Nashville Predators general manager David Poile knows the top item on his summer to-do list is to sign star defenseman Roman Josi to a new contract, as it will make shaping the rest of the roster that much easier.

"When and if we do that, that checks off a lot of boxes for what we may have to do in the future," Poile told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun on Monday. "So that would certainly be our No. 1 priority, to get that done."

Josi's agents, Judd Moldaver and Jeff Jackson, plan to meet with their client over the next few weeks after his return from the World Championship, according to LeBrun. Josi's Switzerland squad lost to Canada in the quarterfinals Thursday.

The Predators captain, who'll turn 29 on June 1, ranked fifth in the NHL in average ice time during the 2018-19 regular season and poured in 56 points while playing all 82 games.

Josi has one year remaining on his current deal and thus can agree to an extension as of July 1. Poile can also sign trade-deadline acquisition Mikael Granlund to a new contract beginning on that day.

Craig Smith is also eligible for an extension at the beginning of July, and the Predators have four pending unrestricted free agents in Brian Boyle, Wayne Simmonds, Cody McLeod, and Zac Rinaldo, plus pending RFAs Colton Sissons and Rocco Grimaldi.

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Joe Thornton hasn't decided whether he'll suit up for another NHL campaign, but if he does, it'll be with the San Jose Sharks.

"It is safe to say," the veteran forward told reporters Thursday. "I'm a Shark. There's one team and it's here."

Thornton said he still has to discuss his future with the team before figuring out his next move.

"I've got to talk to (head coach) Pete (DeBoer), (general manager) Doug (Wilson), and (team owner) Hasso (Plattner), but we'll see," he said. "I feel like I can still play, that's for sure, but I haven't made any decision."

The 39-year-old added that he hasn't set a timeline for his choice.

Thornton will turn 40 on July 2, one day after free agency opens. He's a pending unrestricted free agent on his second straight one-year deal with San Jose.

The skilled playmaker just finished his 21st NHL season and has spent parts of 14 campaigns with the Sharks.

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Peter DeBoer lamented the fact that Erik Karlsson wasn't at 100 percent during the playoffs, and the San Jose Sharks head coach said the superstar blue-liner wasn't fully healthy and thus at his best for much of the season.

"Sure (it's) disappointing, absolutely. Maybe the best defenseman in the world or in that conversation. But really, we had him healthy for probably six weeks and dialed in," DeBoer told the assembled media, including Sportsnet, following his team's elimination Tuesday night.

"The first two months of the season, he was getting used to us, (maybe) two-and-a-half (months)," the Sharks bench boss added. "I thought he got dialed in in January (or) February, and I thought maybe we were the best team in the league through that stretch and then he wasn't healthy again."

DeBoer declined to specify what Karlsson's most recent injury was, but the all-world rearguard was limited to about six minutes in the third period of Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the St. Louis Blues.

He left Game 5 and didn't return after playing about 10 minutes, and didn't suit up for Game 6 on Tuesday, which the Blues won to end San Jose's season.

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Peter DeBoer is taking some of the blame for the fact that Joe Thornton won't win his first championship this spring.

"He's the face, he's the heartbeat of the organization," the San Jose Sharks head coach told the assembled media, including Sportsnet, following a season-ending 5-1 defeat to the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night.

"Like all the players in that room, as coaches, we're disappointed for not helping him get there because he gives you everything he's got and (he) should be there," DeBoer added. "It's hard not to feel responsibility as one of the people around him for not helping him get where he belongs. He belongs playing for a Stanley Cup and that's the disappointing part."

Thornton said postgame that he hasn't thought about his future.

The 39-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent who's spent parts of 14 of his 21 seasons with the Sharks.

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Joe Thornton wasn't ready to say whether he plans to continue his career in the aftermath of his club's elimination on Tuesday night.

"No. Nope," the veteran San Jose Sharks forward told reporters, including NHL Network's Jon Morosi, when asked if he's thought about his future following the Sharks' 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final.

Thornton is a pending unrestricted free agent who will turn 40 on July 2, one day after free agency opens.

He contributed 51 points in 73 games during the 2018-19 regular season, adding 10 points in 19 playoff contests.

Tuesday's loss ended Thornton's 21st NHL season. He's spent parts of 14 campaigns with the Sharks.

The supremely skilled playmaker has signed one-year contracts to remain with San Jose before each of the last two seasons.

Thornton ranks eighth on the NHL's all-time assists list, and 14th among the league's all-time points leaders.

He's also the Sharks' all-time assists leader, sits second in franchise history in points and games played, and ranks third on San Jose's all-time goals list.

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Referee Wes McCauley was forced to exit Game 6 between the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks in the first period after colliding with linesman Scott Cherry during play.

Gord Dwyer replaced the official, and the NHL later announced McCauley will not return.

Sportsnet's Scott Oake said on the broadcast that McCauley told him it's a hamstring injury.

The veteran referee is the most popular official in the league, and one of the most well respected.

He'll likely be in line to work the Stanley Cup Final if healthy.

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San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski is listed among the scratches for Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against the St. Louis Blues.

The Sharks are already without Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl, who were ruled out earlier Tuesday.

All three players left Game 5 with various injuries and didn't return.

Pavelski was listed as a game-time decision.

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Dave Tippett could succeed Ken Hitchcock in Edmonton.

Tippett remains the front-runner for the Oilers' head coaching job, and the club could hire its new bench boss as early as Friday, according to TSN's Ryan Rishaug.

TSN's Pierre LeBrun later backed up Rishaug's report, adding that Tippett "still figures prominently" in Edmonton's search.

The former Arizona Coyotes head coach has been a senior advisor with the Seattle-based expansion franchise since last June.

Tippett reportedly interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres' head coaching position before they hired Ralph Krueger.

Oilers general manager Ken Holland revealed at his introductory news conference on May 7 that Hitchcock wouldn't be back next season.

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson is in the lineup for Game 5 of the Western Conference Final against the St. Louis Blues, head coach Peter DeBoer confirmed prior to the contest.

More to come.

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Add a legendary figure to the mix in the Ottawa Senators' head coaching search.

Talk in league circles on Saturday was that Senators general manager Pierre Dorion is expected to make Patrick Roy his final interview, reports Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch, who adds it's believed the team could speak with Roy next week.

A Senators source confirmed to Sportsnet's John Shannon that Roy will interview for the position.

Ottawa fired former head coach Guy Boucher on March 1.

The Senators have already interviewed interim head coach Marc Crawford, Troy Mann of their AHL affiliate, Pittsburgh Penguins assistant Jacques Martin, Toronto Maple Leafs assistant D.J. Smith, Dallas Stars assistant Rick Bowness, and Providence College's Nate Leaman, according to Garrioch.

Roy served as the Colorado Avalanche's bench boss from 2013-14 to 2015-16. He resigned unexpectedly in summer 2016 and later returned to lead the QMJHL's Quebec Ramparts.

The Hall of Fame goaltender went 130-92-24 during his three seasons coaching the Avalanche, guiding Colorado to a playoff appearance in 2014. He won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's coach of the year that season.

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