We might have another Jimmy Vesey situation on our hands.

Colorado Avalanche draft pick Will Butcher - who is coming off a Hobey Baker win as the best player in NCAA hockey and a Frozen Four victory with the Denver Pioneers - is in no rush to sign his entry-level contract, he told Mike Chambers of the Denver Post.

"I told him (Joe Sakic) I didn’t want an offer yet," Butcher, who met with Sakic on Tuesday, said. "I wanted to sit with him, talk with him about my year, what they’re thinking, what their philosophy is going to be. My parents are coming in this weekend for the banquet, and I want to talk to my parents before they offer me anything."

The news comes after Sakic told the Denver Post that he wanted to present Butcher with a contract after the Frozen Four tournament wrapped up.

Butcher is hoping to keep his options open and for now just wants to gather information from the Avalanche.

"He (Sakic) came in and gave me his whole spiel about changes in the program, going younger and everything like that. I told him I’d get back in touch with him," Butcher said. "I’m weighing all my options right now. I want to take my time. I don’t have anything to rush into right now. I’m not going to play anywhere right now. So I might as well take my time."

Last season, Predators draft pick Vesey elected to not sign in Nashville and instead become a free agent. He ultimately agreed to a deal with the New York Rangers - also upon winning the Hobey Baker Award.

The Avalanche have until Aug. 15 to sign Butcher to a contract before he hits free agency.

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Boston Bruins defensman Charlie McAvoy will make his NHL debut on center stage Wednesday, as the coveted blue-line prospect will suit up for Game 1 versus the Ottawa Senators, head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed.

McAvoy initially signed an amateur tryout with the Bruins in late March, but following injuries to Brandon Carlo and Torey Krug, the club gave the 19-year-old an entry-level deal, signed Monday.

The Bruins selected McAvoy with the 14th overall pick in June, and he played a huge role in the United States' gold medal run at the world juniors, along with recording 26 points in 38 games with Boston University.

McAvoy is expected to pair with Kevan Miller on Wednesday.

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The Los Angeles Kings made a somewhat surprising move this week, announcing the club was going in a different direction with the firings of head coach Darryl Sutter and general manager Dean Lombardi.

Firing Sutter means that one of the most successful head coaches of the past decade is now available for hire - just what the Vegas Golden Knights were hoping for, right?

The expansion franchise has been mum on its pending hire, after it was reported back in January that Vegas was accelerating its search with an aim toward finding a coach before the regular season concluded.

However, here we are, which is no closer to knowing who will be leading the team's inaugural roster.

It could be a case of mulling over a few options, but the more likely reason for this is that George McPhee and company expected exactly what's transpired over the past week - more big names becoming available.

Related - Report: Stars to hire Hitchcock as head coach

The Dallas Stars made it known that Lindy Ruff isn't coming back, Willie Desjardins was canned by the Vancouver Canucks, and Jack Capuano and Gerard Gallant both remain available after being shown the door earlier in the season.

It gives the team a pick of a pretty fine litter.

All that considered, let's get back to Sutter, who as it stands looks to be the best option for the Golden Knights.

Even before a roster is assembled, it's safe to project that the team will have a hard time competing with the elite franchises of the league. With that in mind, it's clear Vegas is going to need a coach who can get the best out of very little.

Related: Vegas Golden Knights' expansion mock roster

Sutter would be perfect for this. The straight shooter of a coach has become renowned for deploying a smothering defensive system that can win championships, as we saw in 2012 and 2014

He also - for the mathematicians out there - still had his Kings lead the league in Corsi-for this season, a notable achievement for a club that finished eight points out of the final wild-card spot in the West and 25th in goals scored. In fact, Los Angeles' 55.71 percent mark since the 2011-12 season also leads the league.

This year didn't work out for Sutter for a few reasons: First, Jonathan Quick was injured most of the year; second, Jeff Carter was the only player who could score; third, that Dean Lombardi gave Sutter very little to work with. Despite that, he remains a top-notch coach.

Sutter's odd, quirky sense of humor and the fact that Vegas is just a four hour drive from Los Angeles should also provide Golden Knights fans with a coach they're familiar with - something that matters more for an expansion franchise.

