Vegas Golden Knights forward William Karlsson believes he can replicate last season's success and ink the lucrative contract he desires.

After finishing third in the league with 43 goals, the 25-year-old couldn't come to terms on a long-term deal with the club, instead settling on a one-year, $5.25-million contract.

"It's me betting on myself a little," Karlsson said, according to NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "It would be great with a long-term (deal) but we couldn't agree on that. Both sides wanted it long term but it couldn't work out.

"I believe I can have another productive year, show that last season was no fluke, and earn something long term."

Karlsson's monstrous campaign came after never managing more than nine goals or 25 points in his first two full seasons in the league with the Columbus Blue Jackets. With Vegas, he saw an increase of 34 goals and 53 points, which he attributes largely to an increased role with the Golden Knights.

"I'm not sure what happened in Columbus but when your confidence is down it affects you," Karlsson said. "All I wanted is a chance to show what I can do. Vegas let me do that. It let a lot of guys do that."

If Karlsson can put up another 40-goal season, he could command a long-term contract in the ballpark of $9 million per season.

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The Carolina Hurricanes and forward Sebastian Aho have begun talks regarding a contract extension.

Aho is entering the final year of his entry-level deal and is hoping to sign long term, but for now, discussions appear to be in the infancy stages.

"We've been talking about something," Aho said, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "But I've got nothing to say yet."

Aho made significant strides in his sophomore season, pacing the Hurricanes in both goals and points with 29 and 65, respectively. The 21-year-old is also coming off a stellar performance at the World Championship where he put up nine goals and 18 points in just eight games.

The Hurricanes finished last season 14 points outside the final wild-card spot in the East. Another stellar campaign for Aho is a must if they are to return to the postseason for the first time since 2008-09.

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Patrik Laine is not sweating the fact that he remains without a contract extension heading into the 2018-19 season.

The Winnipeg Jets sniper still has a year remaining on his entry-level deal and, as such, is preaching patience.

"It's not something we need to hurry because I still have a contract," Laine said, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti "But obviously that's something I want to do at some point and they want to do. But there's no rush.

"I really don't care," Laine said. "There's no rush, really. I can do it next summer or this summer. I don't mind."

While the former second overall pick doesn't appear pressed to sign an extension, he did admit that when the time comes he'd prefer to put pen to paper on a long-term deal.

"It's always easier if it's long term so you don't have to think about doing a new contract for a while, and I'm happy where I'm at," Laine said. "I want to stay there for sure. That's something I want to do and hopefully, they're thinking the same way."

Given that the 20-year-old has tallied 80 goals in his first two NHL seasons - only Alex Ovechkin has more in that span - it's safe to say the feeling is likely mutual on the Jets' part.

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One month out from the start of training camp, the Detroit Red Wings still remain uncertain as to whether or not Henrik Zetterberg will be healthy enough to suit up this season.

The 37-year-old has been dealing with back issues and in turn has been unable to do any training this offseason, leaving the 2018-19 campaign up in the air.

"He's had a hard summer and I don't think his back is reacting great," head coach Jeff Blashill said Wednesday, according to Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. "Certainly we'll know more in a month (at training camp), but as of today, there's a lot of doubt as to whether his back will be healthy enough to play."

Zetterberg did manage to get into the lineup for all 82 games last season, but as Blashill explained, it wasn't easy for the veteran center.

"As you know, Hank wasn't able to practice for half the year," Blashill said. "He was able to gut it out through those last two months where he wasn't able to practice. There were nights I didn’t think he'd able to play and he did play."

Zetterberg hasn't missed a game since the 2014-15 campaign. He still has two more years remaining after this season on his current 12-year, $73-million contract, which holds an annual average value of just under $6.1 million.

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The Florida Panthers have signed forward Mark Letestu to a professional tryout, the team announced Tuesday.

The 33-year-old is coming off a 2017-18 season split between the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets. He tallied eight goals and 19 points with Edmonton in 60 contests and another four points in 20 games with Columbus.

Letestu, who's traditionally played center, could face a tough challenge if he hopes to land a job at the position with the Panthers. Aleksander Barkov and Vincent Trocheck hold down the first two spots, so the veteran would likely have to edge out either Henrik Borgstrom or Derek MacKenzie for a bottom-six center job.

Letestu has amassed 93 goals and 210 points during 558 games across his nine-year NHL career.

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After undergoing shoulder surgery in the spring, Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski is hoping to avoid missing the start of the 2018-19 regular season.

