The slash heard 'round the hockey world continues to make headlines.

And, unsurprisingly, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan is standing by his guy, his captain, his best player, Sidney Crosby, after No. 87 knocked Ottawa defenseman Marc Methot out of the Senators' lineup for the foreseeable future thanks to a wicked slash that cost Methot part of his finger.

"I see Sid go through that on a nightly basis, he plays through it," Sullivan said Friday evening, according to the Penguins' website.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said earlier Friday that Crosby won't be disciplined, a decision that obviously doesn't sit well with some people - especially Senators owner Eugene Melnyk.

"We all know who he is, and the guy's just a whiner beyond belief and (if) you do this kind of stuff, I don't care who you are in the league, I don't care if you're the No. 1 player in the league," Melnyk said, not holding anything back. "You should sit out a long time for this kind of crap."

As one of the top players in the league, Crosby's always got a target on his back, and he certainly takes his fair share of abuse. He took a high stick Tuesday night in Buffalo and lost a couple of teeth, but that's a far cry from what happened to Methot, as the Senators now face a future without a defenseman who plays almost 20 minutes a night.

In other words, get used to conversations about preferential treatment for superstars. They're not going anywhere.

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Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk may not have learned his lesson after serving a two-game suspension.

The 19-year-old will return to the lineup Saturday when his Flames tangle with the St. Louis Blues after sitting two games for elbowing Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, and the rookie admits the discipline won't impact the way he plays.

"I'm not changing my game at all," Tkachuk said.

To be fair, that might not be a bad idea.

Tkachuk has proven his value as he sits sixth in rookie scoring with 46 points in 68 games and leads all first-year players - and the Flames - with 96 penalty minutes.

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From fifth-last pick to an NHL contract. Not bad.

The Montreal Canadiens announced the signing of forward Jeremiah Addison to a three-year, entry-level contract Friday.

Addison, 20, was the 207th player selected out of 211 in 2015. From Brampton, Ontario, the left-shooting winger stands 6-feet tall and weighs 190 pounds.

This season, Addison has 24 goals and 19 assists in 51 games in the OHL. His best junior season came in 2015-16, when he had 27 goals and 29 assists in 66 games. He suited up in four games for Montreal's AHL affiliate last season, as well, recording an assist in four games.

Addison has some offense in his stick and plays a rough game. He ranks second on his Windsor team this season with 62 penalty minutes.

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The NHL's Players' Association has been pondering the institution of a ban that would prevent certain agents from reaching out to under-16 players and their families.

NHLPA spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon confirmed by email to TSN's Rick Westhead that the potential regulation would affect certified agents, and that the union has been discussing it for the past year.

"There is a lot to consider,” Weatherdon wrote. “If we put a rule like this in place, it is a very big undertaking with certified agents and prospects all over the entire world. How would we go about ‘policing’ it and at what cost? So the age limit matter is getting discussed, but a decision isn’t imminent.”

The conversation might be preliminary, but the spokesman said multiple staff members within the NHLPA are involved in the discussion, and the rule is being considered because there is "concern that increasingly young players are being recruited and signed by agents."

A pair of active NHL player agents told Westhead that some agencies hire so-called "bird-dog scouts," often former players who aren't certified, to develop ties with players as young as nine years old.

The discussion will continue when meetings between the NHLPA and its agents begin later this month.

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It’s the end of an era in Detroit, and Red Wings fans will be paying up as they bid farewell to Joe Louis Arena.

The beloved venue, which has hosted Red Wings home games since 1979, welcomes six more games through April 9. Over that time, Red Wings tickets won't be cheap on the resale market.

On TicketIQ, the average resale price for Red Wings tickets over those six games is $369. This is more than twice the team’s season average of $154. Take a look at where each game stacks up in terms of pricing below.

Fans looking for the cheapest Red Wings tickets can find them for Friday night’s contest against the Lightning. Also featuring a Wall Mural Magnet giveaway for the first 7,500 fans 21 and older, the game currently owns a $134 average and $89 get-in price. Additional savings can be found on the TicketIQ app.

Conversely, the final home game against the Devils on April 9 is the most expensive remaining game. All fans in attendance will receive a Farewell to the Joe Mini Stick. Tickets are posting a $591 average, making it the most expensive regular-season Red Wings game TicketIQ has ever tracked. Tickets start from $272 each.

With the team’s historic 25-year playoff streak coming to an end, the franchise will call Little Caesars Arena home beginning next season. The 20,000 capacity venue will also host Pistons games starting during the 2017-18 NBA season.

