The St. Louis Blues hope Patrick Maroon is interested in a homecoming, and have touched base with the Missouri native during the pre-free agency discussion period, according to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic.

The hulking winger would bring size and some additional scoring talent to a Blues squad that finished 24th in goals last season.

Maroon spent the 2016-17 season with the Edmonton Oilers, and stayed with them for 57 games the following year before being shipped to the New Jersey Devils in a deadline-day deal. He wrapped the 2017-18 campaign with 17 goals and 26 assists in 74 games.

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Joe Morrow isn't going anywhere.

The unrestricted-free-agent defenseman signed a one-year, $1-million contract with the Winnipeg Jets, TSN's Darren Dreger reported Tuesday.

Morrow, 25, was a restricted free agent, but he did not receive a qualifying offer from the Jets before Monday's deadline, giving him unrestricted status and freeing him to sign with any team on July 1.

Splitting last season between the Montreal Canadiens and the Jets, Morrow tallied 16 points in 56 games. With six solid blue-liners already in the fold in Winnipeg, Morrow will likely begin the season as the team's seventh D.

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The Detroit Red Wings may be interested in a reunion with a pair of familiar faces, as Craig Custance of The Athletic reported the team reached out to free-agent forwards Thomas Vanek and Valtteri Filppula.

However, it's unknown whether the Red Wings would like to sign both players, or if the team would limit it to one addition in order to keep more open roster spots for young players.

Vanek spent the 2015-16 campaign with the Red Wings, when he appeared in just 48 games but still managed to put up 38 points. Detroit dealt him to the Florida Panthers at the 2016 trade deadline, and the Austrian split last season between the Vancouver Canucks and Columbus Blue Jackets.

Filppula has a more extensive history with the Red Wings, as he was a third-round pick by the club in the 2002 draft. He skated one year with Detroit's minor-league club and then seven with the Red Wings, while his best season came in 2011-12, when he tallied 66 points in 81 games.

He was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2017-18, which marked the final season of a five-year contract that carried a $5-million cap hit.

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The Detroit Red Wings indicated they would use free agency to shore up their goaltending, and it appears Robin Lehner has been identified as a possible fit.

According to Craig Custance of The Athletic, Lehner met with the Red Wings on Tuesday as part of the discussion period that allows players to negotiate with clubs prior to free agency officially opening on July 1.

Lehner became an unrestricted free agent after he failed to receive a qualifying offer from the Sabres. The 26-year-old spent the last three seasons with Buffalo, posting a 42-61-20 record over that time.

While Lehner was the starter in Buffalo, there are no assurances he'll find a similar role in Detroit, given that veteran netminder Jimmy Howard is under contract for one more season. However, the possibility remains that the younger Lehner could step into the top job in the future should he sign a multi-year deal with the Red Wings.

Custance adds that Detroit has also held discussions with free-agent goaltenders Carter Hutton and Jonathan Bernier. On Monday, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported that eight clubs have been in contact with Hutton.

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The Vancouver Canucks signed defenseman Derrick Pouliot to a one-year, one-way, $1.1-million contract, the team announced Tuesday.

Pouliot was a restricted free agent but did not receive a qualifying offer before Monday's 5 p.m. deadline, which gave him unrestricted status and freed him to sign with any team on July 1.

The Canucks likely non-tendered him in fear that an arbitrator would reward him with more than $1.1 million.

A former eighth overall pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012, the 24-year-old collected 22 points in 71 games with the Canucks this past season.

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Wayne Gretzky isn't part of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee, but if he were, it sure sounds like commissioner Gary Bettman's induction would have gotten his stamp of approval.

"What makes the game of hockey so wonderful is the fans, the players, the coaches, the cities that back their teams, the global growth of hockey, the ever-expanding growth of our game in North America and, of course, the competitive balance we are fortunate to have in our league," Gretzky told Dan Rosen of NHL.com on Tuesday when the 2018 class was announced.

"The commissioner's vision to give every club a chance to win the Stanley Cup has made our game stronger. His leadership and love for hockey is very evident. And hockey has become more entertaining year after year, thanks in part to his passion for the game."

Named commissioner in 1993, the NHL has seen massive gains throughout Bettman's tenure, particularly expansion from 24 to 31 teams, largely in the southern United States. The Anaheim Ducks, Nashville Predators, and Vegas Golden Knights are among the success stories.

