Jared Cowen is trying to put his spat with the Toronto Maple Leafs behind him, but he's clearly harboring some resentment about the contract ordeal.

"It was a joke of a process," Cowen told BSN Denver's Adrian Dater at Colorado Avalanche training camp Friday. "But, it’s in the past. It was a stressful time in my life, in terms of getting traded, getting bought out, getting waived, (and) finding out I needed surgeries."

The defenseman, who joined the Avalanche on a pro tryout last month, lost his arbitration case against the Leafs back in December. He was arguing Toronto shouldn't have been able to buy out his contract because he was injured, but the Leafs were of course ultimately permitted to do so.

Cowen was a throw-in in the Dion Phaneuf trade, but never played a game for Toronto. He had a pretty blunt assessment of the sequence of events that played out.

"Basically, they got me, figured out that I was hurt, they didn’t want to deal with it and they got rid of me," he said.

He added, "I wish teams would have more of an interest in taking better care of their players instead of whatever their goal or mindset was there."

Cowen became an unrestricted free agent after losing his case, and signed his tryout agreement with the Avalanche on Aug. 29.

- With h/t to Sportsnet

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Unlike coaches, general managers don't usually get fired mid-season. However, that doesn't mean GMs aren't feeling the pressure of having their fates decided by the performances of their players throughout a grueling campaign.

Here are five GMs who could find themselves unemployed by the time the 2017-18 season draws to a close.

Marc Bergevin, Canadiens

Bergevin is the most obvious candidate on the list. He has been heavily scrutinized for several moves he's made as GM of the Canadiens, but none more so than the P.K. Subban-Shea Weber blockbuster.

More than just questionable trades, Bergevin hasn't been able to stockpile young talent since taking over in May 2012. Perhaps the best prospect they've unearthed during his tenure was defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who was traded this offseason for Jonathan Drouin.

It's extremely difficult to imagine Bergevin keeping his job unless the Canadiens are able to go on a deep playoff run in 2017-18.

Ken Holland, Red Wings

Holland is the second-longest tenured GM in the NHL behind Nashville's David Poile, but his time may be coming to an end.

The Red Wings have gone from the class of the league to the laughingstock. They are one of the worst teams in the NHL, have very little young talent, and a boatload of bad contracts.

Related - How the mighty have fallen: The dark age of Red Wings hockey is upon us

Holland was credited as the genius for finding players like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in the late rounds of drafts. These two players helped the Wings extend their playoff streak to 25 years, but with Datsyuk playing in the KHL and Zetterberg not the dominant player he once was, Holland doesn't have much to hang his hat on these days.

With a finish near the bottom of the NHL standings, it wouldn't be surprising at all if Holland was relieved of his duties. With the death of owner Mike Ilitch and a brand new arena, it seems like a good time to go in a different direction.

Garth Snow, Islanders

It's incredible to think that Snow is the fourth-longest tenured GM in the NHL, despite bringing nothing but mediocrity to the Islanders for over a decade. During his 11 seasons at the helm, they've made the playoffs just four times, with only a single series win.

Snow was responsible for Rick DiPietro's 15-year contract, trading a 20-year-old Nino Niederreiter for grinder Cal Clutterbuck, and making several questionable high-end draft picks. He's now on the verge of letting a franchise player in John Tavares walk in free agency. It doesn't get much worse than that.

Doug Wilson, Sharks

Wilson has done an outstanding job building the Sharks. Since taking over as GM in 2003, San Jose has failed to make the postseason just once. He made one of the greatest trades in NHL history in 2005, stealing Joe Thornton from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart, and Wayne Primeau.

However, all good things must come to an end. The Sharks are an old team. Their core is made up of Thornton (38), Brent Burns (32), Joe Pavelski (33), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (30), and Logan Couture (28).

If San Jose were to miss the playoffs this season, the organization's hierarchy may want to kick-start a rebuild, and may want a new man for the job.

Chuck Fletcher, Wild

The Wild have made the postseason in five straight seasons and are coming off a franchise-record 106-point season. That doesn't necessarily mean Fletcher's job is safe, though.

Under Fletcher's reign, the team has never advanced past the second round of the playoffs and is coming off back-to-back first-round exits. Perhaps more glaringly, as each season goes by, the 13-year, $98-million contract he gave Zach Parise in 2012 is looking progressively worse.

Though Fletcher is certainly the safest on this list, another early playoff exit could spell the end of what would be a nine-year run in Minnesota, even though he has built an incredibly deep team.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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Calgary Flames president and CEO Ken King went on the defensive Friday after the city of Calgary revealed its arena plan that the club rejected earlier in the week.

"This is no money grab," King said. "If it was, we'd be long gone. There's a lot of places to make a lot of money in sports other than here."

King claimed the city's proposal - that his team declined - would have forced the Flames to fund "120 percent of the project."

The city proposed splitting the costs three ways - between itself, Flames ownership, and arena users by way of a ticket surcharge.

But King insisted Friday that the rejected proposal would have required the Flames to pay the city back for its part of the cost through property taxes and rent or lease fees, in addition to the ticket surcharge, the latter of which he argued would come right out of the club's revenue streams.

Calgary's arena squabble has dragged on for quite some time, but the Flames escalated matters Tuesday, declaring they were walking away from the negotiating table for the time being.

The arena dispute is expected to be the biggest issue in the city's upcoming municipal election on Oct. 16.

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"I'm still going."

That was Alex Ovechkin's succinct response to the NHL's decision to boycott the 2018 Olympic games just five months ago, doubling down on his prior stance while his employer did its best to squash his enthusiasm.

