When John Tavares‘ contract ran out with the New York Islanders Jamie Benn Jersey , he took the opportunity to talk with other teams.”I felt like I owed it to myself to see what else was out there,” Tavares said.Tavares’ exploration led him to rediscover his childhood affinity for the Maple Leafs, and his confidence in Toronto’s future led him to sign a monster $77 million, seven-year contract. The Islanders were left with nothing, a mistake other NHL franchises seem determined not to make.Don’t wait. Sometimes not even a day.On Sunday, when Tavares’ departure left a void on Long Island, the Sharks signed Logan Couture, Coyotes signed Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Kings signed Drew Doughty and Lightning signed Ryan McDonagh to long-term deals. None of them would have been free agents until July 1, 2019, and this was the first possible chance to ink extensions that begin more than a year from now.It’s worth every penny to San Jose, Arizona, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay to get those contracts done now rather than risk a key player even exploring unrestricted free agency like Tavares did.”If you wait too long and you get into the situation where they have the potential to walk or explore the UFA market, that can be challenging times,” Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said.The Ottawa Senators are trapped in such challenging times. They made a contract offer to Norris Trophy-winning captain and 2019 free agent Erik Karlsson, but it’s not a great sign that the real negotiating is only just beginning.”We’re not going there,” GM Pierre Dorion said. ”We don’t really want to talk about roster players, contract negotiations, trades, all these things, but I think we owe it to our fans and we made a promise at the town hall that we would make a contract offer to Erik Karlsson and we’ve done so.”Tick, tick, tick. Even a year away, the pressure is on the Senators to sign Karlsson long term or trade him before the deadline so they don’t end up like the Islanders.The Coyotes made sure they wouldn’t be in that spot by locking up Ekman-Larsson to a $66 million http://www.officialstarsproonline.com/authentic-adidas-jason-spezza-jersey , eight-year deal that the soon-to-be 27-year-old defenseman called ”a no-brainer.” Arizona GM John Chayka calls it ”a huge moment for our entire organization” because there’s now no fear of losing Ekman-Larsson for nothing.”A superstar-caliber player has the option to basically go to any of the 31 teams and felt the loyalty, felt the belief in what we were doing enough to sign on long term,” Chayka said, adding that the Coyotes had to convince Ekman-Larsson with actions that they were moving in the right direction.The Kings convinced Doughty of that so much, he knew all season he was going to re-sign. He’s building a new house in the LA area, is getting married this summer and is ready to start a family in a place he wants to stay for essentially the balance of his career.”I never wanted to leave there, to be honest,” Doughty said. ”It will be nice not to answer the question, `Hey are you coming to Toronto? You’re coming to the Leafs, right?’ No, I’m not coming to the Leafs, everyone.”Doughty signing for $88 million over eight years sets the bar for Karlsson, who could face similar questions if he goes into the season without a future contract like Tavares did. Over the past week, Tavares began wondering if he would play for his hometown Maple Leafs, a bond too deep for the Islanders to overcome.Couture grew up not far from Toronto, but he never entertained that possibility because he signed a $64 million, eight-year deal with the Sharks. Couture respected Tavares’ choice and made his own without much difficulty.”We have some very good players: Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Brent Burns, Martin Jones, Evander Kane – very, very good players – Joe Pavelski,” Couture said, rattling off core players all signed long term. ”I want to win. That’s my goal as a hockey player. I believe that San Jose has and will continue to have a very, very good chance at winning in the future. That’s why my decision was so easy.”It was just as easy for McDonagh John Klingberg Jersey , who signed a $47.25 million, seven-year deal with the Lightning, who acquired him at the trade deadline. McDonagh was comfortable with Tampa Bay, which went through an almost-Tavares situation two years ago with captain Steven Stamkos before signing him on the eve of free agency.Days after signing Stamkos in 2016, the Lightning extended top defenseman Victor Hedman at the first possibly moment like they did with McDonagh. GM Steve Yzerman knows how to work ahead, which is often essential in today’s NHL with important players.”(If you wait), you don’t really know how it’s going to go,” Yzerman said. ”We go into next year for both parties, we don’t know, and I think it’s worthwhile exploring the opportunity now.”— OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) Robin Lehner always enjoys playing against his former team. Picking up a 4-3 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday made it that much more enjoyable.Lehner stopped two of three shooters in the shootout to improve to 6-0-3 against the Senators since being traded to the Sabres in 2015.”We needed this win and it was a pretty fun game,” said Lehner, who made 37 saves.This was just the second game of the season to go to a shootout for the Sabres, with their last one on opening night.Jacob Josefson scored the shootout winner for Buffalo, which was coming off a disappointing 5-1 loss to Calgary. The Flames and Ottawa will play Friday.”I think our focus and the response we made tonight was a great response,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said. ”After having – I wouldn’t say a poor effort in our building – with travel and coming out here, I liked the way we started.”From top to bottom everyone contributed (Thursday), especially with our team everybody’s got to be going and I thought everybody had a big part in the game.”Marco Scandella, Sam Reinhart and Scott Wilson scored in regulation for the Sabres.With the win the Sabres, who sit last in the East, are just two points back of the Senators.Ryan Dzingel led the way for the Senators in regulation with two goals, while Thomas Chabot scored his sixth of the season. Craig Anderson made 31 saves.The Senators, who had a number of stellar chances, felt they deserved a better fate on this night.”In the second and third Mattias Janmark Jersey , we threw everything at them except the kitchen sink and it didn’t go in,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said. ”We couldn’t come closer than we did. You have to give credit to the goaltender, he played terrific.”Trailing 3-2, the Sabres tied the game just 27 seconds into the third as Ryan O’Reilly found Wilson in front and he beat Anderson high.The Senators had a number of chances to regain the lead, but Lehner either made the stop or had luck on his side.Dzingel tied it at 1 just 36 seconds into the second period as he fired a shot from the slot, and then gave the Senators the lead with his 19th of the season three minutes later.”I haven’t had that much fun in a while,” said Dzingel, who played alongside Matt Duchene and Mike Hoffman. ”Just feeding off those guys and complimenting them and it clicked. … Hopefully we can stick together.”Dzingel, who turns 26 on Friday, has been a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season for the Senators.”I’ve always personally believed he could be a 20-goal scorer with what he did last year,” Boucher said. ”It doesn’t surprise me how well he’s played. To score 20 goals is quite an accomplishment in this league, especially considering it’s just his second season, and he needs just one more and I believe he’ll accomplish the feat. He’s a nice story this season for our team.”Buffalo was able to tie the game midway through the second as Reinhart jumped on a loose puck in front and scored off his backhand, but the Senators made it 3-2 as Chabot beat Lehner glove side.”We needed a bounce-back game from last night,” said Reinhart. ”It was nice to gut that one out.”The Senators nearly made it 4-2 as shots from Dzingel and Hoffman slid across the goal line, but Benoit Pouliot was able to clear the puck before Ottawa got another chance.”I saw it live, I saw it on the replay and I couldn’t believe it,” Duchene said. ”At the start of the period, that probably goes in with the fresh ice, but end of the period it literally died right on the goal post. I haven’t seen one that close, probably ever.”The Sabres opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark of the first as Scandella kept the puck in at the blue line, spun and put a shot through traffic past Anderson.NOTES: Ottawa C Tom Pyatt returned to the lineup after missing Monday’s game with the flu. … LW Max McCormick and D Erik Burgdoerfer were healthy scratches for the Senators. … Buffalo D Josh Gorges returned to the lineup after missing the last five games.UP NEXTSabres: vs. Vegas on Saturday.Senators: vs. Calgary on Saturday night.