Two of Boston's core players played a big role in attracting David Backes' attention in free agency.

The 32-year-old forward, who signed a five-year, $30-million contract on July 1, said he spoke to both Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand during the interview period, referring to them Wednesday as lead salesmen in the process.

"Talking to (Marchand) a little bit during the interview process before July 1, I hung up the phone and kind of had to take a deep breath and say, 'Is that the little disturber, pain in the butt?' He's actually a pretty good guy," Backes said, according to Eric Russo of BostonBruins.com.

"A guy like Bergeron, you play against him, he's just always in the right spot and never making mistakes. Those types of guys are guys you want on your team, guys that you love to go to war with."

His positive impressions of both, as well as the positive relationship shared by the duo both on and off the ice, helped convince him to sign with the club.

It's winning a championship, however, that means most to Backes, after not being able to hoist the Stanley Cup as captain of the St. Louis Blues.

"With the reception that I've had for the three, four weeks that I've been a Boston Bruin, you can tell that there's some passion and tons of people here that just yearn for another Cup, even though it was just five years ago there was a parade here," he said.

"That's why I came here, because you see the vision, you see the love for the team, and I want to be a part of that."

On another note, Backes will wear his familiar No. 42 with the Bruins.

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As the calendar gets set to turn to August, Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving still has two massive items to check off his summer to-do list.

Both Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan - who ranked first and second in team scoring last season - remain without new contracts as restricted free agents, and Treliving stated Wednesday there's no real update to offer.

"We've obviously got Sean and Johnny's contracts and we continue to work away at that," the GM said after formally introducing goalie Brian Elliott, according to Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald.

"We'll keep picking away at that ... It's just term and money, right?" he joked.

The young stars are no doubt looking for long-term, big-money deals, and have expressed a desire to play together for years to come.

With 11 weeks to go before the start of the regular season, the Flames have close to $15 million in available cap space, much of which could be taken up by these two extensions.

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Further details emerged Wednesday relating to the charges of criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, and non-criminal harassment facing Buffalo Sabres forward Evander Kane, with depositions describing Kane acting aggressively toward several people on the night of June 24 at a Buffalo bar.

The sworn depositions, obtained by The Buffalo News' Lou Michel and Dale Anderson with names redacted, come from four people who filed complaints: a bouncer and three women at the bar where Kane was serving as a celebrity bartender. Michel and Anderson write:

Each of the (three) women said Kane grabbed them forcefully by the hair. Two of them said he put his hands around their necks. The bouncer said that he needed help from another security man to remove Kane from behind the bar shortly after 3 a.m. after Kane refused his demand to leave.

"(Kane) came up to me like he always does," one of the women said in her deposition. "He said, 'You’re coming to my house with me and you’re going to like it.' ... He grabbed my neck with both hands and pulled me close. It was like I couldn’t breathe. It hurt. When I told him no, he went off. That’s how he treats women. Aggressive and disrespectful."

The bouncer said there's video surveillance evidence of Kane grabbing a woman by the throat on the dance floor.

Kane's lawyer, Paul Cambria, disputed the accounts.

"There is more to this than meets the eye," he told The Buffalo News. "I’ve seen the video and, as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t support these statements ... the motives of the speakers will be examined (in court). We’ll be delving into the motivation."

Kane is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 1.

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Let the speculation begin.

After playing without a captain last season, Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan confirmed to the media Wednesday that the team will employ one for the 2016-17 campaign.

"Will we have a captain? Yeah we will," McLellan said, according Chris Wescott of Edmontonoilers.com.

When asked who it might be, McLellan didn't budge.

"We will have a captain," he said.

Last season, Andrew Ference, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Matt Hendricks all spent time representing the team as alternate captains.

Naturally, all eyes shift to Connor McDavid, who's already been tabbed as a leader by teammates, and is the epicenter of the franchise's future.

If it is McDavid, 19, he could become the youngest captain in NHL history, a mark set by Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche, who set the record in 2012 at 19 years and 286 days old.

