There's a better chance Wayne Simmonds gets dealt before the trade deadline than stays with the Philadelphia Flyers beyond it, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

On Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading", McKenzie reported new general manager Chuck Fletcher could move the longtime Flyers forward. Fletcher is reportedly looking to add a goaltender, a top-four defenseman, and a top-nine center.

"Will he trade veterans between now and the deadline? Absolutely," McKenzie said. "Wayne Simmonds is more likely than not to be traded. Not 100 percent, but more likely than not.

"And while Fletcher could get draft picks and prospects coming back in for a guy like Simmonds or another veteran player, he's also planning on using draft picks, prospects and younger players to try (to) go out and achieve those things; the goalie, the defenseman, and the center."

Simmonds is in the final year of his contract, carrying a cap hit of nearly $4 million. He came into Thursday's action ranking third on the club with 13 goals in 43 contests.

Philadelphia sat dead-last in the NHL entering play Thursday, although they have a game in hand on the Ottawa Senators and the Los Angeles Kings.

The NHL's trade deadline for the 2018-19 campaign is Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. ET.

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John Tortorella isn't interested in divulging the reason Sergei Bobrovsky was disciplined by his team.

The Columbus Blue Jackets head coach repeatedly stated "the (press) release will speak for itself" when asked to elaborate on the situation Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the club announced the goaltender would not be with the team for its game against the Nashville Predators, with Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen revealing in the release that an incident occurred in which Bobrovsky failed to meet "certain expectations and values" established within the organization.

Kekalainen also said it was an internal matter and that the club would have "no further comment at this time."

"There's no sense asking," Tortorella told reporters when asked about it Thursday. "My answer is the release will speak for itself, and as far as the players (go), I've already told the players. There's no sense in talking to them, either. This will be handled inside (the team). Jarmo and I will do the speaking on it if any more speaking needs to be done, but the release speaks for itself."

The Blue Jackets bench boss was later asked by The Athletic's Aaron Portzline if there's a chance Bobrovsky has played his final game with Columbus.

"How can you ask me that question?" Tortorella replied after beginning to answer with his familiar refrain about the press release.

"I'm just worried about this hockey game," he added. "I'm not trying to be inconsiderate. We have a game to play, and it's a very important game for us. As you need to worry about the fans, I need to worry about the hockey team."

The incident in question took place sometime between the latter stages of the Blue Jackets' 4-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday and before the team flew home an hour or so after the game, sources told Portzline.

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The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled red-hot forward Brandon Pirri just hours after assigning him to the AHL, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger.

This marks the second time in the last seven days that Pirri's been sent down to the Chicago Wolves only to be called up shortly thereafter. He has seven goals and three assists in eight NHL games this season since his initial call-up in late December.

The reason why Pirri's been bouncing up and down between the minors and the major-league club like a kid on a pogo stick is simple: He doesn't have to clear waivers, unlike, for example, forward Oscar Lindberg (who's got one goal and six assists in 22 games). Vegas can send Pirri down without any risk of losing him.

The Golden Knights are riding a seven-game winning streak and face the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night - likely with Pirri in the lineup.

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Warning: Story contains coarse language

Winnipeg Jets superstar Patrik Laine offered his two cents amid his uncharacteristic scoring slump.

The 20-year-old has 24 goals to his credit this season - certainly nothing to scoff at - but he's only lit the lamp three times since scoring a whopping 18 times in November.

"I'm my worst enemy," Laine told Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press. "I'm expecting myself to be the best player on the ice and obviously you can't be. You just got to stay focused and not lose your shit."

Fortunately for the Jets, Laine's quite capable of heating up in a hurry, as evidenced by a three-week stretch earlier this season that featured three hat tricks and the NHL's first five-goal game since 2011. What's more, his recent slump hasn't slowed the team down very much, as Winnipeg (27-13-2) sits just one point behind the Nashville Predators for first place in the Central Division with three games in hand.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets will sit No. 1 netminder Sergei Bobrovsky for Thursday's game against the Nashville Predators for disciplinary reasons, the team announced.

"There are certain expectations and values that we have established for our players that define our culture," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in the release. "An incident occurred in which Sergei failed to meet those expectations and values, so we made the decision that he would not be with the team for tonight's game. This is an internal matter and we will have no further comment at this time."

