Kris Letang is a star defenseman, but some tweaks to his game could make him a superstar.

The oft-injured Pittsburgh Penguins blue-liner is an elite puck mover, but his knack of running the risky play comes a little too often, says coach Mike Sullivan.

"We would like him to recognize those situations when he might have to use the glass and make a simple play and not put himself in vulnerable situations," Sullivan told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "He's a courageous kid. He's brave. That's part of what makes him as good as he is. And there's going to be opportunities where he's going to have to take hits for us to make plays. We don't want him to change that aspect of his game."

In other words, sometimes it's better for Letang to make the more calculated decision, to chip-and-chase, rather than making a sacrificial play. Minimizing his contact with opponents would be an added bonus as well, after Letang was limited to 41 games last season.

Neck surgery then sidelined Letang for the Penguins' entire Stanley Cup run.

"We're trying to help him recognize those situations," Sullivan added. "I hope, with the amount of time he missed last year and watching the playoffs from the press box, spending some time with (coach) Sergei Gonchar in the press box, that it gives him a whole different vantage point as far as how he sees the game.

"I hope that experience serves him well. I think it will. We've talked about it, and we'll continue to talk about it. Obviously we want to keep him on the ice as often as we can."

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Kris Letang has been given the green light.

On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins blue-liner was medically cleared to join the team's training camp, five months after he underwent neck surgery.

The 30-year-old was sidelined for the Penguins' entire Stanley Cup run. He also battled injuries through the regular season and was limited to just 41 games.

It's safe to say that Letang is antsy to get back on the ice.

"He wants to play 40 minutes a game, but I think the coaches will just take it a day or a week or a game at a time and see where it goes," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford told Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com. "I would suspect that he would probably ease his way into the preseason and then go from there."

Penguins training camp officially opens Sept. 15, while the team's first exhibition game comes four days later against the Buffalo Sabres.

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There will be no holdout in the Mile High City.

That's certainly the expectation of Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic, who told Adrian Dater of BSN Denver that despite Matt Duchene staying put this offseason, he is still to show up to the team's training camp.

"He's under contract and I expect him to be here on the 14th," Sakic told Dater. "He doesn't have to be here until the 14th. Not everybody always comes to camp early. It's not for me to (say), but I assume on the 14th, he'll be here."

Duchene made headlines last week when he did not take part in an optional pre-camp captain's practice. Further pressing the issue was that Duchene was just one of two Avalanche players not to attend - the other being Nathan MacKinnon, who was in Manhattan covering NHL media tour duties.

"I talked a little bit with Dutchy. He's not here; that's not a secret," Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog told Mike Chambers of The Denver Post last week. "But we'll have to wait and see. As of right now, he's a part of the Avalanche organization and we all expect him to be here when training camp starts. I don't really know what else to tell you right now."

Asked whether Duchene intends to report to camp, his agent, Pat Brisson, was non-committal, telling Dater: "I don't have much to say at this point."

Duchene's name has swirled in trade rumors since early January, but in the ensuring months the Avalanche haven't found a deal to their liking. Nor does it appear Sakic has changed his stance on waiting for the right deal to come to fruition.

"We're going in a direction," Sakic added. "We're building this thing up, and whatever we can do to help our building process, we're going to do."

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Evgeny Dadonov of the Florida Panthers and Vadim Shipachyov of the Vegas Golden Knights were the two prized free-agent acquisitions to come over from the KHL this offseason.

Dadonov, 28, and Shipachyov, 30, skated with league champion St. Petersburg SKA last year - here's how they stacked up:

As you can see, Shipachyov, a 6-foot center, is more of a playmaker, while Dadonov, a 5-foot-9 right winger, has more of a shoot-first mentality.

For comparison's sake, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin had 26 goals and 62 points in 54 games during his final year in the KHL (also for St. Petersburg SKA) before signing with the Chicago Blackhawks before the 2015-16 season.

Worth the risk, but not the reach

As two of the KHL's most dynamic offensive players a year ago, it goes without saying that both Dadonov and Shipachyov have the potential to make a significant fantasy impact in 2017-18.

Luckily, neither will require a high draft pick to obtain their services. If you can nab them beyond Round 13 or 14, it's well worth the risk. On the other hand, it would be a major reach to select either before Round 12.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Dadonov > Shipyachov

If both Dadonov and Shipachyov are sitting atop your board in the later rounds, take the former first - there's a much higher probability of him excelling.

Dadonov returns to North America with 55 games of NHL experience already under his belt after suiting up with the Panthers from 2009-12. He also has 155 games of AHL experience, making him better equipped for the transition compared to Shipachyov, who's spent his entire career in Russia.

Dadonov also has a huge advantage based on his position, as it is generally easier to transition to the NHL as a winger than a center, where there is more defensive responsibility.

Furthermore, Dadonov could very well find himself on a line with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, while Shipachyov will have less talent around him on the expansion Golden Knights.

Prediction

Dadonov: 27 goals, 30 assists, 57 points, 208 shots

Shipachyov: 14 goals, 39 assists, 53 points, 146 shots

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The U.S. women's hockey team is stuck near Tampa Bay, Florida, with Hurricane Irma expected to hit the area around Sunday afternoon, according to USA TODAY Sports.

USA Hockey's decision not to evacuate the team has drawn heavy criticism from some of the players' agents.

"Six months out from the Olympics why would you put your best athletes through the stress of a hurricane?" agent Brant Feldman told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday.

Irma is supposed to hit the Tampa Bay area directly, with winds expected to reach 75 mph.

The American players have been training in Wesley Chapel, which is about 25 miles north of downtown Tampa.

