One of two groups in the running to renovate Seattle's KeyArena pulled out Sunday night.

Seattle Partners, a partnership comprised of arena giant AEG and Hudson Pacific Properties, announced it will no longer pursue rights to the renovation.

"We remain firm in the belief that our proposal best serves the people of Seattle, but, unfortunately, significant factors through the bidding process have eroded our confidence in the ultimate execution of this project, no matter which group is selected," the partners wrote in a letter in Seattle mayor Ed Murray.

The AEG/HPP group submitted a bid in April to privately finance the renovation for $521 million, according to The Associated Press.

Oak View Group, the apparent favorite in the process, put forth a $564-million plan and is expected to be selected by Murray to oversee the project this week, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.

The letter to the mayor cites a fear that "the city is driving toward an unrealistic financing structure," and expresses concern that the city didn't conduct "a sufficiently thorough, objective and transparent process to properly evaluate the respective strengths and weaknesses of the two proposals, and most significantly, to identify the proposal best positioned to deliver a project consistent with the community's interests."

Specifically, the AEG/HPP group criticized the city for withholding "critical financial portions" of the Oak View Group's proposal from the public while sharing theirs with their full support, saying that act raised "serious questions about the integrity of the decision-making process and the ability of the public to make fair and equitable comparison."

Oak View Group is led by former AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke, who later held those same titles with Toronto-based Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment before forming OVG with MSG and Live Nation.

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Dino Ciccarelli is rooting for Jake Guentzel.

The former Minnesota North Stars winger, who set an NHL record when he scored 14 goals during the 1981 playoffs, has a reason to keep tabs on the Pittsburgh Penguins this postseason.

That's because Guentzel, a freshman forward, could soon eclipse the high mark Ciccarelli set 26 years ago. The Penguins winger scored his 13th of the playoffs Saturday against the Nashville Predators and is now just one shy of tying Ciccarelli.

"I hope he does break the record," Ciccarelli told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. "He has great instincts. He has a knack for the net."

Guentzel, whose 13 goals leads NHL playoff scoring, is also one point away from tying the NHL-best for rookie playoff points, a record also held by Ciccarelli, with 21. Former Philadelphia Flyers forward Ville Leino evened the record in 2010.

No doubt Guentzel has given Ciccarelli reason to tune in.

"It's nice to see him having success and having fun," Ciccarelli added. "It reminds me a lot of me in 1981."

Guentzel will have the opportunity to tie, and possibly pass Ciccarelli's mark, when the puck drops Monday for Game 4.

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Peter Laviolette sees value in numbers.

The head coach of the Nashville Predators was asked about his thoughts on advanced stats Sunday, and was happy to give his perspective on the new-age information.

"It's not new yesterday but it's new to everybody. I think to ignore that information would be not wise on my part," Laviolette told reporters. "There is a lot of information out there that can help guide you to how your team is playing, how a player is playing, how a line is playing, how a matchup works. There is a lot of information out there and I think you're crazy not to use that information."

In two common categories, Fenwick For and Corsi For, the Predators ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, this season. Fenwick measures shots plus missed shots, while Corsi tallies the same two categories in addition to blocked shots.

Still, Laviolette was quick to note there is no substitute for evaluating his players firsthand.

"I think your eyeball factors into that. I think that somebody's will to win, and what they might bring to a locker room, or what they may bring to a lineup, that might not show up in some of those numbers," Laviolette added. "Those are the things you have to take into consideration and then evaluate the bigger picture of your team, of that player, and of a situation."

Right now, the most important number to the Predators is three, the number of victories that stand between them and the Stanley Cup.

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Rick Tocchet insists he's not in as high demand as it might seem.

The Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach is downplaying the notion that he's a candidate for one of the two vacant NHL head coaching positions.

"I'd love to have another kick at it, but honestly I haven't been contacted by anybody," Tocchet told NHL.com's Dan Rosen on Sunday. "I'm just focused on (the Stanley Cup Final). I have no idea what's going to happen at the end of the (season)."

The former NHL forward, ex-Tampa Bay Lightning head coach, and longtime assistant with several organizations believes he's only getting attention now because the Penguins have been so competitive.

