Nothing can stop P.K. Subban from having fun.

Days after the trade that shook the hockey world, Subban gave a shout out - literally - to his new club, the Nashville Predators while on vacation in Europe.

Tough life, P.K.

- With h/t to BarDown

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It appears the Toronto Maple Leafs' philosophy has slightly shifted in a year's time.

Last offseason, in the first year under its new regime led by Brendan Shanahan, Lou Lamoriello, Kyle Dubas, and Mike Babcock, the Leafs' promised pain - which definitely occurred over the course of 82 games - but their re-furbished approach at chasing skilled players and acquiring draft picks was promising.

This offseason, Toronto was handed a golden ticket by winning the right to draft Auston Matthews first overall, but a series of curious draft picks following the 18-year-old wunderkind set the bar for what has been a strange sequence of acquisitions during the free-agency period.

Toronto's first free-agent signing was Matt Martin, the NHL's trailblazer in hits. He was brought in to protect the kids, but ultimately the Leafs added another body to a crowded forward group, and gave a four-year contract to a player whose career high in points is 19.

As much as Leafs fans want to see a lineup full of youngsters, it just isn't possible. Matthews will be there, William Nylander will be there, but Toronto's prospects will have to do battle to crack the roster with limited spots available.

Martin being added to the players listen above leaves two forward spots available. Nikita Soshnikov, Connor Brown, Brendan Leipsic, Kasperi Kapanen, and Zach Hyman all showed promise with the big club last season, not to mention the newly acquired Kerby Rychel or 2015 No. 4 overall pick Mitch Marner who can only play for the Leafs or in the OHL next season.

Sure, injuries occur and trades can happen. But as advanced as the rebuild seems to be, the Leafs don't have the space for a complete youth movement this upcoming season.

On the defensive side, the Leafs brought back Roman Polak on a one-year deal, creating an unnecessary log jam on the blue line as well.

Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly, Frank Corrado, Martin Marincin, Connor Carrick and new addition Nikita Zaitsev fit the mold of a swift, possession-positive D-corps, and bringing in Polak - a brute force rather than an analytics darling - likely puts the younger Corrado out of a job.

No matter what stage of the "Shanny-Plan" Toronto is at, the Leafs appear to have contradicted what they've created. At this point, it's difficult to gauge what year two of the Leafs' most recent rebuild will yield, but it's easy to label their offseason work as unexpected.

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The Florida Panthers are winning the summer after many wondered what they were doing in the spring.

Owner Vincent Viola raised eyebrows when he overhauled the front office after a historically successful campaign, but the restructured staff is putting its stamp on the offseason.

Florida made two significant moves Saturday, signing free-agent defenseman Jason Demers to a five-year contract and reportedly locking up promising 22-year-old forward Vincent Trocheck on a six-year extension.

On Friday, the Panthers put the finishing touches on an eight-year extension for 20-year-old franchise defenseman Aaron Ekblad. The club has now solidified most of its young core, which also includes forwards Aleksander Barkov and Nick Bjugstad.

Jonathan Hubderdeau is now the lone member of the core group without a long-term deal, but he has one year remaining before potentially entering restricted free agency.

After clinching the Atlantic Division title in April for the first time in franchise history, Florida was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the New York Islanders, and Viola didn't wait long to make changes.

The Panthers promoted general manager Dale Tallon to president of hockey operations, named Tom Rowe the new GM, and appointed analytically inclined executives Eric Joyce and Steve Werier assistant GMs. Two more analytics experts, Richard Pollock and Josh Weissbock, were brought on in June.

It wasn't all hiring and promoting, though. Hockey operations director Mike Dixon was fired in May along with assistant coach John Madden, and Rowe reportedly dismissed the team's equipment managers.

Amid all the upheaval and a clear shift in philosophy, the Panthers had a critical summer ahead, and given the circumstances, it's gone remarkably well for them so far. In addition to the Ekblad and Trocheck extensions, the Demers signing was the latest move designed to retool the blue line.

The Panthers traded defenseman Erik Gudbranson and a fifth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for forward Jared McCann, a second-rounder, and a fourth-round selection, then dealt Dmitry Kulikov and a second-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for Mark Pysyk and two second-rounders.

Then came Keith Yandle, whose rights were acquired by the Panthers before they signed him to a seven-year deal reportedly worth about $44 million.

As if that wasn't enough, the new braintrust signed free-agent goaltender James Reimer to a five-year, $17-million contract Friday, providing a brilliant insurance policy for 37-year-old netminder Roberto Luongo, both now and in the future.

There are still question marks. The revamped defense will generate plenty of scoring chances, but can it hold up in its own end? How much does Jaromir Jagr have left? Who takes over the captaincy now that Willie Mitchell is likely retiring? Can they risk waiting until next season - or worse, next summer - to figure out a way to keep Huberdeau?

Despite these concerns, the Panthers' new-look management team has already checked off all the major items on its summer to-do list, and the club appears primed to contend for the Stanley Cup in the years to come.

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David Backes would have loved to return to the St. Louis Blues, but a single disagreement during contract negotiations ultimately spelled his farewell.

The club's former captain admits that negotiations came down to the duration of a contract, which both sides could not find common ground on.

"If you can’t agree on term, and both sides are pretty stuck on term, I don’t know how you get a three-quarter year or a half year ... to find a happy medium there," Backes said, according to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, we’re a half-million dollars away, let’s meet in the middle and stop this lunacy.’ That’s a very bridgeable gap that wouldn’t be a question. But when it’s term..."

