Ben Hutton appears to be headed toward unrestricted free agency.

The Vancouver Canucks are not planning to qualify the defenseman, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

As a player with arbitration rights, Hutton's salary was going to jump out of Vancouver's comfort zone, adds Friedman.

Hutton, a pending RFA, would become a UFA if the Canucks don't tender him a qualifying offer.

The 26-year-old produced 20 points over 69 games in his fourth NHL season and ranked second on the club in average ice time, logging 22:21 per contest.

He's coming off the second campaign of the two-year, $5.6-million extension Hutton signed with the club in November 2016.

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The Philadelphia Flyers traded forward Ryan Hartman to the Dallas Stars for forward Tyler Pitlick on Monday, the Flyers announced.

Hartman, a pending restricted free agent, collected 12 goals and 26 points in 83 games this season split between Philadelphia and the Nashville Predators, who included him in the Wayne Simmonds deal at the deadline.

Pitlick, who has one year left on his contract at a cap hit of $1 million, managed eight goals and 12 points in 47 contests with Dallas in 2018-19.

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The New Jersey Devils' prized acquisition has a familiar goal in mind.

“I want a Stanley Cup ring and I want it in New Jersey," P.K. Subban told reporters Sunday, about 26 hours after the Nashville Predators traded him to his new club.

"I'm coming to win, I'm not coming for participation," Subban added, according to team reporter Amanda Stein.

And as if that wasn't clear enough, the star rearguard also revealed his top priority.

"Winning is the most important thing to me," Subban said. "The most important thing in my life has been to win a championship."

Subban has never won hockey's ultimate prize. He reached the Stanley Cup Final with the Predators in 2017, but Nashville lost that series to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

The Devils have won it all three times - in 1995, 2000, and 2003 - while losing in the championship round in 2001 and 2012.

New Jersey has quickly transformed its roster and suddenly boosted its Cup aspirations in the last 48 hours. The Devils drafted potential generational talent Jack Hughes first overall Friday night before acquiring Subban for defenseman Steven Santini, blue-line prospect Jeremy Davies, and a pair of second-round draft picks Saturday afternoon.

Subban joins a Devils squad that already boasts 2018 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall and 2017 first overall pick Nico Hischier, as well as Hughes and consistent scorer Kyle Palmieri.

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Anders Lee expected to have a new contract with the New York Islanders by now, but he's still cautiously optimistic that a deal will get done.

"I didn't think we'd get to this point," New York's captain told NHL.com's Brian Compton on Saturday. "The process hasn't … I haven't enjoyed it, but it is what it is. We want to make sure that everything is done right and it's right for both of us, for both sides. I hope it works out. They're working on it right now."

The pending unrestricted free agent said it was "never an intention" to reach the UFA negotiating period - which began Sunday - without an agreement, but he was also careful when characterizing his feelings about the negotiations.

"I wouldn't say (I'm) upset; I don't think that's the right (word)," Lee said.

Meanwhile, the forward's agent, Neil Sheehy, and Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello spoke at the draft in Vancouver after conversing over the course of the season, according to Compton.

"We had said (from) Day 1 we wanted all of our free agents back," Lamoriello said Thursday. "Fortunately, two are back, and it's our job to try and get the other two back."

The Islanders signed Brock Nelson to a new contract in May and inked Jordan Eberle to a deal earlier this month, but Lee and goaltender Robin Lehner remain unsigned.

Lee, who'll turn 29 on July 3, is coming off a four-year, $15-million contract he signed with New York in 2015.

He was the team's leading scorer with 28 goals in 2018-19 - a number he's averaged over his five full NHL campaigns, all spent with the Islanders, which included 102 across the last three seasons.

New York gave Lee the "C" in October after former captain John Tavares signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer. The Islanders drafted Lee with the 152nd overall pick in 2009.

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Vegas Golden Knights forward William Karlsson is closing in on an eight-year contract with the club, multiple sources confirmed to The Athletic's Jesse Granger on Sunday.

The deal will carry an average annual value of $5.9 million and is expected to be signed in the next two days, Granger added.

