With the 2022 Beijing Olympics rapidly approaching and COVID-19 cases climbing globally, there's been some concern that the NHL will pull out of its participation in the Winter Games.

However, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday the decision will rest in the players' hands.

"In good faith, we made a promise to the players, and ultimately, this is going to have to be a player's decision," Bettman said, according to NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika.

The league committed to allowing NHLers to go to the Olympics as part of a new CBA signed during the summer of 2020. Players weren't permitted to attend the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

It's been reported that the league has until Jan. 10 to officially withdraw from the Games, but deputy commissioner Bill Daly said there's no hard deadline for the NHL to pull out.

Bettman added that "a number of players are expressing concerns" about going to Beijing and quarantine requirements, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. There are no official protocols set out yet, but players could potentially be required to quarantine in China for multiple weeks if they test positive for COVID-19 while there.

The Olympics are set to begin Feb. 4 and conclude Feb. 20.

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The New Jersey Devils placed goaltender Jonathan Bernier on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, the team announced Friday.

Head coach Lindy Ruff said he's "worried and concerned" about the goalie's long-term health due to a hip injury, according to team reporter Amanda Stein. Bernier has been dealing with the injury all season.

The 33-year-old has appeared in 10 games this season, going 4-4-1 with a .906 save percentage and a 3.06 goals-against average. He started off the season hot - rattling off three straight wins - but has lost five of his last six.

The club recalled netminder Akira Schmid in a corresponding move.

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The Winnipeg Jets have loaned forward Cole Perfetti to Team Canada for its selection camp prior to the upcoming 2022 World Junior Championship, the team announced Friday.

Hockey Canada released the full list of invitees to the selection camp on Wednesday, with the camp taking place Dec. 9-13.

Perfetti was selected with the 10th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Jets. Since being drafted, he's collected 41 points in 49 games with the AHL's Manitoba Moose over the last two campaigns and is scoreless in two games with Winnipeg this season.

After failing to make the roster in 2020, the 19-year-old had six points in seven games with Team Canada in last year's world juniors but failed to capture a gold medal, falling to the United States in the championship game.

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Buffalo Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery, the team announced Friday.

Details of the surgery and timetable for recovery are unknown, but Mittelstadt had been dealing with an upper-body injury, according to The Athletic's John Vogl.

Mittelstadt has missed 21 games this season after suffering an injury in the Sabres' season opener. He returned to the lineup last week but sustained another injury against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.

Head coach Don Granato said postgame there was concern that it was a "re-injury" and could potentially keep Mittelstadt out long term, according to NHL.com's Kurt Haumesser.

The 23-year-old has one goal in four contests this season.

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NHL teams took a massive financial hit last year due to the pandemic with a shortened 56-game season and extremely limited attendance for most clubs. However, things are looking up, as the average team value has risen to $865 million - an increase of 32% from last year, according to Forbes' Mike Ozanian. That's the biggest one-year jump since 2013.

For the seventh straight year, the New York Rangers sit atop Forbes' annual list of team valuations, and they've become the first NHL franchise valued at $2 billion. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, and Boston Bruins round out the unchanged top five.

The Edmonton Oilers had the biggest jump of any team, doubling last year's $550 million valuation to $1.1 billion.

No teams decreased in value from last year. The team with the smallest increase - the Vancouver Canucks - saw a 14% rise in value from last year and an 18% rise over the last five years.

Here's the full list:

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner revealed that he turned down the opportunity to play for Sweden at the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger.

Lehner added that he and his psychiatrist decided it was in his best interests not to go for health reasons.

The 30-year-old has been open about his experiences with mental health over the last few years, specifically with bipolar disorder and addiction.

Lehner was projected to be in the running for Sweden's starting goalie job, along with Jacob Markstrom, Linus Ullmark, and Anton Forsberg.

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The Vancouver Canucks are parting ways with general manager Jim Benning, reports TSN's Farhan Lalji.

Benning had held the position with the organization since 2014. The club also reportedly relieved Travis Green of his head coaching duties earlier Sunday and hired Bruce Boudreau to take over.

During Benning's tenure, which dated back to 2014-15, the Canucks owned the NHL's sixth-worst points percentage (.487) while holding a 242-257-61 record.

Benning is responsible for drafting a number of franchise stars, including Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Thatcher Demko, and Brock Boeser. He also acquired J.T. Miller from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019.

Benning handed out a number of contracts that weighed the team down during his tenure. He signed Loui Eriksson to a six-year, $36-million pact in 2016, Brandon Sutter to a five-year, $21-million deal in 2015, and Antoine Roussel and Jay Beagle to identical four-year, $12-million contracts in 2018.

However, the Canucks only made the playoffs twice under Benning, advancing to the second round in 2020.

The 58-year-old was busy this past summer, locking up Pettersson and Hughes to long-term extensions and making a big splash in the trade market by bringing in Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland.

Despite the moves, the Canucks have had a miserable start to the 2021-22 campaign, owning an 8-15-2 record and losing 10 of their last 13 games. Vancouver fans recently showed their disdain for the general manager by chanting "Fire Benning" at home games. One supporter even tossed a Canucks jersey on the ice on Saturday night.

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Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe during Sunday night's contest.

Here's a look at the play:

Kempe was bleeding after the hit but stayed in the game. He scored a goal during the ensuing power play to give the Kings a 3-1 lead. Drew Doughty and Trevor Moore added two more goals with the man advantage to secure a 5-1 victory.

This marks the second time in McDavid's career that he was handed a game misconduct, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector. The first instance occurred Jan. 25, 2018, when he pointed to the booth upstairs after scoring a goal in the shootout.

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After yet another loss, fans in Montreal are starting to lose patience with the Canadiens.

Late in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, a spectator tossed a Canadiens jersey onto the Bell Centre ice:

Nick Suzuki, one of Montreal's lone bright spots during a miserable season so far, touched on fans' frustrations postgame.

"Yeah, I saw it (the jersey). It's not a good feeling for the players," Suzuki said.

"It's tough. It's tough to get booed. But the fans want to see wins, and they're used to productive teams, and we're not doing that right now. I can definitely see why they're getting angry."

The Canadiens were outshot 34-20 Thursday and only managed 18 scoring chances to Colorado's 37, per Natural Stat Trick. The Avalanche were playing the second half of a back-to-back on the road after losing 8-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

With the loss, the Canadiens now own a 6-17-2 record and have the third-worst points percentage in the league. Suzuki is tied for the team lead in points (15) with Tyler Toffoli.

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Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi will be sidelined for at least the next 10 days after being placed in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol Wednesday, Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill confirmed, according to the Detroit Free Press' Helene St. James.

Bertuzzi disclosed before the season that he is unvaccinated; he remains the only NHL player not inoculated. He'll miss at least four more games after sitting out Wednesday's 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken.

The 26-year-old missed three contests earlier this season due to his vaccination status when the Red Wings visited Canadian teams. Unvaccinated players can't cross the Canada-U.S. border without quarantining.

Bertuzzi has nine goals and nine assists in 20 games this season.

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