The Detroit Red Wings and restricted free agent Andreas Athanasiou remain at odds over a contract agreement with training camp now well underway.
The team has reportedly offered a two-year contract with an average annual valuation of $1.9 million, TSN's Bob McKenzie reports.
Earlier this month, player agent Darren Ferris said the option of playing in the KHL had become "more of a probability." But Athanasiou and his representatives were in Toronto on Sept. 16 to meet with Detroit general manager Ken Holland and "some progress" is believed to have been made, McKenzie adds.
In 101 games with the Red Wings, Athanasiou has scored 27 goals and added 16 assists, with 39 of those 43 points coming at even strength and in limited ice time.
Detroit's first preseason game is Tuesday against Boston.
In today's run-and-gun, fast-paced NHL, we sometimes forget that icing a formidable defensive unit is just as crucial as having a dynamic forward group.
Clubs across the league are always looking for the right mix on the back end. Combining defensive-minded players with others who like to jump up and get pucks on net is key to building a balanced unit.
And regardless of what strategy a team employs, touting an elite group of defensemen usually puts it in the mix for a Cup. This season will be no different.
Here's the NHL's top four defense corps heading into 2017-18, in no particular order:
Nashville Predators
Losing a player like Ryan Ellis until the new year is obviously a massive blow, but luckily for Preds fans, general manager David Poile has done an amazing job of stacking Nashville's blue line with studly defensemen.
Last season, the Predators allowed the 16th-fewest goals per game while their D-men combined to score 46. The unit's combination of skill, speed, and size makes Nashville a very difficult team to play against.
With perennial Norris Trophy threats in Josi and Subban anchoring the blue line, look for the Preds to be competing in May once again.
Calgary Flames
Funny how a new starting goalie and a top-four defenseman can catapult a team's defensive game from above-average to elite in a matter of days. Such was the case with the Flames following the additions of Travis Hamonic and Mike Smith this offseason.
Smith's built a reputation as one of the best puck-moving netminders in the game, which will pair nicely with the offensive-minded styles of T.J. Brodie and Dougie Hamilton, as well as captain Mark Giordano and Michael Stone. While Calgary's back end is obviously talented offensively, it also gets the job done at the other end of the rink, where the unit limited opposing teams to the eighth-least shots on goal last season at 28.7 per game.
If the Flames can receive consistent goaltending from Smith and maintain a healthy blue line, few teams in the Western Conference will match up well against them.
Carolina Hurricanes
You read that right: The Carolina Hurricanes will ice one of most talented young corps in the league this coming season.
Justin Faulk, Noah Hanifin, Brett Pesce, and Klas Dahlbeck are four returning defensemen who were taken in the first three rounds of the draft, while only Jaccob Slavin (fourth) was taken outside the top three. So, they have the collective pedigree to be elite.
Also, don't forget, this is the same group that allowed the fifth-least shots on goal per game last season. The only change in this year's group is the addition of two-time Stanley Cup winner Trevor van Riemsdyk, who will provide an element of experience and stability.
Yes, the group is young an inexperienced, but that doesn't change the fact that its offensive upside is seemingly limitless.
That potential might not be much on its own, but when you factor in Scott Darling's addition in goal, this crew should develop into one of the NHL's top D-cores.
Anaheim Ducks
Right off the jump, the Ducks will be in tough to replicate last season's defensive stinginess due to the serious injuries to Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen, as the pair are each coming off offseason surgeries.
While both are expected to return before Christmas, their early-season absences could obviously impact the overall effectiveness of Anaheim's defensive group.
However, the Ducks allowed the third-least total goals last campaign at an impressive 197, and still employ the services of Cam Fowler, Brandon Montour, and Josh Manson.
If Anaheim can get healthy, sooner than later, it will again have one of the most formidable defensively sounds corps in the entire league - a main reason the club is a perennial Cup threat.
The oft-injured forward lashed out at the club in the comment thread of one of his Instagram posts Sunday, responding to at least one user who brought up his latest failed physical.
(Courtesy: Instagram/@jlupul, relevant comments highlighted by theScore)
Last week, Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello revealed that Lupul failed his physical for the upcoming season, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
Lupul didn't appear in a single NHL game in 2016-17, as he was stashed on long-term injured reserve in a move that helped to alleviate some of his $5.25-million cap hit while creating another open roster spot for the upstart club.
He played only 46 games in 2015-16 and was limited to just 55 contests in 2014-15.
It's the second straight year Lupul failed his pre-season physical, and it's the second time in three days that a player associated with the Leafs has criticized the organization for its roster practices.
Jared Cowen, who's now essentially an unrestricted free agent, called his unsuccessful arbitration case against the club "a joke of a process" when asked about it on Friday at Colorado Avalanche training camp, to which he's been invited on a pro tryout.
