In return, the Senators receive forward Chris Tierney, defenseman Dylan DeMelo, prospects Josh Norris and Rudolfs Balcers, a conditional 2020 first-round pick, a conditional 2019 second-round pick. Ottawa would also receive a conditional 2021 second-round pick if Karlsson re-signs in San Jose.
Carolina Hurricanes forward Victor Rask underwent surgery to repair his fourth and fifth fingers on his right hand after injuring them while slicing food in his kitchen, the team announced Thursday.
He's been ruled out indefinitely.
The 25-year-old suited up in 71 games last season, recording 14 goals and 17 assists.
Marian Gaborik's availability for the Ottawa Senators this season is up in the air, as the 36-year-old winger still hasn't been medically cleared after undergoing back surgery in April.
"Gaborik has not been fully cleared health-wise," general manager Pierre Dorion told the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch. "He's still in L.A. seeing a back specialist. Once he gets here, we'll have more information. Right now, I can't tell you more than that."
Garrioch adds there's no guarantee Gaborik will play this season, and at this point, Dorion couldn't answer when he could return to Ottawa. He was initially given an eight-week timeline to recover from his procedure.
Gaborik was acquired in the four-player trade that sent defenseman Dion Phaneuf to the Kings in February. He chipped in four goals and three assists in 16 games for the Senators last season and has amassed 815 points in 1,035 career contests.
The St. Louis Blues will be without starting netminder Jake Allen for the beginning of training camp, as he's set to miss 10-to-14 days due to back spasms, the team announced Wednesday.
Allen is coming off a poor showing in 2017-18, during which he managed a .906 save percentage in 56 starts. His performance this season will be pivotal for the Blues, who raised expectations this summer by trading for Ryan O'Reilly and signing both Tyler Bozak and David Perron, among other moves.
Wayne Gretzky is confident that his Edmonton Oilers will bounce back from a dreadful campaign.
After winning their first playoff round since 2006 the season before, the Oilers managed just 78 points en route to a 23rd-place finish in 2017-18. Gretzky, the vice-chairman of Oilers Entertainment Group, expects things to change this time around.
"Our defense will be better, of that you can be assured," Gretzky said, according to Robert MacLeod of The Globe and Mail. "I expect that Cam (Talbot, last year's No. 1 goaltender) will bounce back from the struggles that he had. I think last year was just an outlier for him.
"Add that to the addition of the Finnish goalie (Mikko Koskinen), I think we have a solid two-goaltender system ready to roll."
While Gretzky is confident in Edmonton's defense, the Oilers will head into the season having made no roster moves to bolster their blue line, with defenseman Andrej Sekera potentially lost for the campaign due to an Achilles injury, and with restricted free-agent defender Darnell Nurse still in need of a contract.
Meanwhile, Edmonton's goaltending will need to play a key role for the team to make the playoffs. Talbot posted a career-low .908 save percentage in 2017-18, and the Oilers since added Koskinen, who posted a .937 clip across 29 KHL starts last season.
The Oilers will look to start delivering on Gretzky's expectations when they kick off their season against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 6 in Sweden.
In the wee hours of Monday morning, the much-publicized uncertainty surrounding Max Pacioretty's future in Montreal came to an end, as the Canadiens dealt their captain to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for forward Tomas Tatar, prospect Nick Suzuki, and a 2019 second-round draft selection.
In addition, Pacioretty inked a four-year, $28M extension to complete the deal, while Montreal retains 10 percent of his 2018-19 salary ($4.5M), and Vegas holds on to $500,000 of Tatar's ($4.91M) until 2021.
Now that the dust has settled on arguably the biggest trade of the offseason, let's asses each team's haul.
Golden Knights
Vegas appears adamant on remaining a threat in the Western Conference, and adding Pacioretty to its top six should help their quest to prove last season's impossible run to the Stanley Cup Final wasn't a fluke.
