Prized college free-agent defenseman Will Butcher is close to announcing which NHL team he'll sign with, he told NHL.com via email.
"I will be making my decision on Sunday with my family and my agent there with me," said Butcher, who took home the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men's hockey last season.
Butcher's agent, Brian Bartlett, confirmed that the Buffalo Sabres and the Vegas Golden Knights are in the mix to sign him. Butcher will visit two more teams before returning to his home in Wisconsin on Saturday.
"He wants to play for a team that really understands and believes in him as a player and what he can bring to an organization, so it's weeding out the ones who just kind of want good players since every team needs good players," Bartlett said.
"The second part is which team has the opportunity and resources to give him the best chance to be a longtime professional player. We haven't been demanding he make the team right out of (training) camp or have a roster spot. It's about the process over the next couple of years."
The Colorado Avalanche made Butcher a fifth-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, but he chose not to sign with the organization. He became a free agent on Aug. 16.
Butcher had seven goals and 30 assists in 43 games last season at the University of Denver, captaining the team to the NCAA championship.
More than one team that missed out on the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs should find its way back into the dance in 2018.
This past spring's postseason featured the usual crop of powerhouses, but a few talented clubs were surprisingly absent.
One went deep into the spring two years in a row before suffering a major setback this past campaign, while another followed up a historic achievement with a coaching change and failed to overcome a couple of health setbacks of its own.
A third club boasts two of the most gifted offensive players in the game, but fell short of expectations due to poor goaltending.
Here are three squads that will return to the postseason in 2018:
Tampa Bay Lightning
Steven Stamkos' torn meniscus was obviously a devastating blow for the Lightning, and despite their best efforts, they couldn't sneak into the playoffs after losing their captain to the significant injury in November.
Still, after reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 and the Eastern Conference Final one year later, Tampa Bay only missed out on qualifying for the postseason by a single point in 2017. The Lightning finished with more regular-season wins than the Toronto Maple Leafs, who edged them out for the second wild-card spot in the East, and the Nashville Predators, who made an improbable run to the final in June.
Still, Florida boasts one of the best and most exciting collections of relatively young players in the NHL, including Barkov, Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad, and Vincent Trocheck - and the Panthers added Evgeny Dadonov, a 30-goal scorer in the KHL last season, to the roster this summer.
Florida fell flat in 2016-17 after winning its first Atlantic Division title in the previous campaign, but if the Panthers' two young stars can avoid significant injury this time around, getting back into the postseason shouldn't be difficult.
Dallas Stars
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Jim Nill's been the busiest GM in the league this summer, and his Stars are primed for a return engagement in the playoffs as a result.
Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn combined for 141 points last season, but the Stars didn't have the offensive depth, nor the stability on defense or in goal, to compete for a playoff spot.
However, the new-look Dallas squad should show enough improvement to grab a Western Conference wild-card spot this April.
Last season the Jets finished with the fourth-highest goals-against per game (3.11) and the third-worst team save percentage (.900), making it clear that the men manning the crease in Winnipeg have been a large part of the problem.
I asked Jets' Blake Wheeler for reaction to Mason signing and thoughts on goaltending battery with Hellebuyck. Wheeler's thoughtful reply: pic.twitter.com/fLKP1CirnG
Last season the Jets were spear-headed largely by Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson, with less than ideal results. Hellebuyck went 26-19-4 in 56 games with a 2.89 GAA and a .907 save percentage, while Hutchinson went 9-12-3 with a 2.92 GAA and a .903 save percentage.
And it's for that reason the club went out and inked former Philadelphia Flyers netminder Steve Mason to a two-year deal to help right the ship this offseason.
It's a two-year deal that carries an NHL rate of $832,000 per season and an AHL rate of $70,000 per campaign, according to Mike Chambers of The Denver Post.
Kerfoot chose to become an unrestricted free agent last week rather than sign with the New Jersey Devils, who drafted him in 2012.