McPhee appears to have played the market perfectly, and even before he makes his decision he deserves a tip of the cap for that. The Golden Knights are doing everything in their power to make sure the club is set for success in the future.

The next step in that plan is to hire Sutter.

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The fantasy hockey playoffs bring not only nightly excitement on television without the need of having to worry about the Colorado Avalanche or Arizona Coyotes erroneously popping up on your screen, but they also provide an extra reason to get mad at your friends and work colleagues via playoff pools.

Whether it be a box pool, a draft format, or freely choosing your own collection of a set amount of players, all pools follow the same general principals.

DO: Be right

It might be difficult to resist the temptation to be wrong, but this point is the biggest of all. Take it from someone with years of experience with being wrong in playoff pools (and in other ways). Winning a playoff format requires having more players from the champions of each conference than anyone else involved in the pool. Start with a bracket, pick the winner of each matchup, and load up on the players from your hypothetical Stanley Cup Final.

DON'T: Share

Sharing is caring - unless you care about winning. In the real world, not all the star players play for the same team (a total of just 56 players suited up for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks this season). This will cause participants unwilling to follow the first DO to pick only star players and be left with guys on five or more teams. The more concentrated your fantasy roster is on the real-life champion, the better your chances of success.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

DO: Play to win

Playing to win means coming up with a strategy and a roster no one else in your pool will have. This requires selecting some less obvious names who will be a a factor for the eventual Stanley Cup-winning team. Look for third-line players who also see time on the power play, or defensive role players who are likely to see plenty of ice time at the ends of games and in overtime.

DON'T: Be loyal

Unless you're part of the rapidly growing fan bases of the Penguins and/or Blackhawks, chances are your team won't win the Stanley Cup, even with an unlikely (or overdue) playoff appearance. Unlike a sea captain, you don't need to go down with the ship. Playoff pools are the time for bandwagon jumping, even if it means pledging temporary allegiance to a long-time rival.

DO: Take risks

It's not easy (or logical) to select third or fourth liners who struggled to hit 30 points in the regular season over a 80-point star. These decisions are gut-wrenching hours before the postseason starts, but can result in a nice bank account boost once Lord Stanley's mug is passed around. Look to maximize the number of games played by your team as a whole. The stats will follow.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev will not play in Game 1 against the Washington Capitals on Thursday, head coach Mike Babcock confirmed, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.

The 25-year-old was forced from Toronto's final regular-season game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, and has not participated in practice over the past two days.

It's tough news for the Maple Leafs, as Zaitsev finished second on the team behind Jake Gardiner in points by a defenseman with 36 in 82 games.

Zaitsev's absence means Martin Marincin will fill in on the Maple Leafs' blue line, reports TSN's Mark Masters.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets will have their prized rookie back in the lineup for Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

Zach Werenski - who had missed the team's final four games of the regular season with an upper-body injury - will play in Game 1, head coach John Tortorella announced, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.

Werenski had an outstanding rookie campaign, leading all Blue Jackets defenseman and rookie blue-liners with 47 points in 78 games.

Of course, this is all to say that Wednesday will be Werenski's first NHL playoff game of his career.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will start Matt Murray in Game 1 versus the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, head coach Mike Sullivan announced.

Murray backstopped the Pens to the Stanley Cup last spring in his first taste of the NHL playoffs, but split the 2016-17 regular season with veteran Marc-Andre Fleury.

Fleury only made one start last postseason, but is one of the club's leaders and could be riding out his final playoffs with the franchise as expansion looms.

In 21 postseason starts last year, Murray was phenomenal, posting a 15-6-2 record with a 2.08 goals-against average and .923 save percentage.

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The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs begins Wednesday night, and your favorite sports app's NHL editors have made their opening-round picks. Remember: We can predict the future. It's one of the perks of working at theScore.

Shall we?

Eastern Conference

Canadiens vs. Rangers

• Montreal gets the edge, with six editors to three, but still, this series could go the distance.

Senators vs. Bruins

• This one's 7-2 in favor of Boston. That bodes well for the Senators, who've been doubted all season.

Capitals vs. Maple Leafs

• Mr. O'Leary's a dreamer, and we dig that about him.

