Forward Joel Farabee was benched for 57:18 in the Philadelphia Flyers' 4-3 overtime loss against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

"Are you asking me why I sat Joel? Because he didn't listen," head coach John Tortorella bluntly explained postgame. The veteran bench boss didn't elaborate further.

Farabee played just two shifts for 56 seconds of ice time. He didn't hit the ice again after Alexander Holtz's opening goal 3:10 into the first period.

Michael McLeod chipped the puck past Farabee to begin the rush that culminated in the goal.

Farabee declined to speak to the media postgame, according to PHLY Sports' Charlie O'Connor.

The benching isn't Farabee's first under Tortorella. He was sat in February against the Calgary Flames as well, playing only 3:52 in that contest.

Farabee has eight goals and 15 points in 23 games this season, ranking third on the Flyers in scoring. He's in the second campaign of a six-year, $30-million contract signed in September 2021.

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Corey Perry released a statement to reporters on Thursday after having his contract terminated by the Chicago Blackhawks for "unacceptable" conduct.

"I would like to sincerely apologize to the entire Blackhawks organization, including ownership, management, coaches, trainers, employees, and my teammates," Perry wrote. "I would also like to apologize to my fans, and my family. I am embarrassed and I have let you all down."

He continued: "As a result of my actions, there has been speculation and rumors. I am sickened by the impact this has had on others, and I want to make it clear that in no way did this situation involve any of my teammates or their families.

"I have started working with experts in the mental health and substance abuse fields to discuss my struggles with alcohol and I will take whatever steps necessary to ensure this never happens again. I hope to regain the trust and respect of everyone who has believed in me throughout my career."

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson spoke to the media on Tuesday. The visibly emotional executive noted Perry's dismissal was due to a workplace matter and wasn't a criminal matter.

Perry became an unrestricted free agent after clearing unconditional waivers on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old was sent away from the team before Chicago's Nov. 22 clash against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano is sidelined week-to-week with a broken finger, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to reporters on Thursday.

Giordano sustained the injury on Tuesday in the Maple Leafs' 2-1 shootout victory against the Florida Panthers.

The 40-year-old is the oldest active player in the NHL. He has five points in 20 games while playing 17:52 per contest.

Giordano's injury takes from an already depleted Maple Leafs blue line. Timothy Liljegren hasn't played since Nov. 2, while John Klingberg was placed on long-term injured reserve on Nov. 23.

Toronto recalled defenseman Max Lajoie from the AHL's Marlies before announcing Giordano's absence. The 26-year-old has five assists in 14 contests with the Marlies and played one game with the Maple Leafs earlier this season.

The Maple Leafs face the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

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Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi called out the Los Angeles Kings' Blake Lizotte on Wednesday, saying his former teammate left him with an injury that was nearly season-ending when the two met in October.

"He's done a lot of little things like that," Vilardi told TSN's John Lu. "It's stuff that you guys say, 'It was an awkward fall.' It wasn't an awkward fall. It's someone pushing your feet out from the back when he gets caught under me, and then he tackles me. It's that simple."

Vilardi sustained a sprained MCL on the play, which has kept him out of the Jets' lineup for the past 18 games.

"I was pretty close to being gone for the rest of the season, so it's frustrating when I look at stuff like that and think about it," Vilardi continued. "Obviously, I don't think his intent was to hurt me, but you make plays like that - it's a stupid play - and it's frustrating to think that guy sits in the box for two minutes and then I have to deal with what I've dealt with for the past month and a half."

The two were teammates from 2019-23 with the Kings. Vilardi was dealt to the Jets in the summer as part of the package that brought Pierre-Luc Dubois to Los Angeles.

Vilardi didn't address whether Lizotte had reached out after the collision.

"That's between me and him ... I'm not going to get into that," he said, per Winnipeg Free Press' Mike McIntyre.

Head coach Rick Bowness said Vilardi's expected to be a game-time decision for Thursday's clash against the Edmonton Oilers, according to Lu.

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Corey Perry cleared unconditional waivers Wednesday, allowing the Chicago Blackhawks to officially terminate his contract.

The 38-year-old becomes an unrestricted free agent after the move.

Chicago waived Perry with the intention of terminating his one-year, $4-million contract after an internal investigation found he "engaged in conduct that is unacceptable and in violation of both the terms of his standard player's contract and the Blackhawks' internal policies intended to promote professional and safe work environments."

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson noted the incident that resulted in Perry's termination was a workplace matter, not a criminal one, during a press conference Tuesday.

Perry was a healthy scratch on Nov. 22 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, which head coach Luke Richardson described as an "organizational decision," according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Davidson said Saturday that Perry would be away from the team for the "foreseeable future". The player's agent, Pat Morris, released a statement the same day saying Perry was stepping away from the team "to attend to personal matters."

Perry played 16 games with the Blackhawks, accumulating four goals and nine points.

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Minnesota Wild forward Pat Maroon didn't hold back after his team's seventh straight loss Sunday.

