The Washington Capitals traded blue-liner Brenden Dillon to the Winnipeg Jets for a second-round pick in 2022 and 2023, the teams announced Monday.

Dillon, 30, has three years left on his contract, which carries a $3.9-million annual cap hit. He registered two goals and 17 assists in 56 games this past season while averaging 18:57 of ice time, but the 6-foot-4, 225-pound rearguard is known more for his defensive abilities.

The British Columbia native isn't afraid to throw his weight around, racking up 143 hits last season, but he's also posted strong underlying numbers over the past three campaigns.

Dillon will also arrive in Winnipeg with some familiarity. Prior to joining the Capitals at the 2019 trade deadline, Dillon spent parts of six seasons with the San Jose Sharks, where he was often paired with current Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo.

Winnipeg has been trying to rebuild it's blue line since it lost Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, and Ben Chiarot in the 2019 offseason.

With Dillon entering the fold, here's the Jets' current blue-line depth chart:

*RFA

The Jets could still add one more right-handed defenseman if they aren't comfortable putting one of their young left-handed blue-liners on their off side. The club projects to have nearly $20 million in cap space, but in addition to Pionk and Stanley, Andrew Copp is also an RFA.

Meanwhile, the Capitals were likely looking to create some cap flexibility. The team has $13.6 million in projected cap space now but still needs to re-sign Alex Ovechkin and could add a netminder to pair with RFA Ilya Samsonov. Michal Kempny, who missed the entire 2020-21 campaign recovering from an Achilles tear, could step in and fill Dillon's shoes.

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A number of notable players did not receive qualifying offers prior to Monday's 5 p.m. ET deadline and are now unrestricted free agents.

The Boston Bruins announced they did not make a qualifying offer to forward Nick Ritchie, which would have been $2 million, per CapFriendly. Boston also did not extend a qualifying offer to forward Ondrej Kase.

Ritchie, 25, had an impressive year with the Bruins in his first full campaign with the club. He scored 15 goals and added 11 assists in 56 games. Kase, 25, only appeared in nine regular-season games with Boston over the past two seasons due to injury.

The Chicago Blackhawks announced they didn't extend qualifying offers to Pius Suter, Adam Gaudette, David Kampf, and Josh Dickinson. Shortly after the deadline, the team inked Gaudette to a one-year contract worth $997.5K, according to The Athletic's Mark Lazerus.

Suter, 25, finished his first year in the NHL after coming from Switzerland. He had 14 goals and 13 assists in 55 games.

Other notable names who did not receive qualifying offers include Edmonton Oilers forwards Dominik Kahun and Jujhar Khaira, San Jose Sharks forward Ryan Donato, New York Islanders forward Michael Dal Colle, and Anaheim Ducks forward Danton Heinen.

All players who did not receive qualifying offers will hit the open market on Wednesday, but a deal can still come to fruition with their respective clubs beforehand.

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The Winnipeg Jets re-signed forward Paul Stastny to a one-year contract worth $3.75 million, the team announced Monday.

Stastny, 35, scored 13 goals and added 16 assists last season. It was his first campaign back with the club after spending two seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights. Stastny played with the Jets for 19 regular-season games in 2018 when he was acquired at the trade deadline.

At five-on-five last season, Stastny ranked third among Jets skaters with a 49.89 Corsi For rating and fourth with a 49.69 expected goals for percentage.

Stastny provides the Jets with considerable depth down the middle, with Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Adam Lowry also in the mix. Stastny was moved to the wing at times last season.

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The Florida Panthers are trading veteran defenseman Anton Stralman, prospect Vladislav Kolyachonok, and a 2024 second-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2023 seventh-rounder, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Stralman, 34, has one year left on his contract carrying a $5.5-million cap hit, per CapFriendly. He agreed to waive his modified no-trade clause to facilitate the move, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

The Panthers now project to have over $11.5 million in cap space. They re-signed RFA Sam Bennett on Monday, but still have to come to terms with RFA Sam Reinhart.

Meanwhile, the rebuilding Coyotes continue to use their cap space to build draft capital. They've already taken on the unwanted contracts of Andrew Ladd, Shayne Gostisbehere, Loui Eriksson, Antoine Roussel, and Jay Beagle.

Arizona had three second-round picks in this year's draft, it has five in 2022, two third-round picks in 2023, and now two second-rounders in 2024.

The Coyotes need bodies to play this season and also need to get to the cap floor.

Stralman registered three goals and six assists in 38 games last season while averaging 18:57 of ice time per contest. He cleared waivers in March and was a healthy scratch at times during the campaign, including the team's playoff opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Kolyachonok was a second-round pick by the Panthers in 2019. The defenseman registered six points in 46 games with CSKA Moscow of the KHL this past season.

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There are a number of big-name free agents set to hit the open market on July 28. Many of them held off signing extensions due to the looming Seattle Kraken expansion draft last week, but the attention has shifted with that out of the way now.

It's fair to say that Alex Ovechkin is certainly not leaving the Washington Capitals. However, it appears there's a good chance that most of the other free agents will at the very least entertain offers from teams around the league. Let's take a look at five players that would be best served by sticking with their current clubs rather than switching.

Phillip Danault, Montreal Canadiens

Danault appears ready to cash in on the open market after a strong playoff showing that resulted in a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final with the Canadiens. The 28-year-old has transformed into one of the league's top defensive centers after being traded to Montreal in 2016.

It appears the Quebec native earned head coach Dominique Ducharme's trust to get the toughest assignments. Finding a similar role with a new team might prove difficult. His offensive skills aren't the best - he has a combined 30 goals over the past three seasons - but that doesn't entirely matter in Montreal if his strong defensive game continues.

