Atlantic Notes: Tkachuk, Veleno, Chiasson

In a recent appearance on Sportsnet 590 (audio link), Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk indicated that he is almost back to normal as he works his way back from a fractured sternum sustained during the playoffs.  At this point, he’s expected to be fully ready for training camp.  Tkachuk had a dominant first season in Florida, collecting 40 goals and 69 assists in 79 games, good for seventh in NHL scoring.  He followed that up with 24 points in 20 playoff contests, leading all Eastern Conference players in that department.

More from the Atlantic:

• One of the items still on Detroit’s to-do list this summer is re-signing center Joe Veleno. Max Bultman of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that Ducks middleman Isac Lundestrom, a fellow 2018 first-rounder might be a good comparable.  Last summer, Lundestrom inked a two-year, $3.6MM deal coming off a similar platform year and fairly close career numbers.  Veleno is coming off a nine-goal, 20-point campaign so $1.8MM might be a bit on the high side but a bridge deal in that range would make sense for both sides.
• Still with Detroit, MLive’s Ansar Khan notes that the Red Wings expressed interest in re-signing Alex Chiasson at the beginning of free agency but were only offering a two-way deal at that time. The 32-year-old spent a good portion of last season on a tryout deal with AHL Grand Rapids and was productive, notching 20 points in 29 games.  That got his contract converted to an NHL agreement down the stretch where he picked up six goals and three assists in 20 contests.  Chiasson, a veteran of 651 NHL games, is no stranger to tryout routes and he may have to go that away again in the fall if he wants a shot at securing a one-way NHL agreement.