The Tampa Bay Lightning confirmed Wednesday morning that they have re-signed forward Vladislav Namestnikov to a two-year contract extension worth $3.875 million in total.

Namestnikov was scheduled for arbitration Friday.

The middle-six forward, who will represent Russia at the upcoming World Cup, has the potential to exceed the $1.938-million average annual value on his deal. Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat, and Nikita Kucherov were the only Lightning players with a better even-strength points rate last season.

Namestnikov's 14 goals and 35 points in 2015-16 represented career highs for the former 27th overall pick.

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For Jimmy Vesey and the Chicago Blackhawks, the interest is apparently mutual.

Vesey's agent, Peter Donatelli, stated Monday that the Harvard graduate will want to talk to the Blackhawks when he becomes a free agent next month, but quickly followed up that confirmed interest with this caveat.

"Chicago will be on the list," Donatelli said in an interview with Scott Powers of The Athletic, "but it shouldn't be read as they're ahead of anyone else."

Meanwhile, Stan Bowman's interest in the reigning Hobey Baker winner is seemingly without qualification. The Blackhawks' GM is believed to have scouted Vesey on multiple occasions this summer in his persisting search for cost-effective assets to filter talent into the gaps in his lineup.

Donatelli also told Powers the presentations given to Vesey will factor heavily into his decision.

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The Carolina Hurricanes have signed head coach Bill Peters to a contract extension through to the end of 2018-19.

"Bill is a talented, young coach in the National Hockey League," said general manager Ron Francis. "We are happy that he has made a commitment to the Hurricanes, and that he will be a major part of the team continuing to grow."

Peters has been behind the Hurricanes' bench since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, guiding the young, rebuilding club to a record of 65-72-27 in his two seasons behind the bench.

Carolina recorded 86 points this past season, a 15-point improvement over Peters' first season as head coach.

He also served as head coach for the gold-medal winning Team Canada at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.

The extension keeps Peters under contract for at least three more seasons.

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First, it was Steven Stamkos spurning the Toronto Maple Leafs to stay with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, another superstar forward says he isn't planning to play for his hometown team.

John Tavares put any lingering doubts about his future to rest and dashed the hopes of Maple Leafs fans in an interview Tuesday with Andrew Walker on Sportsnet 590 The FAN.

"I would not count on that," Tavares said after the host jokingly asked him what his favorite thing would be about playing in Toronto in 2018.

"I think I've always showed my commitment, my appreciation and my desire to play on Long Island," Tavares said. "I'd love for that to continue for the long haul. I think you look at some of the greatest players in the game, they have been able to spend their entire careers somewhere and I hope I'm in that same position."

Islanders co-owner John Ledecky said last week that Tavares is "not going to be a free agent" when his current contract expires. The captain has two seasons remaining on the six-year, $33-million extension he signed with New York in 2011.

"Obviously being from Toronto, people are going to make those connections," Tavares said." It is what it is. It's nothing I can control. I just want to go out there and be the best player and best person I can be for the Islanders, day in and day out, and I'm just going to focus on tomorrow and the upcoming season."

The 25-year-old has spent his entire seven-year career with the Islanders after being drafted first overall in 2009. Despite his age, Tavares already ranks 10th on the club's all-time list in goals (207) and eighth in power-play goals (64).

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have reached a two-year deal with restricted free-agent forward Vladislav Namestnikov worth an AAV of $1.93 million, according to ESPN's Craig Custance.

By reaching an agreement, both sides avoid an arbitration hearing, which was scheduled for Friday.

In signing Namestnikov, Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman met the needs of another Tampa Bay RFA, and now only two remain - sniper Nikita Kucherov and defenseman Nikita Nesterov.

Namestnikov was drafted 27th overall by Tampa Bay in 2011 and reached career highs across the board last season with 14 goals and 21 assists in 80 games.

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Gary Bettman isn't wavering from his stance that a link between concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) can't yet be made.

The NHL commissioner stuck to his position in a response to U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who sent a letter to Bettman demanding answers in June.

“The science regarding CTE, including on the asserted ‘link’ to concussions that you reference, remains nascent, particularly with respect to what causes CTE and whether it can be diagnosed by specific clinical symptoms,” the commissioner wrote in his reply to Senator Blumenthal, according to John Branch of The New York Times.

"The relationship between concussions and the asserted clinical symptoms of CTE remains unknown," Bettman added in a 24-page document filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, where the league is fighting an ongoing class-action lawsuit filed by many former players alleging they weren't informed about the long-term effects of head injuries.

The commissioner also cited the need for scientific consensus rather than relying on "speculation and fear mongering."

Blumenthal wrote a letter to Bettman last month requesting a response by July 23.

The Senator posed nine questions to the commissioner, including, "Do you believe there is a link between CTE and hockey?" and "Do you dispute that the documented CTE of former NHL players, like Derek Boogaard, is linked to injuries sustained while playing in the NHL?"

Boogaard, a former NHL enforcer, was diagnosed with CTE following his death in 2011. The disease can only be identified posthumously.

Bettman has long denied a link between concussions suffered while playing hockey and CTE, a disease scientists say is caused by repeated blows to the head.

NFL senior vice president and chief security officer Jeffrey B. Miller acknowledged a link between CTE and football in March.

- With h/t to Puck Daddy

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The Arizona Coyotes shocked many by hiring 27-year-old John Chayka - the youngest in NHL history - as the team's new general manager in May.

But they did so with a refreshed approach, handing the keys to a rebuilding team to a young mind with an emphasis on analytics.

Since Chayka took over, Arizona drafted defenseman Jakob Chychrun 16th overall and also signed blueliners Alex Goligoski and Luke Schenn, revamping a defensive corps with players Chayka believes fit within his model of success.

In a sit down with NHL.com's Dan Rosen, Chayka stated defensive play is about transition, rather than man-on-man defending.

"The philosophy is fairly simple. It's when we don't have the puck, recover the puck as quickly as possible," Chayka said. "There are all kinds of different forms where you can gain possession of the puck, some of them are physical, and some of them are non-physical, so I think you need a blend to have both.

"Once you get the puck back, it's to transition the puck. Defense isn't about defending, it's about getting the puck in the forwards' hands and getting the puck moving in the offensive zone. It's about transitioning. That's the philosophy and that's been the theme behind the moves that we're making, let's get players who can get pucks back and get pucks up to forwards in an efficient and effective manner."

The Coyotes boast one of the top - if not the best - prospect pools in the NHL, and while the future is promising, improving defensive play is a must, as the Coyotes ranked 28th league-wide last year in goals against per game, allowing 2.98.

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Petter Granberg reportedly avoided arbitration Tuesday by signing a two-year, $1.225-million contract with the Nashville Predators, according to CBC's Tim Wharnsby.

The depth defender is guaranteed a $650,000 NHL salary in the second year, but his contract will carry a two-way provision for this upcoming season, Wharnsby reports.

His arbitration hearing was scheduled for Aug. 3.

The former fourth-round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs appeared in 27 games for Nashville last year, chipping in two assists.

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