Congratulations, everybody. We made it.

At several different points, wading through the fruitless summer months and meaningless preseason games seemed impossible, but we've reached the light at the end of the tunnel, and hockey is officially back.

As we begin another NHL voyage, here are three things to keep an eye on during opening night. Only 27 weeks until the playoffs!

Matthews vs. Laine (and Leafs vs. Jets)

Wednesday marks another meeting between 2016's top two draft picks, and if their rookie season was any indication, Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine are destined to provide another classic. The electric Finn bagged a hat trick in their first matchup while Matthews notched three assists in round two, giving each side a win.

The sophomore phenoms will draw most of the attention, but the Maple Leafs and Jets have several supporting candidates capable of stealing the spotlight: William Nylander, Mark Scheifele, Mitch Marner, and Nikolaj Ehlers, just to name a few.

Both meetings between Winnipeg and Toronto last season were high-scoring overtime thrillers, and we should all be hoping for more of the same.

Penguins raise banner

The Penguins' quest for a three-peat begins Wednesday, with the defending champs hosting the St. Louis Blues on banner-raising night.

The target on Pittsburgh's back grew even larger after adding another ring - a rather flashy one - to its collection, and the Blues should offer a tough test right out of the gate.

Even if the game is tightly contested or low scoring, there should be no shortage of entertainment with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Vladimir Tarasenko sharing the same ice surface.

Battle of Alberta Vol. I

Based on personnel alone, the Oilers and Flames have the potential to be the most entertaining rivalry in the NHL. Both sides have hated each other for a long time, but it's been quite a while since Edmonton and Calgary have each entered a season with such high expectations.

Edmonton swept the season series last year, but Calgary has an early chance to erase those memories with a win Wednesday night. The Flames added Mike Smith and Travis Hamonic over the summer to help fix defensive issues the Oilers were able to expose, and it will be interesting to monitor how well their new pieces perform.

Oh, and there's that Connor McDavid guy. He's pretty fun to watch, too.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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Nikoaj Ehlers is beginning the 2017-18 NHL seasons with some long-term security, as the Winnipeg Jets have locked up the 21-year-old winger to a seven-year, $42-million contract extension, the team announced Wednesday.

Ehlers, the ninth overall pick in 2014, will play out 2017-18 on his entry-level contract before the extension kicks in next season.

The 21-year-old had an outstanding sophomore season, suiting up in all 82 games, registering 25 goals - 20 of which came at even strength - and 39 assists. His 64 points were good enough for a tie for third on the Jets.

Winnipeg begins its season Wednesday night versus Toronto.

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The Chicago Blackhawks are allowed to place forward Marian Hossa on long-term injured reserve this season, an NHL source informed Scott Powers of The Athletic.

Hossa was ruled out for the duration of the 2017-18 campaign due to a progressive skin disorder, propelling the league to review the situation with an independent doctor.

The ruling serves as a huge relief for the cap-crunched Blackhawks, who can stash Hossa's $5.275-million cap hit for the length of the season. Chicago also placed defenseman Michal Rozsival on LTIR on Monday.

Hossa, 38, still has four years remaining on the mega-contract he signed with the Blackhawks in 2009. Over his first eight seasons in the Windy City, he's suited up for 534 games, accumulated 415 points, and won three Stanley Cups.

The Blackhawks begin their 2017-18 season Thursday night versus Pittsburgh.

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The dawn of the 2017-18 NHL season is upon us, and now is the time to venture our guesses on how things will play out. Today, we take a look at the Atlantic Division, which is poised to be tightly contested.

Here's how we reckon things will look at the end of the season:

Tampa Bay Lightning

Even after going completely off the rails midway through the 2016-17 season, the Lightning showed enough unified resolve to claw back into the race and miss the playoffs by a single point.

Nikita Kucherov is terrifying, and so is Victor Hedman. Captain Steven Stamkos will be back, and they acquired one of the top defensive prospects in the game in Mikhail Sergachev to complement the D-corps. The Lightning should be armed and ready to avenge their recent lost campaign, and put together another march toward a Stanley Cup.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Expectations are sky-high for the Maple Leafs entering year two of the Auston Matthews era, and more than a few eyes will be watching to see how it plays out.