The Canadiens roll out four strong lines, with Danault being the team's top center. Most of Montreal's forwards are set to return next season, so it would be in Danault's best interest to stick around and try to run things back after a miraculous playoff run.

Tyson Barrie, Edmonton Oilers

Barrie put together one of the best statistical seasons of his career with the Oilers this past campaign, putting up 48 points in 56 games. The 29-year-old took a one-year deal with Edmonton to prove himself after a tough season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019-20, and he did just that.

His defensive stats still weren't great, but Barrie wasn't brought in to be a shutdown defender. With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way up front, the Oilers need an offensive defenseman to help set things up in the zone and quarterback their menacing power play.

Barrie has made it clear he hopes to get more of a long-term deal, and Edmonton can now make it work with Adam Larsson not returning. For Barrie, it's hard to pass up the opportunity to keep playing with McDavid and Draisaitl in the coming years and continue thriving on the offensive side of the game.

Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche captain couldn't be in a better spot in Colorado. Not only is Landeskog one of the fan favorites as the team's leader, but he's also firmly entrenched on one of the league's most dominant lines alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. The trio has great chemistry, and Landeskog likely won't find better linemates elsewhere.

Colorado is set up to be one of the league's top teams for the foreseeable future and has a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup every season. The offer on the table from the Avalanche may not be as high as Landeskog hoped, but they had to pay Cale Makar and will need to do the same for MacKinnon in a couple of years. Sticking in Colorado for a slight discount would surely end up paying off for Landeskog.

David Krejci, Boston Bruins

Krejci has spent his entire NHL career with the Bruins, so it would make little sense for the 35-year-old to head to a new team now. He's built an extremely solid career essentially anchoring Boston's second line and helping in all situations.

The Bruins got Krejci a shiny new toy last season, bringing in Taylor Hall to play alongside him. The pair showed instant chemistry, with a big rejuvenation in Hall's game. Now that Boston locked up Hall for four more years, it would only be right for Krejci to stick around.

At five-on-five in 16 regular-season games together, the pair posted a stellar 65.69 Corsi For rating and 68.08 expected goals for percentage. They also scored an incredible 14 goals during that span and allowed just one against. With the Bruins' top line firmly entrenched, Krejci has the opportunity to play alongside Hall on what could be one of the best second lines in the NHL if he stays in Boston.

Kyle Palmieri, New York Islanders

Palmieri had one of the worst seasons of his career last year, but there's no reason to panic just yet. He didn't click well with the Islanders when he arrived prior to the trade deadline but showed a spark during the team's lengthy playoff run by scoring seven goals and adding two assists in 19 games.

With Jordan Eberle out of the picture after being taken by Seattle, Palmieri has a big opportunity in front of him if he stays in New York. He'll likely have a chance to play on the team's No. 1 power-play unit and could even be slotted on the top line alongside Mathew Barzal.

Palmieri shot a career-low 8.7% last season. Despite the poor campaign, he's still only 30 years old and surely has several productive seasons ahead of him. He'll be looked at by numerous teams, but it would be wise for him to stick with the Islanders and seize the opportunity he has there.

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The Florida Panthers have signed restricted free-agent forward Sam Bennett to a four-year contract, the team announced Monday.

Bennett's new deal carries an average annual value of $4.4 million, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Florida acquired Bennett last season from the Calgary Flames for a second-round pick and forward prospect Emil Heineman. Bennett took off with the Panthers, registering 15 points in 10 regular-season games after posting only 12 across 38 contests with the Flames.

"Sam's impact on our club this past season was seen immediately, injecting physicality, skill, and energy into our lineup," said Florida general manager Bill Zito. "We are thrilled to have him in our Panthers lineup and look forward to what he can bring to our offense in the upcoming 2021-22 season."

The Panthers have approximately $7 million in cap space after signing Bennett, according to CapFriendly. Florida also needs to sign newly acquired restricted free-agent forward Sam Reinhart before the season begins.

Bennett's previous pact paid him $2.55 million per season. He signed a pair of bridge deals with the Flames after his entry-level contract, struggling to carve out a role with the franchise that drafted him fourth overall in 2014.

The 25-year-old has 155 points in 412 NHL games.

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Jack Eichel's representatives believe the Buffalo Sabres will trade their captain soon.

"Our expectation is that Jack is going to be traded in the near future, and all of our discussions have been centered around that issue," agents Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli told Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Eichel's status was a hot topic at last weekend's draft, but a trade never materialized. The Sabres instead dealt two other core pieces, sending Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers and Rasmus Ristolainen to the Philadelphia Flyers. They also drafted top prospect Owen Power with the first overall pick.

Fish and Donatelli confirmed that Eichel is skating but wouldn't clarify if the 24-year-old needs neck surgery. Eichel reportedly wants a disc replacement, but the Sabres won't sign off on the procedure - a clear point of contention during the player's end-of-year press conference.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams hasn't shut the door on Eichel returning to Buffalo for the 2021-22 season.

"I would have no problem at all if Jack Eichel is on our team when we start training camp," Adams said after the draft, according to The Buffalo News.

Eichel missed the final two months of the season because of his neck issue. He finished the year with an underwhelming two goals and 16 assists in 21 games but is still bound to attract plenty of suitors on the trade market.

Since being drafted second overall in 2015, Eichel's recorded 355 points in 375 games. He has five years remaining on his contract at $10 million per season, and his no-movement clause kicks in after the upcoming campaign.

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