The aftermath of the Ottawa Senators' Uber scandal has taken another turn.

The Ottawa Citizen - the newspaper that posted the video of seven Sens players trash talking assistant coach Marty Raymond while they were unknowingly being recorded during an Uber ride in Arizona - said on Friday that the club banned longtime reporter Ken Warren from the team's charter, according to the Canadian Press.

This comes after the Citizen rejected the team's request to remove the video from its website on Wednesday.

Warren had been given his usual travel itinerary, but upon arriving at the airport was told he couldn't board the team's flight to Tampa Bay.

"I can confirm it happened this morning," said the paper's editor-in-chief Michelle Richardson. "For us, it doesn’t really change our fundamentals. We’re still committed to covering the Senators, both the good and the bad. Our coverage is important to our readers and to their fans and that’s not going to change."

This isn't the first time the Senators have banned a reporter from the team's charter, according to Postmedia's Michael Traikos.

TSN's Brent Wallace also lost his seat on the plane last year after asking owner Eugene Melnyk about a report that suggested he had been withholding bonus money from his employees. Melnyk denied the allegation, but once the cameras were turned off, bystanders saw him turn to Wallace and say, "I’m going to bury you," according to Traikos.

Traikos adds that the Senators are the lone remaining NHL club to allow reporters to travel with the team, but Sylvain St-Laurent of Le Droit is one of the few who still has a seat.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg will be out a little longer than initially expected.

The 26-year-old underwent hand surgery Friday and will be out a minimum of four weeks, head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters. He was originally expected to miss three weeks.

Klingberg suffered the injury during his club's 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, though it's not clear when it occurred.

The blue-liner sits second on the team in scoring with 13 points and paces the club with six power-play points in 16 games.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

James Sparklin, the Uber driver who posted a video of seven Ottawa Senators players criticizing their special teams coach, has spoken for the first time since the incident went viral.

"I was not in the right state of mind," Sparklin said, mentioning he wrestled with the decision and ultimately posted part of the video on YouTube while intoxicated, according to Kelly Egan of the Ottawa Citizen.

Sparklin said he was aggravated about an unspecified incident that happened early in the trip regarding the number of passengers he had to transport, saying he was concerned he wouldn't be covered by his insurance in the event of an accident.

"What really upset me the most was, if I were to get in an accident, I don't believe the insurance would cover it. The million-dollar policy would go very fast," he said.

Uber fired Sparklin for violating its terms of service, and he showed remorse for the incident.

"I didn't think about my actions at all," Sparklin said. "I wasn't trying to get money or anything like that. I got contacted and took it down right away.

"I'm worried about my name getting out, my life being ruined, and my children."

The Senators players involved in the video have since apologized, and the team has gone 1-1 since it was thrust into the spotlight.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A concussion is at the root of Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy's absence, general manager Don Sweeney announced Friday.

The 20-year-old has missed the Bruins' last eight games, having not suited up since Oct. 18 against the Edmonton Oilers when he suffered the head injury.

"He’s been in protocol since (the Edmonton game) and is progressing - no timeline (on a return) but making progress," Sweeney said.

Sweeney noted that the Bruins aren't sure when exactly the hit that gave McAvoy the concussion occurred, but the blue-liner did skate in the last few days, according to Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston.

Injuries have limited the sophomore to just seven games this season, but he's been productive when healthy, contributing one goal and six points.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Could Gritty have a future in politics? Some people in New Jersey apparently think so.

The Philadelphia Flyers' mascot earned 14 write-in votes from residents in Camden, N.J. in the midterm elections, according to Michael Blinn of the New York Post. There was a pair of votes for Gritty to be county sheriff and another two for the U.S. House in N.J. District 1.

A graphic shown on the video board at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night claimed that Gritty received write-in votes in 46 states, though there has been no confirmation of that yet.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Boston Bruins have granted goaltender Tuukka Rask a leave of absence relating to a personal matter, the team announced Friday.

The reason for his absence or its potential length is unknown, but general manager Don Sweeney said the matter isn't health related.

Rask has yet to find his groove in the 2018-19 season, owning a 4-4 record with a .901 save percentage.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Thanks to the generosity of one Washington Capitals fan, the entirety of Thursday night's 50/50 jackpot at Capital One Arena will be donated to the victims of the recent Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.

The Capitals announced ahead of their game against the Penguins that they would donate half the jackpot to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to benefit the victims and families of the Tree of Life Synagogue, where an Oct. 27 shooting left 11 people dead and six injured.

A Capitals season-ticket holder won the raffle but chose to donate their portion of the winnings to the victims too. The jackpot donation from the Capitals and the winning fan totaled $38,570.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Tomas Plekanec announced his retirement from the NHL on Friday after the Montreal Canadiens placed him on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.

However, while Plekanec's playing days in the NHL are now in the rearview mirror, he admits he's not quite ready to hang up the skates for good.

Plekanec remarked on his time with the Habs and his now-former teammates during his announcement.

"I'm happy with what I've done here with the Canadiens," Plekanec said, per the team. "I can leave happy.

"I'm going to miss the guys. It's another family, coming here every morning. Now, it's gone. It's something I'm going to miss, for sure. I'm going to watch them and cheer for them."

The 36-year-old concludes his NHL career with 233 goals and 608 points in 1,001 games, with all but 17 of those contests coming as a member of the Canadiens.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's a matter of time before Joel Quenneville finds his way behind an NHL bench again, but he'll do so on his own terms.

Quenneville was fired by the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday after 10-plus seasons with Chicago and three Stanley Cups. The 60-year-old definitely wants to coach again and will wait for the opportunity he believes is best, a source told Scott Powers of The Athletic.

There are no current openings, but several teams across the league would jump at the opportunity to add a coach of Quenneville's caliber. The future Hall of Famer ranks second in NHL history with 890 wins and is coming off the most successful coaching tenure of the salary-cap era.

He's free to join a new team at any point, though there's one season left on his contract with the Blackhawks at $6 million.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Montreal Canadiens will place forward Tomas Plekanec on unconditional waivers at noon Friday in order to terminate his contract, the team announced.

The veteran forward has struggled to remain in the lineup for any significant period of time this year, having played in just three of the Canadiens' 16 games this season.

The 36-year-old rejoined the Habs this offseason following a deal ahead of the trade deadline last year that sent him from Montreal to the Toronto Maple Leafs for their stretch run.

Plekanec played in his 1,000th career game earlier this season, scoring his lone goal of the campaign. He ranks seventh on the franchise's all-time games played list (984) and is tied for second in Canadiens history with 20 shorthanded goals.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.