Though Toronto faces the pressure of improving upon last season's wild-card berth as naysayers harp on the inevitable "sophomore slump," the Maple Leafs own one of the deepest forward groups in the NHL, a reliable starting goaltender, and a top-flight coach. That's a quality recipe for sustained success in a relatively open division.

Montreal Canadiens

The Habs' ceiling can get as high as Carey Price can push it (which is very, very high), but Montreal needs a little more than that to defend its division title from a season ago.

Playoffs are a realistic expectation for this team, but to ensure that comes to fruition, head coach Claude Julien needs to implement an improved attack plan for his forwards while finding a way to get the most out of a not-so-mobile defensive group.

The most intriguing aspect of this Canadiens season will be Jonathan Drouin's first season in his home province. If he's everything the organization believes he is, Montreal has increased potential to make some noise.

Boston Bruins

The Bruins will end up much closer to the top of the division than this prediction if Bruce Cassidy's first full season is as successful as his 27-game debut stint. After taking over for Julien on Feb. 7, Cassidy commanded the Bruins to an 18-8-1 record, essentially resuscitating the club's playoff hopes.

However, this Bruins roster has some question marks, mainly in goal. Since capturing the Vezina in 2013-14, Tuukka Rask's save percentage has dipped immensely. The 30-year-old registered a .915 clip in each of the past two seasons, and his backup, Anton Khudobin, offers little help - he produced a troublesome .904 save percentage in 16 starts in 2016-17.

Elsewhere, Boston lacks the offensive depth to properly complement its top trio of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak, which could leave the Bruins battling for a wild-card spot rather than a division title.

Ottawa Senators

Right out of the gate, the Senators will be faced with an uphill battle to repeat last season's success, as Erik Karlsson's injury timeline looms large.

Ottawa is also faced with injuries up front to Derick Brassard, Colin White, and Clarke MacArthur, so staying afloat through October will be priority No. 1 for Guy Boucher's group.

Speaking of Boucher, though he led Tampa Bay to the Conference Finals in his only other NHL coaching gig in 2011, his trap system failed after year one. Senators fans are surely hoping history doesn't repeat itself.

Buffalo Sabres

A full season of Jack Eichel essentially guarantees improvement for the up-and-coming Sabres, who did well this offseason.

Buffalo brought in a new head coach and general manager, and addressed its biggest weakness - defense - by acquiring Marco Scandella and Nathan Beaulieu. Playoffs might be a stretch, but the Sabres don't look like pushovers anymore.

Florida Panthers

Four of Florida's top seven scorers from a season ago are no longer with the team, making it hard to imagine the Panthers being seriously competitive.

Even with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau healthy, the Panthers face numerous questions throughout the organization. Can Bob Boughner succeed in his first NHL head coaching gig? Will KHL star Evgeny Dadanov make enough of an impact? Can Dale Tallon get the team to play the way he wants them to?

Until the Panthers prove us wrong on any of these fronts, it's tough to consider them among the contenders in the Atlantic.

Detroit Red Wings

Detroit is best suited to begin selling its assets and commit to a full-scale rebuild - even if general manager Ken Holland doesn't want to.

The Red Wings' roster doesn't have enough talent to make any noise in the East, and Holland has dug himself into the depths of salary-cap hell by dishing out so many constricting contracts in years past.

On the bright side, Detroit should have a serious chance at winning the rights to draft stud defensive prospect Rasmus Dahlin.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed 22-year-old center Bo Horvat to a six-year contract extension worth $33 million, according to multiple reports.

As a restricted free agent, Horvat's $5.5-million annual cap hit will kick in immediately, making him the fourth-highest paid player on Vancouver's roster, trailing only the Sedin twins and Loui Eriksson.

Horvat built a strong case to sign a long-term deal coming off his entry-level contract, as he netted a career-high 52 points in 81 games in 2016-17 - good enough to lead the Canucks.

The Canucks identified Horvat as the centerpiece of their future at the 2013 draft, selecting him ninth overall on a pick acquired in exchange for goaltender Cory Schneider. Now, as one of few bright spots in the rebuilding organization, Horvat will be go-to guy as Vancouver navigates the transition back into relevancy.

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Evaluating the impact of goals to the average NHL fan is rather simple: people like them. Goals are fun, goals are exciting, and more goals generally leads to a more exciting on-ice product for viewers.

