Zucker was ruled out of the Wild's most recent game - a 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights - with a lower-body injury and has been sent home from Minnesota's current road trip.
The 27-year-old is second on the Wild in scoring this season with 24 points in 34 games while averaging over 16 minutes per contest.
The Ottawa Senators blue-liner deserves a long rest after playing a whopping 37:50 during his club's overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.
Chabot's effort represents the second-most minutes played in a regular-season game dating back to 1979-80, according to Hockey Reference. Dennis Wideman's 38:05 in January 2014 is the only number that bests Chabot's.
Making Chabot's Herculean performance even more impressive is the fact the Senators were on the second half of a back-to-back. Chabot played 22:35 during Monday's loss to the Florida Panthers, and entered Tuesday's game averaging 25:10 per contest.
Chabot had a total of 30 shifts Tuesday night, playing 33 minutes at even strength and an additional 4:50 on the power play, according to the NHL's official shift chart. He didn't notch any points but fired four shots on goal while adding two blocks.
The Senators return to action Thursday night versus the Nashville Predators at home, where Chabot's name is likely to be repeatedly called upon once again.
"We can tell you that the agent for Zack Kassian, Rick Curran, was in Dallas on Monday and met with Oilers general manager Ken Holland to begin talks on a contract," McKenzie said. "They were only preliminary, they will try and drill down on this over the next couple of weeks. Kassian is going to try to parlay some really strong play on Connor McDavid's line into a multi-year deal."
Kassian is in the final season of a three-year contract signed with the Oilers in 2017. His current cap hit is $1.95 million, and he's scheduled for unrestricted free agency in July if neither side agrees on a new deal.
The soon-to-be 29-year-old is enjoying a stellar year riding on Edmonton's top line. Kassian has already posted 23 points - just six shy of his career high - through 33 contests in 2019-20 while still providing the overpowering physical element he's known for.
The Oilers are projected to have over $23 million in available money for 2020-21, per Cap Friendly, though that number could rise if the league's salary cap goes up. Despite plenty to spend, Holland has a lot of work to do with only six forwards and three defensemen currently under contract for next season.
The minor-league equipment manager who went to a 2011 Halloween party dressed in blackface as Akim Aliu apologized directly to the player and will keep his job.
Colorado Eagles owner Martin Lind said in a statement Tuesday that he and Tony Deynzer, the staffer in question, spoke with Aliu separately about the "unacceptable racist incident."
Deynzer "offered a heartfelt and emotional apology directly to Mr. Aliu which Mr. Aliu accepted," said Lind, who added that Aliu requested that Deynzer not lose his job.
Aliu confirmed as much in a statement of his own.
"My conversation with Mr. Lind was a tough one but a necessary one," the former player said. "I believe that we must confront racism head-on. I believe the time for big, positive change in the sport has arrived and that this moment can be used to promote diversity, inclusiveness, and safety in the sport and our community."
Lind's "candid" conversation with Aliu focused on the incident and more broadly on promoting diversity in the sport at all levels, the team owner said.
Aliu first divulged details of the incident to the Wall Street Journal's Andrew Beaton last week, after which the Eagles publicly apologized, placed Deynzer on administrative leave, and claimed no prior knowledge.
The Eagles have employed Deynzer since 2003.
They were the Winnipeg Jets' ECHL team in 2011, and are now the AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche.
In late November, Aliu revealed former Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters repeatedly directed the N-word toward him while the two were with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs in 2009-10. Peters resigned from the Flames shortly thereafter.
"There are too many red jerseys here," Roussel said, according to TSN's Jeff Paterson. "It pisses me off the way they feel like it's their home. It's our home. Get the hell out of here."
Roussel, a native of France, spent six seasons with the Dallas Stars before signing a four-year, $12-million deal with the Canucks in 2018. He has three goals and one assist in six games this season.
The 30-year-old has appeared in 11 career games against Montreal, recording one assist with two fights.
The Canadiens will face the Canucks in Vancouver on Tuesday.
Ilya Kovalchuk's tenure with the Los Angeles Kings officially lasted for just under a year and a half after the forward cleared unconditional waivers Tuesday, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. Kovalchuk signed a three-year, $18.75-million contract with L.A. in 2018 and appeared in just 81 games for the Kings, recording 19 goals and 43 points.
He wasn't living up to his $6.25-million cap hit, but Kovalchuk can still score and produce to a certain extent, and he should draw some interest if he wants to continue playing in the NHL. Now that he's an unrestricted free agent, here are three teams that could benefit from bringing in the 36-year-old on a cheap deal.
Boston Bruins
Ethan Miller / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Despite sitting atop the Atlantic Division with a dominant nine-point lead on the Buffalo Sabres, the Boston Bruins could use some secondary scoring.
Their top line of Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Patrice Bergeron has a combined 56 goals, accounting for 49% of Boston's total goals scored. The prospect of playing for one of the league's top contenders could attract Kovalchuk, and the Russian could slot into the team's second line alongside David Krejci and help bolster the team's second power-play unit.
Edmonton Oilers
Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty
After a high-flying start, the Edmonton Oilers have started to skid. They're 3-6-1 in their last 10 games with just 23 goals in that span. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl remain the league's two leading point-getters, but goals have otherwise been hard to come by for Edmonton lately.
Kovalchuk could provide some much-needed support for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the team's third line. Adding another scorer could also allow Draisaitl to return to McDavid's line, where the two have created magic together all season long.
Montreal Canadiens
Andre Ringuette / National Hockey League / Getty
It seems like the Montreal Canadiens could always use an injection of offense. This season, they rank in the middle of the league at 17th in goals for with 105. Goals are spread throughout their group of forwards, led by Brendan Gallagher, who has 14.
With Jonathan Drouin expected to be on the shelf for several more weeks after undergoing wrist surgery in November, bringing in another scoring winger could help the Canadiens stay afloat in the competitive Atlantic Division. Montreal has a plethora of cap space, so a low-cost deal for Kovalchuk wouldn't carry much risk.
