Darren Raddysh is ready to put pen to paper.

The 21-year-old Erie Otters defenseman wrapped up his junior career Sunday as his team fell to the Windsor Spitfires in the Memorial Cup final.

While the loss ended his season on a low note, it was an overall impressive campaign for the Ontario Hockey League overager, who was recognized this season with the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL's defenseman of the year.

Finishing the year with 81 points in 62 games, Raddysh ranked third in Otters scoring, while his offensive production from the point led all OHL defensemen.

That sort of ability could help the undrafted Raddysh draw interest from NHL suitors. Scouts were no doubt on hand to take in his performance at the Memorial Cup, where he led all defensemen with three goals and five assists in five games. It was a continuation of Raddysh's play throughout the OHL playoffs, where he recorded 22 points in as many contests.

Still, the fact the high-flying Raddysh has not yet become property of an NHL squad is a curiosity to his coach, Kris Knoblauch.

"He's had a great playoff run and it's hard watching it because here's a guy that has done pretty much everything he can do and he hasn't gotten that contract," the Otters bench boss told Jim Parker of the Windsor Star.

Raddysh, whose brother Taylor plays wing for the Otters and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning last year, is taking it all in stride, notably after previous camp tryouts with the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks left him on the outside of the NHL.

With the season now behind him and his future still unclear, Raddysh is out to realize his NHL dream.

"I take not getting drafted and roll with it," Raddysh told Kyle Cicerella of The Hamilton Spectator. "I look at this year like another draft year."

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly announced Monday that next season's salary cap is expected to remain flat, depending on whether the NHLPA exercises its five percent growth escalator.

The salary cap for the 2016-17 season was set at $73 million, and Daly said it would grow to "$77 million and change" if the inflator is used by players.

Growing the cap also grows players' escrow, which has been an ongoing problem when it comes to collective bargaining between the NHL and NHLPA.

Daly said the NHL and its players will meet next week to discuss whether the escalator will be used.

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly announced Monday that next season's salary cap is expected to remain flat, depending on whether the NHLPA exercises its five percent growth escalator.

The salary cap for the 2016-17 season was set at $73 million, and Daly said it would grow to "$77 million and change" if the inflator is used by players.

Growing the cap also grows players' escrow, which has been an ongoing problem when it comes to collective bargaining between the NHL and NHLPA.

Daly said the NHL and its players will meet next week to discuss whether the escalator will be used.

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The Vegas Golden Knights will have a little more time on the clock than initially expected to pick their inaugural squad.

The incoming expansion franchise will now be given 72 hours to review the list of players its fellow NHL teams have made available to it prior to announcing its selections on June 21. It is a one-day increase from the original 48-hour window.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly announced the change as part of the annual Stanley Cup Final address on Monday.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will host the All-Star Game in 2018, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Monday.

It will be the second time the franchise has hosted the annual festivities, and the first time since 1999.

The format will once again include a 3-on-3 tournament, as well as the All-Star Skills Competition.

All-Star weekend will take place at Amalie Arena on January 27 and 28, 2018.

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John Scott simply wants the mean tweets to stop.

The former NHL enforcer and All-Star Game MVP (yes, that's still weird to write) was the talk of the hockey world Sunday when he was featured in an "E:60" profile on P.K. Subban in which he called the star defenseman "a piece of garbage" when he's on the ice.

On Monday, Scott was on TSN Montreal 690 to clarify his comments, which it turns out were at least a year-and-a-half old.

Scott's not backing down from what he said, but he wants everyone to know they're about Subban as a hockey player and not as a person.

"I honestly hated everyone I played against, so it's not anything personal against P.K.," Scott said. "I hadn't met him at that time, and now that I've met him I actually like the guy, he's a good guy off the ice. On the ice, you know, I don't like him, and that's just all there is to it, I'm not going to back down from that comment. I didn't like playing against him, I didn't like some of his antics he did. You're allowed to not like people, it's not always rainbows and butterflies. Everyone, I hope, just please stop mean-tweeting me."

The conversation then went to Subban's perceived reputation, which Scott shined a light on.

"He's a world-class talent and one of the best defensemen in the league and he's a fun guy and he's perceived as having a good time on the ice and as an opposing player sometimes when you're losing 5-1 to that team and he's still whooping it up and doing the high-fives and all the celebrations, it gets under your skin and that's going to happen, especially when he's such a talented player," Scott said. "So, you know, the guys on the other team don't really like that when he's doing it in your barn or at their barn and they're having a great time and you're struggling and losing.

"I'm sure I wouldn't call him a piece of garbage to his face, he's a nice guy," Scott added. "I met him a few times now, so, you know, it's just on the ice, he does some stuff that gets under your skin."

Tough, but fair. And, let's face it, the majority of Scott's NHL career was spent watching from the bench, so you can imagine why a guy like Subban drove him batty.

The topic of Subban as a marketing tool for the game was then discussed, and Scott lamented the fact the NHL hasn't done enough to market the larger-than-life personality known as P.K.

"He's like an untapped resource," Scott said. "He has such a good personality and sense of humor, and he's so outgoing and to have that in your wings ... and he wants to do it, too, he's not saying no to opportunities, he jumps at everything that comes his way.

"(The NHL has) definitely dropped the ball in that because he could just sell this game all over the country, and he just crosses all borders when it comes to marketing standpoints. He can go to all different neighborhoods and all different communities and everybody loves him - but except for me, apparently. He's such an untapped resource, they need to use him more."

