Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland expects Connor McDavid to be ready for the start of training camp after suffering a knee injury in the team's regular-season finale in April.

"He's doing good," Holland said, according to the team. "I've seen him twice this week ... he's rehabbing.

"I expect to see him on the ice at training camp. Working very closely with our medical team and the medical people that he's got in Toronto to make sure he's getting the best care possible. He's in great spirits."

McDavid injured his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) after crashing into the post at nearly full speed but didn't require surgery.

The 22-year-old is coming off a career 116-point season, and his 324 points over the last three campaigns leads all players.

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The San Jose Sharks are continuing to work on a contract extension for unrestricted free agent Erik Karlsson, according to The Athletic's Kevin Kurz.

The Sharks are the only team that can offer Karlsson a term of eight years. Once July 1 passes and the free-agent signing period begins, the maximum term the 29-year-old can get elsewhere is seven years.

With $24.7 million in projected cap space, the Sharks can make it work, but will have some important decisions to make this offseason.

Veteran forwards Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Gustav Nyquist, and Joonas Donskoi are all unrestricted free agents, and young talents Kevin Labanc and Timo Meier are coming off their entry-level contracts, putting them in line for their first big-league deals.

Karlsson battled a pair of groin injuries over the latter half of the year and underwent successful surgery May 31.

It was reported earlier this month that Karlsson is hopeful to receive competitive offers from the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens because his wife would like to live closer to family.

The 6-foot rearguard recorded 45 points in 53 games in his first season with San Jose and added 16 points in 19 playoff games.

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Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night set a record with nearly nine million people tuning in, making it the most-watched NHL game ever, according to NBC Sports PR.

The term “on record” refers to the current Nielsen measuring system, which began in 1994.

Game 7 also pushed 11 markets to either the area's best or second-best rating for a game not including the home team.

The do-or-die contest's viewership peaked at 10.4 million, and it was also the most-streamed NHL game ever.

Overall, the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged a total audience delivery of 1.530 million viewers, ranking as the most-watched NHL postseason in 23 years.

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Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.

In this episode, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic joins John to discuss a variety of topics, including:

• Takeaways from the Blues' Cup win
• Jack Hughes versus Kaapo Kakko
• First-round prospect tiers
• Potential draft "sleepers"
• Destinations for goalie Spencer Knight

... and more!

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The Edmonton Oilers have interest in Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

The Leafs and Zaitsev have been working together to find the right-handed blue-liner a new home for personal and private reasons. The Vancouver Canucks reportedly contacted Toronto about his services already.

Zaitsev found success with the Leafs during his 36-point rookie season in 2016-17. Former general manager Lou Lamoriello then rewarded him with a seven-year deal carrying a $4.5-million cap hit. But the Russian hasn't been able to find his offensive form since signing his extension, tallying 27 points in 141 games over the last two seasons.

The 27-year-old has been deployed primarily in a defensive role over the last two years and managed to form a respectable shutdown pairing with Jake Muzzin down the stretch this past season.

Zaitsev has a 10-team no-trade list that takes effect on July 1, so there's an incentive for the Maple Leafs to move him as soon as possible.

The Oilers have just $9.83 million in cap space this summer, according to CapFriendly. Adam Larsson, Matt Benning, Ethan Bear, Ryan Mantha, and 2018 first-rounder Evan Bouchard currently comprise the organization's depth chart for right-shooting defensemen.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets named former captain Rick Nash as a special assistant to the general manager Thursday.

Nash retired from his playing career in January due to unresolved concussion issues.

The 34-year-old will assist the club's hockey operations department in a variety of matters including player evaluations, prospect development, and player recruitment.

Nash spent the first nine seasons of his career in Columbus after the Blue Jackets selected him first overall in 2002 during the franchise's third NHL draft. He remains the team's all-time leader in games played, goals, assists, points, and several other key statistics.

One of the premier power forwards of his era, Nash was a co-winner of the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy during the 2003-04 season, tying Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk for the league lead with 41 goals in his second NHL campaign. He'd go on to score at least 30 goals in a season seven more times during his career.

