The Edmonton Oilers have only taken the first step.

And the team will need to continue its climb if it's to be considered a Stanley Cup contender, according to captain Connor McDavid.

"We know we have a good team. We showed that last year and it's up to us to re-establish ourselves," McDavid told Sportsnet's Shawn McKenzie. "Realistically, we still haven't done anything in the league."

The Oilers qualified for the postseason last spring, their first appearance following a 10-year drought, an NHL futility record the franchise shares with the Florida Panthers.

Edmonton punched its ticket to the playoffs following years of rebuilding, in which it won a series of lotteries between 2010 and 2012 to select Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Nail Yakupov with three-straight first overall selections.

McDavid evidently served as the last piece of the puzzle, added with the top pick in 2015 after more lottery luck boosted the Oilers to a familiar place - the top of the draft order.

While McDavid made his NHL debut just four months later, his rookie campaign was cut short due to a collarbone injury, limiting him to 45 games and the Oilers to 70 points - the worst record in the Western Conference.

But the team rebounded a big way last year, with the Oilers securing 103 points - their best season since 1986-87 - to finish second in the Pacific Division.

Now, the Oilers are hungry for even more.

"We made the second round, that's great, but that's not what hockey is about," McDavid added. "It's about winning, and we have a long way to go to do that."

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If Shane Doan and Jarome Iginla want to sport the maple leaf at the Winter Olympics, they may first need to have their legs under them.

That's the stance of Team Canada general manger Sean Burke, who on Tuesday stated he's looking for full buy-in from the players he picks to compete in Pyeongchang.

"We want to look at all possibilities, but there has to be a long-term plan because it's going to very intense and it's going to be great hockey and guys are going to have to have a plan for the year," Burke said on a Tuesday conference call, according to Jonas Siegel of The Canadian Press.

Burke confirmed he has reached out to both Doan and Iginla, not only to gauge their Olympic interest, but to get a better idea of where each player stands for the coming season. Both Doan and Iginla are unrestricted free agents.

With the NHL sitting out the 2018 Winter Olympics, Burke is left to build a roster consisting of minor-league pros, Canadians competing in European leagues, and, as is the case with Doan and Iginla, NHL players not currently under contract.

"We just played games in August and the pace of these games and the intensity was very good and that's going to increase as we move along," Burke added. "So anybody that's going to play on this team, no matter what their pedigree or what they've done in the past, we're going to consider."

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It's not the length of Jack Eichel's possible new contract that's holding up an agreement with the Buffalo Sabres. It's the money.

Sabres general manager Jason Botterill confirmed Tuesday that both sides would like an eight-year deal, the maximum allowable under the NHL's CBA.

"We certainly want to get Jack signed up for the maximum amount of term possible," Botterill told reporters, via WROC's Dan Fetes. "(Eichel) has the same belief, and all of our discussions with him have been very positive about the contract, but also just about his season and preparation in general."

In early August, the Sabres were reportedly negotiating an extension with the star forward for up to eight years in length.

That report came just under a month after Connor McDavid signed an eight-year, $100-million extension with the Edmonton Oilers, and two weeks before the same Western Conference club inked Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year, $68-million pact.

"It's obviously a little bit of a new market this summer with some of the new contracts that have (been signed), but our discussions have been very positive," Botterill said.

"Discussions have been very amicable on both sides," he added. "I've done quite a few deals in the past with (Eichel's agency) and we have that relationship there, so we understand both sides' positions and (we'll) continue to work for an agreement."

Eichel, who's entering the final year of his entry-level deal, led the Sabres last season with 57 points and ranked second on the club with 24 goals despite missing the first 21 games with an ankle injury.

The 20-year-old was drafted second overall behind McDavid in 2015.

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Thomas Vanek and Drew Stafford could both be on the verge of agreeing to new deals.

"Things have kind of heated up here in the last week or so," Steve Bartlett, who represents both free agents, told Andrew Peters and Craig Rivet on WGR 550 on Tuesday.

"I think we were kind of in the midsummer hibernation with some of the teams and now (as) they're starting to get closer to training camp, they look at where their holes may still be or where they're not sure about a young guy here or there," Bartlett added.

"I do feel optimistic that something will come through for both of these guys in the next week or two, and I think definitely the temperature has risen from teams around the league on both players."

Vanek is arguably the second-best unrestricted free agent left on the market behind Jaromir Jagr. The 33-year-old notched 17 goals and 48 points in 68 games this past season - 48 contests of which came with the Detroit Red Wings before they dealt him to the Florida Panthers at the deadline.

