The Washington Capitals have inked forward Chandler Stephenson to a one-year deal worth $1.05 million, according to The Washington Post's Isabelle Khurshudyan.

As a result, Stephenson and the Capitals avoid arbitration. A hearing was scheduled for Aug. 1.

CapFriendly first reported the new pact while adding that Stephenson will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights again next summer. Washington will also get a second buyout window that opens in three days and lasts for 48 hours.

Stephenson was the Capitals' final arbitration candidate after Christian Djoos was awarded a one-year, $1.25-million contract Wednesday following his hearing on Monday.

Across 64 regular-season games in 2018-19, Stephenson recorded five goals and 11 points. The 25-year-old was held off the scoresheet in six playoff contests this spring.

Stephenson has spent parts of the last four campaigns at the NHL level with the Capitals, the team that drafted him 77th overall in 2012.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Washington Capitals have inked forward Chandler Stephenson to a one-year deal worth $1.05 million, according to The Washington Post's Isabelle Khurshudyan.

As a result, Stephenson and the Capitals avoid arbitration. A hearing was scheduled for Aug. 1.

CapFriendly first reported the new pact while adding that Stephenson will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights again next summer. Washington will also get a second buyout window that opens in three days and lasts for 48 hours.

Stephenson was the Capitals' final arbitration candidate after Christian Djoos was awarded a one-year, $1.25-million contract Wednesday following his hearing on Monday.

Across 64 regular-season games in 2018-19, Stephenson recorded five goals and 11 points. The 25-year-old was held off the scoresheet in six playoff contests this spring.

Stephenson has spent parts of the last four campaigns at the NHL level with the Capitals, the team that drafted him 77th overall in 2012.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Alex Ovechkin, John Tavares, and Connor McDavid have opened as the best bets to lead the NHL in goal-scoring in 2019-2020.

The snipers are the early favorites to claim the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy next June, according to new odds published by Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Here's a look at the top 10:

Ovechkin captured the Richard Trophy for a league-record eighth time and the second straight year last season, leading the league with 51 goals in 81 games. The Washington Capitals superstar will turn 34 in September.

Tavares, 28, racked up 47 goals in his first season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, finishing third in the league behind Ovechkin and Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, who potted 50.

McDavid notched 41 tallies to finish in a six-way tie for sixth in the NHL in 2018-19. The Oilers' 22-year-old dynamo finished second to Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Art Ross Trophy race, piling up 116 points to Kucherov's 128.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New York Rangers and restricted free-agent forward Pavel Buchnevich have agreed to terms on a new contract, the club announced Friday.

Buchnevich's new deal is for two years at $3.25 million annually, reports the New York Post's Larry Brooks.

The 24-year-old had a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Monday.

Buchnevich collected a career-high 21 goals while posting 38 points in his third season with the Rangers, who drafted him 75th overall in 2013. He joined New York in 2016-17 after playing parts of four campaigns in the KHL.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

William Nylander earned the approval of a legend when he went back to his old number, but now he's taking some ribbing for his latest attempt to change things up.

The Toronto Maple Leafs winger, who received a supportive tweet from Eric Lindros after switching back to No. 88 earlier this month, took some playful heat from teammates and others around the NHL after showing off his new hairstyle.

Some fellow Leafs forwards replied with less than positive reviews.

A Boston Bruins star and a former teammate also piled on.

However, Nylander did get some praise for the new look from his brother (now with the Chicago Blackhawks) and a Leafs defensive prospect.

If Nylander is indeed trying to put last season behind him with these changes, one can't blame him.

The 23-year-old struggled after a lengthy holdout that cost him the first two months of the campaign, managing only seven goals and 27 points in 54 regular-season games before adding three points in seven playoff contests.

(With h/t to NBC Sports)

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Arizona Coyotes traded for Phil Kessel to help boost the club's ailing offense, but the enigmatic forward is hoping to provide more than just his scoring touch.

"I'm looking forward to it," Kessel said of taking on a leadership role with his new team, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman. "I haven't really got to have that in my career. I think it's going to be great. I'm going to do whatever I can to help these guys win and help them improve. (If) the young guys have questions or anything they want to talk about, I'm there to talk about it. Try to get our team better and them better."

Even though he's just 31 years old, Kessel is already a grizzled NHL veteran who's just four games shy of 1,000 for his career. Despite that experience, he's never had a letter on his jersey for an extended period of time - even when he was a face of the Toronto Maple Leafs for six seasons.

"I'm not a rah-rah guy, to say the least," Kessel said. "I just want to be a good guy. Guys can relate to me, and I like to have fun. If they want to talk hockey, I like to talk hockey too. But all in all, just enjoy ourselves first and foremost because if you enjoy yourself you can play your best. Be loose and be prepared to play."

While Kessel is said to be popular with teammates, he's had run-ins with coaches. Former Leafs bench boss Ron Wilson called Kessel "uncoachable" and a reported rift with Pens coach Mike Sullivan was apparently what triggered the end of his tenure in Pittsburgh.

But in Arizona, Kessel will be coached by Rick Tocchet, a former Penguins assistant with whom Kessel had a strong rapport.