TicketIQ is a leading event ticket search engine with one simple goal: providing consumers with the most transparent and affordable buying experience. We aggregate listings from hundreds of certified sellers across every major sporting, music and theater event - including deals from Ticketmaster's Official Exchanges and our Low Price Guarantee listings. Start discovering and saving now.

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The Calgary Flames have signed forward Dillon Dube to a three-year entry-level contract, the team announced Friday.

The 18-year-old was a second-round selection of the Flames last season after collecting 26 goals and 66 points in 65 games.

This season, Dube has produced at a more consistent clip despite a more limited schedule, chipping in 20 goals and 55 points in 40 games.

Dube was also fortunate enough to capture a silver medal with Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship this past January.

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Buffalo Sabres goaltender Robin Lehner feels the NHL went overboard with its ruling on Rasmus Ristolainen.

The young defenseman was suspended three games for interference on Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Jake Guentzel, a sentence Lehner doesn't believe would have been handed down if the Sabres were on the wrong end of the hit.

"Certain teams in this league get the benefit of the doubt," Lehner said Friday, according to Matt Bove of WKBW. "If the jerseys were reversed, I don't think we're standing here talking about three games."

It's been an interesting week for the Penguins, as Sidney Crosby was also called out by Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk for an unpenalized slash that shattered Marc Methot's finger.

After serving the suspension, Ristolainen will be eligible to return for the final five games of the season.

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Jarome Iginla has only appeared in 10 games for the Los Angeles Kings since a trade deadline deal, but it's from whence he came that earned him the team's Masterton Trophy nomination.

The Masterton Trophy is awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers Association to a player who exhibits qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication during the regular season. For those on the Kings' beat, Iginla spending most of the year in the league's basement warranted some recognition.

From the Los Angeles branch of the PWHA:

Iginla spent 61 games of this season on the Colorado Avalanche - the worst team in the NHL - and never outwardly complained about the group's struggles. His teammates and coaches often praised how he pushed his 39-year-old body to compete every game and how he helped the Colorado's bevy of younger players.

Iginla has since recorded three goals and one assist for a Kings team unlikely to make the playoffs. And as he nears the end of his tremendous career, this is likely the last time he'll be nominated for a major NHL award - at least until the Hall of Fame comes calling.

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The U.S. women's national hockey team has a powerful new ally.

Enter the Major League Baseball Players Association, which threw its support behind the boycotting female players' cause and issued a call to action Friday.

The U.S. women are threatening to sit out the upcoming World Championship unless significant progress is made in their ongoing negotiations with USA Hockey over what they consider to be unfair wages.

Related: U.S. women's hockey team shows solidarity with 1-word statements

America's governing body for hockey confirmed Thursday that it has begun contacting potential replacement players for the tournament, which begins next Friday.

USA Hockey has already postponed its training camp for the event, which was originally scheduled to open earlier in the week.

MLB has enjoyed relative labor peace since the 1994 players' strike that cancelled the World Series. The league has endured eight work stoppages since 1972, five of which were enacted by the union.

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The Anaheim Ducks couldn't apparently care less about winning their fifth consecutive division title.

“It doesn’t matter,” veteran winger Corey Perry told Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.

“It hasn’t mattered the last four years. Whatever happens, happens. There hasn’t been any talk in here. You could probably ask guys where we are right now and a lot of them would say we’re in a playoff spot. But it switches every single night. You just go out and you play. Let the chips fall where they fall.”

Despite their regular-season dominance since 2013, the Ducks have only a single conference final appearance to show for it, and they've been eliminated in the first round in two of the last four postseasons.

“I think right now we’re just worried about playing good hockey,” said center Nate Thompson. “Wherever we end up in the standings, it is what it is. The biggest thing is just playing well and making the playoffs and making sure our game is strong.”

Anaheim has won six of its last eight contests, while the first-place San Jose Sharks have won only four of their last 10.

“You peak at the wrong time, you’re in trouble,” Perry said. “You want to start peaking at the right time at the end of the year. Of course you want to play consistent(ly) and avoid big roller coasters all season long. You want to have a continuous straight line going up.

“But sometimes things happen and it goes down. At the same time, it’s a process. That’s all we’re looking at.”

The Ducks sit in second place in the Pacific, two points behind the Sharks with nine games remaining. The Edmonton Oilers have equaled Anaheim's 89 points in the standings, but the Ducks have a game in hand.

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