Injury Notes: Rust, Holmstrom, Wright
Bryan Rust of the Penguins is out tonight against Detroit with a lower-body injury, shared by the team right before puck drop. It’s unexpected considering that he played a full game last night against the Islanders, putting up two points. In his place, Avery Hayes comes into a game with both the Penguins and Red Wings desperate to pick up two points with playoff spots up for grabs.
The 33-year-old took a maintenance day last Saturday, but he’s mostly been healthy this year. Rust is having one of his best seasons, with 61 points in 67 games, good for second best on the team. He is closing in on his career best of 65, set last year, also playing the most throughout his 12-year career, averaging over 20 minutes a night for the first time.
Hayes, a 23-year-old undrafted rookie, by no means will match Rust’s speed and skill, but the fellow Michigan native has made a name for himself as a potential bottom six fixture. Hayes has three goals in 12 games, earning his time after strong AHL efforts with 35 points in 39 games.
With games weighing as much as ever, Rust will likely return Thursday in Tampa Bay.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Islanders forward Simon Holmström is absent for tonight’s crucial game in Buffalo, noted by Stefen Rosner of NHL.com. As a result Anthony Duclair will slot into a top six role. Holmström is thought to be day-to-day with an upper-body ailment. A first rounder back in 2019, the now 24-year-old has steadily grown into a solid secondary scorer for the Islanders. With one more tally he’ll tie last season’s breakout 20 goal campaign. A brutal loss last night against division foe Pittsburgh dealt a blow to New York’s playoff odds, but they’re still clinging onto the third spot in the Metropolitan with seven games to go. Holmström will hope to be back helping matters by Friday as they host Philadelphia. Whatever happens in the coming days, hardly anybody would have expected his team to have the season they’ve put together.
- Seattle’s Shane Wright is sidelined tonight with his own upper-body injury, per the team. Unlike those listed above, the Kraken are close to elimination from the playoffs unless something shocking happens. Either way, they’ll take on the Oilers one man down. One a top draft prospect, selected fourth overall in 2022, Wright’s development has stalled out in Seattle. Last year he showed promise with 44 points, but he’s followed that up with just 26 in 72 games. Still, he has been durable, not missing a single contest until today. At even strength Wright has not moved the needle like he’s capable of, and he’s not been able to hold down a top six role, averaging 13:49 a night. Subject of trade rumors earlier in the year, assuming he returns later this week, there’s a strong possibility it’ll be his final games for the club.
Latest On Cale Makar
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has suffered an upper-body injury and is set to miss some time, reports ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. According to Kaplan, Makar’s injury is “not believed to be long term” but the team is still evaluating his recovery timeline. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that Makar will “likely miss a few games in order to get him to 100 percent before the playoffs.”
Makar’s injury has implications both for the Avalanche and rival teams. For Colorado, they are forced to play at least the next few games without their top defenseman. Not only is Makar the Avalanche’s top blueliner, but he’s widely considered to be one of, if not the best defenseman in the world.
The 27-year-old is a two-time Norris Trophy winner and has also won the Conn Smythe Trophy. His 2025-26 season has been strong, as he has 75 points in 73 games, marking his fifth consecutive campaign scoring above a point-per-game rate. While the uncharacteristic struggles of the Avalanche power play have lowered his scoring rate from last season, he’s still among the league’s highest-scoring defensemen.
Makar plays a massive role for the Avalanche, as one might expect, averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time per game, including 4:10 on the power play and 1:58 per game short-handed. The Avalanche will need to find a way to replace those minutes while Makar is absent. It’s likely Devon Toews will play an even greater role with Makar absent, while veteran Brent Burns could get a turn on the top power play unit.
Beyond Colorado, this news has implications for other teams, namely those with defensemen vying for the Norris Trophy. Earlier this month, Makar tied with Columbus Blue Jackets star Zach Werenski in votes for the Norris Trophy in the anonymous poll of PHWA voters conducted by ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski. Given Werenski and Makar appear to be neck-and-neck for the Norris Trophy this season (Werenski finished No. 2 in voting behind Makar last year), Makar’s injury could end up being the factor that separates the two.
