Early Notes: Capitals, Sbisa, Senators,

The Washington Capitals are arriving for training camp today and doing their first press availability, including GM Brian MacLellan. Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post passes along some information from the front office executive, including an update on contract talks with Braden Holtby and Niklas Backstrom. The team will “play this out” with both players, who have just one year remaining on their respective contracts. They have made contact with Holtby’s agent already and will be speaking with Backstrom’s soon.

Khurshudyan also notes that the team is waiting to hear from the NHL with regards to Evgeny Kuznetsov, who met with commissioner Gary Bettman earlier this week. Kuznetsov was recently suspended by the IIHF for a positive cocaine test and could face further discipline from the NHL, though many—including Khurshudyan—doubt that will happen.

• Luca Sbisa is officially back with the New York Islanders on a professional tryout, according to Andrew Gross of Newsday. Sbisa had been spotted on the ice during some informal skates prior to training camp and it was assumed he would be back, though today confirmed that belief. The 29-year old defenseman played nine games for the Islanders last season and has suited up just 39 times since the end of 2016-17.
• The Ottawa Senators will not have a captain this season, instead naming Mark Borowiecki, Ron Hainsey and Jean-Gabriel Pageau the three alternates. Hainsey of course is a brand new face in the Senators room but has a familiarity with new head coach D.J. Smith from their time together with the Toronto Maple Leafs. An extremely vocal player on the ice, Hainsey has seen just about everything there is to see over a 1,068-game NHL career.