On where to start with the amount of work that needs to be done in a short offseason:
"We've already started. I mean, we're already starting to plan. These things don't just come up after the season ends. We've planned for each guy. Each guy that needs a contract, we have that planned out. We have it planned out for a couple years and what our cap will look like and who fits in where, who's going to get what, all those things, so it's just a matter of getting the process rolling with the players' agents and hopefully getting things done sooner than later."
On his biggest priorities of the offseason:
"The biggest priority is signing Kaprizov, signing Ek and signing Fiala."
On upgrading the center position this summer:
"How do you go about it? You make a lot of phone calls and see what's available, who's available and if you're willing to go down certain paths. Do we have to do anything? No, we don't have to do anything. I think we proved this year that if you play asa a team and you have people on each line driving offense, that you don't need that number one guy, you don't need ... like we had success this year. Eventually, yeah, but we're not going to overextend ourselves just to satisfy a public perception that we need a number one center. We're not going to do that."
On his willingness to make trades:
"Like I've said all along, if the right deal comes across the table and it makes sense for our team where we are right now, we'll do it. If I feel it doesn't make sense, I don't feel it's going to make us better now, or more importantly, in the future, to make us a good team for a long time, then we won't do it."
His philosophy on unrestricted free agency, especially in a flat-salary cap world:
"If you get to free agency, it all depends on the deal that you sign the player to. How much money it is, the term, all those things. You can also make some big mistakes if get fixated on something and you have to have it and you'll do whatever it takes to get it. Well, there's a good chance you're going to make a mistake. Like I said, we're preparing for that, we're gonna try not to make any mistakes, we're gonna try to do what we really need to do for right now and for long term. I just think the focus on playing as a team is just as important as going out and getting the sexy free agent."
An update on Wild 2020 first-round pick Marco Rossi:
"He started working out. He's going to start skating Saturday. He's doing very well. Things are looking really good. He seems to be incredibly health and very positive."
On the Expansion Draft:
"We're going to do what we have to do to protect everybody we want to and can and are able to. Of course, we're going to lose somebody that we like because we like everybody and we're going to do the things that we need to do to preserve what we have here and to make our team better for next year and for the future. Side deals are real. I don't know what's going on. I haven't talked to [Kraken General Manager] Ron [Francis], but I'll talk to him and see what they have going on, what their ideas are for us. But, yeah, there's a lot of planning involved and a lot of strategizing and a lot of going through our options."