Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid addressed rumors of Evander Kane joining the club on Wednesday.

Kane has been heavily linked to the team in recent days after becoming a free agent. He became eligible to sign with any club after his deal with the San Jose Sharks was terminated for breach of contract and violation of the AHL's COVID-19 protocol.

"Right now, it's all speculation," McDavid told reporters. "Obviously, Evander is an amazing player and he's had lots of success over the last couple of years. Whatever else is going on, it's not something I look into much."

Kane has been the subject of multiple NHL investigations over the past year. The league cleared him in one case after his wife, Anna, claimed Kane gambled on NHL games. Kane was later suspended 21 games for violating the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. He was also investigated for allegations he abused Anna, which the league stated "could not be substantiated."

"I’m not really here to discuss optics issues," said McDavid. "If fans don’t like it and media doesn’t like it, I think it is what it is. I think there are a lot of things that go on the ice and whatnot that fans don’t like and we don’t necessarily have to discuss that up here with you guys."

McDavid added: "I think Evander is a great player and can help us a lot on the ice and that’s first and foremost."

Oilers general manager Ken Holland confirmed Tuesday he's spoken to Kane's agent, but it appears unlikely Kane signs anytime soon. Teams were recently notified that the NHL is investigating Kane for crossing the U.S.-Canada border in December eight days after testing positive for COVID, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported.

Kane, 30, played five games for the AHL's San Jose Barracuda this season, notching eight points. He had a career year for the Sharks in 2020-21, registering a team-leading 49 points across 56 contests.

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Kingston Frontenacs forward Shane Wright tops Central Scouting's midseason North American skater rankings leading up to the 2022 NHL Draft.

The latest lists for North American and international players were released Wednesday.

Here are the top 10 for each pool.

North American skaters

Wright has dominated the OHL, registering 11 goals and 19 assists in 22 games. That production is par for the course for the young star, who put up 66 points in 58 games during his rookie year.

The 18-year-old added one assist in two games during the short-lived 2022 World Junior Championship, which was canceled due to COVID-19 issues.

International skaters

The 2022 NHL Draft will take place from July 7-8.

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The NHL has informed teams that it is investigating Evander Kane for crossing the U.S.-Canada border eight days after he tested positive for COVID-19 in December, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The development will likely prevent the free-agent forward from signing a deal in the short term as teams await the investigation's results, Friedman added.

Kane reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 21 and flew to Vancouver on Dec. 29, according to Friedman. The San Jose Sharks apparently say that Kane didn't have medical clearance to do so.

The Sharks placed Kane on unconditional waivers Saturday for the purpose of terminating his contract, citing a "breach of his NHL Standard Player Contract and for violation of the AHL COVID-19 protocols."

The 30-year-old cleared waivers Sunday and is an unrestricted free agent. The NHLPA reportedly filed a grievance Sunday night to challenge the voiding of his contract.

Kane is free to sign elsewhere while awaiting the results of the grievance, sources told TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Despite the controversies surrounding Kane, some teams are still showing interest.

Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland confirmed Tuesday that he's spoken to Kane's agent, Dan Milstein, and said he believes in "second chances."

This isn't the first time Kane has been at the center of a league investigation.

The NHL cleared Kane in a September investigation focused on allegations from his estranged wife, Anna, that he gambled on NHL games.

Two subsequent league probes looked into Kane's alleged use of a fake vaccination card and allegations that he'd abused Anna. He was suspended 21 games for violating the NHL's COVID-19 protocol in October, while the league said the domestic abuse investigation "could not be substantiated."

Kane cleared waivers in late November before reporting to the AHL's San Jose Barracuda, where he put up eight points in five games.

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Tuesday was another great success for our best bets. We went 2-0, pushing our record to 10-2 since last Monday.

We'll aim for another winning night as we attack this three-game slate.

Kraken (+160) @ Stars (-150)

Alright, it's time for the ultimate heat check. It's time to bet an under involving the Kraken.

Even though Seattle's offense isn't exactly potent, unders are a scary proposition due to the poor quality of its goaltending. Still, value is value and I see it on the under. Despite playing lifeless hockey, the Kraken give up very few chances, believe it or not.

At five-on-five, they rank 31st in high-danger chances per 60 minutes over the last 10 games, ahead of only the Sabres. On the flip side, Seattle ranks 3rd in high-danger chances against per 60.

The Stars also play pretty slow, defense-first hockey, so they won't pull the Kraken out of their comfort zone. At five-on-five, Dallas ranks eighth in high-danger chances against per 60 over the last 10.

When the team does give up a high-danger chance, it has Jake Oettinger (.923 save percentage) there to clean up the mess.

If Philipp Grubauer's performance isn't a complete disaster - a big if, I know - this game should stay under.

Bet: Under 6 goals (-125)

Morgan Rielly over 2.5 shots on goal (-115)

Rielly has shot the puck a lot lately, registering at least three shots in eight of the last 10 games.

His attempts per game in that span are around 0.5 higher than they were over his first 24 contests.

The Coyotes allow the most shots per game to defenders this season, making them a dream matchup. They concede 10.91 per game - the Senators (10.69) are the only other team giving up more than 10.2 per contest.

