Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner held a press conference Monday to explain why he took to Twitter to call out the league over various issues this past weekend.

Lehner scolded the NHLPA online for its mishandling of the Jack Eichel situation and then went after Philadelphia Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault, claiming the veteran bench boss has a history of mistreating his players.

"The last 72 hours have been incredibly difficult, but also incredibly valuable to me, to my career, to my life goals," Lehner said.

"I had a great talk with the NHL and the NHLPA over the last day. I'm excited for the potential change that can be made to protect the younger generation. This is something I've been advocating for for years, and I'm encouraged about the approach they want to take."

Lehner has long been outspoken about the value of mental health. He says his online exploits were a last resort to finally break down barriers and start making changes. Lehner added all future discussions between him and the league will occur behind closed doors.

"I'm always going to advocate for mental health, and advocate for this league," Lehner said.

"But moving forward, I'm looking to help in a more private matter. This weekend was a cry for help from this league, the league I love that has given me so much. But I'm just looking to protect the younger players. The only way to affect change, in my mind, is to do it in a non-public fashion."

Lehner was also adamant he didn't stir the pot online for attention.

"I'm not comfortable with this. I did it anyway," Lehner said. "I'm not comfortable doing any of this. It's extremely hard, especially, again, not to hide behind anything as a proud bipolar person. It's not easy, with a storm like this, and people think I just seek attention and stuff like that. I really don't. I really don't like it, it's not easy for me mentally. But I don't think I have to do that anymore."

Lehner, 30, is entering his 12th NHL campaign.

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Just one team - the Nashville Predators in 2017-18 and 2018-19 - has won the Central Division in consecutive seasons over the last 12 years. The parity has been unrivaled.

While the Colorado Avalanche are likely to buck that trend, there isn't much value in backing them to do so.

Today, we'll be exploring the best way to attack the Central Division futures market.

The favorites

The Avalanche (-340) have the shortest odds of any team in the NHL to win their division. Understandably so.

There is no Achilles heel with this team. Offensively, they're as good as anyone. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog spearhead the attack - at even strength and on the power play - and there's no shortage of quality depth behind them.

Defensively, they're much more stout than they get credit for. Everyone knows about the production Cale Makar, Sam Girard, and Co. bring to the table. But their defense core can also defend with the best of them. The Avalanche actually allowed expected goals at a lesser rate than every team in the NHL at five-on-five. They really don't give up much.

When they do, they figure to be in good hands with Darcy Kuemper and a healthy Pavel Francouz. Each netminder owns a .925 save percentage at five-on-five over the last three years which, for perspective, puts them on par with annual Vezina candidate Connor Hellebuyck (.924 save percentage).

Unless this team suffers a multitude of injuries, they're winning the Central.

The rest

The Dallas Stars (+800) figure to be a strong team this season. They finished third in expected goals share a year ago despite an overwhelming amount of injuries. With better health and the addition of Ryan Suter to stabilize the top four on defense, they should win a lot of games. Enough to make the Avs sweat? Probably not.

The Minnesota Wild (+800) are likely to take at least a small step back. The Wild shot the lights out in 2021, leading the league in five-on-five shooting percentage and benefiting from the highest PDO (shooting percentage plus save percentage) in the NHL. They have talent on the roster, but probably not enough to sustain those kinds of numbers. Replacing Suter with Alex Goligoski is a step in the wrong direction, and the team's stable of high-end prospects probably needs at least another year before making an impact.

The St. Louis Blues (+1500) don't strike me as a team with a chance of knocking off the Avalanche. Only the Detroit Red Wings generated expected goals at a lesser rate than St. Louis last season. The Blues did their best to rectify that, bringing in the likes of Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich to round out the top six. I don't know if Craig Berube is the coach to get the most out of those guys, though, and it's anyone's guess how much longer Vladimir Tarasenko sticks around. Their defense isn't as good as it gets credit for, either. On paper it looks fine, but they ranked 18th in expected goals against per 60 and 20th in high-danger chances against last season, and have no real upgrades. The only notable difference is they lost Vince Dunn to the Seattle Kraken.

