The National Hockey League will kick off the 2018-19 campaign with a juicy matchup between the reigning Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals and the Boston Bruins on Oct. 3.

The Capitals will be at home and indicated they will raise their Stanley Cup banner. Here are the rest of the home-opening dates by division:

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

Pacific Division

Central Division

The full NHL schedule is set to be released Thursday afternoon.

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Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson was arrested over the weekend and subsequently charged with domestic assault in Franklin, Tenn., police said Wednesday, reports Natalie Neysa Alund of the Tennessean.

The 26-year-old forward was arrested at 7:20 p.m. local time Saturday, and as of Wednesday, was free on a $4,500 bond. He's due to appear in court next on June 28.

Watson was selected 18th overall by the Predators in the 2010 NHL draft. In 216 regular-season games for Nashville, Watson has registered 23 goals and 24 assists to go along with 254 penalty minutes.

In 2017, Watson was a part of a public-awareness campaign along with his Predators teammates called "Unsilence the Violence," a project focused on bringing an end to violence against women.

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On draft weekend one year ago, the Columbus Blue Jackets sent shockwaves through the NHL by pulling the trigger on a blockbuster deal to acquire Artemi Panarin from the Chicago Blackhawks.

The move paid immediate dividends, as Panarin silenced critics and put together a career-best 82-point season - then added seven points in six playoff games - without Patrick Kane by his side, while his trade counterpart, Brandon Saad, struggled mightily to kick off his second stint in Chicago.

Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen looked like a genius for orchestrating the trade, but nearly 12 months to the day he acquired the Russian sniper, he finds himself on the opposite end of the spectrum, as news broke Tuesday that Panarin isn't concerned - at least, not at this point - about discussing a contract extension with Columbus, and the club will gauge how much interest the trade market has in its superstar.

Safe to say there will be a lot.

Players of Panarin's caliber rarely become available. The 26-year-old has one more season at $6 million before hitting unrestricted free agency. Perhaps Panarin is declining to commit as a tactic to create leverage, betting on himself to have another huge year in 2018-19 before having his pick of the litter when it comes to lucrative offers next summer. Should the Blue Jackets shop him as a rental, teams may be reluctant to mortgage significant pieces of their future for only one year of service.

That said, the possibility of a trade-and-sign remains, wherein Panarin guarantees an interested team that he will agree to new terms once joining, increasing his value. Panarin's name suddenly in the rumor mill creates the buzz and speculation hockey fans crave this time of year. Here are three teams, with possible assets included, that should get Kekalainen on the phone to see if they can work out an arrangement.

St. Louis Blues

2018-19 projected cap space: $12.9 million
Assets to offer: F Robby Fabbri, 2018 first-rounder (29th), F Klim Kostin, F Robert Thomas

First and foremost, Panarin and Vladimir Tarasenko are longtime friends, and the Blues are almost sure to get a nod of approval from their best player to make a deal happen.

The Blues are coming off their first playoff miss since 2010-11, and if they were to ship Fabbri, a restricted free agent, they'd have no pressing contracts of impact to manage. Elsewhere, Kostin and Thomas are highly regarded prospects in the organization, but if packing one or both could add Panarin into a forward corps already featuring Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn, and Jaden Schwartz, it could be worth the sacrifice.

Buffalo Sabres

2018-19 projected cap space: $19.1 million
Assets to offer: F Ryan O'Reilly, F Sam Reinhart, Two 2019 first-rounders

O'Reilly is one of the big fish on this summer's trade board, albeit for reasons unknown. The 27-year-old is one of the top two-way centermen in the league and is under contract at $7.5 million until 2023. Unloading his salary would create endless possibilities for the Sabres, and the thought of pairing Panarin on a top line with Jack Eichel, compounded with the pending arrival of Rasmus Dahlin, could accelerate Buffalo's seemingly never-ending rebuild.

In addition to O'Reilly, the Sabres own San Jose's 2019 first-rounder as part of the Evander Kane deal, and also could consider dealing the rights of RFA Sam Reinhart, who scored 20 goals in 44 games once the calendar flipped to 2018.

