from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

- Leon Draisaitl’s contract will expire on July 1. Connor McDavid, meanwhile, has one more year on his entry-level deal. Even so, Draisaitl will have to wait until his captain re-ups before he finalizes his extension with Edmonton. McDavid, appropriately, is the Oilers’ priority, even if the timing isn’t critical. Soon after July 1, the first date he’s eligible to re-sign, McDavid will put pen to paper on an eight-year extension at megabucks money. Only then will Edmonton turn to Draisaitl, whose deal will not be cheap, even compared with McDavid’s. The wide-shouldered forward — coach Todd McLellan can use him as McDavid’s right wing or as the No. 2 center — has a first-line ceiling. Draisaitl scored 29 goals and 48 assists in 82 games, then followed it up with 16 points in the playoffs. GM Peter Chiarelli has pledged to match if any rival signs Draisaitl to an offer sheet.

- Dion Phaneuf’s seven-year, $49 million contract does not expire until 2021. Four more seasons of Phaneuf’s play at $7 million annually, however, do not seem as odious as before. The 32-year-old remains overpaid, but the left-shot defenseman is no longer the albatross of earlier. Phaneuf has been a very good fit in Senators coach Guy Boucher’s 1-3-1 system, which has him playing a defined shutdown role. One of Phaneuf’s baffling tendencies in Toronto was to roam and strand himself more than Thurston Howell III. Boucher gives Phaneuf the green light to step up in the neutral zone when he’s the strong-side defenseman to blunt opponents’ advances. Otherwise, he’s been tasked to stay at home in the defensive zone, use his stick and reach, and play forwards physically. Other teams used to take advantage of Phaneuf’s aggressiveness. That doesn’t happen as much anymore.

- The Penguins had 60 percent of their regular-season games played by NCAA alums, a record high, according to College Hockey Inc. Phil Kessel (Minnesota), Nick Bonino (BU), and Ian Cole (Notre Dame) were three of the ex-collegians appearing in 80 or more games. The 2014-15 Rangers had the previous record (54 percent). Pittsburgh’s number has risen to 65 percent in the playoffs.

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