The Winnipeg Jets (+1500) are an interesting side to consider. They have a potent offense and one of the league's best netminders. What's largely held them back in recent years is their blue line, which should be much better in 2021-22. Brenden Dillon is a rock-solid defensive defender and Nate Schmidt is only a year removed from playing at a borderline top-pairing level. They're not world-beaters, but they're quality pieces that significantly upgrade the top four.

The Chicago Blackhawks (+2500) are a better team than a year ago but the hill is much too large to climb. They're overrated on the betting market, as I recently explained. They just don't have much scoring depth and their overall team defense is not where it needs to be to compete in such a strong division.

Nashville (+6000) was only able to sneak into the playoffs last season despite all-world goaltending from Juuse Saros. There isn't much reason to believe they'll be better this year, especially with the departure of Ryan Ellis.

You don't need me to tell you the Arizona Coyotes (+10000) are a complete write-off. They lack high-end talent, depth, and their goaltending tandem might be the league's worst. Let's call a spade a spade. It's tank season for Arizona.

Best bet: Winnipeg Jets (+1500)

Let me preface this by saying, again, I fully expect the Avalanche to win the division. It would take an alarming string of injuries, suspensions, or unforeseen circumstances to prevent that from happening. But with the odds implying a 77.8% chance of winning the Central, there simply isn't much value.

That's why I'm going with the Jets. Led by Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Nik Ehlers, we know the offense is formidable. The Jets are also in great hands with Hellebuyck routinely stealing games in net. If the defense is better, as it should be, they have arguably the highest ceiling in the division outside of Colorado.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid wasn't happy with the officiating in Monday night's 4-3 preseason win over the Calgary Flames.

The play that irked McDavid happened in the third period as he was cutting toward the net before the game-tying goal. Flames defenseman Chris Tanev tripped McDavid up which caused him to crash into Calgary netminder Jacob Markstrom.

As he crashed into Markstrom, a shot from Jesse Puljujarvi ricocheted off McDavid and went in. Despite the goal counting, McDavid voiced his displeasure after the game.

"Obviously they have the right to defend their net and defend me trying to get in there but when the stick kinda comes into the feet there like Tanev's did it's a dangerous play for me and for the goalie," he said. "I don't want to go flying in there, the goalie doesn't want me to go flying in there. And the guy that's left safe is the defenseman that was sloppy with his stick.

"I think you'd like to see that called a little bit more."

McDavid suffered a devastating knee injury in the final game of the 2018-19 season against the Flames when he was tripped into the net on a similar play.

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This past NHL offseason truly had it all - a successful offer sheet, an expansion draft, several blockbuster trades, and hundreds of millions of dollars in cash doled out in shiny new contracts for players across the league.

Keeping up with the wide variety of storylines was an exhausting and chaotic task at times. As we wait to see how it all pans out this coming year, let's reflect on some moves that still have us scratching our heads.

5. Oilers splurge for Keith

The Edmonton Oilers entered the offseason with a solid chunk of cap space but immediately handcuffed themselves by acquiring Duncan Keith. The Oilers brought in the 38-year-old future Hall of Fame defenseman in exchange for Caleb Jones and a conditional pick in 2022. While the cost wasn't outrageous, it made little sense for Edmonton to take on Keith's entire $5.538-million cap hit and full no-movement clause for the next two seasons.

Keith's legacy is undeniable. Three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, two Norris trophies, and a Conn Smythe make him one of the greats of his generation. But he's been an ineffective defender for years now. Keith hasn't posted a positive expected goals rate at five-on-five since 2015-16 and has been below 50% in shot share in each of the last three seasons.

There's no question the Oilers needed to add a blue-liner this summer. However, targeting Keith doesn't solve any of their defensive problems, especially considering Adam Larsson joined Seattle and Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie - the club's only other signings on the back end - are prone to surrendering a ton of chances.

4. Flyers add Ristolainen

The Philadelphia Flyers were one of the league's busiest teams this offseason, setting out to make significant changes after a disappointing 2020-21 campaign in which they missed the playoffs. Some of the club's moves should genuinely help the cause, while others, like trading a first-round pick for Rasmus Ristolainen, are less likely to do so.

