New Jersey Devils forward Kyle Palmieri will replace teammate Taylor Hall on the Metropolitan Division roster for the All-Star Game, the team announced Saturday.

Hall has been sidelined since Dec. 23 with a lower-body injury.

This will mark Palmieri's first All-Star Game appearance. The 27-year-old leads the Devils in goals and points with 22 and 38, respectively, across 47 games. Those early totals have him on pace for 38 goals and 66 points, which would both stand as career highs.

The 2019 All-Star Game will be held Jan. 26 in San Jose.

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Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby returned to the crease Friday against the New York Islanders.

The 29-year-old said earlier in the day that he was feeling 100 percent and would make his first start since exiting the Jan. 12 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets after taking a stick to the eye, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post.

Holtby was forced from the contest at the midway mark and has missed the club's last two games - both losses to the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators. The Capitals have been shaky as of late, winning just four of their past 10 while slipping out of top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

Holtby, meanwhile, has gone 17-10-2 with a .912 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average in 31 games this season.

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Nashville Predators forward Ryan Johansen will have a hearing for high-sticking Winnipeg Jets star Mark Scheifele, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced on Friday.

The incident occurred late in the first period of Thursday's contest and saw Johansen assessed a two-minute minor. Scheifele stayed in the game and logged 20:27 of ice time, the most among all Jets forwards.

The Predators are off Friday, but will be back in action Saturday against the Florida Panthers.

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Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher is not going to let Wayne Simmonds leave for nothing.

"That won’t happen," Fletcher told Philly.com's Sam Carchidi. "The goal would be to either have him signed or moved by the trade deadline."

The veteran forward, who is expected to be dealt, is a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

Fletcher understands what Simmonds brings to the team, but knows he has to consider the financial impact.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Wayne Simmonds, but we have to look at our cap situation moving forward," Fletcher said. "(Simmonds) has been a warrior for this franchise and is still a heck of a hockey player."

The 30-year-old is in his eighth season with the Flyers and has tallied 202 goals and 373 points in 569 games with the franchise. This season, Simmonds ranks second on the Flyers with 15 goals and leads the team with 67 penalty minutes.

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The Los Angeles Kings won't give up Jake Muzzin for cheap.

The team is seeking a first-round pick and a prospect in exchange for Muzzin, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

LeBrun notes it's not certain the Kings will deal Muzzin ahead of the Feb. 25 trade deadline, but they are listening to potential offers.

The 29-year-old is having a solid season with 20 points in 47 games, second among the club's defenders behind Drew Doughty. He leads all Kings blue-liners with a 50.96 Corsi For rating and is first on the team in both hits and blocked shots.

Muzzin has one year remaining on his contract after this season and carries a $4-million cap hit.

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The Detroit Red Wings have reportedly put a high price tag on Gustav Nyquist and Jimmy Howard.

The club is seeking a first-round pick for each player, a source told MLive.com's Ansar Khan.

For Howard, it seems his price tag has remained consistent over the last month. Back in mid-December, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported the Red Wings were asking for a first-round selection for the veteran netminder.

According to Khan, the team doesn't expect to get that return for either player and will look to re-sign Nyquist and Howard as a result. Both will become unrestricted free agents on July 1.

To each player's credit, they have performed well on a team that sits just two points out of last place in the Eastern Conference. Nyquist ranks second on the team with 40 points in 48 games. Meanwhile, Howard has gone 13-12-5 with a 2.71 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage over 32 games while earning an All-Star Game nod.

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Carolina Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland is looking like a hot commodity in trade circles.

"The list is longer, but Boston, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, and Vancouver are among those interested in Micheal Ferland," Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported in the latest edition of his 31 Thoughts column.

Ferland would add significant forward depth to clubs like the Bruins and Penguins and could easily slot into a top-six role with the Oilers and Canucks.

The 26-year-old is in his first season with the Hurricanes after the Calgary Flames traded him at last year's draft in a deal that also sent Dougie Hamilton and defensive prospect Adam Fox to Raleigh in exchange for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm.

Ferland is in the midst of a strong campaign, posting 13 goals - tied for second on the club behind Sebastian Aho - and 25 points in 39 games. He ranks first among Hurricanes players with 2.9 hits per game, second in power-play goals (5), and second in game-winning goals (3).

His modest cap hit of $1.75 million should also be enticing to potential buyers.

The rugged winger is in the final year of a two-year contract and will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Trevor Moore to a two-year, $1.55-million contract extension, the team announced on Sunday.

The 23-year-old has spent the majority of this season with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. He ranks fourth in the AHL with 19 goals, and overall Moore has recorded 26 points in 30 games.

In six games with the Maple Leafs, he's notched one goal and two assists.

Moore is in the final year of his entry-level contract and was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1.

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Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau ripped his team on Saturday after the club lost 5-2 to the Detroit Red Wings.

The Red Wings outshot the Wild 29-7 over the final 40 minutes, leading Boudreau to his harsh criticism.

"That was the worst game that we've played since I've been here as coach," Boudreau said postgame. "Effort, compete, I don't know where it was. I don't know if they're still tired from this road trip or what have you, but I'm really disappointed in tonight's effort."

"If your best players aren't your best players you aren't going to win a game," he added. "It's as simple as that. When I look down and Ek's (Joel Eriksson) line is the best line that we have out there, then we're in trouble."

Minnesota still sits in the Western Conference's second wild-card spot after missing an opportunity to leapfrog the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night. To Boudreau, Saturday's effort was another example of the team failing to take advantage of games against weaker squads.

"The reason we're in the spot we are is because we don't play well against teams that are underneath us in the standings," Boudreau said. "If we played them like we were playing Winnipeg all the time, we'd be up closer to 60 points."

The Wild will have an opportunity to buck that trend and get back in the coach's good graces when they tangle with the 31st-ranked Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins signed goaltender Casey DeSmith to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $1.25 million, the team announced Friday.

"Casey has excelled for us at every level, first in Wheeling and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and now here in Pittsburgh," general manager Jim Rutherford said in a statement.

The 27-year-old is enjoying his longest stretch of games in the NHL after just 14 appearances with Pittsburgh last season. In 26 games in 2018-19, DeSmith has gone 12-7-4 with a .924 save percentage and a 2.47 goals-against average.

DeSmith's extension will keep him with the Penguins through the 2021-22 season.

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