Let the speculation begin.

After playing without a captain last season, Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan confirmed to the media Wednesday that the team will employ one for the 2016-17 campaign.

"Will we have a captain? Yeah we will," McLellan said, according Chris Wescott of Edmontonoilers.com.

When asked who it might be, McLellan didn't budge.

"We will have a captain," he said.

Last season, Andrew Ference, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Matt Hendricks all spent time representing the team as alternate captains.

Naturally, all eyes shift to Connor McDavid, who's already been tabbed as a leader by teammates, and is the epicenter of the franchise's future.

If it is McDavid, 19, he could become the youngest captain in NHL history, a mark set by Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche, who set the record in 2012 at 19 years and 286 days old.

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Steve Yzerman has proven to be a force in the Tampa Bay Lightning front office.

Whether it be retaining franchise cornerstones Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman at a discounted rate, or straightening out the Jonathan Drouin saga, the general manager is on a roll.

As successful as Yzerman has been keeping the Lightning intact, one major requirement remains incomplete: a contract extension for Nikita Kucherov.

Yzerman is confident the two sides will reach a deal, as discussions remain ongoing.

"We continue to communicate with his representation," Yzerman said, according to Joe Smith of The Tampa Bay Times. "And we expect to have him under contract to start the season.

"Every negotiation is different and some take longer than others," Yzerman added. "Sometimes they get done when they get done. You can't force it."

Like nearly every circumstance Yzerman's dealt with in the past year, Kucherov's situation is a delicate one. Tampa Bay has just over $6.5 million in cap space and also needs to find a contract for restricted free-agent blueliner Nikita Nesterov.

Kucherov, just 23 years old, earned $700,000 in salary last season, and is coming off a career-high 30 goals and 66 points, followed up by a sensational playoff performance for the second year in a row.

All told, he's due for a substantial raise, but if recent history is any indicator, Yzerman's even-keeled approach at getting deals done will pay dividends for both parties.

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Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland had a long list of tasks to complete entering this offseason, but after reportedly signing goaltender Petr Mrazek to a two-year, $8-million contract Wednesday, it seems as though Holland has ticked off all the boxes.

Signing Mrazek was a necessity for Holland and the Red Wings, and although the two sides reached a settlement before reaching arbitration, Detroit is facing a problem, currently sitting above the salary cap line of $73 million.

According to General Fanager, the Red Wings carry a cap hit of $77,867,042, but Holland doesn't foresee it being an issue once the season begins.

Holland explained his approach is based on forwards Johan Franzen and Joe Vitale - who was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes in the Pavel Datsyuk deal - being unable to play this season because of concussion issues.

"Certainly we have no expectations that Franzen and Vitale are playing hockey this year," Holland told Brendan Savage of Mlive.com. "I talked to Vitale after we traded (for) him. He's having ongoing issues with concussion. He's certainly not expecting to be in camp. I'm not expecting Johan Franzen on the ice.

"I think realistically, when it's all said and done, we're probably a little over the cap. What's a little? Probably a million dollars or just a little bit less over the cap if you don't count Vitale and Franzen."

Along with extending Mrazek's tenure in Detroit, Holland has re-signed Danny DeKeyser, Luke Glendening, Teemu Pulkkinen, and Darren Helm, while adding Steve Ott, Thomas Vanek, and Frans Nielsen through free agency.

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The Ottawa Senators and Cody Ceci appear to be working towards bridging the gap.

The club is believed to be discussing a two-year contract with the restricted free-agent defenseman's agent, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

Speaking after the signing of forward Mike Hoffman earlier Wednesday, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion indicated the two sides have indeed been in contact, making assurances a deal will be reached prior to the start of the regular season.

Ceci - a right-handed 22-year-old defenseman - scored 10 goals and added 16 assists in 75 games for the Senators last season, the last under his entry-level contract.

He also helped Canada win gold at the 2016 IIHF World Championship, with his inclusion on the roster speaking to his ability to play and perform at a high level.

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The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Matt Carle to a one-year, $700,000 contract.

The 31-year-old was recently bought out by the Tampa Bay Lightning, with two years remaining on a contract that carried an average annual valuation of $5.5 million.

