The Vancouver Canucks are ready to lock up Brock Boeser.

In speaking with Ben Kuzma of The Province, Canucks general manager Jim Benning confirmed the two sides have kicked off preliminary discussions on a contract extension, with more talks scheduled for next week.

"We haven't got down to talking term," Benning said. "We plan to circle back and I'm not sure where it's going to go, but we want to see if we can get somewhere. There's no time frame on it.

"Brock is going to see the best matchup line and best defensive pair, but I don't expect a drop-off. He has pushed himself hard to pick up where he left off and there are other contracts coming up in the league in the next six months that could drive up the price - I understand that part of it. But it has to make sense for everybody."

Despite being limited to just 62 appearances last season, and missing the final 16 games of the year with a back injury, Boeser led the Canucks with 29 goals. That total ranked second among all freshmen and was two back of Winnipeg Jets rookie Kyle Connor for top spot.

Boeser, 21, has one year remaining on his entry-level contract that carries a $925,000 cap hit plus an additional $850,000 in performance bonuses.

Vancouver selected Boeser with the 23rd pick in the 2015 draft.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

John Tavares has left Long Island, but the biggest change to hit New York this offseason may have been the departures of general manager Garth Snow and head coach Doug Weight.

In their place, the New York Islanders recruited former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello, who then hired Barry Trotz, fresh off of a Stanley Cup championship with the division rival Washington Capitals.

The new faces will help restore the credibility of the franchise, according to Islanders legend Bryan Trottier.

"The credibility aspect, absolutely, instantaneously it's there," Trottier, a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Islanders, told NHL.com's Dave McCarthy. "The media can't argue with their experiences and that's always been a little bit of a problem with the Islanders because if they don't do well, everybody's all over them. So now with Lou there, he's got credibility. Barry's got credibility.

"How do you second-guess a guy like (former Islanders coach) Al Arbour, a guy like Scotty Bowman, a guy like Barry Trotz? Those guys have years and years and years of experience."

While Trotz's Stanley Cup win with the Capitals was the first of his career, he brings no shortage of a winning history, as his 762 coaching victories rank fifth all time (and just 20 back of Arbour).

Lamoriello, meanwhile, has three Stanley Cup rings to his name from nearly three decades at the helm of the New Jersey Devils. He's also coming off a three-year stint as GM of the Maple Leafs that saw the legendary executive reshape the club into a championship contender. Of course, Lamoriello had a handful of intriguing building blocks with the Maple Leafs, but the Islanders have their fair share of impressive young talent as well.

"For (Mathew Barzal) to be an Islander and to have the kind rookie season he had, he's not disappointing anyone," Trottier added. "He's a down-to-earth kid and tying my rookie assist record was great. Sharing a record with a young, skilled kid like this is awesome. I see wonderful things for Mathew in the future and for the Islanders."

Should Barzal and the Islanders qualify for the playoffs this year, it will mark just the fourth time the franchise has done so in the past 12 seasons.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera is sidelined indefinitely after undergoing successful Achilles tendon surgery, the team announced Tuesday.

Sekera suffered the injury during offseason training. No timeline has been provided for his return.

It's a devastating injury for Sekera, who was limited to just 36 appearances in 2017-18. He also missed the first 34 games of last season as he recovered from summer knee surgery.

Sekera finished last year with eight assists while averaging more than 16 minutes in ice time. The 32-year-old is signed through the next three seasons at a $5.5-million cap hit.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Florida Panthers have signed forward Mark Letestu to a professional tryout, the team announced Tuesday.

The 33-year-old is coming off a 2017-18 season split between the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets. He tallied eight goals and 19 points with Edmonton in 60 contests and another four points in 20 games with Columbus.

Letestu, who's traditionally played center, could face a tough challenge if he hopes to land a job at the position with the Panthers. Aleksander Barkov and Vincent Trocheck hold down the first two spots, so the veteran would likely have to edge out either Henrik Borgstrom or Derek MacKenzie for a bottom-six center job.

Letestu has amassed 93 goals and 210 points during 558 games across his nine-year NHL career.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

After undergoing shoulder surgery in the spring, Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski is hoping to avoid missing the start of the 2018-19 regular season.

"My goal, ultimately, is to be there for Game 1," the 21-year-old told Brian Hedger of BlueJackets.com. "You never want to miss time, you never want to miss games, so my goal going into training camp and into the season is to be ready for Game 1.

"If it's later, like Game 5 or Game 10, whenever that is, I'm going to work to miss as few games as possible and be ready to help the team."

Werenski had the surgery on May 3 to repair a lingering injury that he played through for the majority of the 2017-18 campaign. He still managed to set a career high with 16 goals, but produced 10 fewer points (37) than during his impressive rookie campaign.

For now, Werenski has begun skating but hasn't progressed to contact drills.

"I feel great out there," he said. "There's no problems right now. I'm just kind of ramping it up here, trying to get my timing back. Everything feels good on the ice. I haven't had any contact yet. That's not until later. I probably won't do that until probably halfway through training camp, but everything is good. Everything's on pace. I actually don't know what my timeline is, to be honest, but I'm hoping to be back toward the start of training camp - probably not Day 1, but as soon as I can be."

The Blue Jackets will open the 2018-19 season on Oct. 4 when they clash with the Detroit Red Wings.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Nashville Predators and defenseman Ryan Ellis have agreed to an eight-year, $50-million contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.

Ellis was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the upcoming season, but the extension will now keep him under contract through the 2026-27 campaign. He's currently in the final year of a five-year, $12.5-million deal that pays him just $2.5 million per season.

"Ryan is a huge part of our team on and off the ice and we are happy to have his leadership remain in our locker room for the foreseeable future," general manager David Poile said in a release. "We have talked about wanting to keep the core of our team together, and this is another opportunity to help us do so while continuing to compete for a Stanley Cup. Ryan is entering his prime and is one of the reasons why we feel this team has a chance to win every time we step on the ice."

The 27-year-old Ellis is coming off his seventh season in the league, in which he posted nine goals and 32 points despite playing only 44 games due to injury. He also finished tied for ninth among all NHL defenders in points per game (0.73) among those with at least 30 appearances.

Overall, Ellis has tallied 55 goals and 173 points in 396 career games, the sixth-highest point total among defenseman in Predators franchise history.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New Jersey Devils re-signed defenseman Steven Santini to a three-year, $4.25-million contract Tuesday, the team announced.

The 23-year-old split this past season between the Devils and the club's AHL affiliate in Binghamton. He posted two goals and eight assists in 36 games at the NHL level and three goals and six points in 27 AHL contests.

"We are excited to lock up Steven, a young, developing defenseman, for the next three seasons," general manager Ray Shero said in a release. "He provides size and a physical element that complements our existing defensive group moving forward."

Santini was drafted in the second round in 2013. He's put up four goals and 17 points in 75 career games.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.