Report: Puljujarvi remains strong trade option for Oilers

Trading winger Jesse Puljujarvi remains a strong option for the Edmonton Oilers, reports TSN's Darren Dreger, citing league sources.

It was reported in February that the Oilers were open to trading the 21-year-old, but Edmonton's since remodeled its front office with the hiring of general manager Ken Holland.

Puljujarvi is finished his entry-level contract and is a restricted free agent this summer. After an underwhelming start to his career, Puljujarvi isn't in line for a big contract, but his agent quashed rumblings of a potential KHL deal in Finland, according to Dreger.

After Puljujarvi was put on the trade block earlier this season, his agent suggested a change of scenery could benefit his client.

Puljujarvi was drafted fourth overall by the Oilers in 2016. He's split time between the big club and the AHL's Bakersfield Condors but has only produced 37 points in 139 NHL games.

He appeared in just 46 games in 2018-19 due to season-ending hip surgery.

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Datsyuk signs 1-year deal with Avtomobilist to remain in KHL

Pavel Datsyuk put any rumors of a potential return to the NHL to rest Wednesday, signing a one-year deal to remain in the KHL with his hometown Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, the league announced Wednesday.

After three years with SKA St. Petersburg, Datsyuk announced in May that he wouldn't be returning to the club, prompting some speculation that the 40-year-old was interested in a return to North America.

Before the former All-Star opted to stay in the KHL, agent Dan Milstein said the only NHL team Datsyuk would suit up for would be the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he spent the entirety of his 14-season career.

Datsyuk recorded 918 points in 953 games during his NHL tenure, winning two Stanley Cups, four Lady Byng Trophies, and three Selkes.

The Magic Man posted 12 goals and 30 assists in 54 games with St. Petersburg last year.

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Newfoundland Growlers win ECHL’s Kelly Cup in inaugural season

The ECHL championship has gone to the dogs.

With a 4-3 victory over the Toledo Walleye in Game 6 on Tuesday night, the Newfoundland Growlers captured the Kelly Cup in their very first season.

Newfoundland's Giorgio Estephan scored two goals over less than three minutes in the second period and added an assist early in the frame.

His second marker held up as the winner.

The Growlers, who joined the league in 2018-19 as an affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, became the first team to claim the ECHL title in its first campaign since the Greensboro Monarchs in 1990.

Newfoundland forward Zach O'Brien was named playoff MVP after leading all postseason scorers with 16 goals and 29 points.

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McDavid looking forward to stability under Oilers’ new regime

Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid is ready to embrace the future after another disjointed season resulted in the team missing the playoffs for the third time in four years.

"There was a lot of moving parts, a lot of things going on," McDavid told TSN's Gino Reda on Tuesday. "Fire a coach, fire a GM - that's a lot of change for one season.

"It was an emotional ride, and I'm looking forward to a little stability."

The Oilers fired former head coach Todd McLellan in November and replaced him with Ken Hitchcock, who assumed the role on an interim basis. General manager Peter Chiarelli was then relieved of his duties two months later in his fourth season with the club.

The Oilers hired Dave Tippett last Tuesday, making him the third head coach employed during McDavid's tenure in Edmonton. The 22-year-old is excited about what the veteran bench boss brings to the table.

"He's been around for a long time and has had lots of success and coached different styles of hockey - coached offensive, coached defensive," McDavid said. "He has all the tools."

After Keith Gretzky finished the season as interim GM, the Oilers brought in legendary executive Ken Holland, who helped guide the Red Wings to Stanley Cup victories in 1998, 2002, and 2008.

"He comes with lots of experience (and) is a guy that's been wildly successful," McDavid added. "I'm really happy with that and really looking forward to working with him."

Despite the team's lack of success, McDavid became just the fifth player in NHL history to record at least three seasons of 100-plus points by age 22 and has collected two Art Ross Trophies, two Ted Lindsay Awards, and a Hart Trophy over four seasons.

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Report: Chara suffered broken jaw in Game 4

Zdeno Chara suffered a significant injury during Monday night's loss to the St. Louis Blues in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Boston Bruins captain broke his jaw, a source familiar with the situation told The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford on Tuesday.

Chara left the game after Blues forward Brayden Schenn took a shot that deflected off the defenseman's stick and up into his face in the second period.

The 42-year-old blue-liner returned to the bench for the third period, but he didn't play another shift.

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Report: Canucks inquired about Leafs’ Zaitsev

The Vancouver Canucks have checked in with the Toronto Maple Leafs regarding the cost of acquiring defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, a source told Sportsnet's Rick Dhaliwal.

Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas announced last week that the team and Zaitsev are working together to find a fresh start for personal reasons.

Toronto originally signed Zaitsev from the KHL on a one-year deal in May 2016. He parlayed a solid rookie showing into a seven-year, $31.5-million extension awarded by then-general manager Lou Lamoriello.

Zaitsev's current contract carries a $4.5-million cap hit until 2023-24 and includes a 10-team no-trade clause that kicks in on July 1. The 27-year-old contributed three goals and 11 assists over 81 games with the Leafs last season while playing primarily in a shutdown and penalty-killing role.

Vancouver enters the summer with just over $30 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly, and has plenty of holes to fill on the blue line with just one defenseman under contract beyond next season.

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Report: Karlsson hopeful for competitive offers from Sens, Habs

Pending unrestricted free agent Erik Karlsson hopes to receive competitive offers from the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens this summer, a source told the Ottawa Sun's Don Brennan.

One of the reasons Karlsson is reportedly eyeing either the Senators or the Canadiens is because his wife, Melinda, a native of Ottawa, would like to live closer to her family again, according to Brennan.

Karlsson is officially a UFA as of July 1 and just finished his first season with the San Jose Sharks after being traded from Canada's capital to the Bay Area in September.

The 29-year-old had a long, dramatic departure from the Senators after spending the first nine seasons of his career with the organization. Karlsson was on the trade block for most of the 2017-18 campaign and was reportedly offered an extension worth $10 million per season to remain in Ottawa before he was traded.

Karlsson battled injuries during his stint with the Sharks but still managed to produce 45 points in 53 games before adding 16 more during the postseason on the club's run to the Western Conference Final.

The Senators finished dead last in the NHL in 2018-19 but have over $35 million in projected cap space to potentially bring back their former captain. The Canadiens, on the other hand, fell just short of qualifying for a wild-card berth this year and head into the summer with just over $11 million available to spend.

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Chara to be re-evaluated in Boston, Game 5 status unclear

Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara will be re-evaluated when the club returns home before his status for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is revealed, head coach Bruce Cassidy said on Tuesday.

"I don't know his status for Game 5," Cassidy said, according to Tara Sullivan of The Boston Globe. "He'll have to be re-evaluated at home. I can't say whether he'll play ... The conversation (Monday) was short.

"He was getting work done, we were going on the ice, the trainers come to me and said, 'Done for the night.' The question was asked that he'd like to sit with his teammates. I'm like, 'If medically he's able to do that, then that's fine.'"

Chara took a puck off his face early in the second period of Game 4 on Monday night. Brayden Schenn's shot deflected off his stick and upward, drawing blood from the towering defenseman and sending him to the ice.

The veteran returned to the bench in the third period while wearing full facial protection, but he didn't play another shift as the Blues went on to win the contest 4-2.

If Big Z is unavailable going forward, that presents a major issue for the Bruins' back end, as Matt Grzelcyk is already sidelined. Chara has notched five points this postseason while averaging just under 22 minutes per night on Boston's top pairing.

Game 5 goes Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET from TD Garden.

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