Properly addressing the middle of the ice has eluded Mark Bergevin since the beginning of his tenure as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens. In a desperation effort to fill a top-line center role last season, the Habs shifted newly acquired Jonathan Drouin from left wing to the middle, and it came with some mixed results.

Drouin finished the season with a minus-28 rating (third-worst on team, 11th-worst in NHL), won just 42.5 percent of his faceoffs at even strength, and his possession numbers hovered around 50 percent despite an offensive-zone start percentage of nearly 60, per Hockey-Reference. His point total also fell from 53 in 2016-17 to 46 last season.

Bergevin admitted the learning curve of playing center was difficult for Drouin at times.

"As we speak today, there is a lack in the middle. (Drouin), well, I would say in the first half he had a hard time adjusting to center," he told NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "As the season progressed, well, is he the perfect centerman? Is he Sidney Crosby? Of course not. But can he fill a role at times? Yes he can. We'll have to address some of our needs, sure."

Despite the 23-year-old's turbulent season, Bergevin isn't ready to call the Drouin-at-center experiment a failure.

"At the same time, there is a perception that (Drouin) failed there. I'm not ready to say that. He played some center in junior and he played some (with the Tampa Bay Lightning). Other than goaltending, I think center is probably the hardest position to fill. It takes some time and some mileage to play that position to a degree where you could really help your team win. So I'm not going to write him off there. But we have options we can look at as we speak."

Drouin did show progression manning the middle of the ice as the season wore on, collecting 13 points in his last 15 games, and improving his faceoff win percentage to a respectable 48.7 percent during that span.

Going about improving the center position could once again prove difficult for Bergevin this offseason. Though his team holds the third overall pick, the top end of the draft is filled with wingers and defenseman, not centers. On the free-agent market, John Tavares and Paul Stastny are the only capable No. 1 centers - but both will be highly sought after.

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Former Edmonton Oilers right winger Normand Lacombe is asking for the public's help after his Stanley Cup ring was stolen from his vehicle Saturday night.

Lacombe, who was a member of the Oilers' 1987-88 championship team, told CTV News he took the ring off before playing golf near his home in Spruce Grove, Alberta, and left it in his car overnight.

"(I'm) sick to my stomach," he said. "It's obviously sentimental value. My name is on it, my number.

“You can't replace a Stanley Cup ring. (It's) probably one of my favorite memories playing in the NHL. Everyone dreams to win a Cup and I did and I have a ring, and I'd like it back."

Lacombe was selected 10th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1983 NHL Draft. He was traded to the Oilers in 1987 and went on to play 133 games for the team.

Spruce Grove RCMP is investigating the theft of the ring and is offering a cash reward for its return.

"I'm very optimistic," Lacombe added. "That's my nature anyway. I'm optimistic someone will bring it back."

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Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley was on hand to see his team defeat the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, but there is one notable change he'd like to make moving forward.

Foley was irked by the Capitals' traveling fan base that occupied large portions of the arena and is considering not selling blocks of tickets as the Golden Knights look to win a title in their inaugural season.

"I can move around the ticket locations," Foley told Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com. "I don't want to see them together."

Foley said he believed Capitals supporters occupied approximately 12 percent of T-Mobile Arena.

It doesn't appear Foley will get his wish imminently, but a raucous home crowd figures to give Vegas the home-ice advantage it needs entering a pivotal Game 2.

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Magnus Paajarvi will be back with the Ottawa Senators for at least another season.

The Senators signed the left winger to a one-year contract extension worth $900,000 on Wednesday.

He was a pending unrestricted free agent who chipped in six goals and two assists in 35 games with Ottawa after being claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues in late January.

The 27-year-old was chosen 10th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2009.

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The St. Louis Blues named Mike Van Ryn as assistant coach, the team announced Wednesday.

The news comes after the Tucson Roadrunners - the American Hockey League affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes - announced earlier in the day that Van Ryn was stepping down as the club's head coach to pursue an NHL job.

