The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted a special guest at Saturday's morning skate, as 11-year-old fan Kade Foster was there for his birthday party.

Foster's story went viral earlier this week after his dad reached out on Twitter to the Maple Leafs for some birthday wishes when his son's friends didn't attend his party.

Many Maple Leafs players, including John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and Morgan Rielly, responded to wish Foster a happy birthday. The Maple Leafs captain then orchestrated a plan to bring the Newfoundland native to Toronto.

"His birthday was officially on Monday so I called him on Monday to wish him a happy birthday and we kind of organized a plan to bring him," Tavares told NHL.com's Dave McCarthy. "It was good to just call him and say 'happy birthday' and let him know what kind of surprise was coming. We wanted to try to do something to give him something to celebrate and be happy about."

Foster met the entire Maple Leafs roster and received tickets for Saturday's clash with the Philadelphia Flyers.

"It was awesome, I was so surprised, I couldn't believe it," Foster said.

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Ahead of Veterans Day, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby surprised a local veteran by gifting her the car he won for being named MVP at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game.

The recipient of the car - a 2019 Honda Passport - was 28-year-old Madeline Malizio, who has served as an Army Specialist for the past five years and is going to school for legal studies, according to Sam Kasan of NHL.com. She's also a single mother to a 3-year-old son.

After learning Malizio didn't own a car, Crosby decided to help. He met her inside the Penguins' locker room following practice Friday and then took her to the facility at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, where the car was waiting.

"He was telling me how he heard about my story and he wanted to do something to help my situation," Malizio said. "I was confused. I wasn't sure what he could be talking about. He puts the garage up and it's this car. I felt weak in my knees. I felt speechless. I don't really think there is a word to describe how you feel in that moment."

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman remains resistant to the idea of allowing the league's players to participate in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

"I don't want to sound like a broken record on the subject, but I think going to the Olympics is a challenge for us," Bettman said during a press conference Friday at the Global Games in Sweden, according to Sportsnet's Emily Sadler.

The league announced in April 2017 that its players wouldn't participate in the 2018 Olympics. It marked the first time since 1998 that NHL players didn't take part in the Winter Games, and it sounds like Bettman prefers to continue with that approach.

"I know the players love representing their countries, I know that the players like going, I know that the players that don't go like having a break in the middle of the season," he said. "But from our standpoint, we have found going to the Olympics to be incredibly disruptive ... to our season."

Bettman also confirmed that he recently met with International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel but couldn't provide any significant update on their discussions regarding the NHL's Olympic participation.

"We had another meeting. We've had many, many meetings, and there is no news to report," Bettman said. "I would suggest it was more a philosophical and procedural discussion. (NHLPA executive director) Donald Fehr also participated in the meeting, but I have nothing to report on that front."

The NHL traveled to Shanghai for preseason contests in both 2017 and 2018 as part of the China Games. In July 2019, the league sent Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin to China to serve as a league ambassador.

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Victor Hedman returned to the Tampa Bay Lightning's lineup on home soil Friday after missing two games with a lower-body injury.

The Lightning are in Sweden for two games against the Buffalo Sabres as part of the NHL Global Series. Hedman, along with fellow Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin of Buffalo, are two of the biggest draws for fans in their home country.

Hedman suffered the injury on Oct. 29, but head coach Jon Cooper was hopeful that the star blue-liner would be ready for the club's trip to Sweden.

In 11 games this season, Hedman has notched two goals and seven assists while logging 21:39 per contest.

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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan announced Friday.

Letang exited Monday's game against the Boston Bruins during the third period, but it's unclear what exactly caused the ailment.

The veteran defenseman has recorded four goals and 12 points in 15 contests this season. He also ranks 10th league-wide with an average of 25 minutes of ice time per game.

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The Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators will open their 2020-21 regular seasons in Prague, Czech Republic, and the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will travel to Helsinki, Finland to make up next year's NHL Global Series, the league announced on Friday.

The Bruins and Predators will also finish their training camps in Germany and Switzerland, respectively, with each team hosting an exhibition game before heading to Prague. Boston stars David Pastrank and David Krejci are from the Czech Republic, and Switzerland is the birthplace of Nashville captain Roman Josi.

Later in the fall, the Avs and Jackets will travel overseas to play two regular-season games. Finland is the home country for Colorado's Mikko Rantanen and Joonas Donskoi, as well as Columbus' Markus Nutivaara and Joonas Korpisalo. Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was also born in Finland.

Next year's events will mark the fourth consecutive season the NHL has sent teams to Europe, and ninth overall. The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers opened their seasons in Prague in October, and the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning are currently in Stockholm, Sweden for a two-game set.

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