A concussion is at the root of Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy's absence, general manager Don Sweeney announced Friday.

The 20-year-old has missed the Bruins' last eight games, having not suited up since Oct. 18 against the Edmonton Oilers when he suffered the head injury.

"He’s been in protocol since (the Edmonton game) and is progressing - no timeline (on a return) but making progress," Sweeney said.

Sweeney noted that the Bruins aren't sure when exactly the hit that gave McAvoy the concussion occurred, but the blue-liner did skate in the last few days, according to Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston.

Injuries have limited the sophomore to just seven games this season, but he's been productive when healthy, contributing one goal and six points.

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Could Gritty have a future in politics? Some people in New Jersey apparently think so.

The Philadelphia Flyers' mascot earned 14 write-in votes from residents in Camden, N.J. in the midterm elections, according to Michael Blinn of the New York Post. There was a pair of votes for Gritty to be county sheriff and another two for the U.S. House in N.J. District 1.

A graphic shown on the video board at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night claimed that Gritty received write-in votes in 46 states, though there has been no confirmation of that yet.

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The Boston Bruins have granted goaltender Tuukka Rask a leave of absence relating to a personal matter, the team announced Friday.

The reason for his absence or its potential length is unknown, but general manager Don Sweeney said the matter isn't health related.

Rask has yet to find his groove in the 2018-19 season, owning a 4-4 record with a .901 save percentage.

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Thanks to the generosity of one Washington Capitals fan, the entirety of Thursday night's 50/50 jackpot at Capital One Arena will be donated to the victims of the recent Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.

The Capitals announced ahead of their game against the Penguins that they would donate half the jackpot to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to benefit the victims and families of the Tree of Life Synagogue, where an Oct. 27 shooting left 11 people dead and six injured.

A Capitals season-ticket holder won the raffle but chose to donate their portion of the winnings to the victims too. The jackpot donation from the Capitals and the winning fan totaled $38,570.

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Tomas Plekanec announced his retirement from the NHL on Friday after the Montreal Canadiens placed him on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.

However, while Plekanec's playing days in the NHL are now in the rearview mirror, he admits he's not quite ready to hang up the skates for good.

Plekanec remarked on his time with the Habs and his now-former teammates during his announcement.

"I'm happy with what I've done here with the Canadiens," Plekanec said, per the team. "I can leave happy.

"I'm going to miss the guys. It's another family, coming here every morning. Now, it's gone. It's something I'm going to miss, for sure. I'm going to watch them and cheer for them."

The 36-year-old concludes his NHL career with 233 goals and 608 points in 1,001 games, with all but 17 of those contests coming as a member of the Canadiens.

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It's a matter of time before Joel Quenneville finds his way behind an NHL bench again, but he'll do so on his own terms.

Quenneville was fired by the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday after 10-plus seasons with Chicago and three Stanley Cups. The 60-year-old definitely wants to coach again and will wait for the opportunity he believes is best, a source told Scott Powers of The Athletic.

There are no current openings, but several teams across the league would jump at the opportunity to add a coach of Quenneville's caliber. The future Hall of Famer ranks second in NHL history with 890 wins and is coming off the most successful coaching tenure of the salary-cap era.

He's free to join a new team at any point, though there's one season left on his contract with the Blackhawks at $6 million.

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The Montreal Canadiens will place forward Tomas Plekanec on unconditional waivers at noon Friday in order to terminate his contract, the team announced.

The veteran forward has struggled to remain in the lineup for any significant period of time this year, having played in just three of the Canadiens' 16 games this season.

The 36-year-old rejoined the Habs this offseason following a deal ahead of the trade deadline last year that sent him from Montreal to the Toronto Maple Leafs for their stretch run.

Plekanec played in his 1,000th career game earlier this season, scoring his lone goal of the campaign. He ranks seventh on the franchise's all-time games played list (984) and is tied for second in Canadiens history with 20 shorthanded goals.

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The Washington Capitals will be without defenseman John Carlson for Friday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Carlson is day to day with a lower-body injury, the team announced. The 28-year-old has played in every game so far this season.

Head coach Todd Reirden is hopeful Carlson will be back in the fold for Sunday's game against the Arizona Coyotes, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post.

The Capitals also placed veteran blue-liner Brooks Orpik on long-term injured reserve retroactive to last Sunday due to a lower-body injury. The designation means Orpik will miss at least the next six games (10 total), according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. A date with the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 21 is the earliest he could return to the lineup.

In corresponding moves, the Capitals recalled defensemen Aaron Ness and Jonas Siegenthaler from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. Siegenthaler will make his NHL debut Friday.

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The Reading Royals, the Philadelphia Flyers' ECHL affiliate, will don special 3-D jerseys for their Veteran's Day Game on Nov. 17.

Jeff Tasca, who designed the jerseys, told Sean Leahy of Pro Hockey Talk that the Royals and Athletic Knit spent the past six months working on the project.

"When initially making the design you want to have it with different 'layers' in it that appear 3-D, so you first keep that in mind," Tasca said. "Then you have to go through applying the 3-D effect to each layer in the artwork."

Fans in attendance for the game will receive 3-D glasses. The Royals also plan to auction off the jerseys afterward through their app.

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