Anaheim Ducks

2018-19 projected cap space: $9.2 million
Assets to offer: 2018 1st-rounder (23rd), 2019 1st-rounder, F Jakob Silfverberg, D Brandon Montour, F Sam Steel, F Max Jones

The Ducks would certainly have to get creative to facilitate a trade for Panarin, but on the heels of a first-round sweep, general manager Bob Murray was adamant his club needs to change its approach, mainly by getting younger and quicker.

Anaheim has a nice collection of assets to potentially part with, starting with Silfverberg, who is bound for unrestricted free agency after next season. That diminishes his value a touch, but the Ducks could include prospects Steel and Jones to sweeten the pot. Otherwise, Montour - currently an RFA - is the young right-shot defenseman all teams covet and could form a dominant D-corps in Columbus with Seth Jones and Zach Werenski already in place.

A key issue for the Ducks' hypothetical pursuit of the Bread Man is an impending extension for All-Star goaltender John Gibson, who's up for a new deal after next season. No one said it would be easy, but finding a way to get it done could be the exact change Murray is looking to make.

(Salary cap info courtesy: CapFriendly)
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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The Stanley Cup will pay a visit to Humboldt, Sask. along with several NHL players in August.

An event jointly held by the NHL and NHLPA to help the community will take place in Humboldt on Aug. 24, the league and the players association announced Tuesday, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.

The event will occur in conjunction with Saskatchewan-born and raised Washington Capitals forward Chandler Stephenson bringing the Cup there that day, as he said he would in the afterglow of the Capitals' championship victory earlier this month.

There will be an on-ice skills competition between NHL players, including Brayden Schenn of the St. Louis Blues, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.

The SJHL's Humboldt Broncos were involved in a bus crash in April that resulted in 16 deaths and left 13 others injured.

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The Ottawa Senators were instructed not to trade forward Mike Hoffman within the Atlantic Division, an NHL source told The Athletic's Craig Custance.

It's uncertain who exactly was making these demands to general manager Pierre Dorion, but based on the team's organizational hierarchy, it becomes quite clear that it was owner Eugene Melnyk.

Many teams have a president above the general manager, but the Sens' staff directory doesn't list such position. And, after former CEO Tom Anselmi departed the team, Melnyk took over those duties.

Well, the instructions made to Dorion clearly backfired, as once Hoffman was dealt to the San Jose Sharks, he was then flipped back into the Atlantic Division to the Florida Panthers.

The Senators apparently wanted players in return for Hoffman, not draft picks, so it's unclear whether a deal between Ottawa and Florida would've worked out. Also, it remains unclear whether wanting players instead of picks was Melnyk's or Dorion's call.

Regardless, the Sens probably would've received a better return for Hoffman had they not ruled out a quarter of the league as a possible trade partner.

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Phil Kessel has two Stanley Cup rings as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he's only been rocking black and yellow for three seasons.

However, Kessel would consider a trade out of Pittsburgh, as The Athletic's Josh Yohe reports.

Furthermore, Kessel would even be willing to play for his former assistant coach Rick Tocchet, who is now the head coach of the Arizona Coyotes, per Yohe. Although, Kessel's $6.8-million price tag is likely too juicy for the Desert Dogs to take on.

Regardless, Kessel is coming off a career season in which he netted 34 goals and 58 assists for a career-high 92 points, so if he were to be made available, multiple teams would be lined up in an attempt to acquire his super-sniper services.

The rumblings about Kessel's potential departure come less than a month after a reported beef between he and head coach Mike Sullivan. Kessel was apparently furious about not playing regularly with Evgeni Malkin during Pittsburgh's 2018 playoff run.

Kessel played most of the postseason on the Penguins' third line, registering only one goal in 12 games. He is under contract in Pittsburgh for the next four seasons.

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The Edmonton Oilers signed pending restricted free-agent defenseman Matt Benning to a two-year contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.

The contract reportedly comes with an average annual value of $1.9 million, according to TSN's Ryan Rishaug.

In two years with the Oilers, Benning has totaled 36 points in 135 games played. The 24-year-old managed a plus-5 rating, despite the team's poor season in 2017-18.

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