Matt and Rink Wide: Vancouver co-host Jeff Paterson discuss the Canucks contending under this ownership. How they did once and can again if only this year-to-year management morphs into a better long-term plan. The guys also talk about Ilya Mikheyev's recovery, Andrei Kuzmenko's globetrotting and the progress made last year under head coach Rick Tocchet. John Shannon joins to recap BC Hockey Hall of Fame weekend in Penticton, including a tender moment between Brent Seabrook and his son; the Canucks timeline for contending; the NHL schedule matrix and whether the Canucks can avoid long, eastern road trips in October; plus the careers of Patrice Bergeron and Jonathan Toews. Paterson replaces Price for another edition of SvP: today's topic, can the Canucks contend over the next 3 years? Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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The Boston Bruins and Jeremy Swayman are $2.8 million apart ahead of the goaltender's arbitration hearing Sunday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Swayman's camp filed at $4.8 million, while the Bruins are coming in at $2 million. The two sides can still come to terms on a new contract prior to the start of Sunday's hearing.

The 24-year-old is coming off of an entry-level contract signed in 2020. Swayman posted a .920 save percentage in 37 games last season, sharing the William M. Jennings Trophy with Linus Ullmark.

Swayman started over Ullmark in the Bruins' pivotal Game 7 against the Florida Panthers in the first round. He made 27 saves on 31 shots in Boston's 4-3 overtime loss.

In 88 games over three seasons, Swayman has a sparkling 54-23-7 record and a career .920 save percentage. He was named to the All-Rookie Team in 2022.

Swayman won the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA's top goaltender in 2020 while playing at the University of Maine. He played for the United States at the 2018 world juniors and the 2022 World Championship.

The Bruins have $5.4 million of cap space, according to CapFriendly. Swayman and fellow restricted free agent Trent Frederic have yet to be signed.

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The Ottawa Senators inked Vladimir Tarasenko to a one-year, $5-million contract, the club announced Thursday.

Tarasenko was an unrestricted free agent. His new pact includes a full no-trade clause.

The 31-year-old collected eight goals and 13 assists in 31 games with the New York Rangers this past season after the St. Louis Blues traded him there in February. He produced 10 tallies and 19 helpers over 38 contests with the Blues in 2022-23.

Tarasenko spent his first 10 full seasons with St. Louis, notching at least 30 goals in six seasons, including five straight from 2014-15 through 2018-19. That included a career-best 40 in 2015-16. However, he was then slowed by three shoulder surgeries in a span of 28 months.

The Blues drafted Tarasenko 16th overall in 2010.

Ottawa is down to just $32,620 in cap space as a result of the signing, according to CapFriendly. The Senators have two of their own young forwards left to sign in restricted free agent Egor Sokolov and Shane Pinto, who's a 10.2(c) player - essentially an RFA but ineligible for arbitration or an offer sheet.

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Co-host Jeff Paterson, one half of the Rink Wide: Vancouver podcast duo, and Matt discuss Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko's forthcoming season: as a bounce-back candidate, as a breakout candidate, his workload, his backup, and his history with injuries. The Welcome Matt covers Elias Pettersson's next contract and how the Sebastian Aho extension serves as comparable. Kevin Woodley joins to discuss Canucks goaltending, including a new system under Rick Tocchet making it easier on the goalies and not being as reliant on the position, Demko's new offseason collaborator, the backup competition in camp between Spencer Martin and Arturs Silovs, the sweet spot in terms of number of starts, especially early in the season where feasibly Demko could play the first 14 games. Rob Williams gives us his lines and pairings for the Canucks on opening night, as well as takes us through ticket prices at Rogers Arena this season and in-game entertainment with the Canucks advertising changes to their game-day program. Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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Montreal Canadiens youngster Juraj Slafkovsky didn't enjoy the smoothest transition to the NHL this past season, but the 2022 first overall pick is confident he'll improve in 2023-24.

"I expect the pressure from the fans to be even higher," Slafkovsky said in a recent interview with Slovak reporter Tomas Prokop. "I believe I'm well prepared, and I'll play better than in my rookie season. I have my goals, but I'll keep them secret."