Karlsson is a pending restricted free agent who's coming off a one-year, $5.25-million pact he inked with the Golden Knights last August.

He regressed this past season but still posted 24 goals and 56 points after exploding for 43 goals and 78 points in 2017-18.

The two-way center played in every game over the last two campaigns and has missed only two regular-season contests in the last four years.

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Dale Tallon won't be talking to Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin right away, but he plans on doing so in the near future.

The Florida Panthers general manager said Sunday he doesn't expect to meet with the Columbus Blue Jackets duo on Monday, but that he should at some point later in the week, according to Sportsnet's John Shannon.

With the unrestricted free-agent negotiating period opening Sunday, TSN's Bob McKenzie initially reported that Bobrovsky and Panarin would be in Florida to meet with the Panthers on Monday, but it appears the timing has been pushed back.

The Panthers have been interested in Bobrovsky and Panarin since at least Feb. 1, when TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported Florida hoped to take a run at the pair in free agency.

A few days later, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported the Panthers were interested in trading for Bobrovsky and enticing him with an eight-year contract extension.

Aside from Matt Duchene, Panarin, 27, is expected to be the best player available on the open market come July 1. He notched 28 goals and led Columbus with a career-high 87 points in 79 regular-season games in 2018-19, adding five goals and 11 points in 10 playoff contests.

Bobrovsky, 30, had a turbulent regular season but excelled in the postseason with a .925 save percentage. He's spent the last seven campaigns with the Blue Jackets after playing two seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers to start his NHL career.

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The Vegas Golden Knights are reportedly getting inquiries regarding Nikita Gusev.

With a William Karlsson extension looming, clubs are expressing interest in the Russian sniper, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Gusev, the 2018 KHL MVP, signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Golden Knights in April. That deal expired at season's end, so he's now a pending restricted free agent.

The 26-year-old led the KHL with 82 points in 62 regular-season games for SKA St. Petersburg before adding 19 points in 18 playoff contests.

Vegas acquired his rights from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2017 expansion draft.

Karlsson is a restricted free agent coming off a one-year, $5.25-million deal he inked with the Golden Knights last August.

He notched 24 goals and 56 points while playing all 82 regular-season games in 2018-19 after pouring in 43 goals and 78 points while appearing in all 82 regular-season contests in 2017-18.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning dealt forward J.T. Miller to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for goaltender Marek Mazanec, a 2019 third-round pick, and a 2020 conditional first-round selection, the clubs announced Saturday.

Miller collected 13 goals and 47 points in 75 regular-season games with the Lightning this past season.

He has four years left on his contract with a cap hit of $5.25 million, according to CapFriendly.

Miller notched 10 goals and 18 points in 19 contests with Tampa Bay in 2017-18 after the club acquired him from the New York Rangers in the Ryan McDonagh deal at the trade deadline.

The 26-year-old spent parts of six seasons with the Rangers, who selected him 15th overall in the 2011 draft.

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P.K. Subban is on the move again.

The Nashville Predators dealt the superstar defenseman to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the clubs announced.

Nashville will receive blue-liner Steven Santini, defensive prospect Jeremy Davies, as well as a second-round pick in this draft and a second-rounder in 2020.

The Predators are not retaining any salary in the deal, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.

Subban has three years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $9 million, according to CapFriendly.

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With the Jacob Trouba deal in the rearview mirror, the league's focus has reportedly shifted to another defenseman.

Interest in Rasmus Ristolainen of the Buffalo Sabres has picked up over the past 24 hours, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, with several clubs revisiting their previously expressed desire to acquire the defenseman.

Buffalo won't deal the blue-liner unless the package is "absolutely right," adds LeBrun.

Ristolainen has three years left on his contract and carries an annual cap hit of $5.4 million.

The 24-year-old eclipsed the 40-point mark for the fourth straight season in 2018-19. He also led the Sabres in average ice time with 24:38 per game, good for ninth in the NHL.

The Winnipeg Jets sent Trouba to the New York Rangers on Monday in exchange for rearguard Neal Pionk and a 2019 first-round pick.

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