Brad Marchand filed an appeal Friday regarding his six-game ban for roughing and high-sticking Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry.

Shortly after Marchand said he was thinking about challenging the ruling Friday afternoon, the NHLPA confirmed he had done so. He'll first appeal to commissioner Gary Bettman and then potentially to an independent arbitrator, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Earlier on Friday, the Boston Bruins' star agitator made it clear he didn't think his actions warranted a suspension at all.

"Was it stupid? Of course, it was stupid. I'm not denying that," Marchand said Friday, according to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa. "I absolutely should not have done it. But suspension-worthy? I don't think so."

Marchand added that he didn't believe Jarry was in danger of getting hurt as a result of the incidents.

"These plays were not going to injure Jarry. ... He was very well protected," Marchand said. "The fact that it's six games is based on history, not on the play."

The winger said he discussed his long list of previous indiscretions with the league, and he remains convinced his resume is to blame for this decision.

"(It's a) very very hefty suspension for these plays, so the only way they can justify that is on the history side of things," he said.

Marchand pointed to the fact that he's made an effort to clean up his game and has been more productive offensively. However, the veteran claims the NHL doesn't factor that into supplemental discipline, citing his previous suspension for slew-footing Vancouver Canucks defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson in November.

"They don't measure progress, which I've come to find out, and it goes back to the last one," he said. "We believe the last suspension was very hefty. When I got three games, it should've been one, based on the fact that I've turned my game around (and) become a pretty good player in this league."

Marchand punched Jarry in the head following a scoring chance and later hit the netminder's mask with his stick Tuesday night. The officials handed him a match penalty and a roughing minor.

The Bruins forward has already served one game of the ban, missing Thursday's 6-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

This marks the eighth suspension of Marchand's 13-year career.

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Tomas Hertl could be one of the most coveted targets at the NHL trade deadline if he can't agree on a contract extension with the San Jose Sharks, but assistant general manager Joe Will isn't entertaining that possibility.

"Don't have any interest in doing anything outside of just working on negotiations and signing him," the executive told The Mercury News' Curtis Pashelka.

Will, who's essentially the Sharks' acting GM with Doug Wilson on medical leave, confirmed Friday that discussions about a new pact for the talented forward are underway.

"We've talked about a lot of things, and the one thing we have in common is that Tomas loves being a Shark, and we love having Tomas here," Will said. "So now it's finding a way to have that happen through negotiation and talking about the next contract for him, which we have done."

Hertl is a pending unrestricted free agent in the final season of the four-year deal he inked with the Sharks in 2018. It carries a $5.625-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly.

The 28-year-old leads San Jose with 22 goals and ranks second with 38 points in 46 games this season. He's played his entire nine-year career with the Sharks. The club drafted him 17th overall in 2012.

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Philadelphia Flyers forward Sean Couturier will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing back surgery Friday.

Couturier hasn't played since Dec. 18.

The 2019-20 Selke Trophy winner collected six goals and 11 assists over 29 games in this campaign.

Philadelphia general manager Chuck Fletcher said Friday that Couturier's recovery could take approximately three months.

The 29-year-old center is one of the NHL's best two-way players. He's spent his entire 11-year career with the Flyers, who drafted him eighth overall in 2011.

Philadelphia signed Couturier to an eight-year contract extension carrying an average annual value of $7.75 million in August.

The Flyers sit near the bottom of the league standings in 2021-22. The club has also been without defenseman Ryan Ellis for most of the season due to an injury of his own. Ellis hasn't played since suiting up for his fourth game of the campaign on Nov. 13.

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Less than a year after Dominique Ducharme led the Montreal Canadiens on an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final, the team has dismissed their head coach.

The Canadiens will name Ducharme's replacement later Wednesday and are retaining all of their assistant coaches for the time being.

Montreal sits last in the NHL standings with an 8-30-7 record in 2021-22. The Habs went 23-46-14 in 83 regular-season games under Ducharme and 13-6 in the playoffs.

The club has also overhauled its front office since its Cup Final appearance. Montreal fired former general manager Marc Bergevin and tabbed ex-New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton as executive vice president of hockey operations in November. The Canadiens then hired former player agent Kent Hughes as GM in January.

Montreal has played without goaltender Carey Price and captain Shea Weber for the duration of the campaign, while numerous others have also missed time.

The Canadiens brought Ducharme on as an assistant coach in 2018 and promoted him to the lead job upon firing Claude Julien last February. Ducharme served as interim head coach until the squad formally removed that tag on July 13.

The 48-year-old signed a three-year extension with Montreal on the same day.

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Alex Ovechkin is playing against the Columbus Blue Jackets less than a week after testing positive for COVID-19.

The Washington Capitals star was cleared to rejoin team activities earlier Tuesday. He took part in the morning skate after being forced to forgo the All-Star festivities in Las Vegas over the weekend.

On Tuesday morning, the Capitals said Ovechkin's overnight PCR test came back negative, according to the Washington Post's Samantha Pell.

