Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois is confident that he'll be able to work out a contract this summer with star forward Brayden Point.

Point, who has recorded 22 goals and 49 points so far in his third NHL season, will be one of over a dozen premium pending restricted free agents likely to command big bucks this summer, which brings the threat of an offer sheet.

But BriseBois isn't concerned about that possibility:

While BriseBois thinks he'll be able to ink Point long term, the first-year GM will likely have to do some finagling to make his roster fit under the salary cap.

The Lightning are expected to have roughly $9 million in cap space next season, and Point, Adam Erne, Cedric Paquette, Slater Koekkoek, and Danick Martel will be RFAs. In addition, Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn, and Dan Girardi will be unrestricted free agents.

It's also likely that, given his production, Point could demand a contract worth about $7.5 million per season.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired goaltender Michael Hutchinson from the Florida Panthers on Saturday in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2020, the team announced.

News of the deal comes just hours after the team revealed Frederik Andersen is day to day with a groin injury and will miss Saturday's game against the New York Islanders.

The trade gives the club some added depth at the goaltending position. Backup Garret Sparks has just 26 games under his belt in his short NHL career. The club's AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, has struggled mightily this season, especially in goal. Kasimir Kaskisuo, Jeff Glass, and Eamon McAdam have each played double-digit games for the team and none have posted a save percentage above .891.

Hutchinson, on the other hand, has 106 NHL contests to his credit. He has spent the majority of this season with the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds where he's gone 2-3-1 with a .906 save percentage.

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Saturday night will be a memorable one for both John Tavares and Lou Lamoriello.

For Tavares, it will mark the first game against his former club, the Islanders, since he elected to fulfill a childhood fantasy and sign with the Maple Leafs on July 1. As for Lamoriello, Saturday's visit to Scotiabank Arena will be his first since he stepped down as Toronto general manager and joined New York.

While Lamoriello's return is certainly a captivating story, it won't quite match the emotions that players on both teams are sure to feel as Tavares suits up against the club that drafted him first overall in 2009 and helped develop him into the superstar he is today.

For many Islanders fans and possibly a few former teammates, there is likely to be some bitterness toward Tavares' decision to seemingly jump ship, but Lamoriello contests that the five-time All-Star had every right to sign elsewhere.

"First of all, I knew him as a player by seeing my teams play against him," Lamoriello told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "I got to know him as a person and got to spend time with he and his wife; he's as great a person as he is a player. It's unfair for any criticism that he has received because he had every right to make that decision. He gave everything he had when he was here. He had a right to do it. So I don't think anybody should begrudge him for any decision that he made because that was his right."

What should make burying the hatchet easier is that both clubs have been able to find success in the early going. The Maple Leafs sit second overall in the Eastern Conference behind the mighty Tampa Bay Lightning. The Islanders, meanwhile, are just two points out of the final wild-card spot in the East with games in hand on nearly all the teams ahead of them.

As for Tavares, he's thrived with the blue and white, sitting tied for second in the league with 26 goals to go along with 18 assists in 38 games.

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Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Frederik Andersen is day to day with a groin injury and will miss Saturday's game against the New York Islanders, the team announced.

Goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo has been recalled on an emergency basis.

The news comes a day after backup goaltender Garret Sparks was given the reins in the Leafs' 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Andersen has gone 3-0-1 in his last four games. He currently sits second in the league with 20 wins and ranks seventh in both goals-against average and save percentage among goalies who have played at least 15 contests.

Kaskisuo has gone 3-5-0 in 11 games this season for the AHL's Toronto Marlies, compiling a 4.12 goals-against average and a .866 save percentage.

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The St. Louis Blues will host the 2020 NHL All-Star Game, league sources told The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford.

St. Louis hasn't hosted the annual festivities since 1988; that game was highlight by a marvelous performance by Pittsburgh Penguins legend Mario Lemieux.

2020 would mark the third time St. Louis has played host to the All-Star Game. This year's showcase will take place at the San Jose Sharks' SAP Center.

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Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara will return to the lineup Thursday against the New Jersey Devils, head coach Bruce Cassidy announced.

The 41-year-old Chara missed the past 19 games with a knee injury.

In that time, the Bruins went 10-7-2 and find themselves in the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot, three points back of the Buffalo Sabres for third in the Atlantic Division.

Cassidey also announced that forward Jake DeBrusk, who missed the last nine games with a concussion, and defenseman Kevan Miller, who missed the last 13 contests with a throat injury, will also return against New Jersey.

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Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin, and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon were named the captains of the 2019 NHL All-Star Game on Thursday.

Fan voting was used to select the captains for each division.

McDavid will represent the Pacific Division for the third straight year. The 21-year-old sits fourth in league scoring with 52 points, seven back of Mikko Rantanen.

Matthews will make his third All-Star game appearance in as many seasons since entering the league. By being named the captain of the Atlantic Division, the 21-year-old earned a Schedule A bonus of $212,500, according to Cap Friendly. Matthews has recorded 19 goals and 34 points in 23 games this season.

Ovechkin's eighth NHL All-Star Game appearance will come this year. The game will also mark the third time in the past four years that he's been named captain of the Metropolitan Division. The sniper leads the NHL with 29 goals through 35 games.

MacKinnon, playing in his third straight All-Star game, will lead the Central Division, ending Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban's two-year run as captain. The 23-year-old sits third in NHL scoring with 56 points.

The annual 3-on-3 tournament takes place Jan. 26 at the SAP Center in San Jose.

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Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin, and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon were named the captains of the 2019 NHL All-Star Game on Thursday.

Fan voting was used to select the captains for each division.

McDavid will represent the Pacific Division for the third straight year. The 21-year-old sits fourth in league scoring with 52 points, seven back of Mikko Rantanen.

Matthews will make his third All-Star game appearance in as many seasons since entering the league. By being named the captain of the Atlantic Division, the 21-year-old earned a Schedule A bonus of $212,500, according to Cap Friendly. Matthews has recorded 19 goals and 34 points in 23 games this season.

Ovechkin's eighth NHL All-Star Game appearance will come this year. The game will also mark the third time in the past four years that he's been named captain of the Metropolitan Division. The sniper leads the NHL with 29 goals through 35 games.

MacKinnon, playing in his third straight All-Star game, will lead the Central Division, ending Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban's two-year run as captain. The 23-year-old sits third in NHL scoring with 56 points.

The annual 3-on-3 tournament takes place Jan. 26 at the SAP Center in San Jose.

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The Calgary Flames removed forward Michael Frolik from injured reserve on Saturday ahead of their game against the St. Louis Blues.

The 30-year-old has missed the Flames' last 15 games due to an ankle injury. Prior to that he had posted seven goals in 20 games.

The Flames have been red hot while Frolik has been sidelined, going 10-3-2 while jumping atop the Pacific Division.

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Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron is in the lineup Saturday afternoon against the Nashville Predators after missing 16 games with rib and sternoclavicular injuries, the team announced.

Bergeron has been sidelined since Nov. 16 after being run into the boards in a game against the Dallas Stars.

In the 16 games since Bergeron went down with the injury, the Bruins have gone 9-6-1. Forwards David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand have continued to produce in Bergeron's absence with a combined 10 goals and 35 points in that span.

The Bruins entered Saturday's matinee in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, three points back of the Buffalo Sabres for third in the Atlantic Division.

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