The Winnipeg Jets' shorthanded defense corps will now be tested even further.

Head coach Paul Maurice said Tuesday that Dmitry Kulikov will be out "until around the All-Star break" with the injury he suffered during Friday night's win over the Anaheim Ducks. This year's All-Star weekend takes place Jan. 24 and 25 in St. Louis.

Kulikov left that game after Ducks forward Carter Rowney hit him hard in the first period. The veteran kept his left arm down at his side while skating off, according to the Winnipeg Sun's Scott Billeck.

The Jets called it an upper-body ailment at the time, and Kulikov didn't play in a loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

The 29-year-old, who's not known for his offense, has recorded four points in 25 contests this season. He ranks third among Jets blue-liners in ice time while logging nearly 20 minutes per game.

Winnipeg's back end has already been thinned out after an injury to Nathan Beaulieu, the offseason departures of Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, and Ben Chiarot, and Dustin Byfugilen being away from the team all season amid his uncertain future.

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Former Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames forward Matt Stajan officially announced his retirement from professional hockey on Tuesday after 14 NHL seasons.

"Thank you to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Calgary Flames organizations for giving me the opportunity to play and compete in the best league in the world," Stajan said. "I wore both jerseys with great pride, and I will be forever grateful for the experiences that came along with that. Also, thank you EHC Red Bull Munich - it was a great experience to play overseas for such a great organization."

Drafted 57th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2002, Stajan spent five full seasons in Toronto before a midseason trade to Calgary, where he played eight-plus campaigns for the Flames. He concluded his pro career in Germany, playing 52 games for Munich in 2018-19.

Stajan suited up in 1,003 NHL games, posting 147 goals and 264 assists.

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Keith Kinkaid will try to rediscover his game in the minors.

The Montreal Canadiens have assigned the veteran goaltender to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. Kinkaid went unclaimed on waivers before Tuesday's deadline.

Montreal placed him on the wire Monday. Afterward, Canadiens head coach Claude Julien said this would give Kinkaid the opportunity to play more often and "hopefully get his game back in sync."

The 30-year-old backup has an .875 save percentage and just one win in six NHL games this season.

On July 1, Montreal signed Kinkaid to a one-year, $1.75-million contract.

The Canadiens recalled their top goaltending prospect, Cayden Primeau, from Laval on Monday.

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The Vegas Golden Knights will be acquiring forward Chandler Stephenson in a trade with the Washington Capitals, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

More to come.

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Not all heroes wear capes, and Mark Borowiecki is perfect evidence of that.

During the Ottawa Senators' off day Sunday in Vancouver, Borowiecki saw a person break into a car and steal a backpack. As the suspect attempted to flee, the veteran defenseman clotheslined the thief off a bike and wrestled him to the ground. Borowiecki retrieved the stolen bag, which contained passports, according to TSN 1200 and Sportsnet's Dan Murphy.

Vancouver police confirmed that Borowiecki assisted in retrieving stolen property.

Fittingly, the defenseman's nickname is "Borocop," according to The Athletic's Hailey Salvian.

Borowiecki is 6-foot-1 and weighs 207 pounds. Known as one of the league's toughest players, he's been in 50 scraps during his nine-year career, according to hockeyfights.com.

The 30-year-old has skated in 27 games with the Sens this season, recording 10 points - one shy of his career high.

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Former Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen told Swedish publication Expressen on Monday that ex-Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock is "the worst person I have ever met," as translated by the outlet.

On a recent episode of the Spittin Chiclets podcast, Franzen's former teammate Chris Chelios said Babcock "verbally assaulted" Franzen during the 2012 playoffs while serving as bench boss in Detroit, causing him to have a "nervous breakdown."

"I get the shivers when I think about it," Franzen said. "That incident occurred against Nashville in the playoffs. It was coarse, nasty, and shocking. But that was just one out of a hundred things he did. The tip of the iceberg.

"He would lay into a couple of the other players. The nice team players, the guys who don't say very much. When they left the team he went on to focus on me. It was verbal attacks, he said horrible things."

Franzen admitted that as a coach, Babcock was "meticulous and well prepared" but said "he's a terrible person, the worst I've ever met. He's a bully who was attacking people."

The Swedish winger claims Babcocks' tirades began one year prior to the event in Nashville and got so bad he struggled to get out of bed.

"From 2011 on, I was terrified of being at the rink," Franzen said. "That’s when he got on me the first time. I just focused on getting out of bed every morning from that moment. Last year I could sleep naturally for the first time since then.

"It was just his attacks, playing in my head. Each and every day."

Babcock was fired by the Maple Leafs on Nov. 20. Just days after his removal, it was revealed that in 2016, the former bench boss made then-rookie forward Mitch Marner rank his teammates by work ethic before showing the list to the players on it.

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