It would be ludicrous to split up the top line of William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, and Reilly Smith after their showing last year, meaning Pacioretty can slot in on the second line alongside fellow newcomer Paul Stastny - an elite playmaker far superior to any pivot Montreal was able to run out over the course of Pacioretty's tenure there.
Given Stastny's passing prowess, there's a logical connection between him and Pacioretty - one of the best shooters in the NHL. Since 2011-12, only eight players league-wide have outproduced his 206 goals, and his struggles last season are more than likely an anomaly, as injuries limited him to 64 appearances and he shot just eight percent compared to his career average of 11. Given a fresh start and easier competition down the lineup, it's easy to picture Pacioretty returning to the 30-goal mark he's eclipsed five times in his career.
Even after giving up three assets for one player, Vegas escapes the deal in pretty good shape. The acquisition of Tatar at last season's trade deadline was a mistake from the get-go, as general manager George McPhee parted with first, second and third round picks for six points in 20 regular season games, and a seat in the press box for most of the Golden Knights march to the finals.
Most GMs would have such a regrettable deal pinned on them for years, but even after tying on another draft pick to move Tatar out of town after just six months, McPhee still owns five picks in the first three rounds in each of the next two drafts, and a much better player to supplement his attack.
Suzuki's departure takes away one of Vegas' top prospects, but that's the cost of business, and McPhee could afford it with blue chippers Cody Glass, Lucas Elvenes, Nikita Gusev, Erik Brannstrom, and Nicolas Hague still in the farm system.
Grade: A
Canadiens
After holding on to Pacioretty through the trade deadline and draft - though a deal did come close - Marc Bergevin lost major leverage, and made matters worse when he went public in saying he wants to trade his captain ASAP and wouldn't negotiate an extension.
Montreal's return can't be properly determined until we get a clearer picture on what Suzuki can become at the NHL level. He's the primary piece of the Habs' return, and has scored 196 points in his last 129 games with the OHL's Owen Sound Attack. Suzuki immediately becomes one of the Canadiens' top prospects along with 2018 No. 3 pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi, but is likely a year or two away from making any significant impact on an NHL roster.
In Tatar, the Habs fill out their lineup with a player touted for his offensive ability, but who has issues with consistency. The 27-year-old racked up 34 points last season - the lowest mark of his career since becoming a regular NHLer. Montreal ranked 29th in goals last season and the addition of Tatar alone isn't going to do much to change that.
With training camp set to begin later this week, Bergevin was running out of time to orchestrate a deal for another piece of the Canadiens core. Since the 2015-16, he's cut ties with P.K. Subban, Alex Galchenyuk, Mikhail Sergachev and now Pacioretty via trade. The return on this most recent deal didn't induce the same level of immediate angst as his previous ones, mainly because he recouped multiple assets instead of another one-for-one exchange.
Still, a small-impact roster replacement, a promising prospect and an additional second-round lottery ticket isn't as much as it could have been for one of this era's most consistent scorers and captain of the NHL's oldest franchise, had Montreal played its hand more efficiently.
The Calgary Flames dished out a five-year, $28.75-million contract to James Neal over the offseason in a significant effort to bolster their offensive depth. Now, their new sniper has visions of potentially forming one of the league's most dangerous lines come puck drop.
Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau have steered the ship over the last four years on the club's top unit, but have been unable to find a right winger to fully complement their chemistry. Neal hopes to be that guy.
"That's where I want to play (on the right side), especially on that top line with Johnny and Sean," Neal told Sportsnet's Eric Francis.
"Them both being left shots, it's great. When you're passing lefty to lefty, it opens up quick. I love having a left-handed centerman. I look forward to playing with them. It will be great. They're guys that can shoot the puck, but who are also great passers."
Neal has been one of the NHL's most consistent marksmen over his career, registering at least 20 goals in 10 of 11 seasons while maxing out at 40 in 2011-12. Last season with the Vegas Golden Knights, the 31-year-old scored 25 times and added 19 assists in 71 contests.
