Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson departed Wednesday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes with an upper-body injury, the team announced.

Thompson played the first two periods but didn't come back out for the third. He was seen walking gingerly to the dressing room at the end of the second.

The 25-year-old was considered day-to-day with an upper-body ailment earlier in the week, but he never missed any games.

Thompson, the Sabres' lone All-Star Game representative, has registered 34 goals and 34 assists in 50 games this season.

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Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone is out indefinitely after undergoing successful back surgery, the team announced Wednesday.

The 30-year-old is expected to make a full recovery. Stone hasn't played since suffering the injury on Jan. 12 against the Florida Panthers. He experienced a setback in his rehabilitation, which prompted the surgery Tuesday.

The procedure marks his second in less than a year. Stone underwent back surgery in May following an injury-plagued 2021-22 campaign in which he missed 45 games across three stretches on the sidelines.

Vegas has won only one of the eight games Stone has missed this season.

Stone ranks second on the Golden Knights with 17 goals and 38 points in 43 games while averaging 19:23 of ice time per contest this season.

The Winnipeg native has four campaigns remaining on his current deal with a $9.5-million cap hit.

The Golden Knights are third in the Pacific Division with a 29-18-4 record after missing the playoffs for the first time last season. Vegas enjoyed a hot start to the campaign but owns a dubious 2-6-2 mark in its previous 10 games.

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Brad Marchand believes the Boston Bruins' run as one of the most consistent teams in the NHL is due, in part, to the players taking contracts below market value.

"Guys have tried to take less to win because we know that it bleeds through the lineup," Marchand said Wednesday ahead of Boston's matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs, per Sportsnet.

"If you can have six guys that make lower salary (rather) than three, it's a lot harder to play against. And that's why we've been so good for so long."

The Bruins possess some of the most team-friendly contracts in the league. Marchand, who's been a first- or second-team All-Star in four of the past six seasons, is under contract for two campaigns beyond 2022-23 with a $6.125-million cap hit. Marchand signed his eight-year pact in September 2016 - right before he blossomed into one of the game's best wingers.

Additionally, captain Patrice Bergeron, who's vying for his sixth career Selke Trophy at age 37, re-signed with the Bruins on a one-year, $2.5-million agreement in the offseason. Second-line center David Krejci, who's collected 41 points in 45 games this season, makes just $1 million on the salary cap.

Leading scorer David Pastrnak also comes with a bargain $6.67-million cap hit, but he could cash in this offseason as a pending unrestricted free agent.

The Bruins have missed the playoffs just four times in the salary-cap era, making three trips to the Stanley Cup Final in that span, winning once in 2011. They sit atop the NHL standings this season with a 38-7-5 record.

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The NHLPA's next leader may come from outside the sports world.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is the leading candidate to succeed Donald Fehr as the executive director of the NHLPA, reports ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

The union's executive board plans to meet later this week in Florida to address Walsh's potential appointment, adds Kaplan. If the board - which includes two players each from 26 teams and one each from the remaining six - moves forward with the search committee's recommendation, it'll be put to a full membership vote.

The NHLPA reportedly wants to have a new leader by the end of this regular season. Former Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis is also a finalist, according to Kaplan.

Walsh was the mayor of Boston from January 2014 until March 2021, when he stepped down to join President Joe Biden's cabinet following his confirmation. Walsh has a union background. The 55-year-old was the president of the Laborers' International Union of North America while serving in the Massachusetts state legislature before he was elected mayor.

Fehr is departing as the head of the NHLPA after 12 years.

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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Gustav Nyquist is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury, the team announced Wednesday.

Nyquist was injured on Jan. 25 against the Edmonton Oilers and placed on injured reserve later that week. His ailment doesn't require surgery.

With the Blue Jackets out of the playoff race, Nyquist was a potential trade chip for the March 3 deadline as a pending unrestricted free agent.

The veteran winger collected 10 goals and 12 assists in 48 games this season before hitting the shelf.

Nyquist has spent the past three seasons in Columbus. His career started with an eight-year stint with the Detroit Red Wings before a brief spell with the San Jose Sharks. All in all, the 33-year-old Swede has registered 423 points in 700 games.

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