Nearly a week after his agent stated that Ilya Kovalchuk would remain in the KHL, the Russian sniper signed a one-year deal with St. Petersburg SKA, the league announced.

Heading into the offseason it looked as though the former New Jersey Devil and Atlanta Thrasher would be making a return to the NHL, but after the Devils - who hold the 34-year-old's rights - were unable to agree on a contract or potential trade, Kovalchuk decided to sign with the team that he has spent the past four seasons with.

Luckily for Kovalchuk, the Devils hold his rights for just one more season, meaning after playing out the 2017-18 campaign with St. Petersburg SKA, he will become an unrestricted free agent and will be able to sign wherever he likes.

Last season, Kovalchuk tallied a KHL career-high 32 goals and 78 points in 60 games.

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Before he can build on last season's breakout campaign, Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak is in need of a new contract.

Pastrnak exploded for 70 points in 75 games in 2016-17 as his entry-level contract reached its expiration date, and the 21-year-old restricted free agent is set to cash in. However, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney revealed, despite ongoing negotiations with Pastrnak's representatives, there's no timetable as to when a new deal might be struck.

In early June, Sweeney said the two sides are moving in the right direction on a long-term deal.

Related: Projecting David Pastrnak's next contract

Pastrnak ranked second on the Bruins in goals (34) and points, trailing all-star Brad Marchand in both categories. Marchand inked an eight-year deal last offseason that nets him $6.125 million annually - the third-highest sum among Bruins skaters, behind Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.

Because of these team-friendly contracts, Pastrnak's value could take a hit, as a young player earning more than core veteran teammates isn't commonplace in the NHL. Still, Pastrnak built quite a case for himself, trailing only Leon Draisaitl - who is set to break the bank in Edmonton - in production among all pending RFA's last season.

Per CapFriendly, the Bruins have nearly $13 million in cap space to bang out a deal with Pastrnak before the puck drops in October.

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Tomas Tatar clearly isn't interested in signing a one-year deal.

The Detroit Red Wings forward, who filed for salary arbitration earlier this week, says if it gets to that point, it would likely be the last contract he signs with the club.

Tatar provided some insight into his ongoing negotiations to Slovakian publication Novy Cas on Saturday. Here's an excerpt, as translated by Kukla's Korner, which later appeared in The Detroit News and The Athletic Detroit:

The Slovak forward, who had a shoulder operation in the middle of April, has been training for the new season for several weeks. "I'm already starting to work out the upper part of my body, but it's going to take a while until I'm 100 percent fit," Tatar said, and he and his agent, (Ritch) Winter, have been working on a new contract for some time now. "Detroit offered me a contract, and even with a few options - for a year, or four or five. We're still talking about the length, and of course, the financial amount of the contract. However, we aren't going anywhere, and there's been time enough," Tatar told (Novy) Cas, who may be headed to an arbitration court.

"Arbitration is the last option, I have to sign off, it's just a mandatory contract. Unless I agree with Detroit, I'll go to the court, where they'll give me a year's contract. That would probably be my last season in Detroit. We'll see in a few days or weeks before it all comes together," said Tatar.

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland didn't want to add any fuel to the fire when asked about Tatar's comments Saturday.

"I don't have any comment other than I've talked to Ritch Winter a number of times," Holland told The Athletic Detroit's Craig Custance. "If that's the way Tats feels, that's the way Tats feels."

Tatar's hearing is scheduled for July 20, the first day of the NHL's arbitration proceedings.

The restricted free-agent winger was among 30 players to file before Wednesday's deadline.

He led the Red Wings with 25 goals in the final season of a three-year, $8.25-million contract he signed with Detroit in the summer of 2014.

Tatar has played parts of six NHL seasons with the Red Wings, who selected him in the second round of the 2009 draft.

Of the 25 players who filed for arbitration last year, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie was the only one who required a hearing, and the two sides agreed to a four-year deal before the arbitrator announced the verdict.

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Alex Ovechkin looks to have had himself a time at his wedding reception on Saturday.

Though the Washington Capitals captain actually married his longtime girlfriend Anastasia Shubskaya last year - the 31-year-old more than made up for lost time as evidenced by his topless rendition of Boney M's Russian-inspired hit "Rasputin."

The celebration looks to have been quite the spectacle, featuring a ballet performance, an absolutely stunning wedding cake, and a touching choreographed dance to Bryan Adams' "(Everything I do) I do it for You."

Congratulations to the not-so-newlyweds, Alex and Anastasia.

- With h/t to The Washington Post.

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You probably knew by his speed on the ice, but Michael Grabner has some strength in his legs.

The New York Rangers forward further proved that Saturday, posting a video on his Instagram page of him jumping out of a swimming pool while on vacation in Italy.

The 29-year-old is coming off an impressive season where he finished a goal shy of the team lead with 27, while chipping in another 13 assists in 76 games.

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The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the NHL's most intriguing teams, featuring exciting up-and-comers like Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, and Noah Hanifin.

But despite its young stable, Carolina has yet to translate its talent into on-ice success, finishing with just 87 points last season to push the NHL's longest active playoff drought to eight years.

The Hurricanes struggled mightily within their own division last season, stumbling to an 11-15-4 showing against Metropolitan foes. None of last year's 16 playoff participants had a losing record against their own division, so it's no surprise the Hurricanes were once again left watching from the sidelines.

"If you look at our record last year, we had a .500 or better record against every division in the league except the Metropolitan," Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis told NHL Network Radio on Friday. "Last year, it was one tough division to be a part of. It's not going to get any easier."

Four teams in the Metropolitan Division finished with more than 100 points last season, including the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals and the repeat Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Carolina finished seventh in the division, ahead of only the New Jersey Devils.

But the Hurricanes have made a handful of key additions this offseason that could soon see playoff hockey return to Raleigh for the first time since 2008. To kick off the summer, Carolina acquired netminder Scott Darling from the Blackhawks, then added his former Chicago teammates Trevor van Riemsdyk and Marcus Kruger after they first found their way to the Vegas Golden Knights. The club also reunited with free agent Justin Williams, who was a part of Carolina's Cup-winning squad in 2006.

"I think the learning experience of last year, coupled with the players we brought in this year, everybody understands just how important those games (against our division) are," Francis added. "We can take a step forward and find our way inside the playoffs and not on the outside looking in next year."

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The Buffalo Sabres are bringing back a relatively young depth forward.

Johan Larsson agreed to a two-year, $2.95-million contract with the club Saturday.

The 24-year-old posted 11 points in 36 games this past season before missing the final 46 contests with a wrist injury.

He was a restricted free agent who carried a cap hit of $950,000 in 2016-17.

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Just like Semyon Varlamov, Cory Schneider is reuniting with an old mentor.

The New Jersey Devils named Roland Melanson their new goaltending coach Saturday, adding that Chris Terreri - who occupied the role for the past two seasons - will stay with the organization in a capacity that has yet to be determined.

Melanson spent six seasons as the Vancouver Canucks goalie coach beginning in 2010-11. Schneider played under his tutelage until the netminder was traded to the Devils in 2013.

New Jersey general manager Ray Shero thanked the Canucks and specifically Vancouver's president of hockey operations, Trevor Linden, for allowing Melanson to join the Devils.

The Colorado Avalanche hired Jussi Parkkila, who tutored Varlamov during the netminder's early days in the KHL, as their goalie coach Friday.

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