Expectations were high after Montreal picked Slafkovsky over Shane Wright, who tumbled to the Seattle Kraken in the No. 4 spot at the 2022 NHL Draft.

Slafkovsky struggled to live up to the hype, registering just four goals and 10 points in 39 contests before suffering a season-ending knee injury in mid-January.

The 6-foot-3 winger is hopeful that he's "100% now," adding that he's lost some weight and expects to be faster on the ice. Slafkovsky has also been working to improve his lung capacity and said he's "seeing a positive change."

"I'm feeling a bit better compared to last year," he said. "I was just working on the little things. ... Everything is on track."

By the time the Habs' season opener arrives on Oct. 11, Slafkovsky will have gone almost exactly nine months between regular-season games.

Slafkovsky put up five goals and five assists in 31 games and added seven points in 18 playoff contests as a member of TPS in Finland's top hockey league during the 2021-22 season.

The 19-year-old has also dominated on the international stage, netting a tournament-high seven goals in seven games to help Slovakia win bronze at the 2022 Olympics. Slafkovsky then added a team-leading nine points in eight contests at the 2022 IIHF World Championship.

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Logan Cooley is turning pro after all.

The Arizona Coyotes signed the 2022 third overall pick to a three-year, entry-level contract on Thursday.

Cooley originally intended to return to Minnesota next season. He acknowledged in late May that the Coyotes' failed bid to build a new arena in Tempe factored into his initial decision to prolong his college career, per PHNX Sports' Craig Morgan.

The 19-year-old led Minnesota in 2022-23 with 22 goals - including six game-winners - and 60 points in 39 contests during his freshman campaign. Cooley was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, which honors the top player in men's college hockey.

"We are thrilled to sign Logan to an NHL contract," Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement. "Logan is an incredibly skilled player who had an excellent season with the Golden Gophers last year. He has established himself as one of the top prospects in the world.

"He is a very important player for us, and he has an extremely bright future ahead. We look forward to watching him play for the Coyotes for many years to come."

The Golden Gophers' 2022-23 season ended in an upset after they dropped the championship game to Quinnipiac in overtime.

Cooley also dazzled at the 2023 World Junior Championship, leading Team USA with 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in seven games while capturing a bronze medal.

The Pennsylvania native is a product of the U.S. National Team Development Program.

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Sebastian Aho has high hopes for the 2023-24 Carolina Hurricanes after inking an eight-year, $78-million extension that will keep him in Raleigh for the next nine seasons.

"To me, this is the best team on paper that we ever had," Aho said Wednesday. "I think we have a really capable team in many ways, and obviously that's one of the reasons why it was an easy decision for me (to sign) since (general manager) Don (Waddell) and (owner) Tom (Dundon) and those guys, they're building a really good team.

"As a player, all you can ask, really, from the team (is) you have a chance to win, and we definitely have a chance to be the best team in the league. I'm really excited for the next year."

The Hurricanes have made some key additions so far this summer, reeling in unrestricted free agents Dmitry Orlov and Michael Bunting while reuniting with blue-liner Tony DeAngelo, who found success with the team in 2021-22.

Carolina held onto some familiar faces, too, re-signing goalies Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, as well as captain Jordan Staal and forward Jesper Fast.

The Hurricanes have made the playoffs for the last five seasons and boast the fourth-best regular-season record (226-107-37) in the league dating back to 2018-19. Carolina also finished first in its division for the past three straight campaigns.

As a crucial part of the Hurricanes' success, Aho said it was a "no-brainer" for him to stick around in Carolina. The Finn could have become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

"This is the place I want to play. … The organization has taken huge steps over the course of the last five years," Aho said. "Obviously, we feel like we're building every year."

Carolina has advanced to the conference finals twice during Aho's tenure and most recently got swept by the Florida Panthers this past spring.

Despite signing Aho, the Hurricanes still have a plethora of players who can hit the open market next offseason, including Teuvo Teravainen, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei. Waddell said the Hurricanes are "not close" to getting any other deals done with their next crop of unrestricted free agents.

Carolina has just under $850,000 in cap space remaining, according to CapFriendly.

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