As one of the league's most ardent ambassadors of the international tournament, Ovechkin's determination to suit up for his native Russia, even at the cost of leaving the Washington Capitals for two weeks midseason, served as the exemplar of how badly NHL players want to represent their countries in Pyeongchang next February.

Jakub Voracek called the Olympics decision "absolutely ridiculous." Erik Karlsson said it's "crap." Evgeny Kuznetsov said he'd follow his Capitals teammate overseas, while Connor McDavid and Jonathan Toews, two of the sport's biggest names, publicly expressed their disappointment.

Even as droves of superstars made sure their voices were heard, Ovechkin's longstanding desire to defy the norm, and to do it his way, felt like the lone glimmer of hope for fans and players, making everyone believe that all parties could work past the numerous complications involved in sending the league's most treasured figures to Korea for the love of the sport.

(Photo Courtesy: Action Images)

As adamant as he was, Ovechkin's wish ultimately fell by the wayside Thursday night, when he finally conceded defeat in the form of a heartfelt statement that all but assured not a single NHLer will participate.

"Me, my teammates, and all players who want to go all lose. So do all the fans of hockey, with this decision that we are not allowed to be invited. NHL players in the Olympics is good for hockey and good for Olympics. It sucks that (we will) not be there to play!!" Ovechkin wrote.

There you have it. After months of wondering if Ovechkin would deliver on his audacious pledge to play for gold with his countrymen, the delusion abruptly vanished. Even with the support of the Capitals' owner, he won't get what he wants, and, sadly, neither will we.

It was fun, though, in hindsight, wondering whether Ovechkin would force his way into Russia's lineup. Who knows what kind of chain reaction he could have set off if he got the green light? Would Evgeni Malkin and other Russians have joined him? Would superstars of other countries want in too? Could the NHL stomach two weeks without its biggest names? We'll never know.

Through it all, Ovechkin's viewpoint was admirable. Reading his statement, it's easy to sense how passionate he is about the Olympics, a tradition that's as deeply rooted in his family history as his well-documented nationalistic pride. But, after Thursday's acceptance plea, the dream is unofficially dead for both Ovechkin and hockey supporters alike. And now, rather than wondering whether Ovechkin will follow through on his previous claims, we're left to begrudgingly settle on his latest: "It sucks."

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The Colorado Avalanche signed restricted free-agent defenseman Nikita Zadorov to a two-year contract.

The deal is worth $2.15 million per season, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports.

"Zadorov is a big, young, physical defenseman who was starting to emerge as one of our top D before his injury last season," said president and general manager Joe Sakic. "He's an important part of our blue line and we expect him to log big minutes this year. We are excited to have him under contract."

Acquired from the Buffalo Sabres as part of the Ryan O'Reilly trade, Zadorov is seen as a big building block for last season's last-place team, and will be given every opportunity to help the Avalanche while improving his stock on a bridge-type contract.

The 22-year-old has appeared in 145 NHL games since being drafted 16th overall in 2013, registering four goals and 24 assists. He was limited to 56 appearances in 2016-17 due to a season-ending ankle injury suffered in a February practice.

Zadorov didn't begin training camp with the team Thursday as the sides continued to negotiate.

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The Anaheim Ducks are hopeful center Ryan Kesler will be able to join the team by Christmas, general manager Bob Murray said Friday, per Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.

Kesler underwent surgery in June to remove bone fragments in his hip, and was given a 12-week timeline to resume activity at the time of the procedure.

For the first time since 2010-11, Kesler suited up in all 82 games last season, and finished second on the Ducks with 58 points.

He'll be sorely missed in the middle of Anaheim's lineup, as he's Randy Carlyle's top shutdown pivot. Last season's Selke runner-up is effective in all three zones, and finished 2016-17 with a remarkable 57.4 faceoff win percentage.

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The City of Calgary revealed its plans for building a new arena to house the Flames following a declaration by team ownership earlier this week that a new arena would no longer be pursued following a series of failed negotiations.

Here's the city's proposal in the form of a handy pie chart:

The plan, rejected by the team, was made public following a city council vote spurred by mayor Naheed Nenshi that passed 8-4.

In the city's proposal, the team would be on the hook for 33 percent of building costs while retaining full control of the arena and all revenue streams. The city would also chip in 33 percent while bringing in property tax paid by the club with a guarantee the Flames would remain in Calgary for at least 35 years. The remaining costs would be covered by ticket surcharges paid by fans.

The club's own proposal has not been disclosed, but a Globe and Mail report said it involved the city paying the majority of the funds and the Flames also demanding the team pay neither rent nor property tax.

Understandably, the city turned down the pitch, leaving the two sides in an apparent stalemate, for the time being at least.

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Jack Eichel wasn't mincing words at the outset of Buffalo Sabres training camp.

Entering his third NHL season after being selected second overall in 2015, the 20-year-old is out to prove he's someone the club can indeed build around.

"I think I have a lot to prove," Eichel said Thursday, per Joe Yerdon of NHL.com. "Actually I think I've proven nothing, so it's a huge year for me personally and as a team.

"If you look at what I've done, it hasn't been a whole lot; two mediocre seasons on a losing team," he added, "so we just need to be better as a group this year, and I think everyone went home with the mindset this summer that we wanted to get better and head into the season and hit the ground running."

In fairness, Eichel did miss a chunk of games last season with an ankle injury suffered late in camp, but registered 24 goals and 33 assists in 61 games. That 0.93 point-per-game average ranked him 11th among players with at least that many appearances.

Still, he and the Sabres are expected to at least be in contention for a playoff spot this season, and Eichel knows it's on him to step up and lead the way, especially as he attempts to secure a long-term, big-money contract extension.

"It's the third year, so if there's ever a time to start winning and being a good team in this league, it's right now. I think all the guys are pretty sick of losing and not playing in the playoffs."

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