"When you're a successful team and you win other teams like to look at the people in that organization," Tocchet said. "That's good. That's a good thing with being with Pittsburgh, you get looked at because we've won a lot of games the last couple of years. We've got a really good staff. Mike Sullivan is a great (head) coach. I've gone way back with him and that helps. But I don't know what's going to happen after the season."

The Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers are the only NHL clubs without a head coach at the moment.

Tocchet has been a Penguins assistant since June 2014.

He went 53-69-26 as head coach of the Lightning from 2008-10, and served as interim head coach of the then-Phoenix Coyotes for five games when Wayne Gretzky took a leave of absence in 2005.

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It's no secret the Calgary Flames have a goaltending problem. Could the answer to these crease concerns be Arizona Coyotes netminder Mike Smith?

After acquiring Brian Elliott from the St. Louis Blues last summer, coupled with free-agent addition Chad Johnson, it marked new beginnings in goal for the Flames. But the duo never lived up to expectations, as each netminder struggled for long stretches last season.

While Elliott found his game later on, putting together an impressive 11-game win streak, that performance didn't carry through to the playoffs. Calgary went down in flames in the opening round, with Elliott taking the heat for his team's poor play.

In the series-deciding fourth game, Elliott lasted less than six minutes, allowing one goal on three shots, leaving coach Glen Gulutzan to quickly change hands to Johnson. Elliott's time between the Calgary pipes was all but over.

Outside of the blue paint, there is no doubt the Flames can ice a contending lineup. Dougie Hamilton, T.J. Brodie, and captain Mark Giordano headline one of the league's deepest defensive units, while Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan are young, legitimate scoring threats up front.

Furthermore, help is on the way in prospect netminders Jon Gillies and World Juniors hero Tyler Parsons, who put up top numbers this season in the OHL.

But neither up-and-comer is ready for prime time. A worthwhile stopgap is needed, yet free agency doesn't offer many strong options, with Steve Mason, Ryan Miller, and Jonathan Bernier among the best bets to be available this summer.

That leaves the trade market, which is surely to focus on Pittsburgh Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. But there are no guarantees he'd accept a move to Calgary, and his greater demand is sure to set a higher price tag.

Enter Smith. The 35-year-old has two years remaining on his contract and could be the perfect short-term solution in Calgary. He was near-dominant this season on a 28th-place Arizona squad, a bounce-back season that saw the veteran netminder named to the All-Star game after injuries limited him to 32 games a year earlier.

Smith was busy this season, seeing plenty of pucks behind a leaky Coyotes defense that allowed 34 shots a night, the second most in the league. But that didn't stop Smith from putting up one of the league's best ratios when facing the competition at 5-on-5, with his .924 save rate ranking among the top 10.

The Flames would need little selling on Smith. A move to Calgary would reunite him with general manager Brad Treliving, who was previously part of the Coyotes' hockey operations. Same with Don Maloney, a Flames pro scout who originally brought Smith to Arizona in 2011 when he served as Coyotes GM. Not many hockey minds could offer a deeper read on Smith.

In Arizona, the coming expansion draft presents the perfect opportunity for the Coyotes to shift gears and add a younger netminder to develop alongside the team's emerging core. In other words, a goaltender to round out and grow alongside a youthful group that will soon be ready to contend.

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Nick Bonino joined his teammates on the ice Sunday, but whether he plays alongside them Monday is still up in the air.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward took the ice midway through the optional skate wearing some extra protection on his left skate, then departed before the end of the session.

Bonino got some work in with the Penguins' second power-play unit before exiting, saying afterward he isn't sure about his availability for Game 4 yet.

"It's day to day, (and) we'll see what happens (Monday), but (I) just wanted to get out there and move it a little bit," he said. "If I don't think, or the coaches or the trainers don't think I'd help the team, I won't be out there."

Bonino didn't play in Pittsburgh's Game 3 loss on Saturday night, the first game of the Stanley Cup Final in Nashville, after he arrived in Tennessee using crutches and wearing a walking boot Friday.

He suffered the injury blocking a shot in Game 2.