Under Bettman, the NHL has also secured cost certainty, introducing a salary cap to begin the 2005-06 season, and boosted league revenues more than tenfold. The average player salary has climbed to more than $3 million a year. However, he's also presided over three lockouts, including one that wiped out the entire 2004-05 season.

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is going to be a Hockey Hall of Famer, and not everybody is thrilled about that.

Even before his November induction was officially revealed Tuesday, people were already cracking wise, while others were legitimately questioning it.

Once it was confirmed, the discourse continued, and let's just say it was largely critical.

Some did come to Bettman's defense.

Finally, the circumstances of the announcement itself seemed rather apropos.

And scene.

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The Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2018 was announced Tuesday, headlined by New Jersey Devils icon Martin Brodeur.

Martin St. Louis, Alexander Yakushev, and Jayna Hefford were also chosen in the player category. Willie O'Ree - the NHL's first black player - and commissioner Gary Bettman were elected as builders.

Brodeur was a first-ballot lock. The goaltender ranks first all time in wins (691) and shutouts (105) to go along with three Stanley Cups, four Vezina Trophies, five William M. Jennings Trophies, a Calder Trophy, and two Olympic gold medals. He owns a career save percentage of .912, and led the league in wins in nine different seasons throughout his time with New Jersey.

St. Louis, meanwhile, was one of the most prolific scorers of his era, accruing 391 goals and 642 assists in 1,134 career contests. The undrafted, undersized winger won the Art Ross Trophy twice, the Hart Trophy once, and the Lady Byng Trophy three times. He lifted the Stanley Cup in 2004 and won Olympic gold in 2014.

Hefford represented Canada internationally on numerous occasions, capturing an incredible four consecutive Olympic gold medals and scoring the winning goal in 2002. Yakushev has a polished international resume as well, having won gold for the Soviet Union in 1972 and 1976.

O'Ree broke the NHL's color barrier on January 18, 1958 with the Boston Bruins. The 82-year-old appeared in just 45 NHL games, but his legacy and his continued work as an ambassador for the league has finally earned official recognition by the Hall of Fame.

Lastly, Bettman got the nod in his 25th year as commissioner. Since he took over in 1993, the league has expanded from 24 to 31 teams. While he's received his fair share of criticism for - among other things - his push to expand the game in the southern United States, there's no denying his efforts to grow interest in non-traditional markets have benefited the NHL.

All six members will officially be inducted in November.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning signed forward J.T. Miller to a five-year contract worth $26.25 million, the team announced Tuesday.

The deal includes a limited no-trade clause that doesn't kick in until its second year, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith.

Signing Miller, Tampa Bay's most prominent restricted free agent, leaves the team with a projected $5.3 million in available cap space, according to CapFriendly.

The 25-year-old was acquired by the Lightning at the trade deadline from the New York Rangers along with defenseman Ryan McDonagh. In 19 games after heading south, Miller recorded 18 points and added eight more in 15 postseason contests.

The extension comes one day after it was reported the Lightning would meet with John Tavares, and could significantly lower the club's chances of luring the superstar without a corresponding move to clear cap space.

While a decision on Miller was among Tampa Bay's top priorities this summer, the front office is far from being clear of potential salary-cap headaches, as Nikita Kucherov will need a new deal and Andrei Vasilevskiy is eligible for an extension after the 2018-19 season.

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The 2018 NHL Draft lacked the fireworks everybody anticipated, but the Montreal Canadiens were reportedly close to providing quite a spark.

The Habs, who selected Finnish pivot Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the No. 3 pick, had a deal in place with the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres to send captain Max Pacioretty to Long Island for a first-round pick, then flip it to the Sabres in exchange for Ryan O'Reilly, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels.

Sabres general manager Jason Botterill was asking for the third overall pick, which wasn't an option for the Canadiens, so Habs boss Marc Bergevin turned to the Isles, who held both the 11th and 12th overall picks. It's unclear what other pieces may have been involved, but once prospects Oliver Wahlstrom and Noah Dobson fell down the board to New York, the Islanders turned down the deal, adds Engels.

Both Pacioretty and O'Reilly have been rumored to be on the trading block this offseason, and would conceivably fit well in a role with their hypothetical new organizations.

Oh, what could have been.

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