EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The death of American hockey player Adam Johnson from a skate blade to the neck in a game in England is leading to further discussions about cut-resistant protection in the NHL and other leagues.

Commissioner Gary Bettman and Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh touched based Sunday in the immediate aftermath of the death to set up further talks between the league and union. For several years the two sides have been studying skate cut injuries and how to reduce and avoid them, and now the topic has taken on greater urgency at various levels of the sport.

“We’re going to explore everything,” Walsh said Wednesday. “We have to continue to have conversations on this as we move forward here. It’s a change for the players, but it’s also about protecting them, so I think we will have those conversations as we move forward here.”

Johnson, a 29-year-old from Minnesota, died at a hospital after being cut in the neck by the skate blade of an opponent during a game Saturday night in the Elite Ice Hockey League. The league called it a “freak accident,” and South Yorkshire Police have said they are investigating.

The incident already has had an impact with the American Hockey League and ECHL affiliates of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the organization Johnson once played for, mandating neck guards for players. The AHL and ECHL mandated cut-resistant wrist and foot/ankle protection last summer, in consultation with the Professional Hockey Players’ Association.

PANTHERS: Coach Paul Maurice told reporters the team isn’t sure on the prognosis for Sam Bennett, Florida’s fourth-leading scorer in last season’s playoffs.

Bennett missed the first seven games of this season with a lower-body injury, returned for about 8 minutes of ice time in Monday’s 3-2 loss at Boston, and got hurt again after Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm fell on him in front of the net.

Bennett needed to be helped off the ice, unable to put any weight on his left leg.

“He’s not day-to-day. He’s going to be a little longer,” Maurice said. “We don’t think it’s as significant as the first one. Have to see how he feels. What happens in the first three days will tell us how long it’s going to be.”

SENATORS: The Ottawa Senators made an abrupt change at general manager after the NHL decided to dock them a first-round draft pick for their role in a trade between two other teams that was invalidated last year.

Owner Michael Andlauer announced that longtime GM Pierre Dorion had resigned and would be replaced on an interim basis by Steve Staios. Andlauer said the team being forced to forfeit a first-rounder in 2024, 2025 or 2026 was the last straw that led him to make a change with the organization’s hockey operations department.

The league announced the punishment hours earlier, nearly 22 months since the trade in question led to an investigation and found Ottawa’s front office at fault.

The Senators traded forward Evgenii Dadonov to Vegas in July 2021 and failed to supply the Golden Knights with the player’s 10-team no-trade list. Vegas attempted to send Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks in March 2022 before the move was nixed by NHL Central Registry because he had not waived his no-trade clause.

Andlauer said he received a 73-page report about the situation, which embarrassed the NHL.

CAPITALS: Center Nicklas Backstrom is taking a leave of absence from the team because of what he called an “ongoing injury situation” after a slow start to the season on his artificial left hip.

He said he needs to “determine my next steps and viable options moving forward.”

WEDNESDAY’S GAME

SABRES 5, FLYERS 2: Owen Power scored the tie-breaking goal early in the third period, Tage Thompson had a goal and two assists, and Brandon Biro scored twice to help Buffalo win at Philadelphia.

Casey Mittelstadt also scored and Alex Tuch had two assists to help the Sabres get their third win in four games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had a season-high 38 saves — including two from point-blank range in the third — while making his fourth start.

Joel Farabee and Cam Atkinson scored for the Flyers, who have lost three in a row and five of their last six games. Carter Hart gave up two goals on five shots and left the game midway through the first period with a ‘mid-body’ injury following a collision in the goalmouth earlier in the period. Sam Errsson finished with seven saves the rest of the way.