NHL Metropolitan

Veteran forward Tom Wilson and the Washington Capitals have agreed to terms on a seven-year, $45.5 million contract extension, the franchise announced Friday. The deal will keep him in Washington through the 2030-31 season.

Capitals senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement:

Tom possesses all the intangibles needed to win in this League and we are extremely pleased to sign him to a long-term contract, giving him the opportunity to finish his career in a Capitals' uniform. Throughout his career, Tom has improved every facet of his game through his drive and competitiveness. We feel his work ethic and leadership qualities will be a tremendous asset to our organization for years to come.

Extending Wilson, who was set to enter the final year of his current contract, was a priority for the Capitals this summer. MacLellan said during an end-of-season press conference in April that he wanted the forward "to finish up in Washington."

Wilson also made it known that he had a strong desire to remain with the Capitals while speaking with reporters during his end-of-season press conference in April:

I'm not a guy that's going to play hardball or say that I don't want to be here. Everyone knows I love it here and I want to be here. No matter what happens, I want to help this city win games and I think if…I do my job and we start winning games and the team's playing well, there's not going to be a lot of question marks. You're in the playoffs, playing well, things take care of themselves.

The Capitals selected Wilson in the first round of the 2012 draft and he has been a staple in the team's lineup since making his debut during the 2013-14 campaign.

While Wilson has evolved into a solid offensive contributor over his 10-year career, he has also developed a reputation as one of the toughest players in the NHL as he redefines what it means to play physical.

The 29-year-old had a disappointing 2022-23 season as he missed half of the year while recovering from a torn ACL suffered during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 33 games, he notched 13 goals and nine assists for 22 points and also racked up 78 penalty minutes.

In 680 games across his 10-year career, Wilson has tallied 128 goals and 167 assists for 295 points and a whopping 1,299 penalty minutes.

After missing the playoffs during the 2022-23 season, Wilson and the Capitals are looking to find more success in 2023-24.

Vladimir Tarasenko is headed to Ottawa after the Senators announced on Thursday that they have agreed to terms on a one-year, $5 million contract.

The move comes as somewhat of a surprise as Tarasenko had high praise for the New York Rangers organization following the team's first-round playoff elimination loss to the New Jersey Devils in May and kept the door open for a return.

"I like everything. I cannot say a single bad word about my time. I enjoyed everything… I and my family were taken care of very well. This is one of the top organizations in the league for the players," Tarasenko told reporters.

Tarasenko spent the 2022-23 season split between the St. Louis Blues and the Rangers. The Blues traded him to the Blueshirts at the trade deadline.

The 31-year-old wasn't as effective as he could have been in New York, and that could be a reason why the franchise opted to move on. In 31 games with the Rangers, he tallied eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points, adding three goals and one assist for four points in seven playoff games.

Tarasenko spent 10-and-a-half seasons with the Blues before being traded to the Rangers.

St. Louis selected the Russian in the first round of the 2010 draft, and he emerged as one of the best forwards in franchise history, tallying 262 goals and 291 assists for 553 points in 644 games.

The Blues opted to trade him during the 2022-23 campaign as they were out of playoff contention and wanted to get some assets to accelerate a partial rebuild.

Tarasenko now figures to play a key role for the Senators in 2023-24 and beyond as they aim to win a Stanley Cup for the first time.

The Carolina Hurricanes and center Sebastian Aho reached an eight-year, $78 million contract extension Wednesday.

"Sebastian has developed into one of the best two-way centers in hockey," Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell said in a press release. "He's a tremendous leader on and off the ice who sets a great example for our younger players. We're grateful that he's decided to stay in Carolina for the foreseeable future."

Aho, 26, has spent his entire seven-year career in Carolina. He recorded 67 points (36 goals, 31 assists) last season and is a two-time All-Star.

The Hurricanes have made the playoffs each of the last five seasons, with Aho playing a major role. He's compiled 218 goals and 250 assists in 520 career games, leading the team in scoring in five of the last six seasons. Martin Necas overtook Aho as Carolina's leader in points in 2022-23.

The deal locks in Aho as the team's highest-paid player for the foreseeable future. Andrei Svechnikov is the only other player on the roster who has a long-term contract on the roster averaging more than $5 million.

It's likely Necas will soon follow in signing an extension with restricted free agency facing him next summer, but for now, Aho is the clear franchise face in Carolina.

Former Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers forward Patrick Kane is one of the top players available on the free-agent market this summer, but the star winger is in no rush to sign a deal.

Kane is not expected to sign with a team until the 2023-24 season begins, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. Kane's agent, Pat Brisson, told ESPN he is "very comfortable" waiting things out.

"There's no rush. This is one I'm very comfortable with. I'm very calm," Brisson said. "You could offer me a one-year deal or a two-year deal right now at $7 million or so. I don't even know if I want to entertain it, because it's not what he needs. We'll see, at the right time, how he feels, where he's at, and then we'll take it from there."

Kane, who is an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, underwent a hip resurfacing procedure on June 1 with an expected recovery timeline of four to six months.

Brisson told ESPN he believes the winger will be ready to play by December, at which point he will select the destination "he feels is the best fit and with the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup," per Wyshynski.

Brisson added: "Let's make sure he is 100 percent and that he feels great. Then we can decide where he's going to go. There's going to be plenty of teams doing good, plenty of teams doing bad. There are going to be teams using [long-term injured reserve].

"We'll pick where we want to go. I don't think too many teams will turn him down."

The Blackhawks selected Kane with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft and he spent the first 15 and a half seasons of his career in Chicago, helping the franchise capture three Stanley Cup titles, before being moved to the Rangers at the 2022-23 season's trade deadline.

Kane, who is widely considered one of the best American-born players in NHL history, was always considered a player that could potentially retire with the Blackhawks, but his trade to New York came as part of a massive rebuilding effort in Chicago that resulted in the franchise landing the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, which it used on elite prospect Connor Bedard.

In 1,161 games with the Blackhawks, Kane notched 446 goals and 779 assists for 1,225 points.

The 34-year-old appeared in 19 games for the Rangers last season, amassing five goals and seven assists for 12 points. In seven postseason games against the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the playoffs, he notched one goal and five assists for six points.

When Kane is finally healthy enough to get back on the ice, it's going to be interesting to see what kind of contract he signs and where he will end up. Brisson told ESPN that teams have already called with interest in the veteran, and that likely won't change come winter.

It's safe to say New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes is satisfied with the team's re-signings of Nathan Bastian and Michael McLeod.

Hughes re-posted a photo of Bastian and McLeod to his Instagram story on Saturday with the caption, "boyz (insert heart emojis)."

Bastian agreed to a two-year, $2.7 million deal with the Devils and McLeod signed a one-year, $1.4 million contract with the franchise.

Bastian is coming off a solid 2022-23 season in which he notched six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 43 games. McLeod tallied four goals and 22 assists for 26 points in 80 games.

Both forwards will continue to play depth roles for the Devils in 2023-24 as the franchise aims to win its first Stanley Cup title since 2003.