USA Hockey said in a statement that the team wasn't located in an evacuation zone, officials have been in "regular communication with local authorities," and "arrangements are in place to move to an evacuation center if necessary."

Given that Irma is already a category 3 storm that's expected to strengthen, it's easy to wonder what USA Hockey deems as "necessary."

"I wish my clients well and hope for their health and well being as they ride out a hurricane 3 or 4 because they weren't evacuated," Feldman said.

Numerous sporting events across the state, including MLB games, NHL camps, and college football games, have since been relocated to other venues or postponed, so it's no surprise Feldman is irate.

"All of these men's teams evacuated, why isn't the women's team evacuated?" Feldman said. "Is it because they are just girls ... to me this is stupid, they are our Olympic team."

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Sometimes opposites attract, but it appears the free-spirited, easy-going Drew Doughty and the stern, old-school Darryl Sutter didn't always see eye-to-eye while the latter was head coach of the Los Angeles Kings.

In the offseason, the Kings fired head coach Sutter and general manager Dean Lombardi, who were running the show during the Kings' two Stanley Cup victories.

"Dean and Darryl were great for the organization and great for me as a player," Doughty told Matt Larkin of The Hockey News. "I love them so much. They're awesome. At the same time, it was necessary to make a change, I'm not saying that Dean should have been gone, but we needed a coaching change, and we made great decisions there."

It's rare that NHL players would blatantly state their agreement with a head coach's firing, but then again, Doughty is no ordinary NHLer. He's known as someone who comes to the rink relaxed, joking, and having fun.

"Drew can come to the rink and be relaxed and joking around, but he’s ready. He has a routine of preparedness. That’s the way he gets ready," said Sutters' replacement, John Stevens, who's been on the Kings' coaching staff since 2010. "When he gets to the rink, he’s not rushing around trying to get ready. He's totally relaxed. He goes about his business, he has fun, he's got a routine that he does. He's totally ready to go, whereas other players, they couldn't do that."

This relaxed method of preparation didn't sit too well with the hard-nosed Sutter.

"I shouldn't say Darryl (Sutter) didn’t like it, but he definitely would have liked me to be more serious in certain situations," Doughty said. "But I just can't play the game that way. I like that I have fun playing the game ..."

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Doughty's creative, offensive-minded - yet sometimes unconventional - style of play can be frustrating for a head coach, but it's also a major reason why he's been a Norris Trophy finalist three times, winning the award in 2015-16.

Even though a player of Doughty's caliber might have more leeway with coaches than other players, Sutter wasn't always an easy person with whom to communicate.

"Darryl's an awesome coach, and I absolutely love him," Doughty said. "He's awesome for me. He taught me a lot of things as well. But if there is a problem with the team, or if you had a problem with Darryl, you'd be intimidated to go knock on his door and say, 'Hey Darryl, I don't like this or I don't like that.'"

Regardless of who's coaching, or what team he's playing for, Doughty - an unrestricted free agent after the 2018-19 season - has one goal in mind moving forward: winning.

"My first love will always be L.A.," said the Toronto native, who grew up a Kings fan because of Wayne Gretzky. "It's one of the best organizations in all of sports, not just hockey. It's unbelievable. They treat us first-class, and it's a good place to play. Living in Los Angeles, you can't beat it. I'd love to re-sign in L.A. But if our team isn't going in the right direction ... I want to win Cups. I don't give a s--- where I play. I just want to win Cups, and that’s the bottom line."

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In what could be his final season as a member of the New York Rangers, Rick Nash is prepared to give it his all.

Nash admitted he'll be playing for his next deal as he heads toward free agency at age 34 next summer.

"Every year I want to have the best year possible. But this year, it’s an important year for me personally," Nash said Friday at Citi Field during an event promoting the Winter Classic, per Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News.

"Your contract’s up and you play for another contract. That’s what I’m facing this year."

Related: 5 overpaid players who have to produce

Nash did score a career-high 42 goals in 2014-15, but has struggled to remain healthy and hit the back of the net on a consistent basis since. In 2015-16, he scored only 15 goals in 60 games, but rebounded slightly last season, recording 23 goals in 67 games.

In order to have a healthy measure of term and valuation on his next deal, he'll need to stay on the ice and score with vintage regularity.

And lest he be labeled as selfish, Nash continues to consider team goals as well.

"It’s an important year for the Rangers, too. We still haven’t achieved that goal (winning the Stanley Cup) that we all want to achieve."

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Bo Horvat believes the Vancouver Canucks will surely be rewarded for the investment made in him on his new deal.

The 22-year-old center signed a six-year, $33-million contract with the club Friday, and, despite leading the team in scoring last season, Horvat feels like he's just starting to find his stride.

"I think them signing me to a long-term deal means that they they have a lot of support for me and they believe in me," Horvat said Friday, per Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre. "I’m really humbled by that and, obviously, I respect them for that.

"I think I’m just scratching the surface. I’ve only been in the league three years. These next six years is where I can really step up my game and prove myself."

The Canucks, like Horvat, are planning on having better days ahead after a rough past few seasons. For his part, Horvat believes a somewhat roller coaster-like entry into the NHL will serve him well.

"I feel pretty confident in this group and myself that I’ll be a big part of this team for a while," he said. "I’ve been through a lot in my first three years: just getting drafted for Cory Schneider (who was traded to New Jersey at the 2013 Draft), going through a 27-game goal slump, starting on the fourth line last year.

"I’ve been through a lot already. It was a mental grind. I feel I’m ready for this."

"This" as in serving as one of the faces of the franchise, especially with the futures of the Sedin twins not set in stone past this season.

Horvat has averaged 0.51 points per game over his first three seasons.

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