Jacob Waddell, the Nashville Predators fan who launched a catfish onto the ice surface at Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night, revealed his master plan for sneaking it into PPG Paints Arena, and boy, it's something.

Waddell has been charged with possessing an instrument of crime, disorderly conduct, and disrupting a meeting, but Tuesday he explained to Sean Gentille of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette how he managed to get it done.

Waddell proclaimed himself to be "a dumb redneck with a bad idea," and his complete itinerary for the stunt included:

• Buying a pair of $350 upper-bowl tickets, and transporting the fish from Tennessee to Game 1 in Pittsburgh.
• Dousing the fish in Old Spice cologne to compensate for the smell.
• Filleting the fish and running it over with his truck multiple times because
  "the head was too damn big."
• Stuffing the fish between his underwear and a pair of compression shorts, which were covered up by a pair of baggy pants.
• Wandering down to the lower level with the fish wrapped in a complimentary T-shirt, then launching it onto the ice.

Waddell apparently shared his idea with a local radio station, which offered to pay any fine in support of taking "Smashville Fever" on the road.

Anything for hockey, right?

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Former NHL defenseman Scott Stevens has resigned from his position as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Wild.

Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher said Stevens made the decision so he can spend more time with his family.

Stevens was hired on June 7, 2016 as an assistant to head coach Bruce Boudreau and resigns after just one season with the team.

"We thank Scott for the hard work and dedication he provided our team this past season," Fletcher said in a statement posted on the team's official website.

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The New York Islanders have hired 16-year NHL veteran Scott Gomez as an assistant coach, the team announced.

Gomez, 37, played with seven teams during his NHL career, but ironically, never for the Islanders. The bulk of his success came during his early days with the New Jersey Devils, when he recorded 450 points in 548 games from the 1999-2000 season through 2006-07. He registered a career-high 84 points during the 2005-06 campaign.

Gomez then famously signed a seven-year, $51.5-million contract with the New York Rangers after his time in New Jersey, but largely failed to meet lofty expectations during his time in the Big Apple. He then had stops in Montreal, San Jose, and Florida, before returning to New Jersey and finishing with stints in St. Louis and Ottawa.

Gomez and Isles head coach Doug Weight were never teammates in the NHL, but both represented USA at the 2005 World Cup and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

"Scott brings an immense amount of hockey knowledge to our coaching staff," Weight said. "His offensive instincts, expertise on the power play, and the way he could control the game with his skating and smarts, are all key elements that we want implemented into our group.

"He played in the league as recently as the 2015-16 season so he can relate to today's NHL player in an effort to bring out the best in each member of the team."

The Islanders are also reportedly set to add Kelly Buchberger to their coaching staff, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday Sports. After hiring Luke Richardson a couple of weeks ago - and should the Buchberger signing become official - New York will have four different coaches on its staff with over 1,000 NHL games played.

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Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan didn't completely shut the door Tuesday when asked about the potential of trading the face of his franchise, Alex Ovechkin.

MacLellan said he's not ready to trade him, but "maybe" if a hockey deal came about, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post.

The unofficial definition of a "hockey deal" is a straight up player(s)-for-player(s) deal to make both teams better immediately, in each GMs respective opinion. The Ryan Johansen for Seth Jones blockbuster is a great example.

What a hockey deal isn't is a salary cap dump, or dealing a star player away for an abundance of prospects.

Here is the full statement from MacLellan:

People are looking for a major solution to what we have going on. I think part of it is they watch certain things in (Ovechkin's) game and then it shows up and they say, 'That's not acceptable.' But he's a big part of our franchise, a big part of our history. He's been a big part of where we're at as an organization and just to casually say, 'Let's trade him for what for who?' I don't think it makes sense from an organizational point of view. Maybe at some point if there's a legitimate hockey deal that came available, but I don't know that that's where we're at right now. I just think he's got a history here, he's a big part of this franchise and he'll continue to be going forward.

Ovechkin has taken plenty of criticism for his team's playoff woes as the Capitals have failed to advance past the second round of the playoffs in the Ovechkin era, despite taking home the Presidents' Trophy in each of the past two seasons.

To make matters worse, their seasons have ended at the hands of Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in consecutive years. This year's ending was more bitter than most considering Pittsburgh was without star defenseman Kris Letang, starting goalie Matt Murray, and the fact that Washington has multiple pending free agents.

The talk of trading Ovechkin comes in the wake of one of his worst seasons, scoring just 33 goals and recording 69 points.

Ovechkin has a cap hit of $9,538,462 through 2020-21, or his age 34 season, a lot of money for someone MacLellan intimated has become a one-dimensional player, primarily due to his lack of footspeed.