"He's going to accept the role of trying to help young guys, take the young guys out for dinner," Tocchet said. "It's a wider range of leadership for Phil coming here because it's a different dynamic, a different team. But I still want him to be who he is. I don't want him to come in here with a hammer and say, 'I'm going to lead these guys.' I just need him to be a calming influence. Because I think he's got some good hockey knowledge that can help the young guys."

General manager John Chayka, who surrendered forward Alex Galchenyuk and defense prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph to land Kessel back in June, is also excited about the presence of the two-time Stanley Cup winner.

"Everyone leads in their own way, and Phil can be a leader in the sense of grabbing young players and talking to them about those situations, what he sees, how he creates offense, how he's done it over a number of years, been one of the most successful guys in the league at doing that," Chayka said. "That was a big part of it. We wanted someone that has Phil's mind for the game and can help our young players in that sense."

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's incredibly difficult to stay consistent at the NHL level; some players experience regression, unable to carry over their success from one campaign to the next.

Regression doesn't necessarily result in a poor season or a downward trend that will last for the rest of a given player's career. It simply means not being able to reach lofty totals achieved the season prior due to multiple factors, including circumstance, age, and unsustainable statistical trends.

Here are five players that are likely to take a step back in 2019-20:

Joe Pavelski

Pavelski's point total has declined for three consecutive campaigns, and the 35-year-old isn't getting any younger.

Even though the sharpshooter hit the 30-goal mark for the fourth time in the last six campaigns and led the Sharks in tallies last season, his 2.1 shots on goal per game marked his lowest average since his rookie season. His accompanying shooting percentage of 20 suggests he had some luck.

Only 14 players all time have hit the 38-goal mark in their age-35 season or older. The last player to do it was Daniel Alfredsson in 2007-08 - the only skater on that list who's not in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Pavelski will also have to adjust to a new home for the first time in his 13-year career. The Dallas Stars - who he signed a three-year deal with in the offseason - are far less offensive-minded than the Sharks.

Robin Lehner

Lehner backstopped the New York Islanders to one of the most memorable underdog seasons in recent memory in 2018-19. The Swede's incredible play between the pipes helped lift a team that many projected to be lottery-bound to the Metropolitan Division's second seed.

However, playing in the Windy City after inking a one-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks offers Lehner an entirely different challenge. The Islanders' structurally-sound, defensive-minded game is the polar opposite of how the run-and-gun Blackhawks operate.

The Islanders finished fourth in the league in blocked shots last season and allowed the fewest goals against with 191 - exactly 100 less than the Blackhawks. Chicago also conceded the most high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes at 13.66; the Islanders surrendered 10.79. But perhaps the most glaring indication of the Blackhawks' porous defense is the fact that all three of their netminders ranked within the top four league-wide in terms of closest average shot distance.

Lehner has proven to be a reliable No. 1 option, but it's hard to imagine him putting together another career season playing behind Chicago's vulnerable defense.

Pierre-Luc Dubois

Dubois certainly has the tools to prove us wrong, but he's also benefited by having Russian superstar Artemi Panarin on his wing early on in his career.

Here's the Blue Jackets' share of 5-on-5 offense when Dubois is on the ice with Panarin compared to without:

In addition to losing Panarin, forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel also won't be back with the club, leaving a large hole offensively. The Blue Jackets brought in skilled forward Gustav Nyquist on a five-year deal and will have 41-goal man Cam Atkinson, but more of the offensive duty will fall on Dubois.

He's unquestionably capable of becoming a blue-chip center, but with less talent around to help boost his game, Dubois will have to figure out how to navigate being the guy. He may be due for a temporary step back before he takes another large leap forward.

Leon Draisaitl

Draisaitl is one of the greatest natural talents in the league, but his career-best campaign with the Edmonton Oilers last season came with some good fortune.

The big German doubled his goal total from the 2017-18 season, but also saw his 5-on-5 shooting percentage rise from 9.9, which is around league average, to an unsustainable mark of 20. When you include special teams, Draisaitl's shooting percentage of 21.6 led the league among players with a minimum of 80 shots on goal.

In addition, Draisaitl benefitted from playing heavily alongside Connor McDavidlast season. The pair logged a total of 805:37 of 5-on-5 ice time in 2018-19 compared to 498:33 in 2017-18. However, new head coach Dave Tippett has already said he's not stuck on keeping the duo together.

Splitting up the two stars - and pairing McDavid alongside proven scorer James Neal - may be more beneficial for the Oilers for the upcoming campaign, but Draisaitl likely won't be able to replicate last season's production while driving his own line on the second unit.

Jordan Binnington

Binnington should have a strong sophomore season, but it's unrealistic to think the netminder will repeat his incredible rookie totals over an entire NHL campaign. The Ontario native has never played more than 50 games in a single regular season at any level, and will likely be tasked with that kind of workload for the St. Louis Blues during the upcoming campaign.

The 25-year-old actually started to regress around the midway point of his 32-game stint last season, including the playoffs.

Binnington also faced the second-fewest high-danger shots against per 60 minutes among goalies with at least 15 starts - a testament to the Blues' strong defensive core.

That being said, with captain Alex Pietrangelo turning 30 in January, St. Louis will have four regular blue-liners over the age of 30 with a ton of extra hockey under their belt after winning Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Blues will also be tasked with competing in a much-improved Central Division.

Advanced stats courtesy of NaturalStatTrick / Hockeyviz

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.