With the hiring of Van Ryn, the Blues also announced that former assistant coach Darryl Sydor has stepped down to spend more time with his family.

"After almost 30 years in professional hockey, I am confident that now is the right time to step away from the game," Sydor said in a release. "Hockey has given me more than I could have ever dreamed for, but my family is the most important thing in my life, and I want to focus all of my attention on them."

Van Ryn led the Roadrunners to a Pacific Division title this season after going 42-20-6. He previously served as head coach of the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League for the 2015-16 season.

The 39-year-old played 353 games in the NHL over eight seasons with the Blues, Florida Panthers, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Ted Leonsis is no horrible boss.

Employees of Monumental Sports & Entertainment learned this (if they weren't already aware) Thursday when they received an email explaining that Leonsis was flying them out to Las Vegas to attend either Game 1 or 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

A selection of 200 of the roughly 500 employees of the company - those who work closely with the Capitals and those who hold seniority - were put up for one night at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino and received a ticket to one of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final with Leonsis footing the bill, according to Scott Allen of The Washington Post.

"It's truly amazing and out of this world," guest relations manager Omar Castro said. "I never expected an owner of the company to do this. We get to share in this with them. … He's thinking of us as part of a family, as part of the experience. There's no reason for him to do it. All I can say is a big thanks to Ted and his family for the opportunity, and for truly making this into something memorable for all of us here in the company."

The employees took a chartered flight early in the morning on either Monday or Wednesday and, as they boarded the plane, were given Capitals rally towels.

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The Vegas Golden Knights have one of their veteran players to thank for coining a moniker that's stuck with them on their unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Final.

James Neal told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun that he came up with the "Golden Misfits" nickname during training camp in September, when he created it as the label for a group chat with his teammates.

“Who do you think came up with it? Come on," Neal said to LeBrun in a story published Wednesday. "It was just a casual joke to get us going at first, to start the year off."

Neal quipped that he should have trademarked it, given how many T-shirts bearing the sobriquet are being sold during the Golden Knights' storybook run.

William Karlsson first revealed that the players were calling themselves the "Golden Misfits" in early May during Vegas' second-round series against the San Jose Sharks.

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Todd Nelson is back in the NHL.

The former Edmonton Oilers bench boss was named to newly appointed Dallas Stars head coach Jim Montgomery's staff on Thursday.

On Wednesday, The Athletic's Sean Shapiro reported the Stars were close to a deal with Nelson, and The Athletic's Craig Custance took it one step further shortly thereafter.

Nelson had been behind the Grand Rapids Griffins' bench as head coach since the summer of 2015, and he's in his second stint with the Detroit Red Wings' AHL affiliate after serving as an assistant in 2002-03.

He took over the Oilers as interim coach after Dallas Eakins was fired in December 2014, but was replaced by Todd McLellan at the end of that season.

Nelson had frequently been in the mix for NHL jobs in recent years, most notably landing an interview with the Arizona Coyotes before they hired Rick Tocchet last summer.

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It's going to take a mighty fine offer to nab the No. 3 pick from the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens own their highest draft selection since they took Alex Galchenyuk third overall in 2012. Speculation about trading high picks always ramps up as the draft approaches, but general manager Marc Bergevin maintained Tuesday that Montreal is unlikely to move its top selection.

When NHL.com's Mike Zeisburger asked why Bergevin remains reluctant to deal the selection for assets, the GM answered, "You pay a hefty price to get that pick.

"Obviously having the season we had, that's what gave us the right to pick that high. It's certainly not the goal when your season starts. ... So it's not a fun time for our fans to suffer the way they did this year, but we're going to get rewarded in Dallas with a pick we feel will make our team better in the long haul. That's the price to pay."

The Canadiens are coming off their worst 82-game season since the 2000-01 campaign when the club finished 11th in the Eastern Conference with 70 points.

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