Flames’ Yan Kuznetsov Out Day-To-Day
The Calgary Flames will need to shake up their blue-line before Monday night’s matchup against the Detroit Red Wings. Defenseman Yan Kuznetsov is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, head coach Ryan Huska told Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. Kuznetsov filled a second-pair role in Calgary’s Saturday night loss to the New York Islanders. He and partner Zach Whitecloud were the only Flames pairing to record a plus-minus and outshoot their opponents in that matchup.
Kuznetsov, in his rookie season, has grown into a bigger role in the lineup following the departure of Rasmus Andersson. He has now played 10 games with at least 20 minutes of ice time, since Andersson’s trade – bringing Kuznetsov up to 33 such games on the year. His 20:09 in average ice time ranks fourth among current Flames defenders.
The 24-year-old Russian has racked up four goals, 12 points, and a minus-nine in 52 games this season. He is the second-highest scoring defenseman on the current Flames roster, behind Kevin Bahl who has 16 points. That’s an impressive jump for Kuznetsov, who spent the entire 2024-25 season with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. He totaled 21 points in 72 AHL games last season, bringing his career totals in the minors up to 53 points in 216 games. Kuznetsov also recorded two goals in 10 AHL games to start this season, before earning a full-time call-up in early-November. He has played in 52 consecutive NHL games since that recall, a streak that will end on Monday.
Kuznetsov’s absence will force fellow rookie Zayne Parekh up the lineup. Parekh has just two points, both assists, in 21 NHL games this season. It has been a quiet year despite the 19 year old scoring five points in four AHL games throughout the season. A bump into the top-four should represent a chance to find his scoring behind Calgary’s top forward lines – though the Flames will need to lean on Whitecloud and Bahl to make up for Kuznetsov’s physical role.
This move will also promote another rookie, Hunter Brzustewicz, into the lineup. Brzustewicz recorded 15 minutes of ice time, and three shots on goal, in Calgary’s March 12th win over the New Jersey Devils. That was his first NHL appearance since late-January. In total, he has scored two points in 19 NHL games and 13 points in 34 AHL games this season. He too will sit in a prove-it role as Calgary looks for who can replace one of their most impactful rookies this season.
Penguins Recall Jack St. Ivany From Conditioning Loan
3/16: After three games in the AHL, Pittsburgh has recalled St. Ivany from his conditioning loan. He scored one point and a plus-one in his ramp back to a lineup role. In a corresponding move, the Penguins have also assigned defenseman Alexander Alexeyev to the AHL. Alexeyev has scored seven points in 29 AHL games, and has not yet played in the NHL, this season. He is a veteran of 80 NHL games, all spent with Pittsburgh’s rival Washington Capitals, with eight points and 12 penalty minutes.
3/9: The Penguins announced this morning that they have assigned defender Jack St. Ivany to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan. He’ll remain on injured reserve for the time being and can spend up to two weeks in the minors.
St. Ivany, 26, suffered a left-hand fracture in a Jan. 25 game against the Canucks. The third-year NHLer also missed over two months to start the season with a lower-body injury. In the six weeks between IR stints, he looked well on his way toward locking down a job as their #3 righty behind cornerstones Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang. In his 17-game run in the lineup, primarily next to Ryan Shea, he posted seven assists with a +7 rating while averaging 15:39 of ice time per night. He got occasional deployment on the penalty kill and a raucous 2.35 hits per game, but his 106.1 PDO and underwater possession metrics across the board suggest some regression in his 5-on-5 numbers is likely.
His injuries have only added to what’s been a constant shuffle of defensive depth in Pittsburgh this season. The only constants in the lineup have been Letang, Shea, and their top pairing of Karlsson and Parker Wotherspoon. Brett Kulak did some good work in second-pairing duties with Letang, but was swapped to the Avalanche for Samuel Girard a couple of weeks ago. The early returns there are questionable with no points and a -2 rating in seven outings. Pittsburgh has five other D-men – Connor Clifton, Ryan Graves, Mathew Dumba, Harrison Brunicke, and Ilya Solovyov – who have played at least five games for them this year.
