The Calgary Flames are on the verge of naming the 16th coach in franchise history.

Flames GM Brad Treliving confirmed Monday on a radio appearance with Sportsnet 960 The Fan that the club will appoint a head coach before the NHL Draft next weekend saying: "(It's) coming to a conclusion here rather quickly, so we're hopeful to have that buttoned down here fairly soon."

He added: "We've had a thorough process here, and we're fast approaching the finish line."

Treliving explained that before actively approaching candidates, Flames brass worked to pinpoint the traits coveted in its next coach, and then proceeded, thoughtfully, from there.

Randy Carlyle, Glen Gulutzan, and Mike Yeo, just named the successor to Ken Hitchcock with the St. Louis Blues, were names believed to have interviewed for the job.

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Watch out for the Pittsburgh Penguins again next season.

A day after the Pens were crowned Stanley Cup champions, they open as the early favorite to repeat next year, joined by many of the usual suspects at the top.

It's never to early to look ahead, right?

Team	Odds
Pittsburgh Penguins	8/1
Chicago Blackhawks	10/1
Washington Capitals	10/1
St. Louis Blues	12/1
Los Angeles Kings	14/1
San Jose Sharks	14/1
Tampa Bay Lightning	14/1
Anaheim Ducks	16/1
Dallas Stars	16/1
Detroit Red Wings	18/1
Minnesota Wild	18/1
Nashville Predators	18/1
New York Rangers	18/1
Montreal Canadiens	20/1
New York Islanders	20/1

If you're into the risky bets, here are the odds for the rest of the league.

Team	Odds
Boston Bruins	25/1
Florida Panthers	25/1
Philadelphia Flyers	25/1
Colorado Avalanche	33/1
Calgary Flames	40/1
Edmonton Oilers	40/1
Ottawa Senators	40/1
Arizona Coyotes	50/1
Carolina Hurricanes	50/1
Columbus Blue Jackets	50/1
New Jersey Devils	50/1
Vancouver Canucks	50/1
Winnipeg Jets	50/1
Buffalo Sabres	66/1
Toronto Maple Leafs	66/1

Odds courtesy of Bodog.

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The St. Louis Blues added Mike Yeo to their coaching staff as an associate for the coming season, while also announcing that he'll take over as head coach for the retiring Ken Hitchcock in 2017-18.

More to come.

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The San Jose Sharks never had a chance. Sidney Crosby made sure of it.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain and Conn Smythe Trophy was in a prophetic mood ahead of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, writes Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

"Beast mode, baby," said third-string goaltender Jeff Zatkoff after the Penguins won the Cup. "(Crosby's) a winner, he's won everything. We just followed him. He told me before Game 6 that he was going beast mode, and he went beast mode.

"He was dialled in. He wanted it."

Crosby had two assists Sunday, including the primary helper on Kris Letang's eventual Cup clincher. He assisted on Patric Hornqvist's empty-netter, and was on the ice as the seconds trickled down to zero. While No. 87 finished with only four assists in six games in the final, he took home the Conn Smythe for his incredible two-way play. He set the tone. And, like Zatkoff said, the Penguins followed.

"He was going to will this thing," said head coach Mike Sullivan.

Crosby's had the Cup on his mind for a while, actually.

Phil Kessel said that when he was acquired by the Penguins last summer, Crosby gave him an introductory phone call, and told him the club was excited about having him.

"We're going to try and win a Cup," Kessel said Crosby told him, according to NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin.

Mission accomplished.

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MONTREAL - Defenceman Mark Barberio has agreed to a two-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens, the NHL club announced Monday. It is a one-way contract, reportedly worth US$1.5 million, so he will get the same salary in the NHL or if he is...

Phil Kessel has his Stanley Cup.

Almost a year since he was famously traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs to Pittsburgh, the polarizing forward capped a whirlwind 11-and-a-half months by leading the Penguins in playoff scoring and drinking out of the best trophy in pro sports.

"It's been a special year," Kessel told TSN after the Penguins were crowned Sunday night. "You know, obviously (there has been) a lot of change in my life, and it's the best year of my life."

No. 81 finished the playoffs with 10 goals and 12 assists in 24 games, including a goal and three assists in the final. The sniper now has 23 goals and 43 points in 46 career spring games. Let no one say he doesn't rise to the occasion.

Like most Penguins players, Kessel credits Mike Sullivan for saving Pittsburgh's season.

"You know, I think towards December (and) January, I think we started to kind of turn a corner as a team," Kessel said. "You know, Sully came in, and we kind of found our identity, found the way we had to play as a group. And you know this is a special group here.

"I think we believed in each other, we played for each other. We knew we had a solid team ... we always believed we had a chance to win."

After his trade to Pittsburgh last July 1, most envisioned a 50-goal season for Kessel, playing with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. It didn't turn out that way, the Wisconsin native registered 26 goals in 82 games. His 59 points were his lowest in a non-lockout season since 2009-10, his first in Toronto, when he only played 70 games.

Redemption, though, was found in the playoffs, where Kessel and his linemates Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin tore up the opposition. The magic was supposed to happen with Sid and Geno, not Bonino and Hagelin, but the "HBK" line, as it came to be known, was crucial to the Penguins' Stanley Cup title. Pittsburgh doesn't win without its contributions.

"It just clicked," Kessel said of his line.

It sure did, and Kessel's a Stanley Cup champion, much to the dismay of his many critics.

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The Montreal Canadiens signed defenseman Mark Barberio to a two-year contract, the team announced Monday.

It's a one-way contract, and is reportedly worth $750,000 annually, according to TVA Sports' Renaud Lavoie.

The 26-year-old from Montreal played 30 games with the Canadiens this past season, scoring twice and adding eight helpers. He averaged 15 minutes of ice time per game.

Barberio was a sixth-round pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008. He has a career 52.9 percent Corsi For rating in 136 games.

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CALGARY - The Calgary Flames have signed Czech goaltender David Rittich to a one-year contract. The 23-year-old spent the past two seasons with BK Mlada Boleslav in the Czech elite league. Rittich's record in 2015-16 was 26-22-0 with a 2.5...

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to a three-year entry-level contract with forward Sebastian Aho. The team announced the terms Monday. The deal will pay the 18-year-old $832,500 at the NHL level or $70,000 in the American H...

The only thing more emotional than the Stanley Cup is CBC's Hockey Night in Canada's playoff-closing, season-ending montage.

Enjoy. And, yeah, we miss hockey already, too.

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