The Toronto Maple Leafs have asked teams to indicate what they would offer in exchange for William Nylander, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

"Word is they have asked teams to inform them who teams or interested parties would not be willing to move, and also to begin preparing formal offers for the unsigned Toronto winger," Friedman said during Hockey Night in Canada's Headlines segment on Saturday night.

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas declined to comment, Friedman added.

Nylander is a restricted free agent who's entrenched in a contract stalemate with the Maple Leafs. If the two sides can't agree on a deal by Dec. 1, Nylander will be forced to sit out the remainder of the season.

Toronto's Stanley Cup window is wide open, so going a full year without Nylander - or failing to receive assets in return for a dynamic winger - is certainly not ideal.

Both Nylander's camp and Dubas have said they'd prefer a long-term contract instead of a short-term bridge deal.

Dubas has previously stated he doesn't want to trade Nylander, but it appears that thought process might be changing because of the fast-approaching deadline.

Nylander, Toronto's eighth overall pick in 2014, is coming off back-to-back 61-point seasons with the Maple Leafs.

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Who's telling the truth?

Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson and general manager Marc Bergevin both stated two months ago that Max Pacioretty requested a trade out of La Belle Province.

However, in an interview with Sportsnet's Christine Simpson that aired prior to Pacioretty's return to Montreal on Saturday, the Canadiens' former captain refuted Molson's statement.

"I don’t agree with that," Pacioretty said. "Heated conversations like that could get taken in different ways. I don’t believe that that’s what I said and I’ll just leave it at that."

The Pacioretty trade had long been rumored before he was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 9 in exchange for forward Tomas Tatar, prospect Nick Suzuki, and a second-round pick. Pacioretty said he was well aware the trade was being discussed.

"I knew there was a very likely chance I was going to get traded," Pacioretty said of his awkward interactions with Bergevin and Molson at his charity golf tournament just before the trade. "You try to not let it affect you. I’m a guy though, that’s very incapable of hiding things. (I’m a) pretty honest person where if something is bothering me, most people around me know, and maybe that led to that awkwardness."

Pacioretty's tenure in Sin City is off to a slow start, as he had recorded just two goals and zero assists in 12 games entering Saturday night.

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The Edmonton Oilers have assigned forwards Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto to the AHL, the team announced on Saturday.

Puljujarvi, selected fourth overall in 2016, and Yamamoto, chosen with the 22nd pick the following year, have both struggled mightily this season. They've combined for just two goals and one assist through Edmonton's first 16 games.

Yamamoto was even used briefly on the club's top line alongside Connor McDavid, but he still failed to produce. Meanwhile, Puljujarvi has been in and out of the lineup and often a healthy scratch.

It's still far too early to write off either of these 20 year olds, but it's safe to say their NHL careers haven't started the way the Oilers had hoped.

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Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman will make his return to the lineup against the Ottawa Senators, head coach Jon Cooper confirmed Saturday.

Hedman missed seven games with what the club referred to as an upper-body injury that the blue-liner sustained in a collision with Ryan Reaves of the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 26.

The Lighting went 5-2-0 without the reigning Norris Trophy winner, who averaged nearly 21 minutes of ice time through his first nine games of the season.

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Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser is week to week after being sent home to see a specialist for his recurring groin injury, head coach Travis Green announced Saturday.

Boeser was sent back to the West coast in the midst of the Canucks' six-game road trip after missing Tuesday's contest against the Detroit Red Wings. He'd already missed two games with a groin injury earlier in the season before being ruled out again.

In 13 appearances this year, Boeser has notched four goals and seven assists.

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Blake Wheeler had quite the game on Friday night.

The Winnipeg Jets captain had a hand in every one of his team's goals during a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. He tallied three primary assists, two points on the power play, and an empty-net goal to put the icing on the cake.

Wheeler's first assist was not his prettiest of the night, but it counted.

On his second helper, he fed Mark Scheifele a quick one-touch pass, and the center beat goaltender Semyon Varlamov on the short side. If either Wheeler or Scheifele hesitates at all, Varlamov likely has enough time to get over and hug the post.

On his third point of the night - and his 400th career assist - Wheeler shows incredible patience before setting up Nikolaj Ehlers' goal. After the game, Scheifele described the feed as "dangling that dollar bill in front of the (defenseman)," according to Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press.

Wheeler seemed to get better as the game went on, dishing a beautiful saucer pass to Patrik Laine for his third primary assist.

Wheeler then fittingly sealed the win for his team with an empty-net goal.

The Jets forward showed why he's one of the league's premier playmakers, and an underrated star, on Friday night.

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