The first court date for Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson has been postponed to late July.

Watson's hearing, originally scheduled for Thursday, has been moved to July 24, according to court records obtained by Natalie Neysa Alund of the Tennessean. The 26-year-old was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of domestic assault earlier in June.

According to the arrest warrant, Watson admitted to pushing his girlfriend and mother of his child on June 16 following an argument inside a car at a gas station in Franklin, Tenn. He remains free on a $4,500 bond.

If convicted, Watson could receive a sentence of up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a fine maxing out at $2,500, said Williamson County District Attorney Kim Helper.

Watson had eight points in 13 playoff games this spring and is one season into a three-year deal with the Predators.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning remain hopeful that John Tavares will elect to sign with them on July 1, but general manager Steve Yzerman is aware that the team would have to do some serious juggling to make things work.

With roughly $5.3 million in cap space and Tavares likely to command at least $10 million per season, Yzerman said the team would have to clear cap room, but it would be worth it, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic.

"We think he's one of the best players in the league," Yzerman said.

On the free-agent front, the Lightning have restricted free agents Adam Erne, Cedric Paquette, and Slater Koekkoek to contend with, while Andrej Sustr is also a pending UFA after five seasons with Tampa Bay.

In the meantime, Yzerman is unsure when his camp will hear back from Tavares. The Lightning and Dallas Stars were the final two of six reported teams that met with Tavares and his representatives Wednesday.

Tavares left Los Angeles for his home in Toronto on Thursday, according to The Athletic's Arthur Staple, where he must now make the biggest decision of his career.

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Milan Lucic's representative claims his client isn't demanding a trade and that the Edmonton Oilers aren't engaging with his camp about any potential deals.

"Milan didn't ask for a trade and (Oilers general manager) Peter (Chiarelli) 100 percent has not come to us about moving Milan," the veteran forward's agent, Gerry Johannson, told the Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson.

"If (Peter) wants to get out from under the contract, he has to talk to us," Johannson added. "What's going on with Milan? Absolutely Nothing. Milan had a bad year, the team had a bad year."

Last week, Chiarelli declined to comment when asked if Lucic had requested a trade, and a couple of weeks ago, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported that Chiarelli was "trying to make a hockey deal" for Lucic and not simply attempting to offload the five years and $30 million left on his contract.

Lucic had his worst season from a point production standpoint since 2012-13, managing only 34 despite playing all 82 games in 2017-18.

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The Red Wings appear confident Mike Green will return to Detroit for multiple seasons.

The team and the right-shooting defenseman have had productive talks this week, according to MLive.com's Ansar Khan, who added that the Wings believe they can ink Green to a two-year extension.

Green, who many consider a top blue-liner among 2018 unrestricted free agents, especially after John Carlson re-signed with the Washington Capitals earlier this week, put up eight goals and 25 assists in 66 games for the Wings in his contract year.

Last week, Craig Custance of The Athletic reported the two sides were working toward a deal. Term was the sticking point during draft-weekend discussions, Custance wrote, with the Wings hoping for a two-year agreement and Green's camp pushing for three or more.

The 32-year-old is coming off a three-year contract that paid him $6 million per season. The new deal would be Green's fifth over a 13-year career.

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Rick Nash is still undecided about whether or not he will play next season and in turn will forego the July 1 signing period, his agent Joe Resnick told TSN's Darren Dreger.

Dreger adds that the multiple teams that were planning to make offers for Nash on July 1 have been made aware of his decision.

More to come.

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The Los Angeles Kings have reportedly commenced discussing the possibility of an extension with their franchise defenseman.

As expected, Drew Doughty and the Kings have started to get into contract talks, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, who reports that the two sides have had "a few conversations regarding the overall concept of the deal and will soon get into term and numbers."

Doughty has one more season left on his current contract, and as such, he and the club can start discussing a potential extension as early as July 1.

Related - The Carlson effect: Projecting Drew Doughty's next contract

Doughty is on the books for $7 million in 2018-19. He inked an eight-year, $56-million deal with the Kings in 2011.

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Tobias Rieder appears to be a hot commodity north of the border.

The pending unrestricted free agent has reportedly engaged with four of the seven Canadian teams ahead of July 1, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Rieder was due to become a restricted free agent, but he didn't receive a qualifying offer from the Los Angeles Kings.

Rieder was acquired by the Kings in February from the Arizona Coyotes in a deal that sent goaltender Darcy Kuemper to the Coyotes. Following the trade, Rieder put up just four goals and two assists in 20 games.

The 25-year-old is coming off a two-year, $4.45-million contract.

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Bill Daly says Eugene Melnyk is not currently in negotiations to sell the Ottawa Senators.

"It is not accurate to suggest that Eugene Melnyk is (in) active discussions to sell the club," the NHL's deputy commissioner told TSN's Brent Wallace. "He is the owner of the club and I believe he wants to remain the owner going forward.''

Daly further attempted to clarify the Senators owner's intentions in an email to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.

"Eugene has no interest in selling the Senators," Daly wrote. "Offers are made for NHL teams all the time. Doesn't really mean anything."

Melnyk is expected to comment later Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Senators' parent company, Capital Sports Holdings Inc., completed a $135-million refinancing of the club's debt over a six-year period with a syndicate of financial institutions.

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Among the Detroit Red Wings' offseason priorities is acquiring a dependable backup goalie, and it seems they have one in mind.

Jonathan Bernier has become the Red Wings' top target between the pipes and there is "significant interest" from both sides, according to The Athletic's Craig Custance.

The 29-year-old is coming off a solid season with the Colorado Avalanche that saw him post a 19-13-3 record with a .913 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average. He took on the role as the team's starter after Semyon Varlamov went down with an injury and then played in four of the six first-round playoff games against the Nashville Predators.

As for the Red Wings, Jimmy Howard is expected to resume his role as the No. 1 goalie after going 22-27-9 in 2017-18.

After Detroit dealt Petr Mrazek to the Philadelphia Flyers ahead of the deadline, Jared Coreau served as the backup, but proved he wasn't ready to take on the responsibility by going 0-5-1 with a 4.26 goals-against average and an .867 save percentage.

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There might be even more of a Carolina connection on the Calgary Flames next season.

Pending unrestricted free agent Derek Ryan is expected to meet with the Flames on Thursday, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.

The 31-year-old journeyman center spent the last three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes and their former head coach Bill Peters, who's now behind the bench with Calgary.

Ryan produced 15 goals and won 56.5 percent of his faceoffs in 2017-18.

If he decides to join the Flames, Ryan would not only be reunited with Peters, but also with fellow center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin, who were acquired by Calgary in the blockbuster deal that sent blue-liner Dougie Hamilton and forward Micheal Ferland to Carolina at the draft on Saturday.

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