Arizona clearly lags behind the rest of the pack and I like Rielly to take advantage of that.

Bonus round: Mike Hoffman over 2.5 shots (-115). Hoffman consistently plays 18-19 minutes per game and we've seen an uptick in shots as a result. He recorded three shots or more in eight of the last 10 games. Even against a stingy Bruins team, I see value in this price.

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

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The Buffalo Sabres' crease continues to take hits.

Goaltenders Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Malcolm Subban are week-to-week and month-to-month, respectively, after suffering injuries in Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Sabres announced Wednesday.

Veteran netminder Craig Anderson is still listed as month-to-month, while Dustin Tokarski remains week-to-week after a bout with COVID-19.

Luukkonen, 22, exited Tuesday's 6-1 loss to Tampa Bay after the opening frame with a lower-body injury. Subban, 28, played the second and third periods in relief but suffered an upper-body ailment in the process.

Anderson has been out since Nov. 2. Tokarski returned to practice on Dec. 27, but it's not clear when he'll be ready for game action.

The Sabres signed goalie Michael Houser to a one-year, $750,000 deal on Wednesday to help mitigate the losses. The 29-year-old has spent the 2021-22 season with the AHL's Rochester Americans, sporting a 5-4-0 record and a .900 save percentage. Houser has played in just four career NHL games, all of which came last season.

Houser and Aaron Dell - whom the Sabres recalled Wednesday - are Buffalo's only healthy options in net.

Dell has an .872 save percentage across seven appearances in 2021-22.

Several Buffalo skaters are also banged up: Drake Caggiula is week-to-week, Casey Mittelstadt is month-to-month, and Robert Hagg is day-to-day.

The Sabres sit sixth in the Atlantic Division with a 10-19-6 record.

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The Chicago Blackhawks called up top prospect Lukas Reichel and assigned him to the taxi squad, the team announced Wednesday.

Reichel, 19, leads the AHL's Rockford IceHogs with 20 points in 20 games and was recently named Player of the Week after logging three goals and three assists in two games.

The Blackhawks selected the German product 17th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.

The team hopes to give him his NHL debut soon, according to NBC Sports Chicago's Charlie Roumeliotis. Their next game is against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Chicago currently sits seventh in the Central Division with a 13-18-5 record. The team's scored the fifth-fewest goals in the league (87) and has the third-worst goal differential (-34).

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One day after signing a one-year deal to rejoin his beloved Boston Bruins, longtime goaltender Tuukka Rask took a moment to reflect on his fellow veterans' futures in Beantown.

"We're realistic that we're getting older and the window is closing, (whether) that's a year, two or three years, who knows?" Rask said when asked about his conversations with Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron regarding their long-term outlook, according to NHL reporter Amalie Benjamin. "But it's closing, and we know that."

Though Rask added he and Bergeron haven't talked much about their future, he did have some advice for how the 36-year-old can boost his longevity.

"He should do what I did - take half the season off," Rask joked, according to Boston Sports Journal's Conor Ryan.

Rask has yet to play in a game this season after undergoing surgery on a torn hip labrum in June. He signed a professional tryout with Boston's AHL affiliate on Thursday with the intention of making a couple of starts with the Providence Bruins, but Providence's games on Friday and Sunday were postponed due to COVID-19 issues.

Rask inked a $1-million deal with Boston but will only earn $545,000 because he signed so late in the campaign, according to PuckPedia.

"I think the biggest motivation is to play with the group I've played with my whole career and have another chance to win. That's about it," he said.

As for his next deal, the 34-year-old isn't focusing on it.

"We'll see. I haven't made any plans for the future. ... I haven't made any long-term plans yet. We'll see what happens," he said, according to Ryan.

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Rask will serve as Linus Ullmark's backup for Wednesday's contest against the Montreal Canadians, while Jeremy Swayman will be assigned to Providence.

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After scoring the overtime winner in his first game back from a stint in COVID-19 protocol, not even an octopus could cramp San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture's style against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.

The incident in question occurred under a minute into overtime when a fan tossed an octopus at center ice while play was in the Sharks' end. After San Jose had control of the puck, Couture seemingly directed the linesman's attention toward the tentacled intruder before the official swept it out of harm's way.

Play continued, and Couture eventually banged the puck past Detroit netminder Alex Nedeljkovic at the goal line to complete the 3-2 victory.

"It was weird because the crowd was screaming and yelling, and I didn't know what was going on," Couture said, according to Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka. "I looked up; I thought there was a jersey on the ice. Then I got closer and saw it was an octopus."

The goal was reviewed for a potential offside call, but the octopus certainly had something to do with it.

"I went over to the ref, and he said, 'We're making sure that the octopus wasn't part of the play,'" Couture said, according to San Jose Hockey Now's Sheng Peng.

Tossing an octopus onto the ice is a beloved tradition in Red Wings history, but the ritual looked a little out of place at San Jose's SAP Center.

"It's something you don't see every day. It's their tradition. But I guess it brought us luck today," Sharks forward Timo Meier said after the game, according to Peng.

Couture, 32, had missed the Sharks' previous three contests after landing on the NHL's COVID-19 list on Jan. 4.

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