Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi and Dallas Stars defenseman Julius Honka won't be suiting up in the NHL this season.

The pair of restricted free agents needed to sign contracts before Sunday's 5 p.m. ET deadline to be deemed eligible to play any games this campaign.

Both players were seeking trades from the teams that drafted them, but Oilers general manager Ken Holland and Stars GM Jim Nill weren't able to find deals to their liking.

The pair of Finns have been playing overseas in Finland's top pro league and will likely stay there for the remainder of the season. Puljujarvi recently said he intended on staying on home soil, regardless of whether a trade came to fruition. Here's how each player has performed in the Finnish Elite League this year:

Both players signed one-year deals with opt-out clauses in Finland in case either of them was traded to a new NHL club and signed before Dec. 1. Either player could still have his rights traded before the deadline but wouldn't be able to play this season.

The Carolina Hurricanes were reportedly among a list of teams that showed interest in Puljujarvi. The Montreal Canadiens apparently kicked tires on Honka.

Puljujarvi was selected fourth overall by the Oilers at the 2016 draft, while Honka was nabbed 14th overall by the Stars in 2014.

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Montreal Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur had surgery Thursday to remove a lobe from one of his lungs and ganglions, the team announced on behalf of his family Sunday.

According to the club's statement, Lafleur's operation was successful. He'll remain under observation at a Montreal hospital and is expected to return home in the coming days to continue his recovery.

The 68-year-old underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery in September.

Lafleur is the Canadiens' all-time points and assists leader, and he ranks second in franchise history in career goals.

The Hockey Hall of Famer won the Stanley Cup five times with Montreal in the 1970s.

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Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski is expected to miss four weeks with a shoulder injury suffered Saturday night, the club announced Sunday.

Werenski left the Blue Jackets' 2-0 loss in the first period following a collision with Islanders forward Anders Lee in front of the Columbus net.

Werenski leads all Blue Jackets rearguards and ranks third among the club's skaters with 16 points in 26 games this season. He'd been particularly productive lately, registering 10 points in his last 10 contests.

The 22-year-old trails only defense partner Seth Jones in ice time for Columbus.

Werenski is tied for ninth and ranks 19th in goals and points, respectively, among all NHL blue-liners since entering the league in 2016.

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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin is expected to miss at least eight weeks after undergoing ankle surgery Sunday, the club announced.

Dumoulin underwent a procedure to repair lacerated tendons in his left ankle. He suffered the injury during Saturday night's loss to the St. Louis Blues.

The 28-year-old ranks second on the Penguins in average ice time, logging 21:04 per game this season. He's collected seven points in 23 contests.

Pittsburgh has been riddled with injuries, most notably to superstar captain Sidney Crosby and blue-liner Justin Schultz. Rearguard Kris Letang returned to the lineup Monday after missing eight games, while star forward Evgeni Malkin was forced to miss 11 games earlier this season.

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Sean Avery is accusing former NHL head coach Marc Crawford of kicking him during a game while the two were with the Los Angeles Kings more than a decade ago.

“Marc Crawford kicked me once,” the retired enforcer told the New York Post's Larry Brooks on Saturday.

“This was right after I (messed) up a drill and dumped the puck into the wrong corner, and it landed on Crow’s head and cut him for six (stitches),” Avery added. “He kicked me during a game.”

When asked whether Crawford kicked him during the next game because of the drill, Avery clarified the circumstances.

“No, he kicked me after a too-many-men-on-the-ice call I took,” the former forward said. “He didn’t have me serve it, we got scored on, and he let me have it. You know how I stand at the end of the bench? He came down and gave me an ass kick that left a mark.”

According to Brooks, the incident took place on Dec. 23, 2006, during a game between the Kings and Predators following a too-many-men call against Los Angeles that came 36 seconds before Nashville scored the sixth goal in a 7-0 win.

Avery found the incident more bemusing than upsetting, according to Brooks, and the former player said it wasn't the reason he was traded to the New York Rangers in February 2007.

“No, no,” Avery said. “That was because I squared off with and tried to fight Mark Hardy, who was one of our assistant coaches, on the ice. (Former teammate Mattias) Norstrom saved his life.”

Crawford is now an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Earlier this week, former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Michal Jordan accused ex-Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters of kicking him and punching another player in the head during a game when Peters was Carolina's bench boss from 2014-18.

Peters resigned as Flames head coach Friday after former player Akim Aliu revealed that Peters repeatedly directed the N-word toward him when the two were with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs in 2009-10. Peters' use of the slur was corroborated by two of Aliu's former teammates, and Peters later acknowledged using "offensive language."

On Monday, recently fired Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said he apologized to Mitch Marner back in 2016-17 after shaming the then-rookie by asking him to rank teammates by work ethic before sharing it with the players at the bottom of the list.

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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was behind the bench at Scotiabank Arena as an NHL bench boss for the first time on Saturday, and he soaked it all in as his club skated to a 2-1 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

"It was fun being here," Keefe said postgame. "Different circumstances than when I've been here in the past. Fitting that the Marlies were in the building this afternoon, that's more what I'm familiar with. It's nice. It's special. A lot of my family here to enjoy it as well. It wasn't the prettiest game at times, but we found a way to get the two points and finish off a good week here."

Keefe, a native of Brampton, took over for the fired Mike Babcock on Nov. 20, while the Leafs were in the midst of a road trip.

Keefe coached in the building during his time with the Toronto Marlies, but he noticed the difference in the arena's atmosphere on a Saturday night with the big club.

"Fans are into it. There's a lot of them. It's a big crowd. It's nice to be at home. As I said, I've been in this environment before but never quite like this. Never quite as full and never quite as much emotion and energy and all those types of things. It was nice and we're hoping it gets better from here," Keefe said.

Toronto's transition to Keefe's systems has been successful so far, as the club improved to 4-1 under their new leader with Saturday's victory.

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Saturday was a night Chris Driedger will never forget.

Making his first NHL start, the 25-year-old journeyman stopped all 27 shots he faced for the Florida Panthers in their 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators. The memorable evening had Driedger lost for words.

"Honestly, I'm speechless at this point," he told reporters postgame. "It's been a long time coming. I was nervous, but as soon as the puck dropped it felt good."

A long time coming indeed. Driedger has played in the minors for seven seasons with seven different teams - in addition to suiting up for three relief appearances with the Ottawa Senators - before getting the nod Saturday. He spent a significant amount of time in the ECHL - two levels below the NHL - over the last few years.

Driedger was called up to the Panthers to start in place of a struggling Sergei Bobrovsky after posting a sparkling .938 save percentage in 14 games with the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds this season.

The Winnipeg native left quite an impression on his coaches and teammates.

"He was unbelievable," Aleksander Barkov told WPLG's David Dwork. "He said he was nervous, but he didn't look like it at all."

Head coach Joel Quenneville echoed his captain's statement.

"I thought he was great," Quenneville said. "Composure was terrific. Waited on pucks. Smooth. I thought he moved well. Happy for him."

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