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The most bizarre hockey chirp may never have actually happened.

A day after Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban claimed Sidney Crosby chirped him during Game 3 saying he had bad breath, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain insists it never happened.

"He made that up, I didn't say that," Crosby said, according to Sportsnet's Shawn McKenzie. "He's a guy that likes the attention. If he wants to make stuff up, what can I do?"

Related - Subban: Crosby said I have bad breath, but I use Listerine

Subban made the odd claim and then refuted it suggesting that he had good breath and that he used Listerine before the game.

Everyone can now sleep easier tonight knowing Subban's breath and Crosby's trash talking aren't as bad as we originally thought.

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With a shotless contest in Game 3, Sidney Crosby's problems in Stanley Cup Final games persisted.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain was limited to a single assist in Game 3 in 20:42 of ice time, pushing his current goalless skid to five games. However, in the bigger picture, his struggles to score in the Stanley Cup Finals have become much more alarming.

After Saturday night's effort, Crosby has just one goal in his last 19 Cup Final games. In fact, the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner has tallied just three goals in 22 Cup Final games during his four trips to the final round.

His last goal in a Cup Final game came back in Game 4 against the Detroit Red Wings in 2009 and prior to that his only other two goals came in Game 3 of the 2008 Final against those same Red Wings, meaning Crosby has gone goalless in 20 of his 22 career Cup Final contests.

What doesn't help Crosby's chances in these games is that he has managed just 52 shots on goal, giving him an average of 2.4 per game, not exactly what you would expect from Sid.

If Crosby does have one thing going for him, it's that, despite being snake-bitten in the goals department, he's still posted a respectable 16 points in those 22 games and, on top of that, he has two Stanley Cup rings.

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Since 2013-14, only four defensemen have registered more regular-season points than Predators anchor Roman Josi (205): Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, Victor Hedman, and Dustin Byfuglien.

That's some pretty well-known company, but despite production that places him among the league's elite blue-liners, Josi was severely underrated before Nashville's run to the Stanley Cup Final. He's gained more respect while playing on the national stage, but why isn't Josi already a bigger star? Here are four possible reasons he's been overlooked.

Shea Weber's D partner

During his first five seasons in the NHL, Josi was paired predominantly with Shea Weber. The perennial Norris candidate, team captain, Olympic gold medalist, and owner of the league's hardest shot obviously drew most of the attention.

Small-market, Western Conference team

Though Smashville has gained admirers across the continent during these playoffs, it's still one of the smallest markets in the NHL, and as a young franchise, the Predators don't have a storied history.

They also play in the Western Conference, so many of their games are late at night for viewers who live farther east, and East Coast bias is still a thing. Few prime-time games on major networks - the Predators only played on NBCSN twice during the regular season - make it tough to watch Josi unless you have NHL GameCenter or live in Tennessee.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Switzerland's low hockey profile

Players from Canada and the United States get more attention while playing in their respective countries, and even players from Sweden, Finland, and Russia are highlighted on the international stage. But playing for Switzerland means Josi's rarely been seen competing in the late stages of the Olympics, World Championship, or world juniors.

The only time he did appear in an international final - the 2013 World Championship - he was named tournament MVP at age 22, and scored the only goal in a 5-1 loss to Sweden.

Not a highly touted prospect

Had Josi been a top pick in his draft class, his nationality may not have mattered much. Anze Kopitar (Slovenia), Marian Hossa (Slovakia), and Leon Draisaitl (Germany) are widely considered stars despite hailing from smaller hockey nations. Kopitar's and Hossa's profiles were raised by Stanley Cup wins, but all three players were high draft picks.

Instead, Josi was a second-round selection in 2008, and while there may have been some hype surrounding him within the Predators organization, it certainly wasn't league-wide. He just came into the league and quietly became a great defenseman by his third season.

Is Josi a star now?

Josi's certainly left his mark on the Stanley Cup Playoffs: He has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 19 games with a team-leading 67 shots on goal. He's an exceptionally smooth skater with a rocket of a shot, as well as one of the league's most disciplined players - and the hockey world has taken notice.

Expect the NHL to start marketing Josi like the star he is next season.

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