One week after Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin voiced his displeasure about not having a contract beyond 2018-19, it appears things are picking up.

The Stars and Seguin's camp had more significant discussions this past weekend about a potential contract extension, a source told The Athletic's Sean Shapiro.

The latest news comes after Seguin told reporters, including theScore's John Matisz, that there hadn't been much in the way of contract talks during the current offseason.

The 26-year-old will enter the 2018-19 campaign in the final season of his six-year, $34.5-million contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Seguin is coming off his fifth consecutive 70-plus-point season in which he hit the 40-goal plateau for the first time. Since the 2013-14 season, he's tied with Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby for the second-most goals in the league.

In the past, Seguin has spoken about his desire to remain with the Stars, so perhaps the latest news will lead to an extension before he hits free agency.

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Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Ab McDonald died Tuesday night at age 82, the team announced Wednesday.

McDonald played 15 years in the NHL from 1957-1972 with the Canadiens, Blackhawks, Bruins, Red Wings, Penguins, and Blues. He also played two years in the World Hockey Association with the Winnipeg Jets from 1972-1974.

"We at True North Sports + Entertainment and the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club are saddened to learn of the passing of Mr. McDonald," True North Sports + Entertainment chairman and Winnipeg Jets governor Mark Chipman said in a release. "He was a legend in this city's hockey history as the first captain of the Winnipeg Jets in 1972 and scoring the team's first-ever goal in the World Hockey Association. As a Winnipegger, he made this city proud by also playing 14 seasons in the NHL and capturing four Stanley Cups."

McDonald won four straight Stanley Cups with the Canadiens and Blackhawks from 1958-1961. He concluded his career as a five-time All-Star with 182 goals and 430 points in 762 games in the NHL and another 29 goals and 70 points in 147 games in the WHA.

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Jim Johannson has been posthumously named the 2018 recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy, the NHL announced on Wednesday.

"The Lester Patrick Trophy is presented for 'service to hockey in the United States.' Jim Johannson's entire playing career and professional life were dedicated to the game of hockey," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a release.

"From his playing days at the University of Wisconsin and for U.S. national and Olympic teams, through his two-decade career at USA Hockey, Jim worked tirelessly to grow our game at all levels in the United States."

Johannson died this past January at his home in Colorado Springs at just 53 years of age. Prior to that, he was a prominent name in American hockey, recently serving as the assistant executive director of USA Hockey and the general manager of the 2018 U.S. men's Olympic team. He was also part of the national team's management at the 2006, 2010, and 2014 Olympic Games.

He played four seasons at the University of Wisconsin and was drafted in the seventh round of the NHL draft by the Hartford Whalers in 1982, although he never suited up in the league.

Johannson will be recognized on Dec. 12, where his wife, Abby, will accept the award on his behalf, and where he'll will be inducted - alongside Red Berenson, Natalie Darwitz, Hago Harrington, David Poile, and Paul Stewart - into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

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NHL fans weren't the only ones sweating in the weeks leading up to July 1 - the day superstar center John Tavares would decide on where to sign in free agency.

David Krejci also felt the heat.

The 32-year-old occupies the Boston Bruins' second-line center position behind Patrice Bergeron, so when the Bruins emerged as one of five teams in the mix to sign Tavares - who ultimately joined the Toronto Maple Leafs instead - Krejci worried about his own future in Boston.

"I had no idea what was going on. My agent didn't tell me (anything) because he said he didn't know anything. I didn't get any phone calls from anyone from the Bruins," Krejci told NBC Sports Boston's Joe Haggerty. "So I was just getting those Instragram messages (telling me to request a trade) in my inbox. I know that I have a no-trade (clause) so they would have to call me (if they did end up signing Tavares).

"Yeah, that wasn't kind of something I enjoyed. But it was over pretty quick. It was a quick couple of weeks. It is what it is."

With just under $3 million in cap space available, the Bruins would have needed to shed salary to sign Tavares. And with Krejci set to earn $7.25 million a year for the next three seasons (the most among all Bruins players), he would have been a likely candidate to move elsewhere, or to drop down to the third line.

Instead, Krejci can now turn his attention to the upcoming season as he prepares to play a key role for the Bruins. He also holds nothing against his club's management for trying to sign Tavares.

"I understand that it's the hockey business that you have to do whatever you have to do to make the hockey team better," Krejci said.

"Obviously I don’t want to go anywhere. But (Bruins GM) Donnie (Sweeney) has got to do what he's got to do. (Hockey is a business) is what I've learned over the years. I love being here and I've got three years left, so for me it was just about getting ready to be the best player I can be. I'm still young and I feel like I still have some of my best years in front of me. Maybe not 70 or 80 points production-wise, but maybe more of a complete player and helping out the young guys grow."

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The list of Boston Bruins players not heading overseas for their preseason games in China continues to grow, with action set to begin in just over a week.

During the Boston Bruins Foundation Golf Tournament on Tuesday, head coach Bruce Cassidy announced that Noel Acciari, Zdeno Chara, Danton Heinen, Torey Krug, and Sean Kuraly won't make the trip to China for two preseason games against the Calgary Flames, the first in Shenzhen on Sept. 15 and the second in Beijing on the 19th.

