The veteran forward will attend Washington Capitals training camp on a professional tryout, the team announced Saturday.
The 26-year-old spent last season with the Calgary Flames, appearing in all but one game as he finished with 12 goals and 12 assists.
Prior to his one-year stay in Calgary, Chiasson spent two seasons each with the Dallas Stars and Ottawa Senators. He has skated in 320 career games since making his NHL debut in 2012.
Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli is tempering expectations heading into the new season.
His squad was recently tabbed by oddsmakers as one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup in 2018, but Chiarelli knows the roster still has some learning and growing to do, individually and as a group.
"That will be one of our biggest challenges," Chiarelli said Friday of managing the favorable forecasts, per Tim Campbell of NHL.com. "There are a lot of new experiences that these guys will face. If you look through our lineup, outside of last year, there's not a lot of playoff experience or having success as a, well, I wouldn't call us a front-runner."
Last season's goal of making the playoffs was well achieved, and the Oilers came within a win of advancing to the conference finals. The hope, then, is simply that the next step will be taken.
"So … how are we going to do this? We'll just have to work ourselves through it, a new experience, the same way as last year," Chiarelli said. "Then, our goal was to make the playoffs and when you're in the playoffs, it's a better testing ground, a better development ground for your young guys.
"So this is the next step. Hopefully it's a natural progression."
The Oilers will begin their preseason schedule Sept. 18 against Calgary.
Remaining an elite player for an extended period of time in the NHL is certainly not easy, and for goaltenders the struggle can be even greater.
Heading into this season, there are several netminders who've long been ranked among the best in the league but appear to be losing their luster. Although they still have the ability to steal some games for their respective teams, these goalies have most certainly begun slipping down the depth charts.
Henrik Lundqvist
Year
GP
W
L
OTL
G.A.A
SV%
SO
2016-17
57
31
20
4
2.74
.910
2
The King no longer rules all seven kingdoms.
For years Lundqvist has been the pinnacle of consistency, but signs of regression have begun to appear in the New York Rangers puck-stopper's game.
This past season he posted the worst goals-against average and save percentage of his career, while tying a career low in shutouts.
He posted a .918 even-strength save percentage, good enough for 36th among all goaltenders with at least 25 games played. In fact, Lundqvist even saw his net stolen for a brief period of time in 2016-17 by Antti Raanta.
Lundqvist is 35 years old and will be 36 next March. He is certainly no slouch, but his best days are in the rearview mirror and it's hard to imagine him being much better this season.
Roberto Luongo
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Year
GP
W
L
OTL
G.A.A
SV%
SO
2016-17
40
17
15
6
2.68
.915
1
Much like Lundqvist, Roberto Luongo's biggest detriment is likely his age.
This season the 38-year-old was hampered largely by injury which played a role in his diminished stats. Luongo posted a 2.68 GAA (his worst mark since 2006) and a .915 save percentage (his lowest total since 2010), while tallying just one shutout for only the third time in his career.
In fact, the Florida Panthers acquired James Reimer ahead of last season with the perception he might soon become the team's No. 1 in the near future.
Luongo is capable of having a bounce-back season, but don't expect a rebound of epic proportions.
Cory Schneider
Year
GP
W
L
OTL
G.A.A
SV%
SO
2016-17
60
20
27
11
2.82
.908
2
Cory Schneider should be in the midst of his best season in the NHL, but 2016-17 was anything but.
Schneider had an abysmal year by his standards, as the New Jersey Devils netminder posted the worst save percentage (.908) and GAA (2.82) of his career.
Schneider ranked 30th with a .920 save percentage at 5-on-5 in 2016-17 - a far cry from the two previous seasons that saw him rank ninth and sixth, respectively.
The Devils' defense corps hasn't improved from a season ago, so Schneider is not likely to get any more help this season.
If anyone ever doubted Sidney Crosby's work ethic or passion for the game of hockey, have a conversation Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In a Q&A with Sports Illustrated, Tocchet revealed that he and Crosby would have late night phone conversations to simply talk hockey.
"He would text and say, 'You up?' And it'd be 10 o'clock. I'd do the same to him. Whatever the topic, 10 o’clock, 10:30, things like that," Tocchet told SI. "He's always thinking hockey, that kid. And that's why I love him. But it wasn't always hockey too. He made me a better coach, and a lot of those phone calls or texts really helped me, for sure."
When asked exactly what they would talk about specifically, or why Crosby made him a better coach, Tocchet didn't shy away.
"Because he keeps you on your toes. 'Hey, did you see that in this game tonight, the way this team ran a faceoff on the power play? What do you think?' I'd go, 'Shoot, I didn’t even see the game,' so I'd take a look at the game, come in around nine in the morning and we'd take a look at it together. So I better have some good answers for him or analyze some good stuff with him. It made me a harder-working coach," he said.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
It's clear that Crosby's devotion to the game is what makes him so special. Even with all the hardware he already has in his trophy case, he is continually looking for ways he can improve.
The praise from Tocchet shouldn't be understated either, considering he played with both Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky during his career. Tocchet has been fortunate enough to soak up knowledge from all three of these greats, and use it in his coaching.