Ristolainen has been one of the NHL's worst defenders by almost every metric for years. Here's a peek at his overall impact over the past three seasons. In the chart below, red is bad.

It's difficult to excel when playing for a Buffalo Sabres team constantly spinning their tires in a seemingly never-ending rebuild, but Ristolainen has a big enough sample size under his belt to indicate that he likely won't change at this point in his career.

Philadelphia's decision to pay such a high price for Ristolainen looks worse when you consider he's an unrestricted free agent next summer. Trading Shayne Gostisbehere for literally nothing to accommodate Ristolainen's $5.4-million cap hit only adds to the mystery of what general manager Chuck Fletcher envisions for his defensive corps this season.

3. Hurricanes send Nedeljkovic to Red Wings

It feels like only yesterday the Carolina Hurricanes had their future in goal stabilized by a young netminder up for the Calder Trophy. Then they traded him for peanuts.

Alex Nedeljkovic took over No. 1 netminding duties for the Canes last year and led the NHL in save percentage (.932) and goals-against average (1.90) while shining in several underlying metrics. With incumbents Petr Mrazek and James Reimer set for unrestricted free agency, it seemed like the perfect time for Carolina to commit to Nedeljkovic, who was a restricted free agent himself.

Instead, the Hurricanes traded Nedeljkovic to the Detroit Red Wings for Jonathan Bernier's signing rights and a third-round pick. Carolina let Bernier walk and then committed $6.5 million for the next two seasons to an uncertain veteran tandem in Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta. Meanwhile, Detroit locked up Nedeljkovic to a modest two-year, $6-million contract.

That's a price the Hurricanes could afford, but perhaps they weren't ready to commit to a goalie with only 29 NHL appearances. After all, Carolina's front office is privy to much more information than we are, but on the surface, this trade was curious at best and one that could backfire immensely at worst.

2. Golden Knights dump Fleury

From a hockey ops perspective, the Vegas Golden Knights can't afford to pay their goalie tandem $12 million if they want to compete for Stanley Cups perennially. As the older, more expensive, closer-to-free-agency option, it made sense for the Golden Knights to trade Marc-Andre Fleury.

From a personal perspective, the heartless way Vegas cut ties with the face of its franchise is puzzling. Fleury had been the Golden Knights' heart and soul since being selected in the expansion draft. He was a fan favorite from the get-go and played an enormous role in the club's immediate success. Despite the future Hall of Famer's popularity and stature within the organization, Fleury was left in the dark about the stunning move and found out he'd been traded over Twitter.

Making matters more bizarre, Vegas dumped Fleury for Mikael Hakkarainen, a 23-year-old fifth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks who's bounced between the ECHL and AHL since 2019.

Fleury's tenure in Vegas always felt like an unlikely fairytale. He revived his career, backboned the most successful expansion franchise in league history, won a Vezina Trophy, and became a household name in a hockey market many believed was destined for failure. For it to end in such an ugly fashion was the final chapter no one saw coming.

1. Eichel, Sabres in limbo

At the outset of the offseason, the narrative surrounding a Jack Eichel trade was a matter of when and not if. It was supposed to be the story of the year - a young, disgruntled superstar dealt in the prime of his career for a king's ransom. Now just days away from the start of the 2021-22 season, it still hasn't happened.

The team and player remain at odds about the best course of action for Eichel's ailing neck. Amid the stalemate, Eichel has fired and replaced his agent, been stripped of his captaincy, and had former teammates, as well as commissioner Gary Bettman, publicly address the dubious twists and turns this saga has taken.

What was once a gigantic storyline for hockey fans to look forward to has now evolved into an unprecedented game of chicken that neither side will benefit from any time soon. How can the Sabres establish fair value in a trade at this point? When can we reasonably expect Eichel to retake the ice? What is his quality of life like as he awaits significant neck surgery?

How and when this all gets resolved remains a mystery.

