Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves is giddy about the opportunity to suit up with two of this generation's greatest players come October.

Graves, who joined the Penguins in free agency this summer on a six-year, $27-million contract, praised Pittsburgh's acquisition of superstar blue-liner Erik Karlsson.

"It's exciting," Graves told NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "You're adding the reigning Norris Trophy champion. He had an historic season last year, and he was unbelievable on a San Jose team that struggled. He was virtually like all of their offense. So, adding a piece like that is super exciting."

Pittsburgh's defensive pairings are far from set in stone, but Graves could be a logical fit in the top four alongside the right-handed Karlsson.

"Especially for a guy like me that's a left-handed shot and a defense-first kind of D-man, you never know who you're going to play with. But even if it's not your partner, things get shuffled, and you get shifts with guys," Graves said. "I think it's cool to have a guy like that around, and he's going to make our team much better."

The other player Graves is eager to team up with, predictably, is captain Sidney Crosby. Graves said he's already felt the influence of Crosby's leadership before even playing a game together.

"I'm only imagining just the way he runs a team just from seeing how dialed in he is off the ice and how he takes care of his body, and how seriously he takes his craft," Graves said.

"What is he, 36 now? And he looks like he's 30 years old. He still moves well. He's still putting up crazy numbers and he's still an elite forward in the League, so just learning from the way he takes care of his body, he's so serious about it, and the way he leads by example."

Pittsburgh missed the playoffs for the first time since Crosby's rookie season - 2005-06 - this past spring. The club then brought in Kyle Dubas as general manager and president of hockey operations and made plenty of roster changes in hopes of returning to contention.

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Forward Filip Zadina is excited to begin anew with the San Jose Sharks after a disappointing five-season tenure as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.

"Right now, I just feel differently, and I'm not even there yet," Zadina said at the NHL European Player Media Tour, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "So, we'll see. I just feel excited about that season coming up and the competition battling for a spot and stuff like that."

Zadina signed a one-year contract worth $1.1 million with the Sharks on July 10 after he and the Red Wings mutually terminated the remaining two seasons of his contract.

The 2018 sixth overall pick requested a trade from Detroit and was subsequently placed on waivers when the team couldn't find a deal. He forfeited $4.56 million in salary upon his contract's termination.

"It just didn't go the way that I guess we both wanted," Zadina said of his time in Detroit. "Going as a kid into that rebuild situation didn't help much as well. It just didn't work out.

"I got hurt almost every single season. ... It kept adding up each season, and last season was the worst one. I just said that I didn't know what's going to be the next season if I stay."

Zadina played just 30 games last campaign due to a fractured fibula, recording seven points. The 23-year-old reached career-high totals in 2021-22 when he tallied 10 goals and 24 points.

Highly touted for his immense offensive skill set coming out of the QMJHL, Zadina's looking forward to battling for minutes in San Jose to prove he can be a contributing presence in an NHL lineup.

"I said, 'I would do anything for a chance,' and (Sharks head coach David Quinn) said if I work hard and deserve that spot, I will get the chance I never got. So, I'm really excited about that."

"I've just got to stay healthy," Zadina added. "Once I stay healthy the whole season, for the future, it will come. I believe I'm a good player. I'm strong and fast. I can shoot the puck. I can pass the puck. I have the tools that I needed to have, and it's just about staying healthy and play hockey and have fun."

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Matt and Jeff discuss the future of Tanner Pearson now that he's back skating -- and golfing! -- which seems like great news for that an injured hand. Can he help the Canucks? Is he a Tocchet-type player? Where does he fit in the lineup? Does he need to start in the American Hockey League? Plus, it was this Friday last year when the Canucks signed JT Miller to a seven-year extension. Who should be his wingers and how will he live up to the pressure of performing as an $8 million man?

John Shannon stops by to tell us 1/3 the league have their personnel set, so a Tyler Myers trade might be tricky. John talks about how the trend now is to have a "leadership group" and not necessarily a captain. He also speaks to the Rick Tocchet affect on the club, and the lack of a practice facility.

Plus, Matt faces off against Jeff in another episode of S vs P. Today's topic: Have the Canucks closed the gap on Western Conference playoff teams?

