The countdown is on!

Three weeks until training camps open for the World Cup of Hockey, then the prospects will start gearing up for this year's Young Stars tournament about a week after that.

Once the Olympics are over, I'll start digging more deeply into what we can expect on the ice in Vancouver and in Utica this year.

For now, the news remains at a trickle.

Nothing official yet, but it looks like the Arizona Coyotes are going to sign ex-Canuck Radim Vrbata to his third tour of duty with the team.

Not signed yet but Coyotes & Radim Vrbata have agreed to a one-year deal with a base salary of $1 million. Deal will have bonuses.

— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) August 15, 2016

Given Vrbata's wildly inconsistent production, this seems like a smart way to structure the contract.

League source says deal could be worth up to $3 million w/bonuses for games played, goals, points + playoff bonuses. https://t.co/fEwBGGO2ZX

— Craig Morgan (@craigsmorgan) August 15, 2016

Meanwhile, the veteran player bought out by the Coyotes, Antoine Vermette, has signed on in Anaheim.

With Vermette signed ($1.75M AAV), #Ducks current cap space is $6.657M, with a roster size of 21 (11F,8D,2G). pic.twitter.com/SM4RPvTC7U

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) August 15, 2016

The Ducks, who usually work with an internal salary cap, still need to re-sign young RFAs Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rackell. They spent less than $65 million in total last year. Will something have to give?

Vermette, of course, is familiar to the Ducks after spending most of the last decade in the Western Conference. He has mostly been a division foe with the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes since 2012, except for when he helped knock the Ducks out of the Western Conference Final in 2015 as part of the Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks. Vermette collected three points in six games in the series, most notably the game-winning goal in double overtime in Game 4, which levelled the series at 2-2.

After re-signing with the Coyotes, Vermette put up 38 points in 2015-16, including a respectable 17 goals. It'll be interesting to see how he fits with the Ducks.

Next—a quick update on the Jimmy Vesey situation:

To clarify: Jimmy Vesey's rights held by #Sabres up to and including Monday. Becomes UFA Tuesday. Refer: CBA 8.6(c) pic.twitter.com/qLfAr6lObg

— General Fanager (@generalfanager) August 14, 2016

Plenty of speculation churning, with lots of opposing viewpoints. I expect it'll take at least a few days before Vesey makes his final decision. End of the week, maybe?

Back in Vancouver...Sven Baertschi and his girlfriend ultimately raised $4,520 for the BC SPCA last Friday. Perhaps more importantly, they helped get a dog adopted:

Thanks everyone for the support- the best news is, our kennel friend Cola just got adopted! 🐾

— sven baertschi (@SvenBaertschi) August 12, 2016

Sounds like Jake Virtanen is the next Canuck to be joining the ranks of the dog owners:

Want to thank @Jake_Virtanen for shopping at Oly's Pet Connection. Free treats coming your way for the new puppy 😁.

— Kirk Oly's (@KirkOlys) July 12, 2016

And finally—a sad anniversary, but one that's worth remembering.

It's been 5 years since Rick Rypien passed. We remember him every day.

Asking for help is always okay: mindcheck.ca pic.twitter.com/KOn3I3vGc1

— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) August 15, 2016

Glad to see the Mindcheck.ca legacy continues!

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