Heinen and Kuraly have been excused by the team after they went to China as part of the Bruins Global trip this summer. Meanwhile, Krug and Acciari are both coming off injuries and will play games in Boston. Both are expected to be ready for the beginning of the regular season, the team stated.

Last week, forward Patrice Bergeron told reporters he wouldn't be participating in the games as he continues to rehab from offseason surgery. However, like Krug and Acciari, he is expected to be in the lineup for the team's season opener against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 3.

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The Washington Capitals might be celebrating their Stanley Cup win just a little too enthusiastically.

Capitals players have been frequently doing keg stands out of the Cup during the trophy's turn with each member of the roster this summer. However, it's become evident that keg stands could damage the Cup, and now players and team staff have been asked to refrain from performing them.

"We ask them politely not to do it," Philip Pritchard, the Hockey Hall of Fame's Keeper of the Cup, told Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post. "We're trying to preserve the history of the Stanley Cup. We don't want any unnecessary damage to it or a person, in case they drop the person or he presses too hard or something."

The Capitals are the first team to regularly perform keg stands out of the Cup. Jimmy Fallon even did one when Alex Ovechkin and Braden Holtby made their appearance on "The Tonight Show" in June.

Pritchard says the Cup will be taken apart and cleaned at the end of the summer, and he'll be able to see what kind of stress doing keg stands has had on it.

"We'll see what happens as we move forward with the Cup," Pritchard said. "At the end of September, the Cup is going in to get engraved and updated and cleaned and everything, so we'll see how it is because we have to take it apart then and everything. We'll know probably more then in early October, once it's back for the home opener. Our biggest thing is respect for it."

For now, it seems the Capitals and subsequent teams will have to resort to celebrating in water fountains.

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The Ottawa Senators have appointed Chris Kelly as their new development coach, the team announced Tuesday.

Kelly, along with fellow development coach (and former Senators forward) Shean Donovan, will work closely with the club's prospects.

The 37-year-old Kelly played eight of his 15 years in the NHL with the Senators, where he put up 80 goals and 188 points in 545 games. Over his NHL career, Kelly tallied 123 goals and 291 points in 845 games.

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The Winnipeg Jets signed captain Blake Wheeler to a five-year contract extension worth $41.25 million, the team announced Tuesday.

More to come.

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Warning: Story contains coarse language

Questions surround the Columbus Blue Jackets and their top stars heading into the 2018-19 campaign.

Forward Artemi Panarin isn't interested in signing a contract extension with the club, and he won't entertain negotiations once training camp opens. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets also reportedly haven't had much communication with goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky about a contract extension, and the two sides were far apart after initial discussions.

Panarin and Bobrovsky are entering the final years of their current contracts, and while their futures with the team might be up in the air, head coach John Tortorella understands the position each player is in and doesn't hold it against them.

"I'm not mad," Tortorella said, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. "This is their choice; it's their life. You go to Panarin … this is going to be years of his life. I'm not mad at either one of them. I am disappointed. I look at Panarin … I really like coaching him. I really like him as a person, and I like him in our room. I think he's contagious as far as how he comes to work and does his job with enthusiasm. I'm disappointed that there's talk he may be leaving. But I'm not gonna coach him any differently. He's going to be put in every damn situation I can find to put him in, because he gives us a really good opportunity to win hockey games."

Panarin prefers to be traded to the New York Rangers, according to a report from Portzline earlier in the week. During the draft, the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Dallas Stars also were among his preferred destinations.

Last season, Panarin produced a career-high 82 points in 81 games. Bobrovsky, meanwhile, posted a 37-22-6 record with a .921 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average.

It will be interesting to see how the Blue Jackets handle the contract situations of Panarin and Bobrovsky, but as Tortorella said, other teams often face similar situations.

"Do we want those to be distractions? Are we going to be able to handle it as a room, or does it turn into a distraction? I think I need to coach that," Tortorella said. "But shit happens. We're not the only team that has things go on like this."

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More than two years after being traded to the Nashville Predators in one of the most shocking trades of the past decade, P.K. Subban is still reminded about a promise he made on his draft day.

While speaking to reporters in Montreal at his annual gala for the P.K. Subban Foundation on Thursday, the 29-year-old admitted he's still upset about not winning the Stanley Cup during his time with the Montreal Canadiens.

"What I'm upset about, and at the time what I was upset about, is I made a promise to the city when I was drafted to bring a Stanley Cup back and never once did I remove myself from that statement or back away from it," Subban said. "The frustrating thing is I thought we had the right core to do that, it just seemed like we were never able to put the best team on the ice and it never happened for us."

Subban added that he's enjoying his time in Nashville. He's come closer to a championship with the Predators than he did during his six seasons with the Canadiens, reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2017.

He's now keen on bringing the Stanley Cup to his new home.

"Montreal is a great place to win in if you can win here and I felt I wanted to do that. But at the same token I got put into a really good position with an amazing city that I love so much, amazing teammates I wouldn't trade any of them for anyone, they're great guys, and I believe we have a real chance to win there and bring the first Stanley Cup back to Nashville," Subban said.

The Predators are coming off a strong 2017-18 season that saw the club capture its first-ever Presidents' Trophy. Subban posted a career-high 16 goals and 59 points while playing in all 82 games.

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