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Steve Yzerman has proven to be a force in the Tampa Bay Lightning front office.

Whether it be retaining franchise cornerstones Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman at a discounted rate, or straightening out the Jonathan Drouin saga, the general manager is on a roll.

As successful as Yzerman has been keeping the Lightning intact, one major requirement remains incomplete: a contract extension for Nikita Kucherov.

Yzerman is confident the two sides will reach a deal, as discussions remain ongoing.

"We continue to communicate with his representation," Yzerman said, according to Joe Smith of The Tampa Bay Times. "And we expect to have him under contract to start the season.

"Every negotiation is different and some take longer than others," Yzerman added. "Sometimes they get done when they get done. You can't force it."

Like nearly every circumstance Yzerman's dealt with in the past year, Kucherov's situation is a delicate one. Tampa Bay has just over $6.5 million in cap space and also needs to find a contract for restricted free-agent blueliner Nikita Nesterov.

Kucherov, just 23 years old, earned $700,000 in salary last season, and is coming off a career-high 30 goals and 66 points, followed up by a sensational playoff performance for the second year in a row.

All told, he's due for a substantial raise, but if recent history is any indicator, Yzerman's even-keeled approach at getting deals done will pay dividends for both parties.

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Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland had a long list of tasks to complete entering this offseason, but after reportedly signing goaltender Petr Mrazek to a two-year, $8-million contract Wednesday, it seems as though Holland has ticked off all the boxes.

Signing Mrazek was a necessity for Holland and the Red Wings, and although the two sides reached a settlement before reaching arbitration, Detroit is facing a problem, currently sitting above the salary cap line of $73 million.

According to General Fanager, the Red Wings carry a cap hit of $77,867,042, but Holland doesn't foresee it being an issue once the season begins.

Holland explained his approach is based on forwards Johan Franzen and Joe Vitale - who was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes in the Pavel Datsyuk deal - being unable to play this season because of concussion issues.

"Certainly we have no expectations that Franzen and Vitale are playing hockey this year," Holland told Brendan Savage of Mlive.com. "I talked to Vitale after we traded (for) him. He's having ongoing issues with concussion. He's certainly not expecting to be in camp. I'm not expecting Johan Franzen on the ice.

"I think realistically, when it's all said and done, we're probably a little over the cap. What's a little? Probably a million dollars or just a little bit less over the cap if you don't count Vitale and Franzen."

Along with extending Mrazek's tenure in Detroit, Holland has re-signed Danny DeKeyser, Luke Glendening, Teemu Pulkkinen, and Darren Helm, while adding Steve Ott, Thomas Vanek, and Frans Nielsen through free agency.

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The Ottawa Senators and Cody Ceci appear to be working towards bridging the gap.

The club is believed to be discussing a two-year contract with the restricted free-agent defenseman's agent, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

Speaking after the signing of forward Mike Hoffman earlier Wednesday, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion indicated the two sides have indeed been in contact, making assurances a deal will be reached prior to the start of the regular season.

Ceci - a right-handed 22-year-old defenseman - scored 10 goals and added 16 assists in 75 games for the Senators last season, the last under his entry-level contract.

He also helped Canada win gold at the 2016 IIHF World Championship, with his inclusion on the roster speaking to his ability to play and perform at a high level.

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The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Matt Carle to a one-year, $700,000 contract.

The 31-year-old was recently bought out by the Tampa Bay Lightning, with two years remaining on a contract that carried an average annual valuation of $5.5 million.

Carle appeared in only 64 regular-season games for the Lightning last campaign, with two goals and seven assists to his credit, while contributing eight points in 43 playoff games with the Lightning over three seasons.

In 724 career appearances, he's averaging 32 points for every 82 games played. Carle also played three seasons under Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette when both were with the Philadelphia Flyers.

The veteran will be called upon to play a depth role on an already very talented defense corps assembled by general manager David Poile.

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