Two months after denying that his negotiations with Kirill Kaprizov had reached an impasse, Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin acknowledged they aren't going as planned.

"There are going to be some obstacles," Guerin told The Athletic's Michael Russo on Monday.

"I will say this, we are at a point where we feel we're being extremely fair," Guerin added. "How far apart are we? Not very, but sometimes those can be the things that take a while. I mean, that's the way I see it. You could ask (Kaprizov's agent) Paul (Theofanous) or Kirill and they might say something very different."

The GM wouldn't go into detail about the talks, but Russo reports the Wild have offered the 24-year-old winger deals of varying lengths at an average annual value of about $9 million.

"We've made a very fair offer, and that's just where we are," Guerin said.

In early July, Guerin claimed that talks hadn't halted, saying, "We've never cut off" the negotiations and insisting they've been ongoing. Later that month, it was reported Kaprizov had an offer to sign with one of his former squads, the KHL's CSKA Moscow, but he eventually ruled that out.

Kaprizov won the Calder Trophy in June after leading all NHL rookies with 27 goals and 51 points over 55 games. He also led the Wild in those offensive categories while pacing the club's forwards in average ice time at 18:18. Additionally, he posted a favorable 50.34 expected goals for percentage at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The dynamic Russian carries the league's 10.2(c) designation rather than being a free agent of the unrestricted or restricted variety, according to CapFriendly. That's because he doesn't meet the requirements to be a UFA or a Group 2 RFA and Minnesota issued him a qualifying offer.

Kaprizov signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the Wild before the 2019-20 season. The club drafted him in 2015, but he didn't come over to North America to make his NHL debut until this past January.

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Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews is optimistic that he won't miss any time at the start of the season after undergoing a wrist procedure in August.

"It's coming along well," Matthews said Monday, according to NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "Right now, it's a couple more weeks until I can kind of get out of the splint and start kind of really rehabbing and build my strength back.

"But ... as far as timeline goes, I'm going to get back on the ice this week. I'm really hopeful to be able to be ready for Game 1. That's my goal right now. Just take it day by day and see how I'm feeling."

Matthews was initially given a recovery timetable of at least six weeks following his surgery on Aug. 13, which would have seen him return by the end of next week.

The Maple Leafs' training camp opens Sept. 22. Toronto's preseason schedule begins Sept. 25 before starting the regular season on Oct. 13, with the club facing the Montreal Canadiens in both games.

Matthews' wrist issue bothered him during the last campaign, but he waited until the offseason to have the procedure because he hoped it would heal, according to Zeisberger. However, the ailment continued to bother him during his workouts over the summer, leading to his decision to have surgery after discussing it with the team's medical staff.

The talented center, who'll turn 24 on Friday, said Monday that the wrist issue isn't serious, and he's happy to have addressed it.

Despite playing through the injury for most of last season, Matthews claimed the "Rocket" Richard Trophy after leading the NHL with 41 goals in 52 contests. Matthews is entering his sixth campaign with the Maple Leafs, who drafted him first overall in 2016.

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Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois still hasn't explained why he demanded a trade out of Columbus, but he recently shed some light on how the saga affected him.

"For me, the hard part was when I got traded, it was the people kinda putting words in my mouth, like why he wants out," Dubois told "31 Thoughts: The Podcast" on Monday, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

Dubois continued: "These are people that have never met me, that have no idea who I am, have probably never even done an interview with me. It was kind of tough to deal with that. It was hard on my parents, to be honest. For my mom to see stuff like that, it was tough on her.

"That was a very hard part in my life, and I went through it, and I'm still alive. There's worse things that can happen."

The Columbus Blue Jackets selected Dubois third overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. At the end of 2020, just before his fourth season with the club, it was reported that he'd requested a trade. Five games into the campaign, then-head coach John Tortorella benched him. Days later, the Blue Jackets traded Dubois to the Jets for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic.

The reason for Dubois' request never became public. Prior to the trade, Tortorella said that he wanted the player to "get in front of it" and give a reason why he wanted out.

Dubois, 23, said that he's aware that his silence may have irked fans, but he and his agent, Pat Brisson, decided that it was the more mature route.

"You know, the organization did so many good things for me. They drafted me third overall when nobody thought I'd go third overall. They gave me a chance," Dubois said. "So, I don't know why I'd go out there and say bad things or say things that I might regret later on.

“I didn't think anybody there deserved that - the staff, the players, the fans. I thought that maybe saying less would annoy people and make people mad, but down the line, I think that's the best way to be respectful.”

Dubois' tenure with the Jets didn't get off to a great start, as he recorded eight goals and 12 assists in 41 games. He said Monday that he didn't feel comfortable all season. Dubois will be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the upcoming campaign.

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The Seattle Kraken signed winger Ryan Donato to a one-year contract worth the league minimum of $750,000, the team announced Monday.

Donato tallied six goals and 14 assists in 50 games with the San Jose Sharks last season. Seattle will be the 25-year-old's fourth team, but he has shown varying degrees of promise at different times in his career.

When he was first called up to the Boston Bruins in 2017-18, he recorded nine points in 12 games. The following season, he registered 16 points in 22 contests after the Minnesota Wild acquired him via trade.

"Ryan's hockey sense and ability to contribute on the scoresheet are two ingredients we are excited to add to our forward group," Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. "We like his offensive potential and believe he can add scoring depth."

Donato has posted average offensive metrics over the past three seasons, but he's been a defensive liability.

He was a Hobey Baker finalist in his last season at Harvard in 2018.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets replaced assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre on Brad Larsen's staff after he refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the team announced Monday.

Steve McCarthy, who's been behind the bench with Columbus' AHL affiliate for the past five seasons, will join the Blue Jackets in place of Lefebvre.

"While we are disappointed, we respect that this decision is a personal one for Sylvain and wish him well," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "We feel fortunate to have an outstanding coach join our club in Steve McCarthy, who has played in this league, won championships as a player, and been an important member of our hockey operations department as an assistant coach in Cleveland."

The Blue Jackets hired Lefebvre in June. He previously worked with the AHL's San Diego Gulls after playing nearly 1,000 games in the NHL from 1989 to 2003.

The NHL sent a memo to all teams in August stating that all hockey operations personnel are required to be fully vaccinated for the 2021-22 season.

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