Penguins vs. Blue Jackets

• Fifty wins and a record 108 points, and the Jackets get the defending champs in the first round. Life ain't fair.

Western Conference

Blackhawks vs. Predators

• We love Nashville as a city, but Chicago wins the Cup every two years since 2013. So, yeah, sorry Predators fans.

Wild vs. Blues

• Another tight one, with five editors taking the Wild over the Blues. This one's going seven, too.

Ducks vs. Flames

• We're going to assume Mr. Wegman's and Mr. McLaren's Flames picks were typos.

Oilers vs. Sharks

• We're not giving last year's Cup finalists much respect, but they're up against Connor McDavid. And, let's face it, the spring will be more entertaining with at least two rounds featuring the sport's most dynamic player.

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We were spoiled this season.

NHL superstars delivered some downright magical goals during the 2016-17 campaign.

From Sidney Crosby's one-hander, to Nikita Kucherov's wizardry in the shootout, there were many jaw-dropping scores, and we're lucky enough to get them all in one place.

Enjoy.

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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Wednesday, April 12 (all advanced statistics courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and apply to 5v5 situations):

Dynamic Duos

• LW Mike Hoffman (64K) & RW Mark Stone (53K), Senators (vs. Bruins): The Senators experimented with different lineup combinations in Tuesday's practice and head coach Guy Boucher said to not pay much attention to them. One constant was the pairing of the team's second- and fourth-leading scorers. They had Corsi For ratings of 57 and 60 percent with centers Derick Brassard and Kyle Turris, respectively.

• C Boone Jenner (36K) & RW Cam Atkinson (43K), Blue Jackets (at Penguins): The Bruins will be without D Brandon Carlo and likely D Torey Krug for their first game, but they don't compare to the Penguins' injuries. The absences of Ds Kris Letang, Trevor Daley and Olli Maatta resulted in a 46.47 CF% since March 12. The latter two have returned, but Letang's contributions were not made up for during the regular season.

Bargain Plays

(Photo courtesy Getty Images)

• C Ryan Spooner (40K), Bruins (at Senators): The Senators finished the regular season with the second-worst penalty-kill percentage of the 16 playoff teams. Their 246 times shorthanded ranked 16th in the league. Boston finished 82 games with the seventh-ranked power-play percentage. Spooner plays on the point of unit one in addition his third-line center role at 5v5.

• LW Mikkel Boedker (25K), Sharks (at Oilers): Boedker finished with just 26 points, his lowest full-season total since 2011-12. He concluded the regular season in a third-line role beside RW Jannik Hansen and C Tomas Hertl. The trio had a CF% of 55.93 in 58 minutes together and averaged 14.45 scoring chances per 60 minutes.

Top Fades

(Photo courtesy Action Images)

• C Leon Draisaitl (55K), Oilers (vs. Sharks): Draisaitl didn't score in five regular season games against the Sharks, totaling just eight shots on goal but handing out three assists. He requires a goal or a handful of shots in order to return value at his salary, so owners should opt instead for C Connor McDavid (74K) who is much more immune to difficult matchups. McDavid had four goals and four assists in five games against San Jose.

• RW Alexander Radulov (62K), Canadiens (vs. Rangers): The Canadiens had the highest expected goals for per 60 minutes over the final month of the season of the 10 teams involved in Wednesday's opening night of the playoffs. Even still, Radulov had just three goals since Feb. 27 and just six since the end of January. He registered three or more SOG in just four games since March 12.

Contrarian Options

(Photo courtesy Action Images)

• LW Zach Parise (56K), Wild (vs. Blues): The Blues were significantly worse on the road than they were at home in the final month of the season, posting a 48.19 CF% and an expected goals against per 60 minutes of 2.54 over the final month. Parise notched 25 of his 42 points on home ice and registered 88 more shots on goal.

• RW Phil Kessel (60K), Penguins (vs. Blue Jackets): Kessel finished his 2016-17 season with just one goal in his final 12 games, with it coming against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was able to pick up seven assists during the scoring slump, and he should have a full dose of C Evgeni Malkin on his left side in the playoff opener. Kessel did notch multiple SOG in all but one game during his drought.

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