Under the new CBA rules, players sent to the minors must play in at least one game before being recalled. However, Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province reports that the Canucks asked for a waiver of that rule as it applies to defenseman Victor Mancini. In order to maximize their LTIR pool when they moved Nils Hoglander on there, they needed to swap out Mancini for Jimmy Schuldt. Their hope was to get a waiver to allow them to immediately recall Mancini to the active roster since it wasn’t quite the same type of paper transactions that some teams engaged in daily in previous years. Considering the 23-year-old remains with AHL Abbotsford, it’s fair to say their request was denied but his stint in the minors is likely to be a short-lived one.
Elsewhere out West:
- The Stars announced Monday (Twitter link) that defenseman Nils Lundkvist was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. The placement is retroactive to October 21st so he’s eligible to be activated as soon as Thursday although the expectation is that he’ll miss multiple weeks. The 25-year-old got off to a strong start to his season with three points in his first four games after recording just five assists in 39 outings in 2024-25. Notably, Dallas lacks the LTIR space required to recall a replacement so if they need one in the short term, they’ll likely have to move Lundkvist to LTIR at some point.
- Still with Dallas, Victory Plus’ Brian Rea relays (Twitter link) that the Stars will be without forward Matt Duchene tonight against Columbus. Originally listed as probable for this one, he’ll instead miss his second straight game due to an upper-body injury. After surpassing the 80-point mark for just the second time in his career last season, Duchene has a goal and an assist in his first two outings in 2025-26.
- Flames winger Martin Pospisil skated on his own for the first time on Monday as he works his way back from an undisclosed injury that has caused him to miss the first seven games of the season, notes Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). The 25-year-old had 25 points and 301 hits in 81 games with Calgary last season. With Daniil Miromanov clearing waivers and being sent down today, the Flames now have an open roster spot to activate Pospisil when he’s cleared to return, barring any further roster movement between now and then.