With Girard locking down the left-side order with Wotherspoon and Shea, it’s been the right-shot Clifton (and sometimes lefties Solovyov and Graves coming in on their offside) getting more ice time in St. Ivany’s absence. It’s worth wondering if Clifton has played well enough over the past month-plus to keep a spot ahead of St. Ivany on the depth chart when he’s cleared to return. He’s a bit more trusted on the penalty kill and has far superior possession impacts to St. Ivany at 5-on-5, including a quite impressive 54.5% expected goals share. Clifton also leads the team in hits per game by a wide margin at 4.03.
NHL Announce 2028 World Cup Of Hockey
NHL general managers are convening in Palm Beach, Florida for a week of GM meetings beginning on Monday. A top agenda item will be preparing the announcement for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The tournament has been held three times between 1996 and 2016. It was most recently held from September 17 to September 29, 2016, in Toronto. The 2028 iteration of the tournament was originally announced in February 2025.
Despite claims that the tournament will move forward without IIHF involvement, the NHL has announced that they are partnering with the international body to help ensure players from outside the NHL can be made available per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen.
The league made the official announcement at 12:30 P.M. ET on Monday. In it, Calgary and Edmonton, Canada, and Prague, Czechia, were revealed as the hosts cities. The event will take place in February, 2028 – in the middle of the 2027-28 season. Prague and Calgary will each host half of the round robin section of the tournament, while Edmonton will host the semi-finals and finals.
The last iteration of the tournament brought together six countries – America, Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Czechia – as well as two specialized teams, one featuring talent from other European countries and another featuring the top U24 players in America and Canada. The resulting Team North America brought together many NHL superstars well ahead of their prime, including Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Aaron Ekblad, Nathan MacKinnon, and more.
Team North America posted a 2-1-0 record and scored an 11-to-eight goal-differential – but ultimately lost out to Russia’s fewer goals-against (five) in the standings. Russia lost to Team Canada in the first round of the knockout stage, while Team Europe beat Sweden on the other side. Canada would go on to win the tournament, proudly led by leading scorer Sidney Crosby. Alongside Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Toews, Brad Marchand, and Carey Price – Crosby was able to lead Canada to a win over Europe’s Mats Zuccarello, Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik, and Leon Draisaitl.
The next iteration of the World Cup of Hockey should similarly bring together world class talent in a best-on-best competition in the years leading up to the 2030 Winter Olympics. One questoin the NHL will need to be prepared to answer is if, and where, Russian talent will fit into the conversation. The country has been, and continues to be, excluded from all IIHF competition dating back to 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. The NHL will not have to abide by the IIHF’s decision but has previously said that Russia is not expected to be invited to the event, however the NHL did not confirm this in their press conference following the official announcement.
If the NHL chooses to bolster the number of contending teams with another Team Europe or Team North America will also be closely followed. The league has no shortage of young talent breaking through – with stars like Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer even making their case for league-best titles.
Islanders’ Max Shabanov Out Day-To-Day
The New York Islanders’ Monday practice was laden with positive injury updates, including the brief return of Pierre Engvall, Alexander Romanov, and Sergei Varlamov at various points around practice. Even with the positives, New York will need to adjust their lineup, as winger Max Shabanov recovers from a day-to-day, lower-body injury per NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner.
The Islanders iced depth winger Kyle MacLean and listed Shabanov as a healthy scratch in Saturday’s win over the Calgary Flames. MacLean contributed one assist to the Islanders’ three-goal effort. That brought him up to seven points in 48 games this season. MacLean has spent many of those games in a fourth-line role that should continue on until Shabanov returns to a lineup role. New York could also lean on Marc Gatcomb, who has scored four points in 36 games this season.
Shabanov has had a tough time transitioning to the NHL after a standout season in Russia’s KHL last season. He finished the 2024-25 season with 23 goals and 67 points in 65 KHL games, the third-most points in the league. That production made Shabanov a top free agent last summer. Multiple teams were in on the race to sign the stickhandling wizard, with the Islanders ultimately winning out.
New York began the season with Shabanov in a middle-six role. He scored 10 points in his first 19 NHL games, while averaging just over 14 minutes a game. That hot streak was followed by a nine-game stretch where Shabanov only scored one point, beginning in mid-December. He kicked the bug for a bit, only to fall into another cold streak recently, with one point in his last 12 games.