"Mario and Wayne's calmness in high-pressure situations, and the way they react to them is something I've learned over the 20-something years I’ve been involved in hockey," Tocchet said. "Or the hockey IQ of Sidney Crosby, watching him ask a question to one of the coaches, or say something in a meeting, or analyze something with the team, his hockey IQ is outstanding.
"There's a lot of players I've learned over the years with work ethic, leaders in the room, but those three guys have special gifts. To be around those three guys, you can pick out some stuff and learn and implement it, for sure. I’m very lucky."
The evidence would suggest that the Coyotes made an astute hiring in Tocchet.
As for Crosby, being a great player doesn't always translate to being a successful coach, but it appears as though he has what it takes if he ever decided to take up coaching once his playing career is all said and done. He's seemingly already an assistant coach of sorts with the Penguins right now.
Gary Bettman doesn't sound keen on the idea of the New York Islanders returning to their old barn for the long haul.
"I don't view the Nassau Coliseum as a viable option," the NHL commissioner said Friday at a press conference announcing next year's Winter Classic at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y., according to Newsday's Jim Baumbach and Steve Zipay.
"Ultimately, whether or not the Islanders want to consider that and bring it to the league or something, you've had to ask them about it," Bettman said. "But my gut reaction is it's not a viable option."
Nassau lawmakers held a press conference of their own back in July in an attempt to woo the Islanders back to their original arena, even as a temporary solution.
The club will soon submit a proposal for a brand-new facility at Belmont Park. Bettman declined to specifically address that possibility Friday.
"The Islanders have very good options and they're in the process of evaluating what makes the most sense for the franchise and their fans," he said.
Bettman did say he believes the New York metro area can support another arena.
The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, as it's officially known, has been renovated over the last couple of years since the club left for Brooklyn's Barclays Center in 2015.
If officials with the Brooklyn-based facility want to opt out of their 25-year lease, as they've reportedly considered, that would have to happen before Jan. 30, according to Newsday.
The Islanders will play a preseason game at Nassau Coliseum on Sept. 17 against the Philadelphia Flyers, but Bettman said Friday he doesn't think playing additional games there "makes a lot of sense."
The club has dealt with several issues at Barclays Center, including piping systems that don't meet NHL requirements and poor sightlines.
With the expansion franchise's regular-season opener set for Oct. 6, it appears as though there will not be a captain in place when the puck drops.
"We may be better off just having a leadership group than naming one guy captain," general manager George McPhee said Thursday, per Lisa Dillman of NHL.com. "We really don't want to put a 'C' on a guy unless this is going to be the person that's going to lead us for a long time. We'd like to get to know these players a lot better than we know them right now."
McPhee has, of course, put together a full roster, but few players are under contract long term. Furthermore, he and head coach Gerard Gallant are in the process of getting to know the players, and there's no pressure to anoint a team leader without proper evaluation.
"Do you know a player well enough after a month - I'm not sure - to put a 'C' on them?" McPhee said. "So we'll see how it goes.
"Again, in this entire process in expansion, there's some uncertainty. We don't have all the answers. We've tried to prepare for everything. But we've embraced the uncertainty. That's what makes this fun."
The gritty veteran winger remains an unrestricted free agent with training camps set to open next week, and while he's been presented with both one-year, one-way contracts and professional tryout offers heading into 2017-18, he's happy to wait it out in hopes of finding the best possible situation for him and his family.
"I've had some opportunities to go to some other teams and play, it just hasn't been the right fit for my family," the 38-year-old told TSN 1200 Radio Ottawa on Friday. "I think I've been very blessed to play as long as I have and so I'm able to sit back, and if there's the right fit for me, great. If there isn't, I'm also looking to spend time with my family."
Neil began playing for the Ottawa Senators in 2001 after being drafted 161st overall in 1998. Thus, not having a hockey home in place is a new experience for him. But again, he won't sign just anywhere.
"This is probably the first September in 20 years I haven't had a place to go and it wasn't from a lack of teams or interest. So I think for me, just being the right fit and obviously we're still talking with some teams and we'll go from there."
Neil racked up 112 goals, 138 assists, and 2,522 penalty minutes in 1,026 regular-season games in Ottawa.
After his unceremonious dismissal from his head coaching position in February, former Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien will serve as a scout for the team this season, he told TSN 690 Montreal on Friday.
Therrien was fired and replaced by Claude Julien on Valentine's Day amid the Habs' midseason swoon, where the team stumbled to an 18-18-7 record after starting the campaign 13-1-1. He was let go with two years left on his contract, providing him with the opportunity to continue working with the club.
Although several NHL teams hired new head coaches this offseason, Therrien apparently wasn't in the mix for many of the new gigs across the league. He did mention he had a conversation with the Florida Panthers, but the vacancy was eventually filled by first-time boss Bob Boughner.
Therrien spoke candidly about several controversial sagas during his tenure in Montreal, including the infamous 10-0 loss in Columbus, as well as his relationships with P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, and Carey Price. It can be listened to in its entirety here.