The "incident" is believed to have occurred in Tampa Bay following the team's 4-0 loss to the Lightning (where Bobrovsky was pulled after the fourth goal), and prior to the team's flight out of town, sources told The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

Members of the team's leadership group pulled Bobrovsky aside for a meeting on the tarmac before their departure, Portzline notes.

Kekalainen confirmed that the incident did not involve head coach John Tortorella.

"It's got nothing to do with the coach," Kekalainen said. "It's a decision we made as an organization. Obviously, we had the coach involved in that decision, but it's got nothing to do with Tortorella vs. Bobrovsky.

"People seem to be thinking there’s some kind of issue between the coach and the goalie. There's no issue."

In a corresponding move, the team recalled goaltender Jean-Francois Berube from the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League.

Bobrovsky is in the midst of a down year by his standards, having gone 18-13-1 with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage in 32 games. The 30-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent at the end the season.

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A minor hockey team that stood up for one of its players after he was the subject of racist taunts got a surprise from the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.

The Capitals sent the Metro Maple Leafs a video of forward Devante Smith-Pelly and defenseman John Carlson inviting them to Washington's game against the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 14.

Divyne Apollon II, a 13-year-old blue-liner on the 14-and-under club based in Odenton, Md., was subjected to taunts from an opposing team at a tournament in December, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.

His teammates fought the opponents at the end of the game in response to the taunts. After Apollon was suspended for the rest of the tournament for his part in the melee, the team placed logos on their sticks with the word "Racism" crossed out by a hockey stick.

Smith-Pelly, who is black, wanted to do something to show his support after reading about the incident.

"It's crazy that's still going on in 2019, but I really like how he stood up for himself and how the team had his back too," Smith-Pelly told Gulitti. "For 13-year-old kids to put a foot in the sand and stand up for their teammate at 13 years old, that's pretty remarkable.

"So I liked reading that part of him standing up for himself and his whole team, a team of kids, standing up for him, too."

A group of Chicago Blackhawks fans targeted Smith-Pelly with racist taunts during a game at the United Center last February.

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Canada's captain Maxime Comtois was the victim of cyberbullying after missing a penalty shot in his team's loss to Finland in the world juniors quarterfinal game.

The Anaheim Ducks prospect took to Twitter on Wednesday to respond to the spiteful comments and thank those who stood up for him.

"Thank you, everyone, for the kind words towards me and my family," Comtois said. "Cyberbullying is a real threat. No one should go through that. Let's prevent it. If you are getting bullied or ever had been please speak up."

Included in those who offered kind words for Comtois was Sidney Crosby, who offered advice to the 19-year-old and said the penalty shot won't "define who he is."

Comtois also wrote a heartfelt message to his teammates and Canadian fans despite exiting the tournament without a medal:

"Playing in the World Junior Championship and representing Canada is a dream to every hockey kid in this country, and it was mine too. Last year, we achieved our goal of winning a gold medal, but we can't say the same this year. However, this is not the end of the line for all of us, rather the start of our careers where we can learn from these types of games in order to advance as an athlete and grow as a person. Myself and my teammates gave their hearts and souls, both on and off the ice, to represent our country to the best of our abilities.

"The three-and-a-half-week process we went through will be one I will remember for my whole life. We grew from a group of hockey players around Canada to a family in that short amount of time. I want to thank each of my teammates for giving their best efforts every night, and the great Canadian fans for being behind us every single game. Especially our families, who sacrificed their holidays to support and be with us during this journey. I am proud to be Canadian, honored to wear the maple leaf on my chest and represent my country on the ice."

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Gary Bettman says he would be happy if the NHL and NHLPA make few waves in coming to a resolution in upcoming negotiations over the collective bargaining agreement.

"I'm not in favor of having a difficult negotiation," the commissioner told reporters, including NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika, on Wednesday.

"I'm hoping we can extend or renew (the CBA) with minimum fanfare, and I'm not a fan of work stoppages, although we do have to have a system that works and keeps the game healthy and vibrant and entertaining as it is now. So we'll see what happens, but I'm not looking for a fight."

The NHL's current CBA expires after the 2021-22 season, but the league can elect to opt out on Sept. 1 of this year. If the league forgoes that opportunity, the players' association can opt out Sept. 15.

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