The 36-year-old occupied his usual spot on the squad's top line at the morning session. He was also back on the top power-play unit, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.

Last Wednesday, Ovechkin tested positive and was ruled out of All-Star Weekend. He also missed that evening's loss to the Edmonton Oilers, ending his run of playing in every game in 2021-22. Ovechkin had been the only Capitals player to do so before sitting out.

The Russian superstar is having another Hart Trophy-caliber season, ranking among the league leaders in goals and points for a frequently shorthanded Washington club. The three-time MVP entered Tuesday's game with 29 markers and 29 helpers in 46 contests.

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The Montreal Canadiens will be permitted to fill half of their arena in roughly two weeks.

Quebec premier Francois Legault unveiled a phased plan to ease pandemic-related restrictions Tuesday. Among the reduced measures, theatres and showrooms in the province - including the Bell Centre - will be allowed to operate at 50% capacity as of Feb. 21.

On March 14, those venues will reopen at full capacity.

The Canadiens are currently only allowed a maximum of 500 fans at home games, with zero permitted over their previous four contests. The 500-fan rule, which was announced on Jan. 25, went into effect on Monday.

Montreal is in the midst of an eight-game homestand that began before the All-Star break. The Canadiens are scheduled to host the Washington Capitals on Thursday, the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, and the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 17.

The Canadiens will then travel to New York to play the Islanders on Feb. 20 before returning home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs the next day when attendance restrictions are loosened.

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The Philadelphia Flyers gave Daniel Briere a larger role in the organization by naming him special assistant to general manager Chuck Fletcher on Tuesday.

Briere spent parts of the last five years in several roles with the ECHL's Maine Mariners, most recently serving as their president. The Mariners are the Boston Bruins' affiliate, but they're owned by the Flyers' parent company, Comcast Spectacor. Briere also worked with Philadelphia in a part-time player development position over the last two seasons.

The Montreal Canadiens reportedly planned to interview Briere for their GM opening before they hired Kent Hughes.

Briere spent two campaigns in the Flyers' business operations department before joining Maine.

He played six seasons with Philadelphia toward the end of his career. He notched a career-high 34 goals with the club in 2010-11 and was one of its best playoff performers ever.

A diminutive center, Briere racked up 72 points over 68 postseason games, ranking third in franchise history with 1.06 playoff points per contest. He led all postseason skaters with 30 points in 23 games while helping the Flyers make a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2009-10.

The 44-year-old suited up for parts of 17 campaigns before retiring in 2015.

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The Anaheim Ducks are keeping a Hall of Famer in their front office after he helped them find their general manager.

Scott Niedermayer is staying on as a special advisor to hockey operations after reportedly joining the team's GM search committee along with fellow Anaheim legend Paul Kariya last month. The Ducks named Pat Verbeek GM on Thursday.

Niedermayer played five seasons for Anaheim at the end of his illustrious career, captaining the 2007 Stanley Cup champions and claiming the Conn Smythe Trophy.

The former defenseman was also the first player in hockey history to win the Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal, the World Championship, the World Cup of Hockey, the Memorial Cup, and the World Junior Championship.

Niedermayer was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013, and the Ducks retired his number in 2019. The New Jersey Devils also raised his No. 27 to their rafters in 2011. The 48-year-old former blue-liner starred for the Devils for parts of 13 seasons before joining Anaheim.

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The St. Louis Blues inked a pair of depth players to contract extensions Tuesday.

Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo agreed to a two-year pact carrying an average annual value of $950,000, while forward Logan Brown re-upped on a one-year deal for $750,000.

Bortuzzo, a third-pairing blue-liner, was a pending unrestricted free agent. He's in the final season of a three-year contract he signed with St. Louis at a cap hit of $1.375 million. The veteran, who'll turn 33 on March 18, is in his seventh full season with the Blues. He began his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who traded him to St. Louis in March 2015.

Brown would've been an RFA and is earning $750,000 in 2021-22. The center, who'll turn 24 on March 5, has split this campaign between the Blues and their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. He's collected 17 points in 19 AHL games in addition to six points over 17 NHL contests this season. His extension is a one-way contract.

The Blues acquired Brown in a trade with the Ottawa Senators in September. Ottawa drafted him 11th overall in 2016.

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Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mike Smith will be back in the crease soon after yet another stint on injured reserve.

Smith will start against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night after missing the last eight games with a thumb ailment, he told reporters Monday, including The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman.

The Oilers activated the soon-to-be 40-year-old off IR earlier Monday. He was a full participant in practice and served as the No. 1 netminder during the session.

Meanwhile, the Oilers placed goaltender Mikko Koskinen in COVID-19 protocol on Monday.

Smith has been limited to six appearances this season due to injuries. He last played on Jan. 5, and eight days later, the club said it expected him to miss one-to-two weeks. The veteran also got hurt in late October, had a setback in November, then landed on long-term IR before returning in late December.

The Oilers signed Smith to a two-year deal at a $2.2-million cap hit in July.

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