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There are many different philosophies when it comes to drafting goaltending in fantasy, but, ultimately, teams usually only go as far as their netminders take them.

A number of goaltenders should, obviously, be targeted at the top of your drafts, including Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck, and Robin Lehner. For that reason, we'll focus on shot-stoppers who aren't necessarily ranked among the top but could provide considerable value.

Target

Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators

Saros is currently going off the board as the 10th goalie in Yahoo drafts, which is a great value spot for a Vezina-caliber goaltender who will get the bulk of the starts with the Predators.

Nashville rewarded the 26-year-old with a four-year, $20-million contract over the summer after he put together his best season in his first campaign as the clear-cut No. 1 starter. He ranked first among goalies with a dazzling 24.64 goals saved above average at five-on-five and fourth with a .868 high-danger save percentage.

Wins might be harder to come by this year as Nashville took a bit of a step back during the offseason with the departures of some key players. However, Saros' peripheral stats should remain stellar as the team still has some rock-solid defensemen playing in front of him.

Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers

Hart had an absolutely miserable campaign last year with the Flyers after an impressive first two NHL campaigns. Despite putting up a grotesque .877 save percentage and 3.67 goals-against average, head coach Alain Vigneault repeatedly confirmed his belief in the young goalie's ability to bounce back.

It seems many people forget that Hart was just 22 years old last season, which is extremely young for a starting NHL goalie. His talent is clear, and his down year could have easily just been the result of a shortened campaign marred with COVID-19 rules and restrictions.

Hart's currently going as the 26th goalie off the board, and that's a pick that could ultimately win you your pool if he bounces back. The Flyers brought in Martin Jones to serve as backup, which shouldn't be too threatening to Hart's workload. With a massive chip on his shoulder, bank on the youngster to rebound and re-emerge as of the league's better goalies.

Cal Petersen, Los Angeles Kings

The Jonathan Quick era in L.A. is all but over despite him still having two years left on his deal with the Kings. Petersen assumed the starting role last season and performed quite well for a young goalie in his first year manning the crease, posting a .911 save percentage in 35 appearances.

Petersen is going extremely low in drafts for seemingly no good reason. He's being selected as the 46th goalie in Yahoo drafts and could easily post great stats, as he'll likely get the majority of starts in Los Angeles. Last year, he ranked 12th in the NHL with 5.28 goals saved above expected at even strength, according to Evolving Hockey.

The Kings are dark horses this year playing in arguably the NHL's weakest division. Their defensive game should drastically improve with the addition of Philip Danault, and the arrival of Alex Edler also provides a bit of a boost on the blue line. If you manage to snatch up Petersen as your third goalie in one of the final rounds, you'll be in great shape entering the year.

Avoid

Marc-Andre Fleury, Chicago Blackhawks

It's not often you'd want to avoid the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, but it's equally rare that such a player gets traded to a significantly worse team over the summer. Fleury is being picked too soon - near the start of the fourth round on average as the sixth goalie. There are more reliable options still available at that point in fantasy drafts.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion had a career year in 2021 while playing for the Vegas Golden Knights, who boasted the NHL's No. 3 offense while allowing the fewest goals in the league. Fleury obviously played a big part in that, but his trade to the Blackhawks doesn't bode well for his value.

Fleury's new team ranked 16th in goals per game last season despite possessing two of the league's top offensive players in Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. The club also posted the NHL's worst expected goals for percentage at five-on-five. Newcomers Seth Jones and Jake McCabe will bolster Chicago's porous defense, but Fleury remains a risky pick regardless.

The goalie's peripheral numbers will likely decline in addition to his win total, considering not only the inferior players in front of him but also the fact that he'll turn 37 next month. Yes, Fleury excelled at age 36, but he played for a far better team at both ends of the ice.

All Dallas Stars goalies

The Stars are entering the season with one of the most crowded creases imaginable. With Ben Bishop, Anton Khudobin, Braden Holtby, and Jake Oettinger all available, it's essentially a toss-up as to who will start on any given night.

Bishop's health is a big question mark entering the year as he continues to recover from knee surgery, which kept him out all of last year. Even if Bishop is out of the picture, there's no discernable difference between the other three netminders.

