Kevin Labanc says he accepted a surprisingly low contract for a couple of reasons.

The San Jose Sharks forward, who raised a few eyebrows when he re-signed and inked a one-year pact worth a reported $1 million last month following a 56-point campaign, said he wanted to avoid distractions during the season.

"I didn't want to wait," Labanc told NHL.com's Adam Kimelman at a charity event on Friday. "I wanted to sign the contract, get myself ready for the upcoming year and have nothing hanging over my shoulder."

Labanc added that signing the deal also made it easier for general manager Doug Wilson to navigate a difficult cap situation.

"I think I did (him) a big favor, and the Sharks organization, taking that deal," the winger said. "There's a lot more salary cap (space) for him to get another one or two players. It's awesome and I think it'll help our team be good Stanley Cup contenders this year and that's where we want to be, we want to hoist the Stanley Cup this year. It's a long season, and we're going to need every player we can get."

Longtime San Jose forward Joe Thornton remains unsigned, and the club holds about $4.7 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly.

In June, the Sharks locked in star defenseman Erik Karlsson to an eight-year contract reportedly worth $92 million, and then they signed promising young forward Timo Meier to a four-year, $24-million deal on July 1.

San Jose also lost captain Joe Pavelski, Gustav Nyquist, and Joonas Donskoi to other clubs in free agency. However, Labanc sees those departures as an opportunity for him to carve out a larger role.

"I'm going to go in there and work hard and look forward to my enhanced role on the team," he said. "There's going to be a lot of minutes. When guys leave it's an opportunity for guys like me to step up and prove I am that type of player who can play a top-six role."

In his third campaign with the Sharks, the 23-year-old established career highs with 17 goals and 39 assists while playing all 82 regular-season games in 2018-19. He added nine points in 20 playoff contests.

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John Tavares is optimistic he'll have Mitch Marner back by his side when the Toronto Maple Leafs open their 2019-20 season, even though the 22-year-old winger has seen his contract negotiations drag into mid-August.

"There's lots of restricted free agents unsigned still, a lot of guys in a similar position as him," Tavares told TSN. "There's still some time here, I think we all believe the right thing will happen and something will get worked out. I think that's what both sides obviously want, sometimes it takes a little bit longer than others. Mitch is obviously an important player for our team. Just the type of guy he is as well, you can really count on him."

Tavares and Marner formed one of the league's most dynamic duos in their first season together, with the former notching a career-high 47 goals and the latter finishing ninth in NHL scoring with 94 points.

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said earlier in August that contract talks with Marner remain "status quo," while Toronto's leading scorer previously stated he's "probably not" attending training camp - which opens Sept. 17 - without a new deal.

"I think Mitch knows that I'm here for him whenever he needs it, but certainly I think you want to respect his situation and his process," Tavares said.

The Leafs are currently above the $81.5-million salary cap. They can build an offseason roster with a projected cap hit as rich as $92.05 million, however, before placing David Clarkson and Nathan Horton on long-term injured reserve to become cap compliant, according to CapFriendly.

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Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen admitted he's struggled to cope with his team's consistently disappointing seasons.

"I haven't been able to help the team win," Ristolainen told Finnish outlet MTV Sports, according to The Buffalo News via Google Translate. "Recent seasons have been tough and I haven't been able to enjoy hockey."

Despite winning 10 games in a row and at one point sitting first in the NHL standings during the 2018-19 campaign, the Sabres missed the playoffs by a considerable margin for an eighth consecutive year.

Last season marked Ristolainen's sixth with Buffalo after the Sabres drafted him eighth overall in 2013. The 24-year-old produced 43 points in 78 games but was a league-worst minus-41.

The Sabres have had a busy offseason, including hiring Ralph Krueger as their new head coach and trading for Colin Miller. Before adding Miller, Buffalo also acquired Brandon Montour in a February trade with the Anaheim Ducks, which could make Ristolainen expendable as both newcomers play on the right side of the blue line.

Ristolainen reportedly drew interest in trade talks after the Winnipeg Jets dealt Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers in June.

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Don't count Johnny Gaudreau among the critics of the Calgary Flames' offseason acquisition of Milan Lucic.

"Obviously we've been looking for a bit of toughness for our team and Lucic brings that," said Gaudreau, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman.

"You don't really realize how big of a presence he is on the ice," he added. "When you play against a team like that and you have a player like that who can get into the corners, big body, get in front of the net, he really helps your team. I think that's what we've been looking for in our team. I think he can push us over the edge here."

Lucic was traded to the Flames by the Edmonton Oilers earlier this summer for winger James Neal. The deal was met with criticism from Flames fans due to Lucic's declining production and steep contract.

The 31-year-old winger had 20 points in 79 games in 2018-19 and will cost the Flames $5.25 million per season until 2023.

Calgary captured the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference last year by collecting 107 points during the regular season, but it was eliminated in five games by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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