The injury is likely to cost Makar a few games, and those few games missed could cost him the chance to surpass Werenski in scoring. Consequently, this injury could be the difference-maker that allows the Blue Jackets defenseman to secure his first Norris Trophy. Of course, there are still a little over two weeks of games to be played, so there is room for things to change. But based on the way things have been tracking, this injury could be significant from an end-of-year awards perspective.
Ducks’ Cutter Gauthier Suffers Upper-Body Injury
Anaheim Ducks star forward Cutter Gauthier suffered an upper-body injury in the team’s overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports Gauthier will not travel with the team on their upcoming trip to San Jose for their game against the Sharks, but adds that the Ducks are “hopeful he returns this weekend.”
While it’s certainly fortunate for the Ducks that Gauthier appears to have avoided a more serious injury, losing Gauthier for any period of time takes one of the team’s best players out of the lineup. The 22-year-old winger has had a breakout sophomore season, leading the team in scoring with 38 goals and 65 points in 73 games played.
The only player in franchise history to score more goals in a season before age 23 is Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Paul Kariya. Gauthier is, without question, one of the most promising young players on a team filled to the brim with high-upside skaters aged 25 or younger.
That’s what makes Gauthier’s injury so significant, even if it only ends up costing him a game or two. He’s the Ducks’ most lethal scorer and his loss will be felt as the team looks to secure its place atop the Pacific Division. As the Ducks are hopeful Gauthier will return at some point relatively soon, it’s likely the team will also hope that the injury he’s suffered won’t be something that lingers and hampers him even slightly after he’s been cleared to return to the ice.
With Gauthier out of commission, the Ducks will be forced to turn to other players to fill Gauthier’s role, which was most recently on the team’s third line alongside Ryan Poehling and Jeffrey Viel. Veteran Frank Vatrano, a healthy scratch, could draw into the lineup in Gauthier’s place. It would be a real opportunity for Vatrano to get his season back on track, at one game at a time. The 32-year-old has endured a nightmarish campaign, one where he’s scored just four goals and eight points in 46 games played, a career-worst scoring rate.
Maple Leafs Fire General Manager Brad Treliving
3/31/26: In his press conference Tuesday, Pelley told the media that Maple Leafs assistant general managers Brandon Pridham and Ryan Hardy will share the duties of interim general manager while the club conducts its search for its next full-time leader of hockey operations.
Pridham has been widely speculated as a likely candidate for a potential promotion to the general manager position. The Athletic’s Joshua Kloke wrote today that Pridham is “razor sharp” and noted that he “has been a candidate of interest for GM positions around the league previously.”
Hardy has been with the Maple Leafs since 2021-22, arriving there after a three-year stint as general manager of the USHL’s Chicago Steel. In Chicago, he was the USHL’s General Manager of the Year twice, and won the league’s Clark Cup championship in 2021.
In Toronto, he’s served as GM of the team’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Under his management, the Marlies have made the AHL’s playoffs for three consecutive campaigns. They won the league’s North Division in 2022-23 and defeated the Utica Comets in a first-round playoff series.
3/30/26: With a disappointing season coming to a close, the Toronto Maple Leafs shared big news; they’re parting ways with General Manager Brad Treliving.
In a statement from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment President & CEO Keith Pelley, it was said “Throughout the course of the season, there has been deep analysis into both the current state of the Maple Leafs organization and the direction needed to achieve the ultimate goal of delivering a Stanley Cup championship to the city”.
There was no real need for Pelley to elaborate; it has long been apparent that change was needed. Named as the 18th GM in franchise history on May 31, 2023, the book closes on the Treliving era defined by its disappointment, cutting short one more year on his contract.
Major question marks on Toronto’s future already existed when he took the helm; fresh off another painful playoff defeat in the second round at the hands of the Florida Panthers. Still, there was reason for optimism, that perhaps a new voice could take what Kyle Dubas had built and shape it into a true contender.
In came Treliving, after serving as GM for the Calgary Flames from 2014-23, a strong period for the Alberta franchise. In his tenure, Calgary won two Pacific Division titles and were a real Western Conference threat. Shortly before his time ended though, Treliving dealt young superstar Matthew Tkachuk to Florida in a highly scrutinized trade. It has netted the Panthers multiple Stanley Cups, while Calgary has fallen into a rebuild. Unfortunately, things haven’t aged much better for the Maple Leafs either, who are in a far worse spot than they were three years ago.
