Auston Matthews has arrived.
The Toronto Maple Leafs No. 1 pick took the ice for the opening day of the team's development camp Monday, and as expected, all eyes were on him.
Matthews did a grand total of four drills. There are eight TV cameras here.
— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) July 4, 2016
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Can Joffrey Lupul see himself playing for the NHL's Las Vegas expansion franchise?
The question was posed to him by Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, with Lupul offering a refreshingly honest response.
"Me? Vegas? I don’t think that’s a good fit for either of us."
Enough said.
For the time being, the 32-year-old winger remains under contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs through to the end of 2017-18 at a salary-cap hit $5.25 million, although general manager Lou Lamoriello seems somewhat non-committal about Lupul's status with the club.
Lamoriello says he has "no comment" on the status of Joffrey Lupul, adds that he's "on our roster" but that's all he say for now. Hmm.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 1, 2016
Lupul scored 11 goals in 46 games for Toronto last season.
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Home is where the heart is.
Presented with the opportunity to sign with the Montreal Canadiens, forward David Perron ultimately decided to return to the St. Louis Blues as an unrestricted free agent, agreeing to a two-year, $7.5-million contract.
However, it wasn't the easiest decision to make.
"It would have been a dream to play (in Montreal), but St. Louis is really a place that’s close to my heart," Perron told Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I really missed playing in the city and I wanted to get another shot and hopefully make the best of it this time."
Perron was drafted 26th overall by the Blues in 2007, and was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 2013 amid reports he didn't fit with head coach Ken Hitchcock's system and in the locker room.
Hitchcock liked what he saw out of Perron during his brief time with the Anaheim Ducks, and pushed general manager Doug Armstrong to bring the forward back.
"I saw a guy that was a really good player there for Anaheim, very effective," Hitchcock said. "He was one of the guys getting a lot of scoring chances in that series against Nashville. I said, 'Whoever gets this guy on the next go, he’s going to get a real good player.'"
The coach's endorsement was not lost on Perron, and helped tip the scales in St. Louis' favor.
"I think what I was really happy about is how much (Hitchcock) pushed to get me. With all the rumors that were out there, it just kind of proves that everyone was wrong, and I’m happy about that."
Perron, 28, is averaging 20 goals for every 82 games played over the course of his career.
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The Edmonton Oilers have dipped back into the free-agent waters, signing fringe forward Taylor Beck to a one-year contract, the club announced Sunday.
Beck was traded twice in two months last summer after making 62 starts the season prior for the Nashville Predators, who drafted him in the third round in 2009.
He appeared in two NHL games last season after landing with the New York Islanders by way of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and scored 33 points in 46 games with their American Hockey League affiliate in Bridgeport.
The 25-year-old has 11 goals and 23 points in 87 career NHL games across five pro seasons.
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Roman Polak's return did well to quiet the whispers, but Kris Russell's camp is setting the record straight anyway.
Russell's agent, Allain Roy, tweeted Sunday that they have not turned down a contract offer from the Toronto Maple Leafs, calling the suggestion merely a rumor.
Various reports over the weekend linked the Leafs to Russell, including one that indicated Lou Lamoriello and co. had tabled a fairly substantial multi-year offer.
Toronto announced it had signed Polak, the eighth NHL-ready defender under team control, Saturday afternoon.
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Georges Laraque's still instigating.
The longtime enforcer welcomed, honored, and also denounced Edmonton Oilers chuckers of past and present with 140 characters Sunday morning.
Hey @EdmontonOilers fans, I'm so glad @MilanLucicCFC17 picked #27, he will represent it better than Dustin Penner did! Lol! #legendsemenko
— Georges Laraque (@GeorgesLaraque) July 3, 2016
Dave Semenko racked up 981 penalty minutes in eight seasons policing for Edmonton, and Laraque tallied 826 over the same time period. In parts of four seasons, meanwhile, Penner accumulated 189 minutes. But he also scored 93 goals and collected 186 points in an Oilers uniform - far more than both Semenko and Laraque, and in far fewer games.
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The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract with second overall draft pick Patrik Laine, the team announced Sunday.
Laine will net the maximum entry-level base salary under the league's CBA, and can earn up to $3.575 million on an annual basis with $2.65 million in bonuses tied to the agreement.
His earning potential is just $200,000 short of the maximum allowable on an entry-level deal.
The reigning MVP of the World Championship will be unable to participate in on-ice activities at the club's development camp this month, after undergoing a knee procedure after the NHL Combine.
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