NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators added depth to an already talented roster by signing veteran defenseman Barret Jackman and forward Cody Hodgson on July 1.

Jackman had spent his entire 13-year career with the St. Louis Blues but felt Nashville was the best fit for him when weighing his options during free agency. He wanted to go somewhere where he had a chance to win the Stanley Cup, and that was the biggest part of his decision in moving his family.

"I think just the chance to win right now," Jackman said. "We've talked about the strength of the defense, the best goalie in the League, and a lot of very exciting, young forwards with a good group of older guys too that are playing very well. I think the style of living, too, is a big draw for me and my family."

COLUMBUS -- The media briefing to introduce the Columbus Blue Jackets' latest signee (no, not Brandon Saad) was attended by the player's Under-18 teammates, his brother, mother, father and another proud "parent."

Ed Gingher, program coordinator and Under-18 coach for the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets, was beaming just as much as Roger and Yuko Sherwood, the parents of Kole Sherwood, who had just agreed to become the first Columbus-born and bred player to sign an NHL contract with the Blue Jackets.

"It's obviously a dream come true to play for the hometown team," Kole Sherwood said Tuesday after he signed an entry-level contract. The 18-year-old is likely to start the season with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League.

Having a player sign with the NHL Blue Jackets has been Gingher's vision since the AAA Blue Jackets were founded 11 years ago to develop elite players in central Ohio.

"It's a special day for Kole and his family, but it's a special day for a lot of young hockey players in Columbus too," Gingher said. "There's been a lot of guys that helped pave the way to get to this point. It's exciting to see the growth that's happened."

The Washington Capitals this offseason have signed a player known for his prowess in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and traded for another who's a proven goal-scorer in the prime of his career.

Despite the additions of forwards Justin Williams and T.J. Oshie, coach Barry Trotz isn't automatically labeling the 2015-16 version of the Capitals as an improvement over the group that took the New York Rangers to overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round last season before being eliminated. Washington held a 3-1 lead in that series.

"We'll have to answer that into next year," Trotz said Tuesday, according to CSNWashington.com. "Just because you bring players in -- in terms of pure talent you think it's an upgrade -- doesn't mean we're going to be a better team because there is a chemistry to it all."

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the midst of reshaping their roster, but center Nazem Kadri is expected to be one of their top six forwards. If they're going to win more games than most expect this season, Kadri is going to have to provide offense consistently.

New coach Mike Babcock said that can be the case.

"I expect him to be an elite player," Babcock said of Kadri earlier this week, according to the Toronto Sun. "His training has to match his skill set. That [goes] for all our guys. You can't take the summer off. I expect our best players to be our hardest-working people and set the tone. Flat-out, I've told them that, they understand that. This is a big two and a half months for all of them."

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- One Arizona Coyotes fan from Canada wanted to know if the team would consider adding more tasty sweets from home to augment the hugely popular Tim Hortons kiosk at Gila River Arena.

Then there was the yoga instructor who instructed coach Dave Tippett to have his players sit up straight on the bench between shifts so they could take in more oxygen and store more energy.

But after more than an hour of questions from the hundreds of fans who attended the Coyotes' annual Town Hall meeting Tuesday, the final questioner seemed to sum up the sentiments of the room.

Phil Kessel landed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the biggest trade of the NHL offseason. Now the focus turns to where in the lineup does he fit best.

Should Kessel, one of the game's purest goal scorers, be on a line with Sidney Crosby or with Evgeni Malkin?

That question already has become arguably the most debated topic of the summer.

The way Kessel plays, the Penguins would have a better chance to get the most out of him if he were on a line with Malkin. That's not a knock on Crosby, but there are myriad reasons Kessel and Malkin could, and likely should, work better than a pairing of Kessel and Crosby.

BOSTON -- Five days after the Boston Bruins traded forward Milan Lucic to the Los Angeles Kings, they signed unrestricted free agent forward Matt Beleskey.

The timing of those moves was impossible to ignore because Lucic was the Bruins' main source of physicality and offensive production at left wing for most of the past eight seasons, and Beleskey was coming off a 22-goal season while playing a similar role for the Anaheim Ducks.

But Beleskey said Tuesday he doesn't expect to be the next Milan Lucic.

"There's pressure, but I think I put more pressure on myself at the start of every year to be better than I was last year," he said at TD Garden. "You know they had big losses. I suppose those are moves they had to make. But I don't think I'm here to fill anyone's spot. I'm here to be Matt Beleskey and play my game. And that's what I'm going to do."

TORONTO -- The kids are pumped and all have visions of cracking the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup this season. As they should.

But Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan repeatedly has said he plans to take things slowly as he attempts to build a team that will be good for a long time. Also, new coach Mike Babcock sees value in young players getting a taste of professional hockey in the minors.

"Patience is the key," assistant general manager Kyle Dubas said Tuesday at Maple Leafs development camp at MasterCard Centre. "We're not going to rush them. We have reiterated that over and over. We're not going to bring them up unless they are absolutely ready to stay up all the time. We want them to be 100 percent ready to play for the Maple Leafs. We don't want them to start with the (Toronto) Marlies (of the American Hockey League), go to the Leafs and then back to the Marlies."

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid put on a show for about 7,300 fans Monday at Rexall Place during a 4-on-4 intrasquad scrimmage for Edmonton Oilers prospects.

The No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft had three goals in two 20-minute halves of 4-on-4 play, then scored two more in seven minutes at 3-on-3, leading his team to an 8-6 win.

The scrimmage, dubbed the Billy Moores Cup after a former Edmonton assistant coach, ended the Oilers' six-day orientation camp.

"It was fun. Anytime you get a chance to play in front of fans like that, it's always exciting," McDavid said. "It was pretty competitive, just with the guys that we had, and they made a lot of great plays out there."

BUFFALO -- When Jack Eichel, the second pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, took his first strides on the ice at First Niagara Center on Monday during the first day of Buffalo Sabres development camp, he was greeted by a chorus of cheers and a line of cameras eager to capture the moment.

"It was pretty cool," he said. "It was definitely kind of a special moment. It was a great feeling to finally be out there, just get skating again. A little bit of rust, but it was just great to be on the ice."

Eichel, who signed his three-year, entry-level contract July 1, was part of the first group of Sabres prospects to take the ice and go through various practice drills with Buffalo coaches. Being greeted by a crowd of more than 1,000 fans didn't catch Eichel off guard.

"Not [surprised] in Buffalo," Eichel said. "I figured that there'd be a lot of people here for a practice open to the public. I'm not surprised at all with the turnout."