The Islanders have responded to the dwindling scoring by demoting Shabanov to a fourth-line role and even healthy scratching the scoring winger. He sits with four goals and 16 points in 42 games in his NHL rookie season. A short-term injury will offer Shabanov a chance to rest up after a tough stretch and prepare to once again contribute strong scoring as the Islanders push for their first playoff appearance since 2024.
Blackhawks Sign Sacha Boisvert
3/16: As expected, the Blackhawks have announced the signing of Boisvert to his entry-level contract. The deal will cary a $974,167 cap hit. Boisvert will join the Blackhawks’ active roster, as the deal begins immediately and runs through the 2027-28 season.
3/8: While the Blackhawks will be missing the playoffs once again this season, there could still be roster reinforcements coming down the stretch. Top prospect Anton Frondell is expected to come to North America once his season in Sweden ends and it appears another center will be joining him. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times relays that Chicago plans to sign Sacha Boisvert when his college campaign comes to an end and have him debut in the NHL.
The 19-year-old was a first-round pick in 2024, going 18th overall after a strong showing with USHL Muskegon. Since then, Boisvert has played in college. Last season, Boisvert notched 18 goals and 14 assists in 37 games with the University of North Dakota but still opted to transfer to Boston University this season. Production has been harder to come by in 2025-26 as he has just three goals and 13 assists in 24 games.
However, that doesn’t appear to be deterring Chicago’s desire to sign him. Assistant GM Mark Eaton indicated that he feels Boisvert’s style of play is better suited to the professional ranks than the college game and their intention to sign him coming off a quiet year suggests they’re not too concerned about the limited production.
While it might seem counterintuitive to have a young player burn the first year of his entry-level deal in a lost season (something that won’t be the case for Frondell given his age), GM Kyle Davidson hasn’t shown much hesitance in doing so. Just last year, Sam Rinzel, Oliver Moore, and Ryan Greene did just that, as did Frank Nazar the year before. It appears that Boisvert will be joining that group in the near future.
Evening Notes: Draisaitl, Dach, Nugent-Hopkins
A potentially major storyline has emerged tonight as Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl left tonight against Nashville, noted by Ryan Rishaug of TSN. The team has still yet to confirm his status, but he did not return to start the second or third period.
Early in the game Draisaitl was hit into the Predators’ bench. He stayed on his feet, but it caused a hard impact in the vulnerable lower back area. It was a routine check which Calgary native Ozzy Wiesblatt is expected to finish in his fourth line role, but naturally it was met with retaliation from Edmonton.
The 30-year-old returned momentarily, but didn’t seem right, and did not come back again, likely ending his night after just 3:12. Even in the limited time, Draisaitl buried a power play tally. It’s the norm against the Predators, as he has an unbelievable 29 goals in 31 career games against the club in gold.
Post game updates on the superstar will be watched urgently. With 96 points in 64 games, it hardly requires much analysis to speak on Draisaitl’s importance to Edmonton. In a season where things haven’t come easily for the group, he and Connor McDavid are forced to drive even more offense than normal to overcome their 231 goals surrendered; third worse in the league.
Edmonton is back in action Tuesday hosting San Jose. The team is third in the Pacific, likely to make the playoffs but still not where the back-to-back runners up would like to be by mid-March. If Draisaitl has to miss any time, their odds may swing dramatically.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The Montreal Canadiens shared mid-game that Kirby Dach would not return due to an upper-body injury. Dach absorbed a hard hit from Anaheim grinder Jeffrey Viel with an impact concentrated in the shoulder area. The 25-year-old has had to deal with various injuries throughout his Habs tenure, as he underwent knee surgery last year, along with a fractured foot last November. Dach has only managed 31 games in 2025-26, where he’s put up 14 points. A former third overall pick, he’s is still chasing his 2022-23 Canadiens debut, breaking out with 38 points in 58 games. Unfortunately it’s starting to look like Dach won’t flourish as a top six center for the storied franchise, but based on all the health issues, it’s hard to be critical. As long as Dach has avoided another serious injury, he will likely return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20 as a Blackhawks rookie.
- Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has returned tonight against Nashville, per the team. The 32-year-old missed last game against St. Louis due to personal reasons, the team falling in overtime without their longest tenured player. Nugent-Hopkins has missed 10 games this year, otherwise posting 50 points in 57 games, a nice improvement from last year’s 49 in total. He has been durable over the past several seasons, as 2025-26 will mark the first time he’s played in under 78 regular season games since 2021-22. Nugent-Hopkins is back on the third line, flanking center Jason Dickinson as Edmonton works to balance their attack.
Ducks’ Mason McTavish Scratched, Troy Terry, John Carlson Return
Prior to puck drop tonight in Montreal, Derek Lee of The Hockey News reported that Mason McTavish is a healthy scratch, with Troy Terry returning from injury and John Carlson making his highly anticipated debut.
The center has just two points in his last 12 games, with 32 total on the year in 61 games. In a season defined by the breakout of several young stars in Anaheim, such has not been the case for McTavish. The 2021 third overall pick’s offensive output has stalled out of late, hovering around the 40-50 range, not necessarily glaring but disappointing nonetheless. This season his possession metrics at five-on-five are actually a career best at 52.2%, although the center is starting nearly 59% of his shifts in the offensive zone, a notable uptick from years past.
With his trust slipping under head coach Joel Quenneville, McTavish has lost his role down the middle, dipping below 16 minutes a night for the first time since the beginning stages of his career.
Simple resets like this happen often, and the 23-year-old is likely just in a slump for the time being, but no player making $7MM per year through 2030-31 should be spending time in the press box. After his restricted free agency dragged out into the fall, there was some speculation McTavish could be moving on. That ended in late September as the Ducks locked him up and voiced their beliefs that he would grow into a top player for the franchise.
Even if just for tonight, the Ducks feel like they have the best chance to win and take another step toward the playoffs without the 6’1″ forward in the mix. It’s a headline management would not expect back before the campaign started, but a lot has changed for the Ducks since then.
Meanwhile, Terry is a welcome addition back into the forward group not having played since February 25. The 28-year-old still ranks fifth in team scoring with 45 points in 46 games, particularly impressive considering that his counterparts have skated in as many as 20 more contests.
Finally, with Radko Gudas out as a result of a controversial five-game suspension, Carlson makes his Ducks debut, more news Anaheim fans would find hard to believe just a few months ago. The 36-year-old is debuting alongside Olen Zellweger, wearing a new uniform after 1,143 regular season games with the Capitals. Carlson had been dealing with a lower-body injury, his final game with Washington ending unceremoniously against Nashville on February 5 due to the ailment.
It’s hard to imagine McTavish will be out of the lineup for long, but he’ll need to turn the page soon to avoid any trade speculation this summer. With a top scorer back into the lineup, and an elite defensemen joining the team, there’s much reason to be excited for the weeks ahead and hopefully the center will find his groove accordingly.
Image Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Red Wings Sign Eddie Genborg To Amateur Tryout & Entry Level Contract
This evening the Detroit Red Wings announced that forward prospect Eddie Genborg has been signed to an amateur tryout for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. He will report to AHL Grand Rapids, also inking a three-year entry-level contract starting next year.
A second-round selection in last summer’s draft (44th overall), the Swede comes over after a breakout campaign with Timra IK in the SHL where he finished third in team scoring with a 9-16-25 line in 43 games. Set to turn 19 next month, Detroit saw the potential in the winger despite recording just two goals and no helpers in 28 games last year with Linkopings HC. Genborg spent his first professional season in 2024-25 with Linkopings alongside teammate Christoffer Ehn, a name familiar to Red Wings fans from years ago, prior to the youngster catching on with Timra and making a statement.
Set to join the elite Grand Rapids Griffins for their stretch run, boasting a 43-10-3 record, Genborg’s growth was on full display at the 2026 World Junior Championships earlier this winter. He recorded eight points in seven games, helping lead Sweden to gold, their first since 2012. Genborg tied top 2025 draftee Anton Frondell for fourth in team scoring.
Standing at 6’2″, the lefty brings a physical game with a strong net front presence. Last July, he just missed the mark of the club’s top 10 prospects according to Steven Ellis of The Daily Faceoff, but since then he along with the Red Wings have seriously surpassed expectations. As a result, Genborg is set to embark on his North American career ahead of schedule, and even if it takes a period of adjustment, his physical intangibles and overall two-way game will be useful for the Griffins. Their 198 goals are tied for best in the AHL, so more scoring is hardly a need at this point in the season.