Carle appeared in only 64 regular-season games for the Lightning last campaign, with two goals and seven assists to his credit, while contributing eight points in 43 playoff games with the Lightning over three seasons.

In 724 career appearances, he's averaging 32 points for every 82 games played. Carle also played three seasons under Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette when both were with the Philadelphia Flyers.

The veteran will be called upon to play a depth role on an already very talented defense corps assembled by general manager David Poile.

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theScore is ranking all 30 NHL jerseys, counting down by six each day this week.

• Jersey Rankings: 30-25
• Jersey Rankings: 19-24

18. Nashville Predators

Nashville's yellow-based scheme stands alone in the NHL, and it blends exceptionally well with navy blue. Its uniqueness gives it bonus points, but it certainly isn't among the league's best.

17. San Jose Sharks

The Sharks have stayed true to teal since joining the league in 1991, and have created a true brand for themselves in doing so.

In saying that, small accents of orange throughout the uniform remain a question mark.

16. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings' all-black getups are sharp, and the white versions worn for road games convey the same strength and simplicity.

The font used for player names and the captain lettering could use a tweak, but other than that, Los Angeles looks pretty darn good when they take the ice.

15. Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres have without question fallen under scrutiny for some of their past uniforms, but it's tough to criticize Buffalo's current digs.

Removing the numbers on the front of the jersey and ridding the underarm of that strange grey patch - both easy fixes - would move them into the upper echelon.

14. Dallas Stars

Dallas' re-brand for the 2013-14 season was a smashing success.

Ditching one of the most bland uniforms in hockey for a refreshing shade they call "victory green" was a brilliant move. A simple design with symmetrical striping certainly helps, too.

13. Minnesota Wild

Full-fledged forest green embodies Minnesota perfectly, and tying in beige as a secondary color with subtle hints of red creates an appealing vintage style

The Wild's road whites unfortunately fail to do the same, though.

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The Nashville Predators have signed forward Calle Jarnkrok to a six-year, $12-million contract.

Jarnkrok, 24, recorded career highs in goals (16), assists (14), total points (30), and shots (95) this past season.

Drafted in the second round of the 2010 NHL Draft (51st overall), Jarnkrok was traded to Nashville as part of a deal that sent David Legwand to the Detroit Red Wings back in 2014.

The contract will pay him $1.7 million in 2016-17, $1.8 million in 2017-18, $2.1 million in 2018-19, $2.2 million in 2019-20 and 2020-21, and $2 million in 2021-22.

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The Detroit Red Wings and netminder Petr Mrazek have avoided salary arbitration, reportedly signing a new two-year contract worth $8 million, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Mrazek will earn $3.85 million this season and $4.15 million in 2017-18 for a tidy $4 million average annual value, or a shade under $1.3 million less than Jimmy Howard.

The 24-year-old had a brilliant start to his first season as the Red Wings' No. 1 netminder after wresting the starter's role from Howard two springs back. But he was derailed after the All-Star Break, sporting a sub-.900 save percentage over the final two months of the season, eventually losing his job.

He briefly regained his form in relief of Howard in the playoffs, stopping pucks at a .945 rate in three games versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Despite not maximizing his earning potential with a full season, Mrazek's bump in pay represents a considerable raise from his modest entry-level salary, and puts the Red Wings in a real financial bind.

Detroit's currently estimated to enter the season $4-plus million over the cap with more than $9 million allocated to netminders.

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The Ottawa Senators have signed forward Mike Hoffman to a four-year contract.

The deal is $3.8 million in 2016-17 and $5.65 million for each of the three seasons to follow. The annual salary cap hit would therefore amount to $5.1875 million, for a total valuation of $20.75 million.

A bit of a late bloomer, the 26-year-old has played only two full seasons at the NHL level, but has excelled in both. In his past 157 games since the beginning of 2014-15, Hoffman has scored 56 goals, leading the Senators in each of the past two regular seasons, while displaying a deadly combination of skill and speed that's desperately needed in Ottawa.

League-wide, only nine players have scored more than Hoffman in five-on-five play in that same time span.

Hoffman was scheduled for an arbitration hearing Aug. 4 after earning $2 million this past season.

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