Toronto Maple Leafs restricted free-agent forward Mitch Marner danced around contractual questions as he does around opposing players during media appearances at his own charity event Thursday, but he did make one thing clear.

Marner told NHL.com's Dave McCarthy he would likely not attend training camp if he doesn't have a new contract by the time it begins. Marner added he wants to be there for the start of camp, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

The Maple Leafs will have $9.07 million in cap space with 23 players signed once Nathan Horton is placed on LTIR, according to CapFriendly. That number will rise when some players are optioned to the minors.

It's crucial the Leafs get a deal done with Marner before the beginning of the regular season. If Marner signs with the campaign underway, the first year of his contract will be prorated, meaning the cap hit for 2019-20 will be higher than in later seasons. This occurred with William Nylander's contract last season, but the Leafs had sufficient cap flexibility at the time.

Marner is coming off a career-high 94-point season. The 22-year-old is arguably the face of this year's stacked restricted free-agent class and has been involved in more offer-sheet speculation than most of his RFA peers; the Columbus Blue Jackets are just one team that reportedly reached out to his camp to discuss the possibility of an offer sheet.

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Joe Thornton hasn't re-signed with the San Jose Sharks yet, but head coach Peter DeBoer has no doubt the 40-year-old center will be back in teal this coming season.

"I'm just looking forward to working with him again," Deboer told Sportsnet's Luke Fox on Thursday, adding he knew Thornton would be back when he saw him working out a few days after the Sharks were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Thornton has been candid about his plans moving forward. He told reporters at the NHL Awards he'll return for the 2019-20 campaign, and probably more. Jumbo Joe also said he'd only play for San Jose shortly after the St. Louis Blues ended the Sharks' season.

The Sharks have $4.68 million in remaining cap space will 21 players signed, according to CapFriendly. General manager Doug Wilson has already managed to lock up Erik Karlsson for eight years and ink RFAs Kevin Labanc and Timo Meier to new deals but lost captain Joe Pavelski in free agency to the Dallas Stars.

With Pavelski gone, it could open the door for Thornton to return as the club's captain. He wore the "C" beginning in the 2010-11 season but had it stripped by former head coach Todd McLellan in August 2014.

DeBoer raved about Thornton's leadership Thursday, specifically during the Sharks' remarkable comeback victory against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs.

Trailing 3-0, San Jose was handed a controversial five-minute power play after Pavelski went down. The Sharks' top power-play unit scored three goals to tie the game but had been on the ice for over three minutes.

Thornton, a member of the second unit, told DeBoer to "keep the No. 1 unit out there," according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. DeBoer said he still gets emotional thinking about Thornton's leadership in that moment.

The heart and soul of the Sharks, Thorton proved last season he can still get it done on the ice, tallying 51 points in 73 games.

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The NHL's Seattle franchise has officially named Ron Francis as its first-ever general manager, the team announced Thursday.

The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker reported earlier this week that Francis' contract will likely run for five seasons, including the two years prior to the club taking the ice in 2021-22.

"After seven months of due diligence, research, conversations, interviews, and evaluation, we are thrilled to announce Ron as our GM," team CEO Tod Leiweke said in the team's announcement.

"Ron is the perfect fit for the team we are building. Ron will make everyone better," Leiweke added.

Francis' most recent front-office gig was with the Carolina Hurricanes. He joined the club prior to the 2006-07 season before being named director of hockey operations in 2011, and then general manager in 2014. Francis was fired in April 2018 after building the majority of the Hurricanes roster that reached the Eastern Conference Final this past spring.

The former NHLer had an incredibly illustrious playing career that spanned 23 seasons. He won two Stanley Cups, three Lady Byngs, and one Selke while racking up 1,798 points, good for fifth all time.

Seattle was unanimously approved to become the league's 32nd team in December 2018 and is scheduled to orchestrate its expansion draft in June 2021.

The club has yet to decide on a name or colors and is currently in the process of a $900-million renovation to KeyArena, which will play host to the NHL franchise.

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Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin will head to China in August to serve as an international ambassador for the NHL, the league announced Thursday.

The trip to Beijing will include visiting youth clinics, a media tour, and business development meetings.

"I think it is very important to spend time to help make people all over the world see how great a game hockey is," Ovechkin said. "I can't wait to spend time with all the hockey fans there and I hope to meet young kids who will be future NHL players. I can't wait for this trip."

The NHL staged preseason games in China in each of the last two years, but does not have any exhibitions scheduled for 2019.

Ovechkin completed his 14th NHL season in 2018-19 and won his eighth Maurice "Rocket" Richard trophy after scoring 51 goals in 81 games.

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Eric Lindros is all-in on Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander's decision to change his jersey number to 88 next season.

Lindros wore No. 88 throughout his 13-year Hall of Fame career and played 33 games with the Leafs during the 2005-06 season. The Philadelphia Flyers retired the No. 88 in honor of Lindros in January 2018.

Nylander has worn No. 29 for the last three seasons with the Leafs, but took to social media Monday to announce the switch. He even implored fans to have their Nylander jerseys recrested and offered to cover the costs.

The 23-year-old is looking for a bounceback year after recording career lows with seven goals and 27 points in 54 games last season.

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