"F-----g unacceptable. … Guys should be pissed off," Maroon said, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith.

The Wild dropped Sunday's contest against the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 despite outshooting the opposition 38-23. The loss drops Minnesota to 5-10-4 on the campaign, with the team's last win coming against the New York Islanders on Nov. 7.

"We've gotta change something," head coach Dean Evason said postgame. "We can't just continue to (say), 'Well, it's a good effort, we outshot them, we had lots of chances.' We're still losing. So, we gotta find a way to win."

Evason added: "Same mistakes, same guys are not pulling their weight. Same mistakes that happen most nights and don't allow us to have a true, true chance of winning a hockey game."

The Wild are the league's third-most penalized team per game and have the NHL's worst penalty kill at 67.2%. Minnesota allowed another two power-play goals against the Red Wings on Sunday.

Maroon took a tripping penalty 52 seconds into the third period, and Detroit converted on the ensuing man advantage to go up 3-1. He called the play "stupid" and took the blame for his mistake, according to Smith.

Evason called out Matt Boldy on Friday, saying the forward "100%" needs to play better, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. He reiterated the sentiment after Sunday's loss.

"Sometimes, we'll take accountability, but there are sometimes where the player's gotta step up," Evason said when asked about Boldy. "I don't care how old you are, and I don't care what's going on, these guys get paid a lot of money to score goals and to play better, and some guys aren't. We'll do what we can do from our end, but there's gotta be some looking in the mirror as well."

Boldy has one goal and eight points in 11 games. His lone goal came Oct. 14 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 22-year-old is in the first season of a seven-year, $49-million contract signed in January.

The Wild will look to snap their losing skid Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues.

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Vancouver Canucks forward Nils Hoglander was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for intent to injure San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc in Monday's contest.

Hoglander slew-footed Labanc with 1:29 left in the second period.

Sam Lafferty scored shorthanded during the Canucks' five-minute penalty kill with less than one second remaining in the second frame.

Calgary Flames forward Blake Coleman was fined $5,000 for slew-footing then-Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois last season. It was the only supplementary discipline handed out during the 2022-23 campaign for slew-footing.

Hoglander hasn't been fined or suspended in his 157-game NHL career.

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The Dallas Stars will immortalize franchise legend Mike Modano with a statue in front of American Airlines Center, the team announced Monday.

The statue will be unveiled March 16 prior to Dallas' game against the Los Angeles Kings.

Modano played 20 seasons with the Stars, four in Minnesota and 16 in Dallas, accumulating 557 goals and 1,359 points in 1,459 games. He's the all-time franchise leader in games played, goals, assists, and points.

The Michigan native won the Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999 and is the franchise leader in each postseason category as well.

The Stars retired Modano's No. 9 in 2014. His statue will join Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki's outside the arena.

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The NHL's return to international competition will feature only four countries, sources confirmed to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

The league's next global tourney will include Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States and is scheduled for February 2025, Wyshynski reports.

The proposed format would reportedly see Canada and the U.S. play two games in North America, while Finland and Sweden would face off in Europe. Based on either a points or aggregate goal total, the winner of the matchup would then take on the runner-up from the opposite continent, Wyshynski adds.

The NHL last hosted an international competition in 2016 with the World Cup of Hockey. The event featured six national teams, an under-23 North American squad, and a European side that featured players whose national teams weren't represented at the event.

NHLers haven't participated in a best-on-best tournament since the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

The NHL not having an agreement with the IIHF provides a challenge for the league to host a larger-scale tournament. Without IIHF involvement, an NHL-hosted event could only feature the league's players.

"That will be an all-NHL players playing in the tournament because we don't have an agreement with the IIHF right now," NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said last week in Sweden, according to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli. "The timeline that we want to do the World Cup is roughly the same that (the IIHF) do the Worlds. And they have obligations that they have to live up to as well."

Canada, Finland, Sweden, the U.S., Czechia, and Russia are the only countries with enough NHL-signed players to form a full national roster.

Stars including Germany's Leon Draisaitl, Russia's Nikita Kucherov, Czechia's David Pastrnak, Switzerland's Roman Josi, and numerous others would be left out of the NHL's 2025 tournament.

"Theoretically, that's important," commissioner Gary Bettman said of a more inclusive event, per Wyshynski. "As a practical matter, that may not be realistic. We might get there over time. We may have to evolve into a more inclusive World Cup. It's a work in progress."

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Vegas Golden Knights forward Paul Cotter was assessed a game penalty for an illegal check to the head of Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov in the team's 3-0 loss on Tuesday.

The collision occurred at 5:18 of the second period.

Kuznetsov left the game after the play but returned to the bench later in the period.

Cotter hasn't been suspended or fined in his 77-game NHL career.

Golden Knights forward Brett Howden was suspended two games for an illegal check to the head of Seattle Kraken forward Brandon Tanev in the first game of the former team's season.

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