A full year of Jonathan Drouin's entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning will be burned even if he remains on the sidelines for the remainder of the season, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.

The Lightning may have been looking to toll the contract, meaning push it back a year in light of the circumstances, but that's not possible, says Daly.

"We haven’t previously had a practice of allowing clubs to toll partial season breaches," Daly told Johnston on Thursday in an email. "Had this been the last season of the contract, however, we may have entertained an argument for ‎some form of remedy or relief in this situation."

What this means is that any team that trades for Drouin will add him to the roster with one year left on the cap-friendly rookie deal.

The 20-year-old is currently suspended without pay after walking out on the AHL's Syracuse Crunch while awaiting a trade.

General manager Steve Yzerman maintains the door is open if Drouin wants to return to the organization for the balance of the season.

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Something tells us that Dylan McIlrath popped "Don Cherry's Rock'Em, Sock'Em Hockey" into his VHS player after his nap Thursday afternoon.

The New York Rangers defender was somewhat surly on his first shift versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, as evidenced by the car crash he initiated in front of his bench.

That's Tom Kuhnhackl beneath the carnage, by the way.

- Video courtesy @Chris_Beardy

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Patrice Bergeron simply can't stop protecting the puck.

The Boston Bruins center and three-time Selke Award winner not only managed to hold on to it after crashing into the end boards, he opened the scoring in Thursday's game seconds later by roofing it over Scott Darling of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Bergeron now has 25 goals on the season.

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Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli doesn't think his relationship with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be affected by Team North America's decision to leave the young center off the initial World Cup of Hockey roster.

Related: McDavid, Eichel highlight North America's initial World Cup roster

Speaking Thursday on Oilers Now on 630 CHED, Chiarelli - who's overseeing the young stars team - cited several talented players across the league that weren't named to the 16-player rosters, maintaining it's not a delicate situation to have left the 22-year-old off to the side for the time being.

"It doesn't mean the players aren't good, it doesn't mean it's a slight. These are hard decisions," Chiarelli said. "With Ryan, we had a real constructive conversation, and really the impetus wasn't to tell him that he wasn't on the first selection. It was more just to talk about his game and where I'd like it to be.

"I have to wear two different hats," he continued. "At the end of the day, I'm a real big fan of Ryan's. He's got a real good two-way component to his game, he plays against the top centers and he has for a long time for a player of such a young age."

Chiarelli cited being part of Team Canada's brain trust that voted not to name Martin St. Louis to the 2014 Olympic roster. While Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman took the heat, and it ultimately led to a trade at the NHL level, Chiarelli said it was wholly a group decision both then and now.

Part of the issue is the fact Nugent-Hopkins is currently out with a hand injury and a strong push to end the season upon his return would go far towards securing a place on the team.

Chiarelli's final message to Nugent-Hopkins?

"Get back playing and you'll find yourself on this roster," he said.

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Forgive Jaromir Jagr if he's been a bit irritable of late.

The Florida Panthers' ageless leading scorer recently revealed that the habit he's kicked for Lent this year is the 10 cups of coffee he's been knocking back daily all season long.

Without that daily caffeine kick - or in many cases kicks - production across every industry and sector would see a significant dip, but that hasn't been the case for the enigmatic star. In fact, Java-less Jagr has produced at a point-per-game pace since the official start of Lent.

Nope, not for us mortals.

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Jiri Hudler and Teddy Purcell have each made their Florida Panthers debuts, but the deadline adds, both acquired from Canadian franchises, remain ineligible south of the border.

As such, the pair, still waiting on work visas, won't be in the lineup Thursday versus the Colorado Avalanche when the Cats make their second-to-last stop on a five-game road trip.

Purcell recorded an assist in Tuesday's win over the Winnipeg Jets, while Hudler took a minus-2 in his debut.

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Kyle Baun has seen just five games at the NHL level, but the powerhouse Chicago Blackhawks - a team constantly finessing around the league's tight salary parameters - have seen enough to want him on their books for another two seasons.

Chicago has signed Baun to a two-year, one-way contract extension that will carry a guaranteed $625,000 cap hit, Sportsnet's Chris Johnston reports.

The agreement should give the bottom-six forward every opportunity to make and stick with the club next season.

He has three assists in 22 games with the Rockford IceHogs in this, his first pro season. He failed to hit the score sheet in five starts with the Blackhawks.

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Niklas Backstrom was once a William M. Jennings Award winner for helping the Minnesota Wild to the NHL's best goals-against average.

Now, nine years later, he's a salary dump with a misspelled nameplate.

In the Flames' defense, they were quite close.

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Niklas Backstrom was once a William M. Jennings Award winner for helping the Minnesota Wild to the NHL's best goals-against average.

Now, nine years later, he's a salary dump with a misspelled nameplate.

In the Flames' defense, they were quite close.

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Rick Nash is slowly but surely on his way back to the New York Rangers' lineup.

The winger skated for 15 minutes in Pittsburgh on Thursday, marking the first time he's taken to the ice in more than a month as a result of a bone bruise on his left leg.

Nash admitted the injury has taken far longer to recover from than anticipated and expects to be back to game action in 10-to-14 days.

"I thought it was going to be a day-to-day thing, take a few days to get better; seemed like it was one of those injuries that had to get worse before it got better, and that was the case. We just took our time," he said after the skate, according to Steve Zipay of Newsday.

"I didn't do anything crazy, stops and starts, so it's going to be a bit of a process to get my legs back, my wind back, get my timing back. The big thing now is that hopefully there's no setbacks. Right now I'm focused on getting better each day and today was a great step."

Nash recorded 12 goals and 21 assists in 45 games for the Rangers prior to suffering the injury.

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