Full of skilled forwards in their cupboard, GM Steve Yzerman was content to select a more “high floor” prospect in the second round last summer, back then it could have been argued such was a reach. Yet now considering that he was a top scorer for Timra as a teenager, hovering around former NHLers in Anton Lander and Jonathan Dahlen, there’s reason for optimism in his untapped potential.
With offensive instincts and NHL-level skating still coming along, Genborg has work to do as he takes a huge step in his development. However, at the very least, he figures to be a future piece of the Wings’ bottom six, the team boasting one of the deepest prospect pools in the league to supplement a core which is already closing in on ending their playoff drought this April.
Snapshots: Wennberg, Brossoit, Kampf
A familiar face in teal is absent for this evening’s action, as Sharks center Alexander Wennberg is out with an upper-body injury per the team.
The veteran had yet to miss a contest on the campaign, where he has put up 43 points in 64 games. After bouncing around for a bit, Wennberg has found a home in San Jose, playing a large role and getting power play time. He’s averaging the highest usage of his career at age 31, also with his best point totals since 2016-17, back when the Swede was looking like a rising star in Columbus.
With Igor Chernyshov also out to injury after being hospitalized, Philipp Kurashev and Pavol Regenda fill out the Sharks’ third line in Ottawa, the team needing to stockpile points to hold onto Wild Card berth.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Also regarding San Jose, goaltender Laurent Brossoit is making his Sharks debut, shared by the team in their lineup announcement. The soon to be 33-year-old has impressively worked his way back into the NHL for the first time since April 2024 as a Winnipeg Jet. To help paint the picture of how long it has been, Brossoit turned away two shots from retired forward Zach Parise in that contest. Since then, the veteran spent the last two years in the AHL, after a standout free agent deal with Chicago didn’t materialize due to knee issues, and subsequently being brought in by the Sharks after not playing a single game as a Blackhawk. Brossoit has played very well in the AHL this year, posting a .915 save percentage and 2.48 goals-against-average, dominating with 11 wins in 14 games. The performance earned a call up two days ago with Yaroslav Askarov sidelined.
- Newly acquired Capitals forward David Kampf’s debut with the team will be further delayed. Head coach Spencer Carbery told reporters, including Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network, that he has returned to Vancouver to be with his wife who is expecting a child shortly. Kampf is also dealing with continued visa issues, missing the Caps’ last several games, and hasn’t appeared since March 4 as a Canuck. Brought in at the deadline for a sixth-round pick, the 31-year-old will be eager to return soon and build his stock going into free agency this summer, where the center market will be sparse. Washington is unlikely to make the playoffs, but the Czech native could make a case to stick around as Nic Dowd’s replacement. Playing on the league’s worst team in the Canucks did a number on Kampf’s point totals and plus/minus, but he still has a respectable 49.8% corsi for at five-on-five, an improvement over his last three seasons with Toronto.
Maple Leafs Recall Henry Thrun On Emergency Basis
Ahead of tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled defenseman Henry Thrun on an emergency basis. He will draw in for blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson tonight.
Ekman-Larsson has arguably the best reason to miss a game. Per Toronto’s announcement, Ekman-Larsson has returned to Toronto, and he and his wife are expecting the birth of their child. There’s no timeline for when Ekman-Larsson is expected to return, but the Maple Leafs return home on Tuesday for a matchup against the New York Islanders.
Meanwhile, Thrun gets the third recall of his season with the Maple Leafs. He was acquired by Toronto last summer for the trade that sent enforcer Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks. Thrun spent three years with the Sharks before joining the Maple Leafs organization.
Given that he had only been recalled on two occasions this season, Thrun has primarily played for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. He’s been a stabilizing presence on the back end for AHL Toronto, scoring four goals and 20 points in 42 games with a -4 rating. In terms of scoring output, it’s his best professional season to date.
In his two previous recalls with the Maple Leafs, Thrun appeared in four games. It was a largely forgettable showing with Toronto, going scoreless with a -1 rating while averaging 14:52 of ice time per game. Given that the Marlies are the only team in the organization preparing for a playoff run, it’s a foregone conclusion that Thrun will return to the AHL once Ekman-Larsson returns.