The Edmonton Oilers signed veteran defenseman Jason Garrison to a professional tryout, the team announced Tuesday.

Garrison played in only eight NHL games last year with the Vegas Golden Knights, recording one assist while averaging 19:04 ice time per game.

In 58 games with the AHL's Chicago Wolves, the 33-year-old tallied eight goals and 20 assists.

In the wake of Andrej Sekera's Achilles injury suffered during offseason training, the Oilers are bringing in competition for their blue line, as Jakub Jerabek signed a one-year deal with the club last week.

Garrison has a bomb from the point - one that helped him pot a career-high 16 goals from the back end in 2011-12 with the Florida Panthers, but his lack of foot speed has made him ineffective over the past few years.

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TORONTO - Tyler Seguin wants you to know he is disappointed.

Specifically, he is disappointed in the Dallas Stars for not offering a contract of his liking this summer and is unhappy because negotiations have been nonexistent of late.

It was easy to draw these conclusions Tuesday, as Seguin uttered the words "disappointing" and "disappointed" a total of four times in a six-minute media scrum focused mainly on the potential 2019 free agent’s future with the Stars.

"Nothing’s really going on," he said when asked for an update on extension talks between his camp and the club. "Pretty much haven’t been talking much this summer. It’s been a little disappointing. I thought I’d have some exciting news to talk about at BioSteel camp, especially this late in the summer, but ..."

Seguin, who has been eligible to re-sign in Dallas since July 1 and will almost certainly make north of $10 million per year on his next deal, trailed off for a moment but quickly reverted back to his main point.

"It’s been disappointing," the 40-goal scorer added, "but at the end of the day I’ve always had one year left here, so I’m focused on that, I’m focused on BioSteel camp right now, and I’m excited to get back to Dallas and I look forward to a good year."

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

OK, we’ve established Seguin is not completely thrilled. The elite center also revealed Tuesday that, although talks haven’t materialized to any great extent since late June, he isn’t exactly counting down the days to July 1, 2019.

Asked if he is curious at all about the free-agency process, Seguin replied, "I guess I’m not really there yet." In other words, unless the player-team relationship goes really south, Seguin would like to stay put.

"Dallas has been home. I’ve been comfortable in Dallas since I got down there," the former Boston Bruin said. "At the end of the day, I want to win, I want to be successful, I want to get back into the playoffs."

The Stars, for what it’s worth, are staying out of it. (Citing a team policy of not speaking publicly about negotiations, a spokesperson on Tuesday afternoon politely declined a request to interview general manager Jim Nill.) Regardless, it's safe to assume the Central Division squad is intent on retaining a 26-year-old who enters play this fall tied with Sidney Crosby for the second-most NHL goals since 2013-14, Seguin's first season in Dallas.

Seguin’s comments - which appear genuine and from a good place but could easily be a form of posturing to nudge the Stars into a deal - are mighty interesting. While the 2010 second overall pick seems confident that the two sides will come to an agreement at some point, he is making it seem like the Stars blindsided him by stalling as the offseason progressed.

Is Seguin comfortable negotiating during the season? "Honestly, it hasn’t really been much of a thought," he said. "I wasn’t really expecting this, so I’ve been taking it (as it comes). Normal training, normal summer. Same as last year and the year before."

Stars training camp, which opens Sept. 14 in Boise, Idaho, will be packed with intrigue. There’s this Seguin drama, the introduction of rookie NHL coach Jim Montgomery and his systems, the return of Russian winger Valeri Nichushkin, and the highly anticipated North American debut of Miro Heiskanen.

A longtime empty threat in the Central, Dallas has not advanced past the second round of the playoffs in 10 seasons, missing the postseason entirely in 2016-17 and '17-18. Still, its roster features a legitimate top-five NHL center in Seguin, one of the sport's top power forwards in captain Jamie Benn, and a dynamite young blue-liner in John Klingberg.

Oh, and two other things: Nill grabbed the attention of John Tavares during the prized 2018 free agent's courting period, and the Stars have been linked to trade rumors involving all-world defenseman Erik Karlsson.

"At the end of the day, I think it’s great for our organization and our city and team that players do want to go (to Dallas)," Seguin said. "Even if we didn’t have long negotiations with Tavares, at least he called and said that he was interested. So, it says something (about) our team and our organization and it’s all positive."

Seguin's expression of disappointment Tuesday shows he is frustrated, maybe even annoyed. It probably doesn't help that the club has won one playoff series since Nill acquired Seguin six summers ago. Above all, he's hungry for a Stanley Cup and would prefer to challenge for a title in Stars green.

"I envision giving my all this year and getting back into the playoffs," he said. "It’s been a long few summers of no deep runs. The goal since I touched down in Dallas is to get deep in the playoffs and hopefully win."

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

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Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg confirmed his back issues will force him to miss training camp and the start of the season, he told Swedish newspaper Sportbladet, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

"I have not been able to train and I cannot play NHL matches without being well prepared, especially not at my age," Zetterberg said.

Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill told MLive's Ansar Khan on Sunday that if Zetterberg wasn't ready to play by opening night, it's likely he won't feature at all this season.

Though a comeback shouldn't be completely ruled out, it's possible that the NHL has seen the last of Zetterberg, who will turn 38 in October. He does, however, have three years remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $6.083 million.

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If Jack Eichel thinks he deserves to be the next captain of the Buffalo Sabres, he has one former teammate in his corner.

