The clock is ticking for Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the restricted free agent appears to be nearing a deal as the regular season looms.
Negotiations are intensifying, and while nothing is complete at this point, it's likely Kucherov will be in Thursday's lineup versus Detroit, reports TSN's Bob McKenzie.
Kucherov and the Lightning have been at a standstill throughout the offseason, as cap space continues to be general manager Steve Yzerman's biggest enemy.
Yzerman retained both Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman at a discounted rate over the summer, and it's expected Kucherov will be asked to make the same concession. He's due a significant pay raise since emerging as one of the league's top offensive threats, while the Lightning have an estimated $5.8 million in cap room.
Kucherov has amassed 130 regular-season points, and another 42 in 45 postseason games over the course of two seasons with deep playoff runs.
Following his release from the Calgary Flames on a PTO, forward Lauri Korpikoski has found a new home, signing a one-year contract with the Dallas Stars, the team confirmed Monday.
Korpikoski, 30, could prove to be a valuable depth forward in the Stars attack, and may see a more prominent role to start the season as Dallas sorts out injuries to numerous players.
Last season with the Edmonton Oilers, Korpikoski managed 10 goals and 12 assists in 71 games.
There's no shortage of high-end talent in today's NHL, yet overall point totals have been down in recent years, with only two players eclipsing 100 points over the past three seasons.
It's hard to say if triple-digit point totals will be reached in 2016-17, but here's a look at the projected top 10 scorers this season.
Sidney Crosby
Until further notice, Crosby remains the best player in the world.
Crosby started slow last season, but based on his second-half performance that culminated in a Conn Smythe Trophy to cap 2015-16, not to mention a dominant MVP run at the World Cup, the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar center appears set to add another Art Ross to his already legendary resume.
Connor McDavid
Putting Crosby on watch is none other than 19-year-old McDavid, whose rise to the ranks of the NHL's best began in an injury-shortened rookie season.
Among players with at least 41 games played, McDavid (1.07) ranked third behind Patrick Kane (1.29) and Jamie Benn (1.09) in terms of points per game.
Superstar production, and he's only getting started.
Patrick Kane
Kane separated himself from the field by reaching a career-high 106 points last season, 17 ahead of second-place Benn.
The reigning regular-season MVP was beset by injuries in each of the previous two seasons and only topped 85 points once prior to 2015-16, so it's yet to be determined if the recent offensive explosion was an anomaly or the new norm.
Jamie Benn
Over the past three seasons, Benn has recorded more points than every player not named Crosby. Fully recovered from offseason surgery, don't expect him to slow down anytime soon.
John Tavares
Set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer and out to prove his worth to the New York Islanders or prospective suitors, Tavares could be in for a monster season after a relatively down performance last season.
Tyler Seguin
The Dallas Stars are lucky enough to have one of the league's top duos on the roster, and Seguin - who's expected to be ready for opening night after leaving the World Cup due to injury - will continue to match Benn and the rest of the league's elite point for point.
Alex Ovechkin
While his overall point total will always be boosted by goals, Ovechkin's 21 assists in 2015-16 were the fewest he's recorded in a single season.
He hasn't exceeded 28 in any of the past five seasons, but another 50-goal season and even 25 assists will ensure a spot on this list.
Erik Karlsson
The NHL's best offensive defenseman could be slowed down a bit under new head coach Guy Boucher's system, but Karlsson always finds a way to get his name on the scoresheet.
The game's next great scorer is coming off his first 40-goal season, and a few more helpers will put him among the NHL's best, where he should remain for years to come.
Joe Thornton
The hulking San Jose Sharks center is showing no signs of slowing down, having finished fourth in total points last season with 82 points.
Thornton will be playing out the final year of his contract, and will prove himself worthy of a multi-year deal even in his late 30s.
theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
Other than manufacturing arguably the biggest one-for-one trade in NHL history - tied in with the critical fallout that ensued - and their coach allegedly lambasting the team's own captain, the Montreal Canadiens were pretty quiet in the offseason.
Facetious remarks aside, the Habs are under enormous pressure to return to the playoffs this season, and while the success of Marc Bergevin's summer moves remains to be seen, here are three things to watch out for in La Belle Province in 2016-17.
The new guys in town
In case you were trapped in the wilderness, or something of a similar manner over the summer, Montreal dealt fan-favorite P.K. Subban to Nashville for Shea Weber in a trade that prompted a circus of criticism in the hockey world.
Are the Canadiens better with Weber anchoring the blue line? Not necessarily. Are they worse? Not necessarily.
Weber brings an element of physicality and leadership Montreal's management didn't see in Subban. Bergevin had to pull the trigger when he did, but whether he fired the correct bullet is to be determined.
Elsewhere, Montreal welcomed agitator Andrew Shaw, and took a flyer on Alex Radulov, who returns from the KHL claiming to have shed the baggage that previously hindered his career.
Suffice to say, the Canadiens will look a tad different this season.
Welcome back
He's back. And not a second too soon.
Carey Price's knee injury unraveled the Canadiens Presidents' Trophy pace to mere shambles last season, but he's healed and ready to deliver once again as the world's best netminder, coming off another sterling performance for Canada at the World Cup of Hockey.
Price's presence alone should be enough to re-align the Canadiens' focus, and his abilities between the pipes can easily deliver a playoff berth.
While advocates of Subban's departure are few and far between, Price - interestingly enough - declared he likes the move, saying Weber better fits the Canadiens system.
On the hot seat
Michel Therrien's previous accomplishments as Montreal's coach simply don't matter anymore, at least in the eyes of the Canadiens' faithful.
Therrien is unquestionably on the hot seat this season, the fifth of his second tenure with the club.
He's taken the brunt of the blame for the disconnect between Subban and the organization, and had to defuse rumors over the offseason that he called Max Pacioretty the "worst captain" in team history.
Winning, of course, can silence the most venomous of his critics, but Therrien will have his hands full if things go wrong again in Montreal.
Corey Perry decided to take matters into his own hands.
In Sunday's overtime session between his Anaheim Ducks and the San Jose Sharks, Perry took full advantage of the extra ice, and showed some silky hands before firing home the game-winner.
Hockey players were focused on baseball yet again Sunday night.
Current and former NHLers showed their Canadian pride when the Toronto Blue Jays pulled off another extra-inning walk-off victory to eliminate the Texas Rangers and advance to the American League Championship Series.
When Rougned Odor's error on a seemingly routine double-play ball allowed Josh Donaldson to score from third in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 3 in the ALDS on Sunday night, the party was on.
The two Pacific Division rivals got into an old-fashioned donnybrook Sunday night after Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano caught Sharks defenseman Dylan DeMelo with his head down late in the first period.
Anaheim center Ryan Kesler and San Jose blue-liner Dan Kelly were both handed game misconducts for their roles in the brouhaha.
Based on proximity, the New York Rangers would likely play at the 38,000-seat football facility, but they'd have to be the visiting team because of a tax exemption agreement with New York City that regulates games hosted by the club outside Madison Square Garden.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman first raised the possibility in Sunday's edition of "30 Thoughts," adding that both the Florida Panthers and the Las Vegas expansion franchise would presumably be interested given the military ties in their respective ownership groups.
The Panthers played the New Jersey Devils at Tate Rink on the West Point campus in preseason action Saturday night.