Stafford was limited to 58 games due to injury in 2016-17, and he split them between the Winnipeg Jets and the Boston Bruins, who acquired him on March 1, the same day Vanek was moved. Stafford collected only eight points in 18 regular-season games for the Bruins down the stretch, but he scored twice in six playoff contests.

Both players spent parts of nine seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, playing together from 2006-07 to 2013-14.

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Many hockey fans are disappointed that the NHL won't allow its players to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Don Cherry is not one of them.

The commentator and ex-coach joined Sportsnet's "Starting Lineup" radio show Tuesday, and threw in his two cents on the NHL's hotly debated decision to skip the Winter Games.

"The games are going to be at 3 o'clock in the morning," Cherry said. "Who the hell's going to watch hockey at 3 o'clock in the morning? Maybe the final game and that. I'm glad we're not going. And I'm glad I'm not going because I don't enjoy them at all.

"Who wants to go to North Korea or South Korea or wherever the hell it is?"

Cherry's knowledge of geography may be spotty, but his thoughts on potential injuries to franchise players are less out of place.

"It's OK for people to say, 'Oh well, they should go over,'" said Cherry. "Sure. But what if (Carey) Price goes over and he gets hurt? The season's over for all those fans. What if (Sidney) Crosby goes over and he gets hurt?"

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Things that Braden Holtby needs to work on: raising the puck, receiving passes.

Fortunately for Holtby, he's a world-class netminder with a Vezina Trophy under his belt. He also led the NHL in both shutouts and wins last year. Given his job security, he decided to have some fun and dress as a skater for a team skate on Tuesday.

Stick to stopping pucks, Braden.

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Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan is fully healthy after missing 64 games last year and is excited about the prospect of a bounce-back season.

"I'm full go, right from day one," Callahan told Corey Long of NHL.com. "It's going to be nice to be able to do a hard training camp this year."

Callahan missed training camp and the start of last season due to offseason hip surgery. He returned and played 18 games, only to undergo a second procedure in February to deal with a stitch from the previous surgery that had come out and was pulling on his femur.

In his abbreviated campaign, Callahan picked up a measly four points.

"It goes without saying this is the most excited I've been in a long, long time going into a season after only playing 18 games last year and feeling the way I do now," he said.

If Callahan is feeling like his old self again, it would go a long way in helping the Lightning return to the postseason. In his first season in Tampa, he scored 24 goals, added 30 assists, and was counted on to play crunch-time minutes as one of the league's most reliable defensive forwards - much like his time with the New York Rangers.

However, over the last two seasons, he has totaled just 32 points in 91 games, bringing into question whether or not the 32-year-old - who carries an annual cap hit of $5.8 million over the next three years - can still be an effective player.

"I know there's chatter and people doubt me - if I can come back and what I'll be like when I come back," Callahan said. "I've always tried to use it as motivation. That's how they propelled me to the place I am right now in my career. I'm looking at this the same way. I'm excited to get going this year. I think it's going to be one of the best years I've ever had."

Callahan wasn't the only member of the Lightning to miss significant time last season. Their top three centers - Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, and Brayden Point - missed a combined 95 games. Nikita Kucherov, their leading scorer, missed eight games, and Ondrej Palat missed seven.

Despite this adversity, the club fell short of the playoffs by just a single point.

"We have the talent in here, but now I think we have some of that hunger back," Callahan said. "Just talking to the guys in the room, we're all excited about what could be and to prove to everybody that last year was a fluke."

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Joshua Ho-Sang isn't at all worried about John Tavares' contract situation.

The New York Islanders captain has yet to sign a contract extension since the window to do so opened July 1, and can become an unrestricted free agent next summer if an agreement isn't reached prior to that time. But as far as Ho-Sang is concerned, it's a personal decision that will be fully supported by those who know Tavares.

"I'll say it to anyone. If you care about John Tavares as a person, it doesn't really matter where he ends up," Ho-Sang said Monday at the BioSteel pro hockey camp, per Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun.

"It's about his personal happiness and well-being. Whatever decision he makes is foregone and you have to be happy for him at the end of the day. He's definitely leaning towards New York, he's said it multiple times. But he still has a year, no rush."

Speculation in regards to Tavares' future will run rampant until he decides one way or the other because the media wants him to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ho-Sang contends, according to NHL.com's Dave McCarthy.

But in the end, the young forward - who's looking to make a full-time jump to the Islanders - expects a Steven Stamkos type of resolution, where Tavares ends up sticking with the only team he's ever played for.

Ho-Sang added the situation won't affect Tavares' game in a negative way in the meantime.

"John's dealt with a lot his whole life, I don't think this is going to be anything to him really," he said. "If anything, I think he's going to score more."

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