Nick Bonino played the final stretch of the playoffs with a rather concerning ailment.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward told reporters Thursday he played in the Stanley Cup Final with an elbow infection that required heavy antibiotics, according to Jenn Menendez of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Bonino said he had his left elbow wrapped, and the condition caused his temperature to rise to around 100 degrees Fahrenheit at times, according to NHL.com's Wes Crosby.

The 28-year-old center would have been shut down had his fever hit 101 degrees.

Bonino posted 18 points in 24 playoff games on the highly productive "HBK" line with Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel. He scored a goal and added two assists in the six Cup Final games.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Andrew Shaw's agent plans to meet with the Chicago Blackhawks' brass next week to begin working on a new deal.

Pat Brisson told Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune he intends to meet with the club - presumably general manager Stan Bowman - at the upcoming NHL draft.

Chicago cleared cap space Wednesday by trading forwards Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen to the Carolina Hurricanes for a pair of draft picks.

Related - Blackhawks' Bowman: Trading Bickell helps ability to re-sign Shaw

The move gave Chicago about $5 million in additional cap flexibility for a total of about $9.5 million.

Shaw would become a restricted free agent if he's not signed by July 1. His cap hit was $2.5 million last season.

The 24-year-old winger recorded 14 goals and 34 points in 78 games.

Shaw was suspended one game for directing a homophobic slur toward an official during the Blackhawks' first-round series against the St. Louis Blues.

The NHL draft takes place Friday, June 24 and Saturday, June 25 at First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Amid all the clamoring that Phil Kessel deserved the Conn Smythe Trophy, it turns out he was incredibly close to winning it.

Kessel nearly took home the playoff MVP award that ultimately went to Sidney Crosby in one of the closest votes ever, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.

Eighteen members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association - including Seravalli - cast first-, second-, and third-place votes, and the other 17 voters revealed their picks to him on the condition of anonymity.

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang and goaltender Matt Murray, as well as San Jose Sharks netminder Martin Jones and forward Logan Couture received votes. Here's how it reportedly broke down:

The league gives five points for a first-place vote, three points for second, and one for third.

The NHL wouldn't confirm Seravalli's findings, because it's the only major pro league that refuses to reveal playoff MVP voting.

Crosby was held without a goal in the final, but the Penguins captain set up Letang's Cup-clincher, recorded 19 points in 24 postseason games, and notched three game-winners in the earlier rounds.

Kessel led Pittsburgh in the playoffs with 10 goals, 22 points and 98 shots, racking up 11 power-play points.

Not sure this is any consolation for Kessel backers, but it illustrates just how split the decision was.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Bryan Bickell was traded by the only team he has ever known on Wednesday.

Related: Blackhawks' Bowman: Trading Bickell helps ability to re-sign Shaw

The 30-year-old was shipped form the Chicago Blackhawks to the Carolina Hurricanes in a deal along with Teuvo Teravainen for two draft picks. In parting fashion, Bickell released a statement Wednesday night thanking the organization and the city for being his second home.

Bickell concludes his chapter with the Blackhawks having notched 65 goals and 135 points in 384 games.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Pittsburgh Penguins' use of speed and skill en route to a Stanley Cup championship won't influence the Calgary Flames at the NHL Draft.

So says president of hockey operations Brian Burke, who continues to emphasize the need for truculence when building a successful hockey team.

"You still play 82 games and you've got to make the playoffs and to do that you've got to play big teams, especially in the west," Burke told Eric Francis of Sportsnet.

"Now you say to yourself maybe we've got to go with more speed, but the teams that made the playoffs and made it a few rounds like Los Angeles (lost in the opening round) and St. Louis (advanced to conference finals) - those are big teams. To get there you need size."

Skill and speed are indeed vital, Burke added, but the need to balance out the lineup with bigger players remains a priority.

"It's already moved towards more skill and speed but I still think the teams that are successful have some size in the lineup and can play that kind of game," he said.

The Flames will select sixth overall at this year's draft, where they'll look to pick the best all-around player, but again placing an emphasis on size in the end.

"It's too simplistic to say you'll draft fast or big guys," said Flames director of scouting, Tod Button. "You look at the total package and all things being equal between two guys you take the bigger player."

Calgary's leading scorer this season was Johnny Gaudreau, who's listed at 5-foot-9 and 157 pounds.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Stan Bowman is hoping some gained cap space will help the Chicago Blackhawks retain their star pest.

Related: Bickell's camp 'relieved' to finally be traded out of Chicago

The club shipped forwards Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a couple draft picks Wednesday with the prospect of retaining forward Andrew Shaw on their mind.

