Evgeny Kuznetsov is flapping back at Don Cherry for criticizing his bird-themed goal celebration again.

“If he want(s) to say something, he can call me or he can meet me, but to call me (a) jerk on TV doesn’t make him look good, you know? But whatever he said, my parents (taught) me a lot of good things when (I was) young, and I’m not going to say anything bad about a guy who’s much older than me," the Washington Capitals Russian forward told Scott Allen and Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post on Tuesday.

During Saturday's edition of "Coach's Corner," Cherry called Kuznetsov a "jerk" for doing the bird celebration after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning, insisting that players should "never inspire the other team" with such behavior.

Kuznetsov said on Tuesday that he's a fan of the Carolina Hurricanes' "Storm Surge" celebrations, which Cherry also infamously bemoaned, calling that team "a bunch of jerks."

“That’s what hockey should be for, for fun,” Kuznetsov said. “Fans like it, and you know, the way (Cherry) talk(s), it doesn’t make him look good, right? If he thinks he’s good, he should check his record when he was coaching in the CHL and that’s it, he should shut his mouth.”

Cherry's Mississauga IceDogs went 11-47-10 during his stint behind the bench in 2000-01.

The "Hockey Night in Canada" pundit knocked Kuznetsov in January for doing the move in front of the Columbus Blue Jackets' bench after scoring a game-tying goal, noting that the Blue Jackets then did it themselves to mock him following their overtime winner.

A similar move in the "FIFA" video games inspired Kuznetsov's celebration, and he says his daughter loves it, according to The Post.

When the Capitals host the Hurricanes on Tuesday night, they'll be giving away bobbleheads featuring Kuznetsov doing his trademark post-goal routine.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning signed head coach Jon Cooper to a multi-year extension on Tuesday, the team announced.

Tampa Bay has a league-leading 122 points - 21 more than the second-best team - with five games remaining. The historic campaign could put Cooper in the running for the Jack Adams Trophy.

The Lightning are 302-157-44 since Cooper became head coach during the 2012-13 season. He led them to the Stanley Cup Final two years later, though they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Prior to coaching the Lighting, Cooper led the AHL's Norfolk Admirals to a Calder Cup championship in 2012.

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Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon wasn't shy when discussing his team's offseason plans on Monday.

"We’ve been very close to being a good team for a long time," the veteran executive told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "It’s just a matter of adding the right pieces this summer. The great thing is our owner Vinnie Viola is committed to being a cap team. He wants to win. He wants us to do what we have to do. It’s a really good situation.

"We’re going to be aggressive this summer."

After February's trade that sent Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann to Pittsburgh, the Panthers project to enter the offseason with roughly $21 million in cap space, and very few of their own players requiring new deals.

The 2019 free-agent class could be one of the better ones in recent memory. Here's a look at the top pending unrestricted free agents:

In February, LeBrun reported that Florida hopes to take a run at Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin.

Being aggressive this summer could also mean more trades, and the potential for a shake-up has at least one player on edge.

"It’s a little nerve-racking," forward Vincent Trocheck said. "A lot of these guys I’ve literally spent my entire career with. We’ve created some great friendships. I couldn’t say a bad word about a single guy in this room. It’s always tough when you see guys go. We had a couple of guys traded earlier the year, I spent my entire career with Bjugstad... But that’s the business side of it and you do what you have to do to become a winning team."

Led by a potent top-six forward group, the Panthers rank eighth in goals for this season, but 29th in goals against.

Trocheck believes a change is necessary.

"I think we need to kind of change our culture," he said. "It seems like every year we look at our personnel and we think, ‘This is a team that should definitely be able to compete in the playoffs.’ And I 100 percent agree. We have all the right personnel to be a great team, to compete in the playoffs. It’s just we need to create a winning identity, a winning culture a little bit more in this locker room.

"It seems like sometimes we kind of feel sorry for ourselves and don’t really do much about it. I think that’s something that’s on me, on (Aleksander Barkov), on (Jonathan Huberdeau), other guys, to create in here."

The Panthers sit 10 points out of a playoff spot with just six games remaining.

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Jason Botterill, Ron Francis, and Ron Hextall will form Canada's management team for the upcoming 2019 IIHF World Championship, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.

Botterill, the only one of the three who's currently employed by an NHL team, has been the general manager of the Buffalo Sabres since May 2017. He previously served as an associate GM with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Francis served as the GM of the Carolina Hurricanes for four years until the end of last season. He can largely be credited with building a squad on the verge of snapping a nine-year playoff drought.

Hextall was GM of the Philadelphia Flyers for four years before he was fired this past November. He was the GM of Canada's silver-medal winning team at the 2017 World Championship.

The 2019 World Championship will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia from May 10-26. Canada finished fourth at last year's tournament.

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The New York Islanders will be without one of their top-six forwards for the rest of the season.

Andrew Ladd is out for five months or so with a torn ACL and will undergo surgery on the knee this week, Islanders president of hockey operations and general manager Lou Lamoriello told reporters Tuesday.

Ladd was hurt in New York's 2-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.

Earlier this season, the 33-year-old missed more than three months with what the club called a lower-body injury before returning in late February.

Ladd has three goals and eight assists in 26 games in 2018-19.

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Calgary Flames agitator Matthew Tkachuk isn't letting Drew Doughty get under his skin.

The Los Angeles Kings defenseman had some strong words for Tkachuk before Monday's contest between the two teams. Doughty said he had "no respect" for the Flames forward and that many others around the league share the same opinion.

"Doesn't bother me at all," Tkachuk said after the game, according to Flames beat reporter Wes Gilberston. "Doesn't really surprise me. Doesn't not surprise me. It's just another day. I'll sleep like a baby and not worry about that type of stuff, I'll tell you that."

When the two engaged in the third period, Tkachuk did what he does best by agitating Doughty before goading him into a two-minute slashing penalty.

The Flames were shut out on home ice for the first time all season in the 3-0 loss. The two teams meet once more this campaign on April 1 in Los Angeles.

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