Penguins star Sidney Crosby, who underwent left wrist surgery Sept. 8, will make his season debut Saturday night against the visiting New Jersey Devils.

Crosby, 34, had estimated he would miss "at least" six weeks, and it has been a little more than seven weeks since the procedure.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman talked to Kyle Beach on Saturday about what the league can do to better protect its players after the former first-round pick said he was sexually assaulted by an assistant coach in 2010 and that his allegations were largely ignored by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Susan Loggans, an attorney representing Beach in a lawsuit against the team, said Bettman expressed his "sincere regret" over what Beach had experienced. He also offered the NHL's help with psychological services and anything else that the league had available.

Andrew Brunette has a chance to be an NHL head coach now, taking over a Florida Panthers team that is off to the best start in franchise history.

Brunette debuted as the replacement for Joel Quenneville as Florida's coach Friday, running the Panthers through a gameday practice in Detroit. And he made it clear that the Panthers' on-ice matters are dwarfed by the bigger issue of the sexual assaults reported by former Chicago Blackhawks player Kyle Beach in 2010 and the subsequent cover-up that has engulfed the sport after details came out in recent days.

The Maple Leafs announced Friday that Rielly has signed an eight-year, $60 million extension to remain with Toronto, the same team that took him fifth overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

The deal removes any possibility of Rielly hitting the market as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Joel Quenneville resigned Thursday as head coach of the Florida Panthers following a meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman about his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks' sexual abuse case.

Assistant coach Andrew Brunette will take over on an interim basis, an NHL source told ESPN.

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty will be out for about eight weeks with a bruised right knee.

Doughty will need six weeks of recovery from the first significant injury of his 14-year NHL career before he begins skating again. The Kings hope the 2016 Norris Trophy winner can return to the lineup in less than two months, Los Angeles general manager Rob Blake said Wednesday.

Blake also announced that defenseman Sean Walker is out for the season after tearing ligaments in his knee. 

Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov underwent a procedure Tuesday for an unspecified lower-body injury and will be out for approximately eight to 10 weeks, the team announced Wednesday.

Kucherov suffered the injury Oct. 16 against the Washington Capitals, doubling over in pain after an innocent-looking collision, and has not played since.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby participated in an optional skate Tuesday morning and is nearing a return after undergoing left wrist surgery in early September.

Crosby skated in an individual workout first, then joined his teammates for the morning skate for the second time in four days.

The New York Islanders have signed tough guy forward Ross Johnston to a four-year contract extension.

The team did not release contract terms in making the announcement on Tuesday.

Chicago Blackhawks president of hockey operations Stan Bowman has resigned after investigators released their findings on how the team handled sexual assault allegations against former video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2010 Stanley Cup run.

Senior director of hockey administration Al MacIsaac is also out, meaning there are no Blackhawks executives involved with the 2010 team remaining with the organization.