"This is a step in the right direction," Bowman said of signing Shaw, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. "We certainly had to move Bickell to have some flexibility."

Shaw will become a restricted free agent on July 1, coming off a two-year deal with a cap hit of $2 million.

"Obviously we like what he [Shaw] brings to the table and we’d like to try and make something work," Bowman said, according to CSN Chicago's Tracey Myers.

Shaw collected 14 goals and 34 points in 78 regular season games, but stepped up in the postseason leading the team with four goals and adding two assists in six games.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

To Thomas Vanek's agent - Steve Bartlett - no news is good news.

After the 32-year-old posted the lowest full-season goal total of his career - 18 goals - in his second season with the Minnesota Wild, there are rustlings that Vanek could be a prime candidate for a buyout from his club. However, Bartlett insists general manager Chuck Fletcher has not hinted at such a move, suggesting his client could be in the clear.

"If Chuck knew he was going to buy him out by now, I think I would know by now," Bartlett said, according to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. "I do think I have a good enough relationship that he'd give me the heads up. Now that doesn't mean that they couldn't decide something different between now and two weeks from now."

The window to buy out player contracts opened on Wednesday and while obviously things could still change, Bartlett is hopeful that with a new head coach at the team's helm - in Bruce Boudreau - Vanek will have the opportunity to redeem himself.

"With a new coach, we'll just have to see how it all shakes out," Bartlett said. "I still think there's a rebound year in Thomas, and I'm hoping they'll give him that opportunity, but I understand in this day and age, you never know. You can never predict."

Vanek has one year remaining on his three-year contract with a cap hit of $6.5 million.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Phil Kessel had good reason to break his Twitter silence.

The Pittsburgh Penguins winger hadn't published a thought on the social media website since thanking Toronto fans for the support showed to him over the course of his tenure as a Maple Leaf.

297 days later, he's thanking Pittsburgh fans on the day he and the rest of the Penguins paraded the Stanley Cup through town.

With Father's Day coming up, perhaps he'll match the third tweet down on his timeline.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ron Francis is pleased with his day's work.

The Carolina Hurricanes general manager was able to pull off a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks that saw his team add forwards Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell in exchange for a 2016 second-round pick and a 2017 third-round pick, and it's a deal he seems quite content with.

Related: Teravainen a painful cap casualty for Blackhawks

"It's not every day that you're able to do a deal like this," Francis said on the team's official website. "I think we feel fortunate that we are able to get those guys into our organization and lineup. We wouldn't have been able to do it if we didn't have the (salary cap) room cleared out over the last year or two, and we wouldn't have been able to do it if we didn't have the draft picks we've built up, as well."

The picks sent to Chicago were not originally owned by Carolina. This year's second-rounder (50th overall) originally belonged to the New York Rangers and was acquired in the Eric Staal trade, one that also freed up a bunch of cap space. And the 2017 third-rounder came from Chicago back in September.

Even after the trade, the Hurricanes have six picks in the top 75 this year (two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and three third-round picks), hence Francis referencing the flexibility with which he was able to work.

Here's what the GM had to say about the players heading to Carolina.

Teravainen:

We feel that this is a real good young player with a big upside. He scored 35 points last year in his first full season and probably didn't see much time on the power play, so I think it's a good opportunity for him to grow and develop.

Bickell:

That's a big body, something that we've talked about getting into our lineup. He skates, and he's got some skill. I would think that in being in the last year of his deal that he'll be extremely motivated. I would think it's not easy in Chicago playing behind a lot of those talented players to feel like you're in it, so hopefully he's excited about the opportunity here and comes in ready to roll.

The Hurricanes still have almost $27 million in available cap space, meaning Francis likely isn't done reshaping his up-and-coming roster.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It was a sight to be seen Wednesday as the Penguins took their Stanley Cup celebration to the streets of Pittsburgh.

The team enjoyed their first victory parade in seven years and there were many cherished moments to be had.

With over 400,000 fans predicted to be in attendance, it's easy to see why this lady had the right idea showing up so early to the event.

Before...

After...

Judging by Matt Murray's reaction, you can tell the whole experience was breathtaking.

Even though the damage has been done, some fans still made sure to show their displeasure for the San Jose Sharks.

Can there be a better feeling than this?

Nobody really wanted to give the Cup up.

Some lucky fans even got to have a moment with the Cup - be it a very brief one.

While Bryan Rust was chugging beer, Phil Kessel elected for the healthier alternative.

Fun fact: This is how Mario always drives through town.

Finally, Eric Fehr's daughter summed up the entire experience with one motion.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.