You haven't heard the last from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Final, the Lightning are ready to enter the coming season with a renewed focus.

"We feel we have unfinished business," Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov told The Athletic's Joe Smith. "We're close. One day it's going to come, for sure. It's just going to blow up."

Last season, five wins were the difference between glory and defeat as the Lightning fell in the deciding game of the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in three seasons.

Not only did Tampa Bay fall short of expectations - many pundits picked the Lightning to hoist the Stanley Cup - the team hasn't been able to seal the deal in recent seasons. An injury-riddled campaign saw Tampa Bay miss the 2017 postseason, one year after losing to the Penguins in the conference finals. In 2015, the Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup Final only to fall to the Chicago Blackhawks.

But the difference between devastating defeat and winning it all can be overcome, as Kucherov points to countryman Alex Ovechkin and how his Washington Capitals finally won the Stanley Cup after repeated postseason flops and early exits. Kucherov believes the Lightning can use the Capitals' play last spring as a blueprint.

"Their whole team was unbelievable in the playoff run. Every line was fired up and they were playing the best hockey they ever played," Kucherov said. "I'm not sure some of those guys will ever play the same hockey they played in that series. You have to have every guy ready, from your leaders to other guys. Everyone has to be ready to play your best hockey."

The Russian sniper is confident that the Lightning aren't far off from reaching the winner's circle, and that a bevy of changes aren't needed in order to do so.

"We have to be more consistent in our game, more calmed down if things don't go well," Kucherov added. "Always believe in ourselves. Down three goals? You can finish the game the right way."

There will be plenty of internal and external pressure on the Lightning this season, as many pundits are tabbing Tampa Bay as one of the favorites to claim the 2019 Stanley Cup.

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Ottawa Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee has resigned from the organization, the team announced on Tuesday.

The club also announced that a search is underway for Lee's replacement.

Lee's resignation comes after the franchise suspended him in June while awaiting a court ruling on his harassment charge.

The Ottawa native was charged with second-degree harassment in late May after making lewd comments toward and rubbing the shoulders of a 19-year-old male shuttle bus driver while attending the NHL draft combine in Buffalo.

"My hearing in Buffalo has been postponed until September 13. While my case continues to be reviewed by the courts, I do wish to address my future with the Senators," Lee told TSN's Ian Mendes. "My suspension has given me more time to spend with my loved ones than ever before. For the past 23 years, my family has taken a back seat to my career. My focus now is on putting them first.

"At the same time, I have to think about my obligations to the hockey team. They need an assistant general manager who can focus completely on the coming season. Until this matter is behind me, however, I'm not in a position to (do) that. For this reason - in consultation with the Ottawa Senators and my family - I have chosen to resign as assistant general manager of the Ottawa Senators and general manager of the Belleville Senators."

Lee's first court date was on June 4, and he pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he faces a possible fine and up to 15 days in jail.

The 56-year-old had been with the Senators since 1995, beginning as the team's video coach. In 2009, he was named director of hockey operations, and then received a promotion to assistant GM midway through the 2013-14 season.

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If Mike Babcock, Kyle Dubas, and Brendan Shanahan decide they want Auston Matthews to be the 18th captain in Toronto Maple Leafs history, the soon-to-be 21-year-old is ready to answer the bell.

"Yeah, I would tell them yeah," he told The Athletic's Jonas Siegel when asked what his response would be if approached about wearing the 'C.' "I’d tell them I’d feel ready. I don’t know what they’re thinking about doing, what they want to do.

"Obviously John (Tavares) has been the captain in New York for a while. So I don’t know what they’re thinking or what their whole ideal situation is for that. But I don’t think it really changes much, whether you have a letter or not, for myself or anybody. I go lead by example, on the ice, off the ice, and being a good teammate is a big part of that, too."

The Leafs haven't had a captain for two seasons. Dion Phaneuf last wore the 'C' before being dealt to the Ottawa Senators midway through the 2015-16 campaign.

Matthews was seemingly the no-brainer future captain of the Maple Leafs, but the acquisition of Tavares could change things. He's seven years older than Matthews and captained the New York Islanders for the past five seasons.

Immediately handing the captaincy to an offseason free-agent signing is a rarity. But a player of Tavares' caliber hitting the open market is rare, too.

Matthews, Toronto's prized first overall pick in 2016, has the homegrown advantage, but somewhat surprisingly no experience being a captain.