"My goal, ultimately, is to be there for Game 1," the 21-year-old told Brian Hedger of BlueJackets.com. "You never want to miss time, you never want to miss games, so my goal going into training camp and into the season is to be ready for Game 1.

"If it's later, like Game 5 or Game 10, whenever that is, I'm going to work to miss as few games as possible and be ready to help the team."

Werenski had the surgery on May 3 to repair a lingering injury that he played through for the majority of the 2017-18 campaign. He still managed to set a career high with 16 goals, but produced 10 fewer points (37) than during his impressive rookie campaign.

For now, Werenski has begun skating but hasn't progressed to contact drills.

"I feel great out there," he said. "There's no problems right now. I'm just kind of ramping it up here, trying to get my timing back. Everything feels good on the ice. I haven't had any contact yet. That's not until later. I probably won't do that until probably halfway through training camp, but everything is good. Everything's on pace. I actually don't know what my timeline is, to be honest, but I'm hoping to be back toward the start of training camp - probably not Day 1, but as soon as I can be."

The Blue Jackets will open the 2018-19 season on Oct. 4 when they clash with the Detroit Red Wings.

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The Nashville Predators and defenseman Ryan Ellis have agreed to an eight-year, $50-million contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.

Ellis was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the upcoming season, but the extension will now keep him under contract through the 2026-27 campaign. He's currently in the final year of a five-year, $12.5-million deal that pays him just $2.5 million per season.

"Ryan is a huge part of our team on and off the ice and we are happy to have his leadership remain in our locker room for the foreseeable future," general manager David Poile said in a release. "We have talked about wanting to keep the core of our team together, and this is another opportunity to help us do so while continuing to compete for a Stanley Cup. Ryan is entering his prime and is one of the reasons why we feel this team has a chance to win every time we step on the ice."

The 27-year-old Ellis is coming off his seventh season in the league, in which he posted nine goals and 32 points despite playing only 44 games due to injury. He also finished tied for ninth among all NHL defenders in points per game (0.73) among those with at least 30 appearances.

Overall, Ellis has tallied 55 goals and 173 points in 396 career games, the sixth-highest point total among defenseman in Predators franchise history.

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The New Jersey Devils re-signed defenseman Steven Santini to a three-year, $4.25-million contract Tuesday, the team announced.

The 23-year-old split this past season between the Devils and the club's AHL affiliate in Binghamton. He posted two goals and eight assists in 36 games at the NHL level and three goals and six points in 27 AHL contests.

"We are excited to lock up Steven, a young, developing defenseman, for the next three seasons," general manager Ray Shero said in a release. "He provides size and a physical element that complements our existing defensive group moving forward."

Santini was drafted in the second round in 2013. He's put up four goals and 17 points in 75 career games.

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Forward Brady Tkachuk has put pen to paper on a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators, the club announced Monday.

It was reported on the weekend that Tkachuk had informed Boston University he would be turning pro. His father, Keith, confirmed Saturday that Brady would be signing with the Senators.

"We know how much he agonized over leaving Boston University, and we are encouraged by the degree of accountability and commitment this shows from him," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a release.

"Through tenacity, combativeness, and work ethic, he also exemplifies leadership skills that we know will benefit the team now and well into the future. Most of all, Brady has shown us through his maturity that he is coachable, committed to teamwork, and determined to help us strengthen our team chemistry. For all these reasons, he is an exciting young player whose growth and development we are eager to support."

The 18-year-old was selected fourth overall in June's draft after entering as the second-ranked skater in North America by NHL Central Scouting. He's coming off a freshman college campaign in which he posted eight goals and 31 points in 40 games.

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NBC Sports will air a record 109 regular-season games during the 2018-19 campaign, the television network announced Monday.

The usual suspects headline the schedule. The Chicago Blackhawks lead the way with 19 appearances, while the Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals, will make 18.

As part of the announcement, NBC revealed its plans to rebrand Wednesday night coverage from "Rivalry Night" to "Wednesday Night Hockey." This year's 25 Wednesday broadcasts will feature 17 doubleheaders and their largest variety of teams to date, with the Capitals making the most appearances with eight.

NBC will also broadcast the 2019 Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Blackhawks, the Coors Light Stadium Series game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, and coverage from All-Star weekend in San Jose, including the game, which will be broadcast in prime time for the first time since 1997.

Here's a list of the number of national appearances each team will receive this season:

Let the games begin.

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