To general manager Doug Armstrong, whose offer to Backes maxed out at four years, the fear of a buy out down the road ultimately played into the decision to not offer a longer contract.

"There’s a constant drove of buy outs every year and it’s always players signed on this date," Armstrong said. "Philosophically, you don’t want to be signing players thinking there’s a greater percentage chance they’re going to be bought out. I’m not saying that about our two players (Backes and Troy Brouwer). I’m just saying in general, term scares me."

Backes - who eventually agreed to a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins - understands Armstrong's position, admitting the Blues offered him a four-year deal and then suggested going by a year-to-year basis. But with Backes' original plan to retire a Blue, he knew it would put things in jeopardy.

"See that’s a tough ..." Backes said. "All of the sudden when you’ve bled Blue for 13 years and you think you’ve got two or three more, and the team thinks you’ve got one more, or they don’t see a role for you ... then you’re going elsewhere and not able to retire as a Blue, (which) is what the initial desire was from the get-go."

In the end Backes has no hard feelings, and he doesn't want to point blame for how things ended in St. Louis - the only team he has ever played for.

"I don’t want to sling mud at anyone because I think there’s plenty of blame to share on both sides, and I’m willing to accept my portion," Backes said. "There’s no leaving town with fingers-out-the-window type of mentality. They respect the work that I’ve done and the player I’ve been for this team. I love this town, love this city, love this team and think it’s an awesome hockey organization."

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Two days into free agency and Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan is still without a contract for next season, but don't expect the 39-year-old to be donning a different jersey any time soon.

"I'm not worried," said Doan of his current contract status, per Sarah McLellan of Azcentralsports. "You understand they're trying to put the team together and get it all in place and do what they need to do. I obviously want to get a contract that I think is fair to me, too. It is what it is."

The two sides are working towards a one-year contract according to McLellan, and though Doan's agent Terry Bross admitted three teams were "pushing hard" to sign his client, the veteran forward remains focused on his future in the desert.

"It was nice to know that there are other people interested and value you, I guess," Doan said. "At the same time, I've kind of made the bed and I want to make sure everything works out here as much as I can.

"It was clear that my goal is to stay in Arizona at this point."

Despite being unsigned, Doan was involved in the team's recruitment of defenseman Alex Goligoski - who signed a five-year, $27.375 million contract in June - which the captain called "huge" for the team. He also expressed his excitement for new additions Jamie McGinn and Ryan White.

Doan may not have a contract yet, but all signs are pointing to a new deal for the franchise leader in games played, goals, and points in the coming weeks.

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The St. Louis Blues traded goaltender Anders Nilsson to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a fifth-round pick at the 2017 NHL draft, the Sabres announced Saturday.

Nilsson started last season with the Edmonton Oilers before being traded to the Blues in February. He posted a 10-13-2 record with a 3.12 goals-against average and .901 save percentage.

The 26-year-old was the odd man out in St. Louis after the Blues signed Carter Hutton on Friday to back up Jake Allen.

He is now the favorite to be the backup behind Robin Lehner in Buffalo, barring a challenge from Linus Ullmark.

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The New York Islanders signed forward Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau to a one-year contract Saturday.

The deal is worth $1.25 million, according to Newsday's Arthur Staple.

More to come.

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After dealing him to the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs are bringing back Roman Polak to the organization on a one-year contract, the team announced Saturday.

Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The 30-year-old defenseman recorded 13 points in 55 games with the Maple Leafs before being dealt. Polak went without a point in 24 playoff games during the Sharks' run to the Stanley Cup Final.

During his time in Toronto last season, Polak spent the majority of his ice time paired with Martin Marincin.

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The Florida Panthers' busy offseason continues.

The club and forward Vincent Trocheck agreed to a six-year contract extension, the team announced on Sunday.

The deal was first reported Saturday by George Richards of the Miami Herald and carries an average annual value of $4.75 million, or $28.5 million over the life of the contract, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The Panthers reportedly offered Trocheck the six-year deal last month.

Trocheck tied for third on the team with 25 goals and ranked fifth with 53 points in his third NHL season.

The 22-year-old was a pending restricted free agent before the Panthers reportedly extended him a qualifying offer last weekend.

Florida signed defenseman Jason Demers to a five-year contract earlier Saturday.

On Friday, the Panthers locked up franchise blue-liner Aaron Ekblad on an eight-year extension, inked goaltender James Reimer to a five-year deal, signed former Dallas Stars forward Colton Sceviour to a one-year pact, and added former Tampa Bay Lightning center Jonathan Marchessault on a two-year contract.

Florida also acquired Keith Yandle's negotating rights and signed him to a seven-year deal last week.

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During a wild first day of free agency Friday, where over 100 players signed new contracts, Paul Bissonnette - a.k.a. @BizNasty2point0 - stole the show by sharing his direct messages to Brendan Shanahan and Evgeni Malkin as he searched for a new deal.

Related: Bissonnette slides into Shanahan's, Malkin's DMs in search of contract​

On Saturday, TSN's Bob McKenzie broke the news that Bissonnette had agreed to return to the Los Angeles Kings' AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, where he played last season.

The Reign retweeted the announcement in confirmation of the deal.

In 35 games with the Reign last season, Bissonnette recorded three points and 51 penalty minutes. He has not played in the NHL since 2014, when he was a member of the Arizona Coyotes.

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