Oettinger is likely the odd man out with the presence of veterans Holtby and Khudobin. Still, the split between those two goalies will be hard to predict and will lower both of their values. It simply seems like an avoidable headache for fantasy managers to monitor on a game-by-game basis. If Bishop re-enters the fold at some point, it'll be an even bigger mess.

(Analytics source: Natural Stat Trick)

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday the league is monitoring Jack Eichel's stalemate with the Buffalo Sabres but didn't offer much insight on a potential resolution.

"We're pretty up to speed in terms of what's going on," Bettman said on Sportsnet's "The Jeff Marek Show" on Monday. "And there's a legitimate disagreement among doctors as to what the course of treatment would be best both in the short term and the long term, and that's something everybody's wrestling with."

Eichel and the Sabres have been at odds for the past several months over treatment for the star center's ailing neck. Eichel has been adamant in his desire to undergo an artificial disc replacement procedure, but the club has denied his request and wants him to undergo spinal fusion surgery.

The 24-year-old's preferred surgery has been proven to yield better long-term results than spinal fusion, but there is extremely limited research on its viability for active athletes in contact sports. Artificial disc replacement has never been performed on an NHL player.

"It's a terrible situation. I don't think it's fair to point the finger at anybody in terms of who's right or who's wrong," Bettman said. "I think everybody's approaching this with the best intentions, and the injury is complex both in its diagnosis and its treatment, and I think people need to be a little more patient."

Eichel fired his agents Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli in late August after a trade from the Sabres failed to materialize; Fish and Donatelli originally anticipated a deal by the start of free agency in mid-July. Eichel is now represented by Pat Brisson of CAA.

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner - one of Eichel's former Sabres teammates - voiced his displeasure this past weekend with the National Hockey League Players' Association's handling of the situation, calling the stalemate an attack on Eichel's "freedom of choice."

The Sabres stripped Eichel of his captaincy on Sept. 23 after he failed his physical. With the 2021-22 season set to begin Oct. 12, it remains unclear if Eichel will be able to suit up at any point during the coming campaign.

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As a byproduct of realignment, there was no Metro Division in the NHL last season.

The Washington Capitals look to pick up where they left off a year prior and extend their streak to six consecutive Metro titles.

Three teams have shorter odds than the Capitals to claim the division title ahead of the 2021-22 season. Is there value in backing a changing of the guard?

The favorites

Unlike the other three divisions, there's no clear-cut favorite atop the Metro. The implied odds suggest six different teams have at least a 15% chance of winning the division.

Most heavily favored are the Islanders (+350), who made it to the Final Four just last season. Their roster isn't littered with flashy stars, but they have more than enough offense to get by given the impeccable defensive structure implemented by coach Barry Trotz. They're positioned well in goal, too, with Semyon Varlamov and super sophomore Ilya Sorokin manning the crease on a nightly basis. They're a safe bet to flirt with a point total in the high 90s and a division title.

Next in line are the Hurricanes (+400). They look extremely potent up front, though there are some red flags. Dougie Hamilton, arguably the best play-driving defenseman in the NHL, is a huge loss on the back end. Ethan Bear and Tony DeAngelo, while useful players, are unlikely to make up for the value departing.

I also have some concerns about the Hurricanes in goal. They finished second in team save percentage at five-on-five last season, yet are returning zero of the three goaltenders they used. Instead, they're going with free-agent signings Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta. The former ranks 71st in goals saved above expectation over the last two seasons and has dealt with some injury concerns; Raanta has played only 12 games in two of the last three years due to a laundry list of injuries. Not ideal.

The Rangers (+400) are overvalued in the betting market, as we addressed last week. They had fairly good health a year ago yet couldn't make the playoffs. Now with first-line winger Pavel Buchnevich gone, and nothing but grit and intangibles added to the roster, they're implied to have only a 37% chance of missing the playoffs in a tough division? I'm not buying that for a second.

