According to Newsday's Arthur Staple, the club is likely to offer Johnny T an 8-year contract worth upward of $10 million per season.
Tavares is still under contract for one more season, but as Staple points out, New York general manager Garth Snow is eager to lock down his franchise player before potentially losing him for nothing in the 2018 free-agency window.
Next season Tavares is under contract for a bargain price of $5.5 million and, despite a down year this past season in which he posted 66 points - his lowest since the 2013-14 campaign - the 27-year-old is still an elite-level talent who would have teams salivating at the thought of acquiring his services.
Whether Tavares ends up staying in Brooklyn, or Long Island, long-term remains to be seen.
However, the four-time All-Star has previously made it clear that he fully intends on staying with New York, wanting a deal in place as soon as possible, according to Brian Compton of NHL.com.
Tavares has played all of his 587 NHL games with the Islanders.
The report indicates the procedure repaired an issue that had lingered for much of the season, and that Tavares is expected to make a full recovery for next season.
Tavares appeared in 77 games with the Islanders in 2016-17, registering 28 goals and 38 assists. He has one year remaining on his contract and can sign an extension July 1.
The arena's parent company, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, recently notified the club in writing that the window to renegotiate the terms of the license agreement is open, as per the terms of the deal.
Baumbach and Brodsky further explain what this means:
The two sides have until Jan. 1, 2018, to renegotiate the terms, according to the summary of the license agreement previously obtained by Newsday. If no new deal is reached, the two sides can stay with the current deal or choose to opt out. Each side would have until Jan. 30, 2018, to deliver an opt-out notice in writing.
If the Islanders decide to opt out, the team can choose to leave at the end of next season or at the end of the 2018-19 season. If Barclays triggers the opt-out, the Islanders would have to leave after the 2018-19 season.
Back in April, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed the Islanders are planning to submit a bid to build an arena in Belmont Park, while Baumbach and Brodsky report the operators of Barclays Center will present a plan that would send the team back to a freshly renovated Nassau Coliseum.
The letter is described as a procedural step, and both the Islanders and Barclays Center declined to comment.
The Golden Knights hope Vadim Shipachyov brings his hot streak to Sin City.
After signing a two-year deal Thursday with the NHL's newest franchise, the former KHL star has given Golden Knights fans a preview of his game as he skates with Team Russia at the World Championship.
In early tournament action, Shipachyov has put up two goals and four assists through three games, good for third in team scoring behind Nikita Kucherov and Artemi Panarin, who have recorded seven and nine points, respectively.
Shipachyov spent this season with St. Petersburg SKA of the KHL, where he was second in team scoring with 76 points. He finished two points shy of former NHL superstar Ilya Kovalchuk, despite playing in 10 fewer games.
Shipachyov is the second free agent to sign with the Golden Knights after the club agreed to terms with Brandon Wheat Kings forward Reid Duke in March.
But he may not be the only KHL free agent to sign in Sin City. General manager George McPhee confirmed reports the Golden Knights are pursuing Shipachyov's KHL teammate Evgeny Dadonov.
Dadonov, 28, appeared in 53 games with St. Petersburg SKA this season, finishing with 30 goals and 36 assists.
Lombardi last served as general manager of the Kings, leading the team to Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014. He was fired in April following a second playoff miss in three seasons.
While it's unclear what role Lombardi would have with the Flyers, his addition would mark a reunion with Flyers general manager Ron Hextall.
Hextall was a part of the Kings organization from 2006-13, where he served as assistant GM to Lombardi. He joined the Flyers in 2013.
Lombardi is also familiar with Philadelphia, as he served as a scout with the Flyers from 2003-06 prior to joining Los Angeles.
Game 6 goes Monday night from Pittsburgh, and the Caps will have to deal with a Pens squad attempting to shake things up.
Enter the HBK line.
Last postseason, ahead of another Game 6 second-round matchup against the very same Capitals, head coach Mike Sullivan decided to throw together a third-line combination that had some people raising brows.
Believe it or not, the move paid off immediately - Hagelin had three points, Kessel had two goals, and Bonino buried the overtime game-winner.
Coach Sullivan and the rest of the Penguins are surely hoping for the same kind of success in this year's Game 6 against Washington, as the bench boss has once again reunited the unlikely trio.
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) May 8, 2017
The shakeup was felt up and down Pittsburgh's lineup, with the successful combo of Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby being split up, and Chris Kunitz dropped to the fourth line.
Last year, the HBK line lit a fire in the Penguins that carried them all the way to a Cup title.
Expecting them to do the same thing this year is child's play. But can the trio provide a spark to get the Pens by the Caps and into the Eastern Conference Final for a second straight year?
Heading into Monday's Game 6 in Pittsburgh, the two-time defending Presidents' Trophy winners face elimination at the hands of the rival Penguins for the second consecutive year.
Faced with the prospect of history repeating itself, head coach Barry Trotz is encouraging his players to focus on the present while being mindful of the past, all with a view to changing the narrative going forward.
"I think we just said, 'Embrace our past,'" Trotz said, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. "Our past is what it is. We can't change it, but what we can do is change our future. I think we've changed our mindset on that. You don't have to tell us what the past is. We already know.
"That's what I'm saying. We're just focusing on this game."
A loss would signal the latest in a string of playoff failures for the franchise, magnifying the reality that Washington has not advanced past the second round in the Alex Ovechkin era.
The Penguins, of course, went on to win the Stanley Cup after eliminating the Capitals last year, just as they did upon setting Washington aside in 2009.
A win for the Capitals in Game 6 would set up a decisive Game 7 back in the nation's capital on Wednesday.
