NHL Summer Buzz: Tavares to meet with at least six teams

Welcome to the NHL Summer Buzz. With the 2018 NHL Draft over and the beginning of free agency on July 1, the 31 NHL teams are making moves to shape their rosters for the 2018-19 season.
Here's a look around the League at the latest doings for Monday:

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Tavares set to start interview process

The sweepstakes for pending unrestricted free agent John Tavares are about to hit full swing, with the New York Islanders captain set to meet with
at least six teams
this week in Los Angeles prior to the start of free agency on July 1.
TSN and The Athletic reported Tavares, 27, will meet with the Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, as well as the Islanders. They also reported Tavares could talk to two or three other teams on the phone and possibly meet with one or two of them.
The maximum contract he can receive from any team other than the Islanders is seven years; New York can offer him eight years and can sign him at any time.

Hellebuyck, Nylander, Zucker among those receiving qualifying offers

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a Vezina Trophy finalist, was among 12 pending restricted free agents to receive a qualifying offer from the Winnipeg Jets before the 5 p.m. ET deadline Monday. Teams extending offers have the right of first refusal to match any offer sheets from competing teams and officially retain negotiating rights with the player.
Hellebuyck set an NHL record for wins by a U.S.-born goaltender with 44 and helped the Jets reach the Western Conference Final for the first time.
Defensemen Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey also received offers, as did forwards Joel Armia, Adam Lowry and Brandon Tanev.
Forward William Nylander was one of six pending restricted free agents to receive a qualifying offer from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Nylander, 22, was third on the Maple Leafs in scoring this season with 61 points (20 goals, 41 assists).

The Minnesota Wild made qualifying offers to three players, including forward Jason Zucker, who scored 33 goals this season. Defensemen Matt Dumba and Nick Seeler also received offers.
Center Brock Nelson and defenseman Ryan Pulock were among six players to receive qualifying offers from the New York Islanders. Nelson has scored 85 goals in the past four seasons, including 19 in 2017-18, and Pulock led all rookie defensemen with 10 goals.
The Washington Capitals made offers to five players, including forward Tom Wilson, who played on the first line during much of their run to the Stanley Cup. Forward Devante Smith-Pelly, who scored three goals in the Cup Final and seven in the playoffs, did not receive an offer. However, the Capitals said they are still negotiating with him.
Defenseman Noah Hanifin and forward Elias Lindholm, acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes in a trade Saturday, were two of nine players to receive offers from the Calgary Flames. Goaltender Jon Gillies and forward Mark Jankowski also received offers.
The Tampa Bay Lightning made qualifying offers to four players: forwards J.T. Miller, Cedric Paquette and Adam Erne, and defenseman Slater Koekkoek.
Forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Boone Jenner received qualifying offers from the Columbus Blue Jackets, as did defenseman Ryan Murray.
Forward Tobias Rieder did not receive a qualifying offer from the Los Angeles Kings and will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The Kings did extend offers to three defensemen: Paul LaDue,
Kurtis MacDermid
and Alex Lintuniemi.
The Philadelphia Flyers made offers to seven players, including goaltenders
Alex Lyon
and
Anthony Stolarz
, but didn't make one to goaltender Petr Mrazek.

Penguins could bring back Kunitz

The Piitsburgh Post-Gazette reported forward Chris Kunitz is drawing interest from the Pittsburgh Penguins after playing this season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kunitz, 38, played with Pittsburgh from 2009-17, winning the Stanley Cup three times (2009, 2016 and 2017), before signing a one-year, $2 million contract with the Lightning on July 1, 2017.
Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said last week he is not interested in re-signing Kunitz, who had 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) this season.

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Nash eyes possible Blue Jackets reunion

Forward Rick Nash, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, has his first NHL team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, at the top of his list of possible destinations, according to The Athletic.
Nash, selected No. 1 by the Blue Jackets in the 2002 NHL Draft, played nine seasons in Columbus before being traded to the New York Rangers on July 23, 2012. Nash, who has 805 points (437 goals, 368 assists) in 1,060 NHL games, was traded by the Rangers to the Boston Bruins on Feb. 25.
The Athletic reported Nash could also return to Boston, which lost out on forward Ilya Kovalchuk when he agreed to a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. The Bruins are one of six teams reportedly meeting with Tavares this week.