Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie can't wait to compete for a second Stanley Cup after an injury ended his 2019 postseason prematurely.

The 31-year-old was hit awkwardly into the boards during Game 4 of the team's opening playoff round against the Carolina Hurricanes and required surgery to repair a fractured clavicle. The Capitals were eliminated in seven games, but Oshie said he may have been able to return if the team advanced.

"I was cleared kind of (in) June, but definitely cleared in July," Oshie said Monday, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "So we were right on pace, I think, to being close (to playing) if we would have made it to the final. But I'm good. Now it's just all getting those muscles built back up as best as I can before the season and I'm ready to roll. I can't wait for it to get here."

Oshie felt a new sense of urgency after watching his former team, the St. Louis Blues, capture their first championship in franchise history by defeating the Boston Bruins in seven games.

"There's a different type of motivation," Oshie said. "Before it was like, 'This is ours. Let's keep it.' Now we didn't play St. Louis, they didn't take it from us, but that's kind of the feeling that you get. So our year will be, hopefully, a little bit more focused on getting that drive back to reclaim it and hopefully bring another Cup to D.C."

Oshie played a pivotal role in helping the Capitals earn their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2018. He contributed eight goals and 21 points in 23 playoff games, including one goal and five assists in the final.

The 5-foot-11 winger recorded 54 points in 69 regular-season contests in 2018-19 and added one goal and one assist in the postseason before being injured.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Matthew Tkachuk's agent, Don Meehan, said his side gave the Calgary Flames parameters for a new contract two months ago.

"We took an approach whereby we would be really proactive and progressive with Calgary," Meehan told TSN. "We started early, and we set a position. We didn't really have to wait. We formulated a position that we thought would be fair, and we gave that to Calgary probably in the early part of June.

"We're involved in negotiations right now, but as far as I'm concerned, it's not a waiting game. We've made a decision in terms of what we think is fair and relevant for the player, and we're working with Calgary now."

Tkachuk is one of several restricted free agents around the league currently without a contract, and his new deal is the biggest priority for Flames general manager Brad Treliving.

Earlier in August, Treliving said he expects Tkachuk to sign before training camp, which opens in less than a month. The Flames hold a projected $7.756 million in available cap space, according to Cap Friendly, and the team also needs to sign fellow RFA forward Andrew Mangiapane.

The holdup to sign the NHL's star RFAs is reportedly tied to Toronto Maple Leafs standout Mitch Marner, with agents waiting for him to set the market for a crop that also includes Brayden Point, Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Mikko Rantanen, and Brock Boeser.

The league's RFAs can go until Dec. 1 without signing before they're forced to sit out the 2019-20 season. However, if negotiations linger into the regular season, the cap hit during the first year of a player's new contract is prorated, leading to additional financial issues for the team involved.

Tkachuk, 21, produced a standout 2018-19 season, posting 34 goals and 43 assists in 80 games as the Flames cruised to a Pacific Division title.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New York Islanders have signed forwards Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle to new contracts, the team announced Monday.

Financial terms are currently unknown, but Ho-Sang's new deal is for one year while Dal Colle earned a two-year pact. Both players were restricted free agents, and each has struggled to make a mark with the Islanders since the organization drafted them in the first round in 2014.

Selected 28th overall at the 2014 NHL Draft, Ho-Sang possesses an incredible skill set that's been overshadowed by off-ice issues. As a 19-year-old, Ho-Sang was sent home on the very first day of training for being late, and he's since been berated by staff on numerous occasions for supposed immaturity. He also faced scrutiny in his first NHL stint for wearing Mario Lemieux's No. 66 - which was changed upon the arrival of general manager Lou Lamoriello.

Now 23, Ho-Sang was productive in the AHL last season, registering 43 points in 56 games, but he's only played 53 contests with the Islanders so far in his career.

New York drafted Dal Colle fifth overall in 2014 after he showed a ton of promise in the OHL, but his junior success hasn't materialized in the big leagues yet. The 23-year-old has appeared in only 32 games for the Isles since being drafted, though he is coming off a strong AHL campaign in which he averaged a point per game over 34 contests.

Prior to Monday's signings, the Islanders had a projected $8.6 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly. Restricted free-agent forward Anthony Beauvillier is now the only player on the club's ledger without a contract.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Colorado Avalanche have signed free-agent forward Valeri Nichushkin to a one-year contract, the team announced Monday.

The deal is worth $850,000, the club confirmed to The Athletic's Ryan Clark.

Nichushkin was originally drafted 10th overall by the Dallas Stars in 2013. He then played in the NHL right away as an 18-year-old, tallying an impressive 14 goals and 20 assists in 79 games. However, injuries held him to just eight appearances the following season, and he struggled to recapture his rookie form in 2015-16, scoring just nine goals.

After two campaigns in the KHL, Nichushkin returned to the Stars in 2018-19 but didn't enjoy much success. In 57 regular-season contests, the Russian failed to score a single goal and was scratched for all but one of Dallas' 13 playoff games.

Despite the lack of offensive production, the 24-year-old winger boasts a tantalizing combination of size (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) and speed.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vancouver Canucks have signed general manager Jim Benning to a three-year contract extension, reports Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre.

A report of Benning's extension surfaced on Friday but the length was unknown at the time.

Benning was heading into the final year of his previous deal, so the extension will keep him in Vancouver through the 2022-23 season.

The Canucks made the postseason in Benning's first year at the helm during the 2014-15 campaign, but they've missed the playoffs in the four years since.

Benning is responsible for rebuilding the organization's farm system by drafting the likes of Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes. However, he's drawn criticism from the fanbase for certain signings, such as Loui Eriksson's six-year, $36-million deal in 2016, and Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel's matching four-year, $12-million pacts in 2018.

The GM was busy this summer, as he acquired J.T. Miller via trade and Tyler Myers, Micheal Ferland, and Jordie Benn through free agency.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.