Warning: Video contains coarse language

Alex Ovechkin's summer with the Stanley Cup has sadly come to an end.

After bringing the chalice back to his hometown of Moscow for a few final days of partying, the Washington Capitals captain had some parting words before officially passing it off to teammate Michal Kempny.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

For the Ottawa Senators and their fans, disaster has been inescapable over the past 12 months.

Through the hardships, one final blow remains, as captain Erik Karlsson's departure from the organization via trade before the start of the 2018-19 season is inevitable. The deal, one would think, will help stock the cupboards for the Senators' future with a handful of nice assets, which is about all Ottawa can hope for at this point.

Beyond the ongoing Karlsson saga, which, in fairness, is a colossal league-wide storyline, the Senators have another key piece of business to take care of this summer: signing Mark Stone.

Stone was one of 44 restricted free agents to file for arbitration Thursday, and is by far the most talented member on the list. At 26 years old, Stone is only one year away from becoming an unrestricted free agent, meaning he can only get a one-year contract if he goes to arbitration.

Surely, the Senators want to avoid that scenario, and while a high number of players filed this offseason, it's rare for these cases to ever reach the point of arbitration. Last year, Nate Schmidt and the Vegas Golden Knights were the only case out of 30 to require a third-party negotiator.

With that in mind, let's assume Stone and the Sens strike a long-term deal, and try to map out what kind of salary the star winger just might fetch.

The player

Injuries limited Stone to just 58 games in 2017-18, yet he finished tie atop the Senators' scoring list alongside Karlsson with 62 points, and averaged more than 20:40 of ice time per contest - the highest mark of all right wingers across the league.

Stone's high usage can be attributed to his effectiveness at both ends of the ice, as he's evolved into one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL. Despite missing 24 games, Stone ranked fourth at his position with 59 takeaways.

On offense, 62 points is just two off his career high, set in 2014-15. Among all Senators skaters, Stone ranked third with a 4.68 Corsi relative to his teammates at five-on-five despite Ottawa ranking 30th in possession at 47.12 percent. Elsewhere, Stone ranked eighth in the league in five-on-five points per 60 minutes (2.68), and his primary point rate (goals and first assists) per 60 of 1.93 puts him in equal to Leon Draisiatl, and ahead of players like Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Artemi Panarin, and MVP Taylor Hall. Certainly not terrible company to keep.

The team

What else is there really to say about the organization at this point? Be it Eugene Melnyk's threat to relocate the team during a weekend they were in the national spotlight, or harassment charges against assistant general manager Randy Lee, it's been an eternity since any good news came out of Ottawa.

A new deal for Stone is a chance to get things turning in the right direction. Once Karlsson is out of town, Stone is the best player on the Sens' roster, and will serve as the main piece of the team's core. In February, Stone said he wants to be part of Ottawa's long-term solution, but much has changed since then, and there's assuredly no quick fix to the hole the club has managed to dig itself into.

The Senators will ice a lousy roster in 2018-19, and any hopes at the Jack Hughes lottery were dashed when they decided to hold onto this year's pick, No. 4 overall, to take Brady Tkachuk - who will likely spend another season at Boston University come fall.

Ottawa can't sell him on the strength of his surrounding personnel, but Stone has been carrying an incredibly team-friendly cap hit of $3.5 million for the past three seasons, and it's unlikely he'll be willing to forego loads of guaranteed money at his age just for the chance to walk as a UFA next summer. General manager Pierre Dorion can use promised dollars to his advantage, as the Senators are nowhere near the cap ceiling, but doing so in a manner that keeps Stone happy should be priority No. 1 once negotiations get underway.

Comparables

Here's a look at some prominent right wingers to sign long-term contracts (not including those coming off entry-level deals) over the last three years, and how Stone stacks up.

Through 307 games in his NHL career, Stone stands at 0.81 points per game, out-producing all players on the list above. With the exception of Voracek, he'll also be younger than each of his comparables at his time of signing.

The number

Considering Stone's career production and value at both ends of the ice, the Senators' financial flexibility and need for something positive inside the organization, along with the market of winger contracts across the league, it's fair to assume Stone will soon be paid among the league's elite.

Only six right wingers currently have a cap hit of over $7 million, and Stone is poised to become the seventh. A multi-year deal with an annual payment of anywhere between $7.5 million to $8.5 million would be more than suitable for both sides as they embark on a new era in Ottawa.

(Photos Courtesy: Getty Images)
(Advanced Stats Courtesy: Corsica)

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The St. Louis Blues continue to stock up at the forward position.

According to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, unrestricted free agent Patrick Maroon and the Blues are expected to reach an agreement on a contract. No word yet on terms.

In the 2017-18 season, Maroon split his time between the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers, contributing a total of 17 goals and 26 assists in 74 games. The St. Louis native's production topped out the year prior, with 27 goals.

Blues GM Doug Armstrong has been a busy man over the past week. He signed UFAs Tyler Bozak and David Perron, and traded for Ryan O'Reilly in an effort to revamp his forward group.

Maroon, 30, was arguably the top UFA remaining on the market.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The San Jose Sharks re-signed defenseman Dylan DeMelo to a one-year contact worth $900,000, according to TVA Sports' Renaud Lavoie.

DeMelo was previously non-tendered by the Sharks, which granted him unrestricted status and freed him to sign with any team.

The 25-year-old suited up for 63 games with the Sharks this past season, collecting 20 assists while failing to score a goal. He'll likely compete for ice time with Tim Heed on the team's third defensive pairing.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Golden Knights locked up a key member of their core Saturday.

Vegas signed defenseman Colin Miller to a four-year contract extension with an average annual value of $3.875 million, the team announced.

The contract includes a modified no-trade clause in the final two years, according to Cap Friendly.

Miller was a restricted free agent and had filed for salary arbitration before signing the new deal.

The 25-year-old was one of many Golden Knights to flourish with an expanded role this past season, scoring 10 goals and collecting 41 points - both of which led the team's blue line.

Miller spent the previous two years of his career with the Boston Bruins, who were overloaded on the right side of their blue line with Brandon Carlo, Adam McQuaid, Kevan Miller, and now Charlie McAvoy. With the Bruins, he totaled just 29 points in 103 games with an average time on ice of 15:48.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.