"Rick is the most decorated player in Blue Jackets history and was one of the game's most respected players during a career that included multiple All-Star Games, Olympic and World Championship gold medals, and a Stanley Cup Final appearance," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "He cares deeply about the Blue Jackets and the city of Columbus and will be a great addition to our organization."

The Blue Jackets made several other changes to their front office. Bill Zito has been promoted to senior vice president of hockey operations, associate general manager, and alternate governor. Basil McRae and Josh Flynn were both promoted and are now assistant general managers, while Chris Clark was promoted to director of player personnel.

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Brad Marchand was brilliant during the Boston Bruins' postseason run, leading the team with 23 points, but a mental error in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final swung momentum in the St. Louis Blues' direction.

With the Bruins trailing 1-0, Jaden Schwartz crossed the blue line and chipped the puck past a flat-footed Marchand, who immediately went for a line change with just 10 seconds left in the opening frame. Alex Pietrangelo found a crack in the defense, took a pass from Schwartz, and scored to give the Blues a two-goal lead.

Had Marchand simply stayed on the ice for the last 10 seconds of the period, he likely would've been able to cover Pietrangelo.

"I don't know, they chipped it in. I thought that (Jaden Schwartz) was by himself, so I went for a change, and a couple more guys jumped up on the play," a teary-eyed Marchand told NBC Sports' Joe Haggerty after the game. "I didn't see the replay, but yeah."

The Bruins were outshooting the Blues 12-3 prior to Pietrangelo's marker and trailed by only a single goal; had they prevented St. Louis' late first-period tally, they would've entered the second period with a fair share of the momentum on home ice.

Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy agreed the goal shifted the game in the Blues' favor. He didn't single out Marchand but said there was a "missed assignment" on the play.

“The second (goal) we just didn't manage the puck. We kind of missed an assignment and they made a play," Cassidy said. "A nice play by Pietrangelo but you're probably (talking) a different game if it's 1-0 coming out of the first, I do believe that.

"I'm not saying that we would have won or we would have lost. I'm not a mind reader. But I do believe that it gave them a lot of juice for a period that they, you know if they looked at it objectively, probably felt or should have felt that they got outplayed, but they're up 2-0 on the scoreboard. That's all that matters."

Marchand was one of the more emotional Bruins players after the defeat, saying he'd "never get over" the Game 7 loss.

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Brad Marchand was brilliant during the Boston Bruins' postseason run, leading the team with 23 points, but a mental error in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final swung momentum in the St. Louis Blues' direction.

With the Bruins trailing 1-0, Jaden Schwartz crossed the blue line and chipped the puck past a flat-footed Marchand, who immediately went for a line change with just 10 seconds left in the opening frame. Alex Pietrangelo found a crack in the defense, took a pass from Schwartz, and scored to give the Blues a two-goal lead.

Had Marchand simply stayed on the ice for the last 10 seconds of the period, he likely would've been able to cover Pietrangelo.

"I don't know, they chipped it in. I thought that (Jaden Schwartz) was by himself, so I went for a change, and a couple more guys jumped up on the play," a teary-eyed Marchand told NBC Sports' Joe Haggerty after the game. "I didn't see the replay, but yeah."

The Bruins were outshooting the Blues 12-3 prior to Pietrangelo's marker and trailed by only a single goal; had they prevented St. Louis' late first-period tally, they would've entered the second period with a fair share of the momentum on home ice.

Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy agreed the goal shifted the game in the Blues' favor. He didn't single out Marchand but said there was a "missed assignment" on the play.

“The second (goal) we just didn't manage the puck. We kind of missed an assignment and they made a play," Cassidy said. "A nice play by Pietrangelo but you're probably (talking) a different game if it's 1-0 coming out of the first, I do believe that.

"I'm not saying that we would have won or we would have lost. I'm not a mind reader. But I do believe that it gave them a lot of juice for a period that they, you know if they looked at it objectively, probably felt or should have felt that they got outplayed, but they're up 2-0 on the scoreboard. That's all that matters."

Marchand was one of the more emotional Bruins players after the defeat, saying he'd "never get over" the Game 7 loss.

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