"The game's getting faster. He's going to have to train in a different way - a more speed way instead of a power way," he told Whyno. "He's going to have to think of ways he can evolve into a player that still has a major impact on the game."

Ovechkin is listed at 239 pounds, one of the NHL's heaviest for an offensive-minded player.

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While hockey fans have been loving the wild speculation of a dramatic shakeup to the Washington Capitals' roster, general manager Brian MacLellan has a much more realistic focus.

MacLellan said Tuesday the team plans to focus on a group of restricted free agents, including forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, and Brett Connolly, defensemen Dmitry Orlov and Nate Schmidt, and goaltender Philipp Grubauer, according to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.

MacLellan is open to long-term deals for Kuznetsov and Orlov, while he expects to give Connolly a qualifying offer, reports Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post.

As for the team's fifth-leading scorer, T.J. Oshie, the Capitals may not have total control:

Oshie finished the regular season with 33 goals and 23 assists, before racking up four goals and eight assists in 13 playoff games. He will turn 31 years old partway through the 2017-18 season.

MacLellan also laid out his vision for the team's defense corps next season, which doesn't include two unrestricted free agents expected to land lucrative, long-term deals:

Karl Alzner played all 82 games last season, but racked up just 13 points. He did rank fifth on the team with a plus-23 rating.

Kevin Shattenkirk played just 19 games after being acquired from the St. Louis Blues in advance of the trade deadline. He contributed two goals and 14 points in the regular season, and one goal and five assists in the playoffs.

MacLellan will face more pressure to secure his team's roster for next season with the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft coming June 21. He has his mind made up, and said the Capitals will be going the route of protecting seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender, according to Khurshudyan.

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Ottawa Senators forward Derick Brassard will have surgery on a torn labrum in his right shoulder and is expected to be out four-to-five months, general manager Pierre Dorion announced.

The news comes after Dorion revealed in Monday's press conference that 14 players had played through various injuries during the playoffs.

"After undergoing tests following the team's playoff series against Pittsburgh it was determined that Derick suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder that will require surgery to repair," Dorion said in a release. "The procedure will take place in the near future, with the expected recovery time for this type of injury being four to five months. We are hopeful that Derick will be ready for the start of the 2017-18 regular season."

The 29-year-old is coming off his first season with the Senators after being acquired from the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Mika Zibanejad. He posted 14 goals and 39 points in 81 regular-season games and another four goals and 11 points in 19 playoff games.

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Columbus Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky underwent successful wrist surgery Monday, the team announced.

His recovery time is three months, which means he should be ready to go for the 2017-18 season.

Dubinsky had 12 goals and 29 assists in 80 games, hitting 40 or more points for the third time in his last four seasons. He added a goal and an assist in five games in the playoffs.

The 31-year-old is under contract through 2020-21 at a $5.85-million cap hit.

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An early playoff exit will not cost Barry Trotz his job.

Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan held his year-end press conference on Tuesday where he addressed the job security of his head coach, noting that the team will not make any coaching personnel changes, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post.

Despite insisting that Trotz's job is safe for now, MacLellan also noted that the two sides have not discussed a contract extension.

The 54-year-old is coming off his second season as the Capitals' head coach, leading the club to a Presidents' Trophy victory in both campaigns. However, despite Trotz's back-to-back regular-season successes in Washington, the Capitals have bowed out in the second round of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Next season will be Trotz's final year of his contract.

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The Boston Bruins weren't oh so quiet Tuesday in announcing a three-year, entry-level contract with forward Anders Bjork.

The 20-year-old is coming off his third season at the University of Notre Dame where he set career highs in all offensive categories, finishing with 21 goals, 31 assists, and 52 points in 39 games.

Bjork was named a Hobey Baker Finalist this season and helped guide his club to an appearance in the Frozen Four.

He was originally drafted by the Bruins in the fifth round, 146th overall in 2014.

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One Nashville Predators fan's moment of glory will come at a price.

Jacob Waddell, the fan who threw a catfish on the ice during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night in Pittsburgh, has been charged for his actions, according to 1020 KDKA Morning News anchor Paul Rasmussen.

Related: Pittsburgh fish market won't sell catfish to Tennessee customers

Waddell is charged with possession of an instrument of a crime, disorderly conduct, and disrupting a meeting, according to Rasmussen.

Furthermore, Rasmussen notes that police say Waddell bought the catfish in Tennessee, vacuumed sealed it, put it in his compression shorts, and then took it out inside a bathroom in the arena before chucking it onto the ice. Shortly after that Waddell was escorted out of PPG Paints Arena by security.

Hope it was worth it.

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