Tallon also traded Reilly Smith and his five-year, $25-million contract to the Vegas Golden Knights on the day of the expansion draft in June, getting back a fourth-round pick.
Rowe, who originally replaced Tallon as Panthers GM in the spring of 2016, signed both Demers and Smith to long-term extensions, inking Demers to a five-year, $22.5-million deal on July 2, 2016, a day before finalizing the Smith pact.
That Tallon was only able to get a physical, but largely unproductive winger in McGinn for Demers, and a fourth rounder in return Smith, isn't too surprising, given the difficulty many GMs have trading players signed to long-terms deals.
What's telling, though, is that he was so willing to part with them, that he was perfectly content dumping their salaries for minimal returns, and that he was reportedly willing to retain 12.5 percent of Demers' salary in Sunday's trade to ensure the blue-liner's departure.
Tallon's attempt to redo Rowe's roster restructuring runs deeper than that, too.
Demers revealed Sunday that he had to use his modified no-trade clause to veto a trade that would have sent him to the Vancouver Canucks for Erik Gudbranson, the defenseman Rowe dealt away for Jared McCann in a move that also involved a few picks in May 2016.
In other words, Tallon unsuccessfully tried to get a player back that his predecessor (and successor) sent packing.
There's been no public indication that Tallon was upset about being promoted out of the GM role when Rowe was appointed to replace him, but now that Tallon is back in his old job, his latest moves are providing a window into how he may have felt about the roster.
While Demers and Smith are both solid players, signing them to five-year extensions was ill-advised, even if the moves came following a season in which Florida won its first-ever Atlantic Division crown.
The Panthers lost in the first round of the playoffs that spring, but Tallon built the team that notched that historic regular-season achievement, and he put together much of the core that gave South Florida newfound hope on the hockey front going forward.
But under Rowe's leadership, the Panthers struggled out of the gate, and the GM exercised a quick trigger finger, firing head coach Gerard Gallant and jumping behind the bench himself, with disappointing results.
Tallon's back in the saddle now, though, and the longtime executive appears willing to do whatever it takes to restore the lineup to the way it was during his previous run.
Given the Panthers' recent track record, it's hard to argue with that strategy.
The regular season is just around the corner, but that hasn't stopped the Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes from making some last-minute changes.
On Sunday, the Panthers acquired veteran winger Jamie McGinn from the Coyotes in exchange for right-shot defenseman Jason Demers, the clubsconfirmed Sunday.
The veteran blue-liner is under contract for the next four campaigns at a $4.5-million cap hit, but his salary this season - including a million-dollar bonus - will be $5.4 million.
It's the second hefty player contract signed by former Panthers general manager Tom Rowe that current GM Dale Tallon has shipped out since returning to the position in April.
Tallon sent Reilly Smith - to whom Rowe gave a five-year, $25-million extension in July 2016 - to the Vegas Golden Knights for a fourth-round pick on the day of the expansion draft in June.
McGinn joins the Panthers after one season in Arizona which he tallied 17 points in 72 games. He signed with the Coyotes as a free agent last summer and has two years remaining on his contract which carries a $3.33-million cap hit.
Demers spent just one season in Florida after signing with the team last summer. In 81 games with Florida, Demers registered nine goals and 19 assists.
San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton is back to perfect health after offseason surgery to repair ACL and MCL tears in his left knee.
"I feel good," Thornton said from Sharks' training camp, per Eric Gilmore of NHL.com. "I rehabbed hard this summer. The knee feels great, to be honest with you. It feels real good.
"It was pretty much just to get my knee strong again. But they feel real strong. I feel a lot of pop out there. They're probably as strong as they've ever been just because I had to rehab that knee so much."
Despite the injury, which he suffered in the final week of the season, Thornton made a remarkable appearance during San Jose's first-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers.
"The amount of work he's put in rehab-wise and fitness-wise is such an inspiration to everybody in this organization," added Sharks general manager Doug Wilson. "If we were starting (the season) tomorrow, he'd be ready to go."
The 38-year-old became an unrestricted free agent this summer but quickly re-upped with the Sharks on a one-year, $8-million extension.
Whether the short-term deal is an indication that Thornton sees 2017-18 as his final campaign is an unknown. Still, there is plenty to play for, as the accomplished center remains in pursuit of his first Stanley Cup.
Thornton will have at least one honor to his name this season, as he becomes the NHL's active leader in all-time scoring after free agent Jaromir Jagr was unable to secure a contract.
In 1,446 career games, Thornton has tallied 384 goals and 1,007 assists to sit tied for 22nd in all-time scoring. He can move into the top-10 in the all-time assists category with 33 helpers this year.
Thornton recorded seven goals and 43 assists last season.
