Pat Maroon believes the Tampa Bay Lightning can win a third straight Stanley Cup next season.

"I truly think we can run it back again," Maroon said, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith. "It depends on our health, how guys are feeling, our attitude. But we've been texting together as a group and thinking, we've brought our top two lines back, our big four on D, the best goalie in the world."

The Lightning could become the first team to win three consecutive championships since the New York Islanders won four from 1980-83.

Tampa Bay lost a number of key contributors this offseason, including Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, Barclay Goodrow, and Blake Coleman. The club also added a number of veterans, such as Corey Perry, Zach Bogosian, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

Despite the significant roster turnover, Maroon is happy the majority of the team's key contributors are returning.

"Brayden Point, Kuch (Nikita Kucherov), and (Ondrej Palat) are coming back," Maroon said. "There's no doubt in my mind we can run it back. Guys want to do it again. That's why we play."

Maroon has lifted the Stanley Cup in three straight seasons, having won with the St. Louis Blues before he joined the Lightning in 2019. He notched four goals and 14 assists in 55 games with Tampa Bay last season and added four points in the playoffs.

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Consider Darnell Nurse a fan of the Edmonton Oilers' busy offseason.

After the Oilers brought in Zach Hyman, Derek Ryan, and Warren Foegele to bolster their forward depth, as well as Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci to transform their blue line, Nurse said Friday he's excited to work with the club's new additions.

"I think, if you look at our team from when the season ended to now ... we've made a lot of improvements," Nurse said, per The Canadian Press. "On the back end, we've added some really steady pieces that have played a lot of games and (that) you know each and every night are going to bring it."

The club's top-pair defender, who's fresh off inking an eight-year, $74-million extension, singled out Hyman and Foegele for their attitude and mentality. Nurse said both players, who've been working out with several of their Oilers teammates in Toronto this offseason, just want to get "better and better."

"I don't think you can have enough of (that) on your team," Nurse said. "And I think they'll bring that to our team and continue to push us to another level."

Edmonton also retained Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Tyson Barrie, and Mike Smith on new multi-year contracts this offseason.

The Oilers enter the 2021-22 campaign looking to rebound from a disappointing first-round sweep after finishing second in last season's North Division.

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Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall has full confidence in his goalies entering next season and, specifically, expects starter Tristan Jarry to rebound.

"When you're a goaltender, and I've lived it, there's disappointments that you have to get over and you have to bounce back from," Hextall said Thursday, according to NHL.com's Wes Crosby. "I feel strongly that (Jarry is) going to bounce back and be a very good goaltender for us throughout the entire year."

Jarry, 26, managed a .909 save percentage and 2.75 goals-against average in 39 games last season, his first campaign as the full-time starter following Matt Murray's departure. Jarry struggled mightily during the postseason, posting an .888 save percentage and league-worst minus-5.72 goals saved above average in six games.

In 107 career contests, Jarry owns a .911 save percentage and 2.70 goals-against average.

The Penguins fired goalie coach Mike Buckley on Wednesday and appointed development coach Andy Chiodo to the position. Hextall believes Chiodo will be able to help Jarry and teammate Casey DeSmith make significant strides in all aspects of the game.

"Andy's job now is, predominantly, the two guys on the big team," Hextall said. "So, hopefully, we can make some little tweaks. The mental side of the game for a goaltender is a huge part of it. Andy is well aware of that."

DeSmith, who was unavailable during the playoffs due to injury, put up a .912 save percentage and 2.54 goals-against average in 20 games. He's expected to be ready for the start of the 2021-22 campaign after undergoing core muscle surgery early in the offseason.

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The Seattle Kraken and defenseman Vince Dunn agreed to a two-year contract carrying a $4-million cap hit.

Dunn was a restricted free agent who had an arbitration hearing scheduled for next Saturday. The Kraken selected him from the St. Louis Blues in last month's expansion draft.

The Ontario-born blue-liner produced six goals and 14 assists while averaging a career-high 19:15 of ice time over 43 games with the Blues in 2021. St. Louis reportedly shopped Dunn in January before exposing him to Seattle.

He played his first four campaigns with the Blues, helping them win the Stanley Cup in 2018-19 after racking up a personal-best 12 goals during the regular season.

Dunn will turn 25 on Oct. 29. St. Louis drafted him 56th overall in 2015.

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NHL players won't be allowed to mingle with fans for the time being as COVID-19 rates continue to spike in the United States.

The league prohibited all corporate, charity, and community-based fan interaction in a memo to each of its 32 clubs, reports The Athletic's Michael Russo. The disallowed activities include speaking engagements, autograph sessions, handshake lines, and fist bumps.

The NHL and NHLPA will continue observing vaccination rates and the spread of variants throughout the summer to evaluate whether similar measures will be required for training camp, adds Russo.

Many of the league's squads allowed fans back in their home arenas as this past season progressed, though most did so at less than full capacity. Infection rates had been declining until a fairly recent increase across much of the U.S. due to the more dangerous Delta variant and other strains.

The NHL allowed teams to host games in their own buildings during the 2021 campaign after resuming the previous season in bubbles based in Edmonton and Toronto with no fans in attendance.

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The Chicago Blackhawks retained forward Brandon Hagel on a three-year deal at an average annual value of $1.5 million.

Hagel had the designation of 10.2(c) in the NHL's collective bargaining agreement, as he hadn't played enough to be a Group 2 restricted free agent, according to CapFriendly. The soon-to-be 23-year-old will be a pending RFA in the final year of his new deal and will be eligible for arbitration upon its completion.

He collected nine goals and 15 assists while averaging just under 14 minutes of ice time over 52 games in 2021, his first full season with the Blackhawks. Hagel also notched eight markers and seven helpers across 14 contests with Swiss club Thurgau before the NHL campaign began.

The Blackhawks originally signed Hagel as a free agent in 2018. The Buffalo Sabres drafted him 159th overall in 2016.

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The New York Islanders signed defenseman Adam Pelech to an eight-year contract, the team announced Friday.

The deal carries an average annual value of $5.75 million, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. Pelech entered the offseason as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.

The soon-to-be 27-year-old has emerged into a first-pair defender for the Islanders, excelling in shutdown minutes against top competition.

Pelech appeared in all 56 games for New York in 2021, registering 14 points while averaging over 21 minutes per night. He's played a crucial role in the Isles advancing to the conference finals in back-to-back seasons.

The Islanders selected Pelech in the third round of the 2012 draft.

With Pelech signed, Anthony Beauvillier and Ilya Sorokin are New York's remaining RFAs.

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