from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

This summer the NHL has its plate more than a little full with off-ice issues that will require more than a little deft stickhandling from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

The NHL has already decided that there will be no further sanctions against former Los Angeles Kings forward Jarret Stoll, who was charged with felony cocaine possession after being caught with drugs at a Las Vegas resort pool in April. Stoll, an unrestricted free agent, pleaded guilty to reduced misdemeanor charges relating to the incident and was sentenced to probation and community service.

The league is also waiting for Stoll's former teammate Slava Voynov to complete his sentence after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor domestic abuse charge relating to an incident involving his wife last October. The defenseman is serving a 90-day sentence. He was also sentenced to three years' probation.

In another Kings-related situation, the NHL is aware of the information the team used in deciding to terminate the contract of Mike Richards after an incident at the Canada/U.S. border earlier this summer. The league simply considers Richards an unrestricted free agent....

Finally, the league is also awaiting the resolution of the case involving new Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly, who responded to being awarded the richest contract in team history by allegedly drunkenly driving a vintage pickup truck into a Tim Hortons coffee shop near London, Ontario, in the middle of the night and then fleeing the scene.

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