The Pittsburgh Penguins have activated Evgeni Malkin off of injured reserve, the team announced Friday.

Malkin - who's missed the Penguins' last 11 games with a leg injury - is likely to make his return to the lineup Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers.

"He looks good. He's participating in practice in a full capacity," head coach Mike Sullivan said earlier Friday. "We will see how he responds after today's practice, but it's certainly encouraging (for him to play tomorrow)."

The 33-year-old was hurt in the Penguins' second game of the season Oct. 5 and was expected to miss at least a month. Pittsburgh has weathered the storm during his absence, compiling a 7-4-0 record over that span.

Malkin has one goal in the two games he's appeared in this season.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Nolan Patrick remains week-to-week as he recovers from a migraine disorder, general manager Chuck Fletcher said Thursday.

"There's no change in his status," Fletcher said, according to Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. "We just continue to work with him and hope that he continues to improve."

Patrick was diagnosed with the disorder in late September and has yet to play this season.

"We're hopeful. It's a tough situation," Fletcher added when asked if he believes Patrick will play this season. "I can't predict what will happen."

The 21-year-old has recorded 26 goals and 61 points over 145 games across two seasons since being taken second overall by the Flyers in 2017.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Doug Gilmour is back with the franchise.

Gilmour announced Friday in an open letter on The Athletic that he's leaving his role as team president of the Ontario Hockey League's Kingston Frontenacs to join the Leafs as a community representative.

"I'm thrilled to be returning to Toronto in a formal capacity at a time when there is so much excitement for a team stacked with incredible talent," Gilmour said.

The 56-year-old is joining former Leafs legends Darryl Sittler, Wendel Clark, Curtis Joseph, and Darcy Tucker in the community role.

Gilmour spent 11 seasons with the Frontenacs. He was initially hired as head coach and served as general manager before assuming the role of president.

As a player, the Ontario native spent seven seasons with the Maple Leafs, serving as captain from 1994-97. In 393 games with the club, he tallied 131 goals and 452 points. During the 1992-93 campaign, Gilmour set single-season franchise records for assists (95), and points (127) while also capturing the Selke Trophy.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Nashville Predators have signed forward Austin Watson to a three-year contract worth $4.5 million, the team announced Thursday.

Watson's current contract, which pays him $1.1 million this season, was set to expire at the end of the campaign.

"Austin is the ultimate team player and we look forward to continuing to see him thrive and be an impactful member of our team," general manager David Poile said. "The Predators organization continues to support Austin and his family and are pleased to take this next step forward with them. His hard work, coupled with a caring environment, has him in a good place to be successful on and off the ice. Austin sticks up for his teammates and does whatever is necessary to help this team win hockey games."

Watson was suspended for 27 games - though the ban was ultimately reduced to 18 contests - last September after pleading no contest to a domestic assault charge. He was reinstated by the NHL and NHLPA in March after going through the follow-up care phase of the Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program.

The 27-year-old winger was drafted 18th overall by the Predators in 2010. He's notched 65 points over 265 games for his career.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Montreal Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi is dealing with a groin injury and won't play Thursday versus the Vegas Golden Knights, head coach Claude Julien announced.

The sophomore pivot is only expected to be out day-to-day, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels.

Kotkaniemi has struggled so far in 2019-20, tallying just three points in 12 games, including only one in his last nine. The 19-year-old Finn was drafted third overall by the Canadiens in 2018 and registered 34 points in his rookie campaign.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff discussed Thursday the situation surrounding inactive defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, who has been away from the team for the opening stages of the season and recently underwent ankle surgery.

"It's a complicated issue," Cheveldayoff told reporters. "I'm here to speak but there's really not much that I can enlighten beyond what's been talked about as it stands right now."

He added: "Going back to the start of training camp, that's when we met with Dustin and those are all pretty well-documented stuff and obviously over the course of time here, he has had an ankle surgery here now and we're dealing with that. So with respect to really anything else that I can comment on, that's pretty much where it's at, at this point in time. We're in constant conversations with his agents and that's where we're at."

Byfuglien didn't attend training camp and was reportedly contemplating his future in the sport after being granted a personal leave. The team subsequently suspended him, but the ban was strictly for financial reasons, as he was made aware it was done so the Jets could remove his $7.6-million cap hit from their books.

The 34-year-old blue-liner reportedly underwent the ankle procedure last week to repair an unresolved injury he suffered during the 2018-19 season, and his recovery could take more than four months, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

The NHL Players Association is in discussions with Byfuglien's agent, Ben Hankinson, to review the situation. If it's determined Byfuglien was injured playing hockey, the financial aspect of the issue could become more complicated, Dreger added.

Byfuglien has played 14 NHL seasons and was held back by injuries last year. He managed to produce 31 points in 42 games and led all Jets skaters in ice time at 24:22 per contest.

The Jets have felt the effects of his absence to start the campaign. The club is 6-7-0 and sits three points outside the playoff cutline.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin is hiring a lawyer to investigate how his name became associated with a company called Mark.Space and its financial losses, the player's agent, J.P. Barry, said, according to TSN's Rick Westhead.

Russian website Sports.ru reported on Oct. 29 that Malkin invested $4 million in Mark.Space, a virtual reality startup. After delays in development, the company reportedly used an initial coin offering (ICO) - which uses cryptocurrency to crowdfund projects - to raise an additional $10 million by attaching Malkin's name to the project.

That money has since been lost, according to Sports.ru.

Malkin is discussing with lawyers why his name was included in the report by Sports.ru and plans to hire someone to investigate its claims.

Barry said Malkin invested around $2 million in a clothing company that was run by his long-time friend. That company sold clothing online but Malkin wasn't aware it was in the cryptocurrency industry, his agent said.

"This is about two (business) partners going at each other and (Malkin) now has to figure out what happened," Barry said. "A lawyer will have to go in and get all the documents and figure out what happened with the company."

Barry said neither he nor Malkin was contacted at any point by Sports.ru to comment on its findings prior to the report being published.

"No, the internet - it's garbage," Malkin told Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now. "I don't like the internet. ... Right now, it's garbage for me. I know I'm a good guy. I don't know what to say about that, because it's a little bit crazy for me, but I know it's nothing bad."

Malkin, who has been out with a lower-body injury since Oct. 5, returned to practice Monday and is hopeful to play Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.