Ryan O'Reilly, who spent the last three seasons in Western New York alongside Eichel before being dealt to the St. Louis Blues this summer, responded emphatically when asked if he thought the Sabres' franchise cornerstone was ready to wear the 'C'.

"Absolutely. Oh, gosh, yeah," he said, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

The Sabres went without a captain last year, but Eichel did have an 'A' on his sweater. Brian Gionta is the team's most recent captain, holding that position for three seasons until the 2016-17 campaign.

It's possible Jason Pominville, who was the Sabres' captain for two years during his first stint in Buffalo, draws consideration for the 'C'. But Eichel, who is about to enter the first season of an eight-year, $80-million contract, seems like a more likely choice, even though he's still only 21 years old.

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Devante Smith-Pelly hasn't struggled with his decision to not go to the White House should his Washington Capitals be invited by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The winger shed more light on his stance Tuesday after first making his feelings known back in early June.

"It was an easy decision," he told TSN's Mark Masters. "I said it at the time and the decision was made a long time ago."

The Stanley Cup champion Capitals haven't been officially invited by the president yet, but he said in June that they'd likely be welcome.

Two days before that, Smith-Pelly told Postmedia's Michael Traikos that "the things that (Trump) spews are straight-up racist and sexist," adding that "some of the things he's said are pretty gross," and that he "definitely" doesn't agree with Trump's rhetoric.

About a week later, Smith-Pelly told reporters he'd "still love" Alex Ovechkin and any other teammates who decide to go. He shared a similar sentiment Tuesday while adding that he hasn't changed his mind about passing on a potential visit.

"I made my decision when the question was asked, so that hasn't changed," Smith Pelly told Masters. "(My teammates) don't care. The thing about that team is everyone is an individual and they let you be yourself, so I'm not going to hold it against anyone if they want to go. That's fine, they can go ahead, and no one's going to hold it against me or any other player who says, 'Hey, we don't want to go,' so they're all supportive. They don't care what I do."

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It's been an offseason of turmoil for the Ottawa Senators. Amidst the tumult, it's the harassment charge against former assistant general manager Randy Lee that isn't sitting well with at least one outspoken player.

"As a guy who was kind of one of Randy's guys growing up, that was disappointing," defenseman Mark Borowiecki told the Ottawa Sun's Ken Warren. "I was genuinely disappointed in Randy there. I wasn't there, I don't know the whole story or the circumstances. It is what it is at this point."

Lee was charged with second-degree harassment in late May after he was accused of making lewd comments toward, and rubbing the shoulders of, a 19-year-old male shuttle bus driver. The longtime assistant GM has since resigned from the organization.

Lee has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Sept. 13 in Buffalo, N.Y.

"When you are part of this franchise, in whatever capacity, every time you are out in public, you are an ambassador for this brand, for this logo," Borowiecki added. "I hold myself to a certain standard. I think we need to make sure that everyone in this organization holds themselves to that standard.

"We are all proud to be Ottawa Senators and there is an expectation on how to behave and handle yourself, and, obviously, in whatever situation it was, Randy fell short and you're going to suffer the consequences."

An Ottawa native, Borowiecki has been part of the Senators' organization since 2008, while Lee had been with the team since 1995.

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It's been an offseason of turmoil for the Ottawa Senators. Amidst the tumult, it's the harassment charge against former assistant general manager Randy Lee that isn't sitting well with at least one outspoken player.

"As a guy who was kind of one of Randy's guys growing up, that was disappointing," defenseman Mark Borowiecki told the Ottawa Sun's Ken Warren. "I was genuinely disappointed in Randy there. I wasn't there, I don't know the whole story or the circumstances. It is what it is at this point."

Lee was charged with second-degree harassment in late May after he was accused of making lewd comments toward, and rubbing the shoulders of, a 19-year-old male shuttle bus driver. The longtime assistant GM has since resigned from the organization.

Lee has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Sept. 13 in Buffalo, N.Y.

"When you are part of this franchise, in whatever capacity, every time you are out in public, you are an ambassador for this brand, for this logo," Borowiecki added. "I hold myself to a certain standard. I think we need to make sure that everyone in this organization holds themselves to that standard.

"We are all proud to be Ottawa Senators and there is an expectation on how to behave and handle yourself, and, obviously, in whatever situation it was, Randy fell short and you're going to suffer the consequences."

An Ottawa native, Borowiecki has been part of the Senators' organization since 2008, while Lee had been with the team since 1995.

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Could this be the beginning of the Tyler Seguin sweepstakes?

The Dallas Stars center can become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and while the club said in July that it was hopeful to sign him prior to this season, he's frustrated that the two sides haven't already agreed on a contract extension.

"Nothing's really going on. Pretty much haven't been talking much this summer. It's been a little disappointing," Seguin told theScore's John Matisz on Tuesday. "I thought I'd have some exciting news to talk about ... this late in the summer."

As it stands, the 26-year-old is about to begin the final season of a six-year pact with a $5.75-million cap hit. Should Seguin reach free agency, his cap hit could nearly double on his next deal, since he's one of the NHL's top scorers in recent years. He finished second on the Stars last season with 78 points, one shy of captain Jamie Benn.

Seguin is one of several high-level players who could potentially headline free agency next summer, a group that includes Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Erik Karlsson and Matt Duchene of the Ottawa Senators.

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