He posted 45 points in 36 games with Harvard this past season in his senior campaign with the Crimson, and his point production improved in all three subsequent college seasons following his freshman year.
Thanks to an incredible turnaround last season, NHL clubs aren't likely to overlook the Columbus Blue Jackets this year.
The Blue Jackets rose 32 points in the standings from 2016 to 2017 and claimed the fourth-best record in the league, though their season concluded with a first-round loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The club is still looking to improve, but as defenseman Seth Jones suggests, the team won't be able to surprise its opponents anymore.
"I think we need to earn more respect in this league and one year and a playoff appearance doesn't do that," Jones said, according to Sydney McNulty of BlueJackets.com. "I think we caught a lot of teams off guard, and I don't think we are going to catch as many teams off guard this season, so we have to be even better and on top of our game for sure."
What the Blue Jackets hope will make them better, and an even more legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference, is the addition of Artemi Panarin. Jones feels the sniper, acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks, should boost the club's offense.
"I think it is going to add a little bit more creativity offensively," Jones said. "We lost a great player in Brandon (Saad), but, at the same time, we are getting a very awesome player, a very exciting player to watch in Panarin. I think we are really happy with some of the moves we've made, and hopefully that makes the team better."
Will Butcher might be ready to choose his NHL destination as soon as Saturday or Sunday.
The highly sought-after college free agent is still visiting teams with three or four in the mix, and his decision is expected to be made either this weekend or by the start of next week, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
Butcher reportedly trimmed his list of suitors down from a dozen clubs this week.
Butcher became an unrestricted free agent last week after choosing not to sign with the Colorado Avalanche, who drafted him in 2013. He won the Hobey Baker Award as the top U.S. college hockey player after helping the University of Denver win the national championship this spring.
And at least one player wants to see the clash reach the next level.
"It was fun to come home and kind of play the villain," Capitals winger and Toronto native Tom Wilsontold reporters Wednesday. "It will be a fresh start now though. They are going to have another good team and hopefully that rivalry can continue because it was a pretty exciting series."
Lining up in the first round of last year's playoffs, the series matched the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals against the eighth-seed Maple Leafs. But the meeting wasn't nearly as lopsided as the teams' regular seasons finishes, as the series extended six games and all but one contest required overtime.
"A series like that is what creates rivalries. There's a lot of emotion, a lot of speed, a lot of skill. They're only going to get better, and keep pushing us to get better. It's probably a rivalry now," said Wilson, who notched three goals in the series, including the overtime winner in Game 1.
While there is no telling if the series will renew next spring, the Maple Leafs and Capitals will at least have a memorable match on the calendar this season. The two sides are set to link up on March 3 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. in the 2018 Stadium Series.
The Florida Panthers' first-round pick in this summer's draft, Tippett is a budding winger who starred with the OHL's Mississauga Steelheads last season - a campaign in which he netted 75 points in 60 games.
Of those totals, 44 came as goals, a mark which only four players topped league-wide, and an ability that drew the Panthers' attention.
"Owen is a natural goal scorer with a bright future and he already possesses NHL-ready size and speed," Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said in July. "We're looking forward to watching him compete for a spot on our NHL roster at training camp this fall."
A hulking power forward, Tippett is a prime candidate to make the immediate jump to the NHL, particularly on a Florida roster that has just 10 forwards currently under contract.
"I have the upside of Phil Kessel - the speed, the shot, the way he can make plays," Tippett told Luke Fox of Sportsnet. "I also have some things I need to work on to be a 200-foot player."
Tippett could soon have another attribute in common with Kessel: making the NHL as an 18-year-old. Drafted fifth overall by the Boston Bruins in 2006, Kessel made his NHL debut just four months later, as he appeared in 70 games in 2006-07.
No doubt Tippett will be given every opportunity come training camp to make his best impression.
"I feel I can fight for a spot in Florida," Tippett added. "But at the end of the day, if I'm back in Mississauga, I'll look at it as a chance to develop my game and get stronger and faster."