Amen, Mr. Scott.

Subban will be front and center when the puck drops on Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night in Pittsburgh, along with that Sidney Crosby guy, as two of the game's biggest stars - and they couldn't be more different, could they? - square off for the sport's ultimate prize.

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I remember the first time I watched P.K. Subban play.

It was a few years ago, and I was in Belleville scouting a goalie for the Canadian national junior team. Subban was playing for the Bulls at the time and was on our radar as a bubble player.

Subban stood out every time he was on the ice. He would have the puck, lose the puck, get it back, fall down, get up, and then make a great pass to score a goal. He was exciting, mesmerizing, and scary as hell all at the same time. Good or bad, something was always going to happen around P.K. I ended up watching him instead of the goalie.

Sound familiar?

P.K. is the same guy off the ice as he is on it, and the NHL needs more players like him. Subban helps sell the game. The NHL is supposed to be fun, and watching a hockey game is supposed to be the fans' escape from the pressures of real life.

Hockey players are athletes, but what can get lost in all this is the fact they're also entertainers. People pay to watch them play and entertain - and Subban delivers on and off the ice, whereas most of the NHL doesn't.

There have been a few before him; Jeremy Roenick comes to mind. But, as my friend Tyson Nash says, Subban's charity work is what is most mind-blowing. The positive energy and goodwill he provides the community is astounding.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Of course, this type of spotlight also attracts haters. P.K. has high energy, is larger than life, and has never met a camera he didn't like. The Subban train never stops, and even his teammates can sometimes tire of the attention he draws. This, in my personal opinion, is one of the reasons P.K. was traded away from the Montreal Canadiens.

Some of the league's old guard isn't pleased with him, because he goes against an idea they worked hard to protect: that no one was bigger than the team. A lot of this conservativeness is carried over from the early years of the NHL.

I was once told by Hall of Fame forward Dave Taylor (of the famed Triple Crown Line) that everyone wanted to be the Montreal Canadiens. They were gentlemen, always dressed well, wouldn't say a word, and would even shake your hand after kicking your ass.

We still need the quiet gentlemen in our game, no question. They're the foundation on which the game was built. However, if you're tired of the same hockey player interviews with cliches delivered in a monotone voice, then put your hand up. I immediately change the channel every time a player is interviewed and I hear the same old rhetoric.

Whether you like it or not, it's time to climb aboard the P.K. Subban train. It's not stopping - and the NHL is better for it.

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The Ottawa Senators were labeled coach killers in recent years, after cycling through seven bench bosses in 12 seasons since Jacques Martin's eight-and-a-half-year reign ended in April 2004. They may have finally found their long-term fit in Guy Boucher, but at the very least, he seems to have found his fit with them.

“When you get a new coach you never know how it’s going to connect and this is the first time I’ve seen a guy come and collect a stick from everybody," winger Bobby Ryan said, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.

Boucher asked for sticks from each player so he could remember his first Senators team, which formed a very strong bond over the past nine months. The club took the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins to double overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. It was a trying season on a personal level for a number of Senators, including Craig Anderson, whose wife was diagnosed with cancer, and Clarke MacArthur, whose career was thought to be in jeopardy due to concussions.

Ottawa hired Boucher in May 2016, marking his return to an NHL bench more than four years after being fired by the Tampa Bay Lightning. One year later, Boucher brought the team to within a goal of the franchise's second Stanley Cup Final berth. The Senators went 38-35-9 and fell short of the playoffs one year ago, under then-head coach Dave Cameron.

Ottawa's prolonged postseason run came much to the chagrin of many hockey fans and the media, who labelled the Senators "boring." The alleged slow play was a product of Boucher's strong defensive system, one that was fully embraced by the aforementioned Ryan.

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It might be a weaker draft class, but that doesn't mean clubs wouldn't like their swing at the first overall pick.

New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero sat down for a one-on-one interview with TSN's Pierre LeBrun and said he's already received calls on the No. 1 selection, according to LeBrun.

After finishing the regular season with the fifth-worst record in the league, the Devils shocked the hockey world by jumping up to grab the top selection at the draft lottery.

Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings (Western Hockey League) is the top-ranked prospect entering the draft, according to NHL Central Scouting, though No. 2-rated Nico Hischier of the Halifax Mooseheads (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) is also highly coveted.

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And then there were two.

The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night. Excited? You should be.

theScore's NHL editors make their Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy predictions below.

Stanley Cup Final

Penguins vs. Predators

• It's tight, but we're going 6-4 in favor of the Penguins repeating as champions.

Conn Smythe Predictions

• Five of us are picking Malkin to win his second Conn Smythe Trophy. Geno leads the NHL in playoff scoring with seven goals and 24 points in 20 games.
• Rinne's the favorite in Vegas, for what it's worth.
• It's kind of amazing that Crosby, last year's Conn Smythe winner, gets only one vote. His 20 points rank second among all postseason skaters.

Who you got?

Conference finals, overall results

Your hardworking and extremely handsome editors fared pretty well in the third round, thanks to all of us picking Pittsburgh to advance over Ottawa. (Sorry, Senators fans.)

• Mr. Wilkins is a prophet, and after a respectable 5-for-8 first round, he's been perfect ever since. He's got the the Predators winning the Cup and Rinne the Conn Smythe. So congratulations in advance, Nashville.

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