head coach weeks before the start of the season. With respect to the timing, Roy said he was putting Roy first.

"You can find a new NHL coach in two days," he said, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector.

The 50-year-old said he's still under contract for one more year with the Avalanche, according to ESPN's Craig Custance, so any team interested in him will have to go through Colorado.

If a job doesn't present itself, Roy will enjoy the time off and travel, according to TSN's John Lu.

The Avalanche named Jared Bednar head coach on Aug. 25.

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Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid will serve as captain of Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey, the team announced Thursday.

The club also announced that Philadelphia Flyers forward Sean Couturier and Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad will serve as alternate captains.

McDavid had been widely speculated to assume the role and is slated to skate on the top line alongside Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin and Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele.

McDavid's captaincy could also serve as a preview for the Oilers, as general manager Peter Chiarelli and head coach Todd McLellan are both currently serving those same duties with Team North America.

Earlier Thursday, Chiarelli told Sportsnet's Tim and Sid that Edmonton would name its captain midway through training camp.

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With each passing day, the Edmonton Oilers are that much closer to naming their next captain.

Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli - who is currently pulling duties as GM of Team North America at the World Cup - joined Sportsnet's Tim and Sid on Thursday where he stated that the Oilers will name their next captain midway through the team's training camp.

Although the club played last season without a captain, Taylor Hall, Andrew Ference, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Matt Hendricks served as alternate captains.

Prior to that, Ference served as the captain for two seasons.

While Chiarelli has not tipped his hat as to who may step into the role, there is speculation that sophomore Connor McDavid could don the "C" next.

Last month, Hall - now a member of the New Jersey Devils - admitted he supported the idea of McDavid as the team's next captain.

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To see a list of all transactions throughout the summer, visit theScore's NHL Offseason Tracker.

'Tis the season for tryout contracts.

After reports that former Winnipeg Jets defenseman Adam Pardy had agreed to a professional tryout with the Florida Panthers, the team confirmed the news on Thursday. The Panthers noted that former Minnesota Wild forward Justin Fontaine would also be coming to camp on a tryout basis.

Fontaine played three seasons with the Wild, though he's coming off a career-worst campaign where he posted just five goals and 16 points in 60 games.

Pardy and Fontaine were not the only ones to ink tryout agreements as, according to James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail, three other players nabbed deals as well.

Nystrom is the only player of the three to see time in the NHL last season, dressing in 46 games for the Predators.

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Vladmir Sobotka of the Czech Republic apparently avoided significant injury in Thursday's World Cup tuneup versus Russia.

Sobotka exited the game after he was crumpled on a hit from Nikita Zaitsev, and it was reported shortly thereafter that he was headed to the hospital with a potentially broken clavicle.

However, Czech coach Josef Jandac told NHL.com's Tom Gulitti after the loss that the injury is not serious, and Sobotka could dress in Saturday's rematch.

It's believed Sobotka, who's spent the last two years in the KHL, could reunite with the St. Louis Blues this season.

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All indications suggest that John Tavares will surrender the opportunity to test unrestricted free agency long before Steven Stamkos did earlier this summer. The star waited until just hours before what would have been the end of a five-year contract and eight-year term with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Stamkos' life advice, though, applies regardless.

The only thing he's told his World Cup teammate about the lead-in to free agency (still two summers from now), and the inevitable rumors of Toronto's interest, is to be careful on Twitter.

"That was my only advice," Stamkos said, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun. "'Don't stir the pot accidentally. Be careful.'"

Stamkos is invoking the incident in which he accidentally "liked" an article linking him to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Tavares, for his part, told a Toronto radio station earlier this week that he intends to finish what he's started and re-up with the New York Islanders.

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Veteran center Paul Gaustad took to Instagram on Thursday to announce his retirement from professional hockey.

Selected in the seventh round of the 2000 NHL Draft, Gaustad appeared in 727 career games split between the Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators, recording 89 goals, 142 assists, and 778 penalty minutes.

Gaustad became a free agent on July 1 after appearing in 63 games for Nashville in 2015-16.

In the caption, Gaustad wrote, "Although I will miss the competition and camaraderie of playing in the NHL, I’m excited to spend more time with my beautiful family and help my three sons pursue their dreams."

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The Montreal Canadiens will be missing a highly touted prospect at training camp.

Forward Martin Reway has been hospitalized in Slovakia, where he is undergoing treatment for a virus, general manager Marc Bergevin announced Thursday.

Team doctor David Mulder is closely monitoring Reway’s health status in collaboration with the medical team in Slovakia.

The 21-year-old was selected in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Draft, and has spent the past two seasons playing in Europe.

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Jonathan Huberdeau is ready to earn his new deal.

The Florida Panthers forward, who signed a six-year, $35.4-million contract that will begin in 2017-18, believes there's plenty of room to grow after recording career highs in goals (20) and points (59) this past season.

"I can score 30, 40 (goals)," he said on a conference call Thursday. "It's all going to depend on how I play, how I shoot. I've got to shoot a little bit more, be a little more gritty in front of the net, probably. You've got to start early, have a better start. We'll see what happens."

That kind of production would certainly provide great value to the Panthers, who have committed $5.9 million annually to the 23-year-old through to the end of the 2022-23 season.

Playing with the likes of Jaromir Jagr and Aleksander Barkov certainly helps the cause.

"I love playing with these guys," Huberdeau said. "Playing with a legend like Jagr, I feel fortunate. He teaches me a lot of things and I can learn from a guy like this. With Barkov, he's such a good player, such a good two-way player and it's fun to play with him. He's got great vision, good hands.

"Every day, I'm lucky to play with these players. We've got to be a good line this year if we play together."

While Jagr won't likely be around long term, Huberdeau and Barkov combine to form one of the NHL's most talented and promising young duos, and the former may indeed reach those lofty goal totals as early as this season.

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