Brendan Shanahan was known equally for his grit and goal-scoring as a player, but the Toronto Maple Leafs president doesn't quite see the game the way he used to.

"The way (today), I think, is not necessarily the way I played," Shahanan said on the "SmartLess" podcast hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Leafs fan Will Arnett.

"I know people get pissed off at me when I say stuff like this, but I don't get excited to see a big hit. I get excited when I see a big goal ... I don't want to see any of these young guys on the ice getting carried off (on a stretcher). I don't get off on it."

Shanahan recorded 656 goals and 2,489 penalty minutes over 1,524 NHL games. He also racked up 90 career fights, according to hockeyfights.com.

The Hall of Fame forward believes fighting can still serve a purpose in the modern game, but the days of premeditated tilts are long gone.

"If I see a fight in hockey and it's because someone was protecting somebody or somebody was bullying somebody and you're addressing it. There's probably still a place for that in hockey, but using it as a tool to intimidate or hurt, I don't know, it's going away from that."

Prior to joining the Maple Leafs, Shanahan served as the league's senior vice president and helped establish the NHL Department of Player Safety in 2011.

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The financial ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Vancouver Canucks are impacting a potential extension for head coach Travis Green.

"We’ve talked and we’ll continue to work at it, but everybody is really in a holding pattern right now and we’re not the only team," general manager Jim Benning told Ben Kuzma of The Province. "And everybody is sensitive right now. It’s going to be important coming out of this to have a coach who can get the best out of his players."

The Canucks hired Green to his first NHL coaching gig in April 2017 after spending four seasons with the club's AHL team in Utica. He has one year remaining on his contract that pays him $1 million per year, according to Cap Friendly.

Green got his first taste of the playoffs as a coach this past season and guided the Canucks to their first series victory since 2011 when they knocked off the defending champion St. Louis Blues in the first round.

The 49-year-old has helped the Canucks' rebuild progress faster than expected, and his impact on Vancouver's core of young stars has made an impression on Benning.

"Travis lets young players have the puck on their stick as long as they’re not making the same mistakes over and over. He lets them be creative and hold up to a certain defensive standard and be accountable," Benning said. "He has the ability to communicate, get the best out of his players, and he’s important to us because we’ve got young players we’re trying to grow with."

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The NHL won't consider anything less than 48 games if the league plays a shortened campaign in 2021, sources told ESPN's Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski.

The NHL is targeting Jan. 1 as a start date for next season. Awarding the Stanley Cup before the Summer Olympics begin July 23 is ideal, but it's not necessary for the league.

"I think there is some flexibility if we were to choose that route. There's a lot left to be played out on the Olympics front too," deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "We have models that extend past the Olympic time period. Those are alternatives that are on the table. I can't tell you they're the ones that are necessarily going to be pursued, but I think there's some flexibility there."

There are obvious incentives to having a full 82-game season in 2021-22 for the Seattle Kraken's inaugural campaign and the first year of a new U.S. TV contract. NBC's television deal with the NHL expires after 2020-21.

The league previously used a 48-game schedule for the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. Teams play 82 games in a typical regular season.

Regardless of how long next season is or the format used, fans could potentially return to arenas.

"I think the ultimate goal is to end up with fans in the arenas. I don't think we'll get to capacity, but I think we'll have enough socially distanced fans," an NHL source told Wyshynski.

The league definitely wants fans in the stands for the playoffs if local restrictions allow it, sources told Wyshynski.

Fans have made their way back into stadiums across North America. Select NFL cities have hosted spectators at a limited capacity, and Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas reached about 25% capacity during the 2020 World Series.

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The Edmonton Oilers are expected to announce the signing of forward Dominik Kahun on Monday, according to TSN's Ryan Rishaug.

The deal will be for one year and is worth $975,000, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The 25-year-old split time last season between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres, tallying 12 goals and 19 assists across 56 games.

The Czech-born German forward has logged just two NHL seasons. He previously spent four campaigns in Germany's top professional league with Munich EHC.

Kahun was teammates with Oilers star Leon Draisaitl in Germany's under-16 Schuler-BL league. During the 2010-11 season, Kahun recorded 69 goals and 206 points in 30 games, while Draisaitl netted 97 goals and 192 points.

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The Carolina Hurricanes re-signed forward Warren Foegele to a one-year, $2.15-million contract, the team announced Sunday.

Foegele was a restricted free agent, so the two sides have avoided going to arbitration.

"Warren has shown improvement each year of his professional career," general manager Don Waddell said. "We expect him to continue to develop and enhance his role on our team."

The 24-year-old established career highs in goals (13) and assists (17) in 68 contests during the 2019-20 season. He averaged 13:43 minutes of ice time per game.

Carolina drafted Foegele in the third round in 2014. He's amassed 25 goals and 23 assists in 147 NHL games.

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Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis is optimistic the NHL's flat salary cap will present some unique opportunities for his club when the expansion draft takes place next summer.

"Well, I think certainly, that’s what we’re hoping," Francis told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

"But I think there are pros and cons, right?" Francis continued. "Obviously, the cap being flat should be a benefit to us. But I think you saw a lot of teams doing some maneuvering this summer, whether it was buyouts, moving players for picks and stuff, to help alleviate some of their situations."

Due to the pause, the NHL's salary cap is set at $81.5 million each season until the league's revenue reaches it's pre-pandemic projections.

Seattle will adhere the same draft rules as the Vegas Golden Knights - the most recent expansion franchise - and must choose a minimum of 20 players under contract for the 2021-22 campaign.

Vegas famously made the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season after knocking their expansion draft out of the park, landing foundational pieces such as Shea Theodore, Jonathan Marchessault, and William Karlsson.

The Golden Knights are exempt from Seattle's draft, but the remaining 30 teams across the league can protect either seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goalie. Players with no-movement clauses are automatically protected unless they waive their agreement, and all first or second-year players are exempt from being chosen.

The Kraken are set to take the ice for the 2021-22 season, and will join the Pacific Division.

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