The Washington Capitals are coming off their third-best season in franchise history, after pacing the league with 118 points. However, the playoffs have been another story.
The Capitals squeaked by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, needing three overtime victories to get by the rookie-heavy squad. In the second round, they're up against the reigning Stanley Cup champs, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and, after falling behind 3-1 in the series, will look to avoid elimination for the second straight game Monday night.
Heading into their second do-or-die game of the series, the Capitals will hope Alex Ovechkin and Braden Holtby are up to their old tricks, and that they get some help elsewhere.
However, if they're unable to come back to take the series, some major questions will have to be asked, and none of them are easy to answer.
Can you tear down a dominant regular-season team?
Answering questions about the Capitals' future is so hard because they've been so dominant in the regular season over the last two campaigns.
The team has won back-to-back Presidents' Trophies, and has ranked atop the league in almost every statistical category during that span.
Category
Stat
League rank
GF/G
3.10
2
GA/G
2.24
1
PP%
22.5%
1
PK%
84.5%
3
Shots/G
30.5
T-8
SA/G
28.1
4
CF%
51.42
6
Some argue the Capitals need to tear it down or make some drastic changes to their core, but it's hard to wreck a club that has been so good in so many facets of the game.
Suggesting that Barry Trotz's job could be in jeopardy also doesn't seem realistic, given he's led Washington to the best record in the league in his only two years with the club.
Will they have the money to make moves in offseason?
Of course, an early exit will mean an attempt to upgrade in the offseason.
In all, the team is expected to have $22.8 million in cap space, but the problem is they also have some restricted free agents who could be in line for raises.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, and Dmitry Orlov highlight a list of six roster players who will be RFAs, and it can be argued that both Kuznetsov and Orlov deserve a pay bump.
That means what seems like a surplus of riches might not be so, and the Capitals could be hard-pressed to entertain free agents July 1.
Can a roster with this core succeed?
It's the daunting question that general manager Brian MacLellan might have to ponder very hard.
On paper, Ovechkin, Holtby, Nicklas Backstrom, and John Carlson appear to be as strong of a core as any around the league - with all being among the best at their respective positions.
They've been together full time since the 2012-13 season - when Holtby took over between the pipes - but in that time the Capitals have never made it past the second round. In fact, they haven't made it that far since the 1997-98 season.
It seems far-fetched that the team would ever deal one of the four, but after countless playoff failures, maybe it's worth considering.
And that's the biggest issue of them all: the fact that - at least on paper - there are no glaring problems with this team; that questions such as this have to be asked. The Capitals have all the skill in the world, and during the regular season have proven to be the team to beat.
They aren't done yet, but if they don't get two victories in their next two games - beginning Monday night - these questions will become very real.
The NHL has a problem - a really big problem - that is beginning to overshadow this year's Stanley Cup playoffs.
Goaltender interference.
It has never been more apparent than in Games 4 and 5 of the Western Conference second-round series between Edmonton and Anaheim, where the Oilers were clearly on the wrong end of botched goaltender interference calls - and it cost them both games in the series.
The rule leaves too much for interpretation. And in some situations, even though the rule is clear, it still isn't called properly.
The blown calls even have Hall Of Fame goaltender Grant Fuhr crying foul:
So now you can hang on to the goalies pad in the crease and that's okay #NHL#this is becoming a running joke
Ryan Getzlaf's first goal in Game 4 is clearly goaltender interference. Linemate Corey Perry comes through the front of the net on Oilers netminder Cam Talbot's blocker side, and slightly bumps his skate and stick. Getzlaf shoots and scores on the same side Perry had come across on Talbot.
Talbot has to be given the freedom to make a save attempt on the play. Perry's bump totally disregards that and throws the goaltender off. Edmonton is up 2-0 at the time and it completely changes the momentum as Anaheim went on to win the game.
Then, in Game 5, with the Oilers up 3-2 and with 15 seconds to go in regulation, Ducks forward Ryan Kesler is pushed into Talbot. This isn't Kelser's fault - in fact, if I'm him, if I get an inch I'm taking a mile. However, as he's down, he grabs Talbot's pad. What he's done is the epitome of goalie interference.
Anaheim scores to make it 3-3 and then goes on to win in overtime. Kesler grabbing Talbot's pad - and the call being missed - is unacceptable to me.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
On the ice, I don't blame the officials. These are tough calls that happen quickly. Players shoot fast, everything happens fast, and that split second of interference can cause a goal. The officials, with some help from Toronto, are then pressured by 20,000 fans and two teams to make a decision on a tiny high-definition screen.
My favorite in all of this, however, is the conspiracy theory on my Twitter line which claims the NHL doesn't want the Oilers in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Right. No one wants to see Connor McDavid in the finals. It's terrible for the league.
Really? Ugh ... I can only shake my head.
My solution?
Make the rule black and white. No grey area.
When the goalie has any part of his body in the crease, even a fingernail, you cannot physically touch the goalie ever. Period. You can go in after the puck, but pushed in or not, when the goalie has any part of his body in the crease, you have to make your best effort to not touch the goalie. If you go after the puck and end up on the goalie, pushed or not, you took that risk.
I would also make it mandatory that the league must have a former NHL goalie in the video room in Toronto for every game. In a lot of situations, you have to have played the position to know what will affect a goalie and what won't. The position is completely different than any other in the game.
Oh, and if you don't like it ... you can call Grant.
It was raining hats in Edmonton on Sunday night at Rogers Place, courtesy of Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, who netted three goals in the team's 7-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3 of their second-round series.
If you didn't happen to catch the game, the ice was covered with hats following the German's third goal of the game. Take a look:
Thanks to the amount of lids that were tossed onto the ice, the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation will be donating them to various charities across the city.
