NHL Player News

Ellis' camp is actively involved in contract negotiations with the Predators regarding an extension, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

Predators GM David Poile added, "Ryan just got married, so we'd like to give him a gift." Ellis' presence in Nashville over the past seven years has been a present for the Western Conference club. The industrious two-way rearguard has accumulated 55 goals, 118 assists and a plus-76 rating to complement heavy defensive totals -- including a plus-76 rating, 302 hits and 558 blocked shots -- over 396 career NHL contests. An alternate captain, Ellis will certainly command a big payday after securing $2.5 million AAV over a five-year deal that he procured in October of 2014.

Suter (ankle) is confident he'll be ready for training camp, The Athletic's Michael Russo reports.

Suter suffered a fractured ankle March 31 against the Stars, an injury which kept him sidelined for the final week of the regular season as well as the entirety of the Wild's first-round series against Winnipeg, but his latest CT scan reportedly "looked good," which is why the 33-year-old blueliner is still confident he'll be a full participant in training camp. That's great news for Suter and fantasy owners alike, as it suggests he'll have plenty of time to get back to full strength ahead of the regular-season opener Oct. 4 against the Avalanche. The 2003 first-round pick was highly productive in 2017-18, potting six goals while tying his career high of 51 points in 78 games, and he will remain a top option at his position this season.

Chychrun (knee) has been given medical clearance to resume skating and his return to the ice is imminent, Craig Morgan of NHL.com reports.

We heard this same story from GM John Chayka a month ago, but the defenseman is now 17 weeks removed from knee surgery. It's a bummer to see any player injured -- let alone the 2016 first-rounder (16th overall pick) -- but his immense potential still seems to outweigh the perceived risks in drafting him in the late rounds. Chychrun has accumulated 11 goals, 23 assists and six power-play points over his first 118 contests in the NHL.

Ceci was awarded a one-year contract with the Senators worth $4.3 million through arbitration.

The 2012 first-round (15th overall) draft pick had his contract settled following a 19-point (five goals, 14 assists) season in a full 82 games. In 2017-18, Ceci set career marks in ice time (23:20 per game), hits (163), blocked shots (171) and power-play points (five assists). He also saw his ice time on the penalty kill expand to a career-high 2:46 per game.

Bogosian says he's recovered from season-ending hip surgery and will be ready to go for Buffalo's preseason activities, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports. "I needed to get it fixed and we decided to be proactive about it because we knew it would be a long time," said the veteran blueliner. "There's never any great time for surgery, but I'm glad to have it done when I did. I'm having a great summer of training now."

Bogosian has been with the Sabres for three full seasons and has never played in more than 64 games, while playing in just 18 last season. Although he's only reached the 30-point mark once in his eight NHL seasons, at least he'll enter the new campaign in good health, while Harrington states there's a decent chance he'll end up paired with future superstar Rasmus Dahlin. While Dahlin and Rasmus Ristolainen are the two Buffalo blueliners to look toward for offensive production, a better campaign out of Bogosian can only help the Sabres climb out of their recent doldrums. Oddly enough, the team traded for Jeff Skinner on Thursday, so between Skinner and Bogosian the Sabres now have the NHL's two longest tenured players to have never appeared in a postseason game.

Nemeth (shoulder) re-signed with Colorado on a one-year deal worth $2.5 million on Thursday.

The significant uptick in pay was well deserved for the stay-at-home defenseman, as he ranked fourth among all blueliners with a plus-27 rating in 2017-18. Nemeth also led Colorado in blocked shots (185), while setting career marks in goals (3), assists (12), and games played (68).

Hagg signed a two-year, $2.3 million deal with the Flyers on Wednesday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.

Hagg got his first real taste of NHL action last season, notching 70 games for Philadelphia. The 23-year-old averaged 18:08 per game and picked up nine points. Hagg could find himself in line for a bigger role with the Flyers this year, and it seems unlikely he will be going anywhere anytime soon. However, he will need to take a step forward offensively before he can really help fantasy owners.

Skjei agreed to a six-year, $31.25 million contract extension with the Rangers on Saturday, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports.

Skjei -- who stuffed four goals and 21 assists against a minus-27 rating last season -- avoids arbitration with this multi-year contract renewal. No team had a worse shots-on-goal differential than the Rangers based on an egregious minus-360 value, so it'll be up to guys like Skjei and Kevin Shattenkirk (knee) to lead the charge on the blue line as the team rebuilds.

Karlsson, who has been working on strengthening his surgically repaired ankle this offseason, believes "he is going to be as good as ever," The Athletic reports.

Karlsson has been the subject of various trade rumors this offseason, though he's been tight-lipped about the progress of any contract talks that his camp may have had thus far. The star defenseman -- who has notched 518 points (126 goals, 392 assists) over 627 career games with the Senators -- added that the extra time afforded to him by missing the playoffs helped him focus on rehabbing the ankle injury that required surgery 13 months ago. When asked how the ankle feels, Karlsson said, "110 (percent) probably. It's that good."

Weegar and the Panthers settled on a one-year contract extension for the defenseman Wednesday.

The value of this contract is pending, but Weegar filed for salary arbitration, so we're assuming that he received a raise compared to the $800,000 AAV on his last three-year deal. Florida's seventh-round (206th overall) draft pick from 2013 produced eight points, 108 hits and 69 blocked shots to complement a plus-5 rating over 60 games last year. Picking up consistent playing time will be key for Weegar in 2018-19.