Washington (+450) is a solid but flawed team. They have star power up front and a consistently strong power play, but goaltending is a concern. Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek both allowed at least six more goals than expected last season. If they take a step forward, which is possible given their youth, the Capitals could win the division. They'll fall short otherwise.

Backing Pittsburgh (+500) to win the division seems difficult to stomach. They've routinely been in the mix despite waves of injuries. With better health, it's easy to see value in the Penguins. But better health simply doesn't appear to be in the cards. The season hasn't even started yet and both Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are on the shelf.

Philadelphia (+550) should be more competitive. They have a deep group up front, Carter Hart couldn't play worse than a season ago, and the addition of Ryan Ellis makes the top pairing a whole lot better. But there could be some self-inflicted damage holding the team back. Rasmus Ristolainen is destined to be significantly overused in a top-four role. Meanwhile, Martin Jones, who has posted a sub-.900 save percentage three years in a row, hardly seems like an ideal safety net behind Hart. Those two players, in particular, could offset a lot of the good the rest of the roster does.

Best value: New Jersey Devils (+1800)

This will be no surprise to those who saw my best bets to make the playoffs, but the Devils fit the bill here. Are they likely to win the division? Of course not, but their chances are better than their implied odds of 5.3% suggest.

Their forward core figures to be quite potent. Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Yegor Sharangovich, and Jesper Bratt are all very good young players poised to take the next step, while the addition of Tomas Tatar gives them some quality veteran support in the top six.

New Jersey's defense is in much better shape as well. Hamilton is a true No. 1 capable of playing big minutes and producing against anybody. Ryan Graves also provides some much-needed stability in the top four and penalty kill. Those additions help the likes of Damon Severson, Ty Smith, and P.K. Subban slot into more appropriate roles.

In goal, Mackenzie Blackwood is a solid bounce-back candidate, especially with the improvements defensively, and Jonathan Bernier is a strong platoon partner.

Top to bottom, this team is much improved. If the kids are ready for prime time, the Devils will be much better than most expect.

Best bet: Washington Capitals (+450)

I'd like to back the Islanders, who appear to be the least flawed team in the division, but we bet numbers, not teams - and there's more value on Washington.

Led by Alexander Ovechkin, the offense is always potent. We can bank on that and what should once again be a strong power play.

The team's defense was also surprisingly stingy in Peter Laviolette's debut season as Washington's coach. The Capitals ranked seventh in expected goals against at five-on-five, slotting them just behind the powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning. That's why the Capitals were just a point shy from an East Division title last year despite subpar goaltending.

If either Samsonov or Vanecek can take a step forward, the Capitals have a real chance at winning the Metro. I'm happy to take a stab at +450.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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Philadelphia Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault doesn't agree with Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner's criticisms of his leadership.

Lehner tweeted about several issues in the NHL, including the allegedly widespread improper distribution of prescription drugs, which drew the attention of the league. He took aim at Vigneault specifically on Saturday night.

Vigneault addressed Lehner's comments Monday.

"Well, I don't know the young man. Two things he said about me were that I was a dinosaur - I consider myself experienced. You could say with experience you become a dinosaur maybe," Vigneault said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Sam Carchidi. "I do know I've been coaching a few years and I am tough. I am demanding. But I care about my players. I want their best. Through the years probably there are some guys that have liked me and some guys maybe a little bit less, but I've done it with the best intention and with respect, and, like I said, I don't know the young man that said that.

"As far as the other thing, with me pushing pills, I don't need another income. I have no idea where that comes from ... I don't know what else to say."

Lehner said Monday that he didn't mean to accuse Vigneault of distributing drugs to players, and he was instead trying to communicate that the coach's overall treatment of players is unacceptable, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

The NHLPA reached out to Lehner, and the two sides spoke Sunday and had a "good call," Kaplan added.

"We take (Lehner's) comments seriously," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told Sportsnet's Jeff Marek, adding that the league wants to meet with Lehner soon to discuss them, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

Vigneault began his head coaching career in 1997 with the Montreal Canadiens. He's coached 1,341 games with the Canadiens, Flyers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks but never coached Lehner. He's been with the Flyers organization since 2019.

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