The problem, though, is goals these days are hard to come by. In 2016-17, the team average for goals in a game was 2.77 (Hockey Reference), a number which, shockingly, is the highest season total since 2010-11, when the stat was a barn-burning 2.79.

If tight-structured defensive systems aren't your thing, we recommend keeping a close eye on the following five teams in 2017-18, as they're poised to ensure the NHL's goals per-game number continues its brief upward trend.

Dallas Stars

See this thick-bearded, toothless fellow above? He gets to join a forward corps that already features the likes of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Jason Spezza.

Alexander Radulov was one of the Stars' prized offseason acquisitions, coming off a rebirth in Montreal in which he recorded 54 points in 76 games. Radulov provides Dallas another power play producer, and can slot in beside Seguin on a top line that, on paper, is simply unfair.

Dallas also bolstered it's attack by luring towering pivot Martin Hanzal to the club in free agency. The 30-year-old should nicely complement prospering depth contributors Devin Shore and Radek Faksa.

Toronto Maple Leafs

After netting the fifth-most goals in the NHL last season (250), year two of the youth movement in Toronto should warrant more of the same.

While the Maple Leafs sophomores surely won't be taking anyone by surprise this time around, Toronto added Patrick Marleau into the mix to solidify one of the deepest forward groups across the NHL.

Winnipeg Jets

Finding the back of the net certainly isn't what kept the Jets outside the playoff picture last season.

Winnipeg scored 246 goals in 2016-17, a sum good for seventh in the league. The Jets didn't make too much noise in the offseason in terms of adding personnel, mainly because they didn't have to. With a top six that includes Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, and Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg is primed to rack up gaudy offensive numbers for years to come.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Last season's Blue Jackets were sandwiched between the Maple Leafs and Jets in terms of goals, and on the heels of a historic breakout campaign, Columbus added yet another offensive weapon in Artemi Panarin.

Panarin, who's recorded 151 points in 162 career games, should adequately replace Brandon Saad's output, and joins a roster that had seven skaters, excluding the departed Saad, eclipse 40 points last season.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Who knows where Tampa Bay might have ended up last season with Steven Stamkos involved.

The Lightning captain had 20 points in 17 games before a knee injury ended his season, leaving the club without one of the game's purest scorers. However, Stamkos is expected to be fully ready for training camp, and should he stay in the lineup, will form an incomparable duo with 40-goal man Nikita Kucherov.

Behind the two big dogs, the Lightning have a formidable trio of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Brayden Point to rely on offensively. Not to mention Victor Hedman, who anchored the blue line and put up a whopping 72 points in 2016-17.

(Photos Courtesy: Action Images)

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The initial rush of the NHL's free-agent frenzy has come and gone, and several big names are off the board. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars being shelled out in search of improvement, the spending spree isn't about to stop, as several impact players remain without a contract.

Below, we've compiled a list of the top free agents still available.

Alexander Radulov

After a stellar season with the Montreal Canadiens, Radulov is the top impact forward still on the board. The soon-to-be 31-year-old racked up 18 goals and 36 assists last season, and because of that, Radulov is reportedly seeking quite a lucrative pact to sign.

TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported the Canadiens and Dallas Stars were battling for his services, but several teams need top-six scoring, and the longer the clock is allowed to tick, more teams may become involved.

Patrick Marleau

Marleau's partner in crime, Joe Thornton, reportedly is staying put in San Jose on a one-year deal, but the hockey world awaits a decision from the veteran winger.

As a 37-year-old last season, Marleau played all 82 games, scoring 27 goals to go along with 19 assists. He was reportedly offered a two-year deal to stay with the club that drafted him second overall in 1997, but Marleau's drawn significant interest elsewhere as well, making his impending decision one to keep a close eye on.

Jaromir Jagr

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Jagr's agent announced his client will be hitting the open market, but the first day of free agency didn't warrant an immediate change of scenery for the 45-year-old.

The second most-prolific scorer in NHL history still has some game, notching 46 points last season for the Panthers.

Andrei Markov

Markov's spent the entirety of his 16-season career with the Canadiens, but with the arrival of Karl Alzner in La Belle Province, the writing could be on the wall for the end of the veteran's tenure in Montreal.