"I’ve never really thought about (being a captain), honestly," he told Siegel. "When I played I was always the younger guy on the team so I was never a captain. I was an assistant captain at the (U.S. development) program. Playing in Europe obviously (I was) a young guy. It’s something I’ve never really thought about too much.

"But obviously you come into a situation like this and it’s something that if it happens then you definitely embrace it and accept it, and if doesn’t you go about your business and your thing the same way."

The Leafs could also go one more season without naming a captain. Only time will tell.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have named Jim Corsi their new goaltending development coach, the team announced on Tuesday.

The 64-year-old will work closely with the franchise's goaltending prospects, including those with the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Cleveland.

Corsi previously served as the goaltending coach of the St. Louis Blues from 2014 to 2017 and held the same role with the Buffalo Sabres for 16 years prior to that.

The team also announced the hiring of Carey Krug as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Monsters on Tuesday. Krug previously worked as the director of player development at the Detroit Hockey Academy. He is the uncle of Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug.

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Highlight Nov. 12 in your calendar if you enjoy rivalries in the NHL.

That's when the Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks - and Ryan Johansen and Ryan Kesler - square off for the first time since the two players exchanged jabs on Twitter earlier this summer.

It all began with this tweet from Kesler:

Johansen didn't directly reply to that message, but tweeted this a few hours later:

Johansen was asked about the beef in an interview with The Athletic's Adam Vingan on Monday.

"I don't know what he was doing that day," Johansen said. "Clearly I don't think he was thinking right because he made a little bit of a fool of himself."

The rivalry dates back to the 2017 Western Conference Final, during which Kesler hit Johansen with an elbow in Game 2.

Johansen discussed the play with the media after the game.

"He just blows my mind. I don't know what's going through his head out there. His family and friends watching him play, I don't know how you can cheer for a guy like that," he said, according to 102.5 The Game. "It just doesn't make sense how he plays the game. I'm just trying to go out there and play hockey and it sucks when you have to pull a stick out of your groin every shift."

In their first meeting the next season, the two centers dropped the gloves. Kesler "won" and then proceeded to mock Johansen's turtling on his way to the box.

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The NHL's collective bargaining agreement can be terminated in September 2019, and players haven't forgotten what happened the last time the CBA expired.

"We will be having lots of discussions with players over the course of the ensuing season, starting in the fall, about what that means and how we approach it and what's on players' minds and so on," NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr told The Athletic's Katie Strang. "And players are cognizant of the fact that in the last negotiations they made a series of significant concessions. And we'll sort of leave it at that."

Triggering the CBA's opt-out clause would end the current agreement following the 2019-20 season, two years ahead of its September 2022 expiration. The league and the players' association each have the right to opt out on different dates next September.

Fehr, who has been the head of the NHLPA since 2010, led the players through negotiations - and a lockout - five years ago. A deal was finally reached in January 2013, resulting in an abbreviated 48-game season and several changes to the CBA. Those changes included an even split of hockey-related revenue (players received 57 percent in the previous arrangement), a reduction in the maximum length of contracts, and a cap on salary variance through each year of a contract.

While the players may seek some modifications to the agreement, owners could be comfortable continuing down the current path. In November 2016, the NHL offered to extend the CBA through 2025 in exchange for allowing players to participate in PyeongChang 2018. The proposal was ultimately rejected.

However, at least two major issues could make the NHL more amenable to a deal this time.

The first is the potential entry of a Seattle expansion team, which could begin play in 2020-21. The new club would have to pay a $650-million fee, which is not included in the current calculation of hockey-related revenue. Those new dollars would be evenly split among the owners of current franchises, excluding the Vegas Golden Knights.

Additionally, several players' contracts include significant signing bonuses during the 2020-21 season. These must be paid regardless of whether or not a season is played, and it's difficult to imagine owners being thrilled to write those checks if league revenue streams are stopped by another lockout.

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The Edmonton Oilers have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with free-agent defenseman Jakub Jerabek, the team announced Monday.

Jerabek joins the Oilers after splitting last season between the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals. The 27-year-old appeared in two playoff games for the Stanley Cup-winning Capitals, picking up one assist.

A native of the Czech Republic, Jerabek signed with the Canadiens this past offseason as an undrafted free agent after spending the previous year in the KHL. He's tallied two goals and six assists across 36 career NHL games.

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