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Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm doesn't seem to be turning his back on Stampede City entirely as he enters the final year of his contract.

"I am willing to stay," he told Swedish outlet Hockeysverige, as translated by Uffe Bodin. "My agent and Calgary will handle most of it. There's a lot we have to agree on, but I've said that I can consider staying."

He added: "I have one year left, but if things don't go as I've planned, then I'll become a free agent. Nothing strange about that. We'll see what happens."

Lindholm was initially more non-committal about staying in Calgary after a disappointing 2022-23 campaign that saw the team miss the playoffs by two points. When asked in April if he'd be open to discussing an extension, he said, "We'll see what happens."

Lindholm will likely be due a substantial raise from his current $4.85-million cap hit. He posted 22 goals and ranked second on the team with 64 points in 80 outings last campaign.

The 28-year-old Swede is one season removed from a stellar 2021-22 campaign that saw him chip in 42 goals while being named a Selke Trophy finalist for the first time in his career.

Lindholm is far from the only Flame to have a cloudy future ahead of the 2023-24 season. Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov are all entering the final seasons of their deals as well.

The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported in June that Hanifin isn't keen on signing an extension with Calgary, making a trade likely. The Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, and Pittsburgh Penguins were apparently among the interested parties earlier this summer, but there's since been no movement on that front.

Backlund, meanwhile, expressed his desire to win a Stanley Cup once the Flames' 2022-23 season ended, adding that he "might want to see what this group can do" before making a decision.

Calgary traded Tyler Toffoli - another pending UFA - to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forward Yegor Sharangovich and a 2023 third-rounder back in June.

The Flames fired veteran head coach Darryl Sutter in May, replacing him with newbie Ryan Huska. Puck drops on Calgary's 2023-24 season Oct. 11 against the Winnipeg Jets.

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The Professional Women's Hockey League announced its inaugural general managers Friday.

Natalie Darwitz (Minnesota), Pascal Daoust (New York), Gina Kingsbury (Toronto), Michael Hirschfeld (Ottawa), Danielle Marmer (Boston), and Daniele Sauvageau (Montreal) were named the first six GMs in league history.

Darwitz, 39, starred at the University of Minnesota from 2002-05. Her 114 points in 2004-05 with the Golden Gophers remain the team's single-season record. The Eagan, Minnesota, native was a member of the U.S. national team from 1998 to 2010 and was the American captain from 2007-10. Darwitz has been an assistant coach with the Golden Gophers' women's team for the past two seasons.

Daoust was GM of the QMJHL's Val-d'Or Foreurs from 2016-2023. He was previously an assistant coach with the University of Montreal's women's hockey team, where he helped win two national titles.

Kingsbury, 41, played for the Canadian national team from 2000-2010 and appeared in both the CWHL and WWHL. She was an assistant coach with the CWHL's Calgary Inferno for three seasons before joining Hockey Canada's hockey operations department in 2018, where she has managed the women's team. Born in Saskatchewan and raised in Quebec, Kingsbury was promoted to Hockey Canada's vice-president of hockey operations in March. Her stacked resume includes two Olympic gold medals and three World Championship titles as a player. She has an Olympic gold, two Women's World Championships, and a World Championship as an executive.

Hirschfeld has been the executive director of the NHL Coaches' Association since 2016. A former Bay Street corporate lawyer, Hirschfeld was in the running for the Philadelphia Flyers' president role that went to Keith Jones, according to reports in May.

Marmer was a scouting assistant for the Boston Bruins last season and also worked in the team's player development department. Prior to joining the Bruins, she was the director of hockey operations for Quinnipiac University's women's hockey team.

Sauvageau, 61, has been a coach and executive in women's hockey since 1996. After becoming the first female coach in the QMJHL in 1999-2000, Sauvageau led the Canadian national team to gold as a head coach at the 2001 World Championships and 2002 Olympics. The Montreal native was the GM of the University of Montreal's women's hockey team from 2010-18, where she captured national titles in 2013 and 2016. Sauvageau was an associate head coach and GM in the PWHPA last season.

The PWHL's 24-game regular season will begin in January.

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