The 38-year-old reportedly asked for a two-year, $12 million contract, which doesn't exactly fit in the Canadiens books as of now. However, Markov is still a reliable top-four defender and decent point-producer, and shouldn't have to wait long to find some suitors.

Thomas Vanek

Vanek's skated for six teams since the start of the 2013-14 season, but a player with his skill set is always in high demand.

The 33-year-old winger netted 48 points in 68 games last season split between the Red Wings and Panthers, but shouldn't cost too much for teams to add adequate scoring depth.

Cody Franson

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

The market for defenseman is at an all-time high, but Franson can provide cheap value for a team looking to upgrade its blue line.

Franson's never been the flashiest defender, but he's consistently put up points in his career, with 205 points in 527 games. He also owned a respectable 50.4 corsi-for percentage at even strength for the defensively inept Sabres last season.

Jarome Iginla

The demand for Iginla was never expected to be too high, but the 40-year-old has expressed interest in playing this coming season, still in search of the championship that has eluded him his entire career.

Iginla endured the disaster that was the Colorado Avalanche for 61 games last season before being dealt to the Los Angeles Kings, where he produced nine points in 19 games.

Drew Stafford

Stafford proved to be one of the more valuable trade-deadline acquisitions last season, chipping in eight points in 18 games upon arriving in Boston from Winnipeg.

He's a middle-six winger with size and decent scoring touch, and should be able to find a landing spot sooner rather than later.

Shane Doan

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Doan, like Iginla, is in search of a ring to conclude an illustrious career. However, the demand for 40-year-old wingers isn't exactly skyrocketing at the moment.

The longtime Coyotes captain produced 27 points last season and is likely searching for a short-term offer from a contending team.

Jussi Jokinen

After reportedly being bought out by the Panthers, Jokinen needs a new home. The veteran winger was limited to 69 games and 28 points last season, but has proven to be a strong possession player throughout his career.

At even strength last season, Jokinen had a 53.4 corsi-for percentage, and could be a cheap, reliable pickup for a team in search of offensive depth.

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The Calgary Flames have acquired goaltender Eddie Lack, defensive prospect Ryan Murphy, and a 2019 seventh-round pick from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Keegan Kanzig and a 2019 sixth-rounder, the teams announced Thursday night.

Carolina will retain 50 percent of Lack's salary in the deal, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Murphy was drafted 12th overall by the Hurricanes in 2011, but has struggled to make much of an impact at the NHL level, spending time in the AHL in each of the past five seasons.

Kanzig, meanwhile, was a third-round pick of the Flames in 2013, and has yet to play a game in the NHL.

After trading for Mike Smith earlier in the offseason, Lack will likely serve as a backup for the Flames. Last season, the 29-year-old posted a 8-7-3 record with a 2.64 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. He's evidently been ruled the odd man out from a Carolina crease that now features Scott Darling and Cam Ward.

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The Arizona Coyotes and head coach Dave Tippett have mutually agreed to part ways, the team announced Thursday.

"On behalf of the entire Coyotes organization, I would like to sincerely thank Tip for all of his hard work and the many contributions he made to our organization," said team owner Andrew Barroway. "Tip is a man of high character and we are very grateful for his leadership during his tenure as our head coach. Ultimately, we have some philosophical differences on how to build our team. Therefore' we mutually agreed that it is in everyone's best interest to have a coaching change in order to move our franchise forward."

Barroway bought out Coyotes' minority owners to become the sole owner of the club earlier in June.

Tippett, 55, took over the Coyotes bench in 2009-10, leading Arizona

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Connor McDavid had himself a night.

The Edmonton Oilers captain captured the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player Wednesday at the NHL Awards, earning the honor over Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Columbus Blue Jackets netminder Sergei Bobrovsky.

Here's the vote breakdown, which show McDavid won convincingly.

Fittingly, Oilers legend Wayne Gretzky announced the award, McDavid's second of the night, also capturing the Ted Lindsay Award as the league's most outstanding player voted by the NHLPA. The 20-year-old was also recognized for winning the Art Ross (top scorer) and was named the cover athlete for EA Sports NHL 18.

McDavid became the third player in NHL history to win MVP before turning 21-years-old, joining Gretzky and Crosby.

In his monstrous campaign, McDavid, 20, racked up a league-lead

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