Treliving was reserved at first, adding veterans but holding their biggest assets. It was probably the right move to not go crazy on renovations out of the gate, but the patience didn’t work out. Another heartbreaking Game 7 defeat by Boston, and it was time for real change.
Thankfully keeping his first round selection, Treliving went with defenseman Ben Danford in 2024. He didn’t stop there, swinging a sign-and-trade with Chris Tanev, reuniting from Calgary, with a six-year pact worth $4.5MM per year. The respected defender is exactly the player the Leafs needed, but he was already 34, and it was clearly a “worry about it later” contract.
Then came the 2024-25 campaign, proving to be the team’s most successful season under Treliving. Toronto finished fourth in the league with an impressive 52-26-4 record. Buzzing along with hopes of finally breaking through on a deep playoff run, it was time to push the chips in and get aggressive at the trade deadline. This is where things went wrong.
Across multiple trades, the Maple Leafs relinquished their first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, along with skilled youngsters Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin. The haul brought them Scott Laughton from Philadelphia and Brandon Carlo from Boston. A steep price to pay, the duo were the exact players the Leafs were missing in playoff shortcomings of past, but it had to pay off in May.
Toronto managed to get by the underdog Senators in six games, and were rewarded with a rematch against the defending champions in Florida. Treliving’s club went up 2-0 in the series, effectively the peak of the entire “Core Four” era. 11 days later though, they found themselves in another Game 7, coming up short yet again in a resounding defeat. The team was right there, so close, but it didn’t matter. As we all know, Mitch Marner moved on, and Treliving was left painted into a corner.
2025-26 marks one decade since the Leafs last missed the playoffs, but the streak will end, for the first time in the Auston Matthews era. There was optimism that Marner’s departure would lead to the emergence of other forwards, but that wasn’t the case. Toronto sits at 24th in the league today, and they’ll be desperate for some lottery luck into the top five, or else their first rounder will go to Boston as salt in the wound.
Fortunately earlier this month Treliving obtained a 2027 conditional first rounder from Colorado for Nicolas Roy, as well as a 2027 second round selection from Seattle for Bobby McMann. It’s a parting gift after most of his moves made the team only older.
All that being said, the Treliving era comes to an end after a 139 – 92 – 27 record and a single playoff series win over Ottawa.
It’s much debated where things went off the rails. Many point to the 2025 deadline deals, but in a way, the downfall may have started on July 1, 2023, when Marner’s no-trade-clause kicked in. Treliving had just taken the job, and dealing Marner would have sent shockwaves across the organization. From his perspective it was probably never a serious possibility. However, with hindsight today, it’s a situation many Leaf fans wish was handled differently.
Maple Leafs management now must find a replacement, with the pressure of desperately salvaging the Matthews/William Nylander/John Tavares core before it is too late. Head coach Craig Berube‘s seat is hot as well, and Toronto could consider a clean slate entirely. Former Vegas bench boss Bruce Cassidy, who was shockingly let go yesterday, presents a great opportunity for the Maple Leafs to obtain a top coach.
Brandon Pridham, current Assistant General Manager of the club, has gotten some noise as due for a promotion, and it might as well be in Toronto. The 52-year-old Ontario native’s time with the Leafs dates back to 2014, starting as a Special Assistant and working his way up to his current role, which he’s held since 2018.
Rob Blake, former Kings’ General Manager, is an Ontario native who could garner some interest as a candidate with prior experience. The former superstar defenseman’s Los Angeles tenure was doomed after continuous early playoff exits, however.
Brendan Shanahan, who served as President from 2014-25, would be a fascinating story if there was ever a possibility for him to return. It would be his first General Manager role, with a chance to clean up what he helped put together.
In terms of recycled candidates, there isn’t the strongest list. There’s no immediate name which is far and away the best option, as Toronto could go in all sorts of different directions. As a storied franchise with a roster which is flawed, but still loaded on paper, they should have no shortage of hopefuls.
A respected veteran in the game, Treliving, 56, should find another role in the league where he could reach 20 years of experience next season. Meanwhile, whoever comes next in Toronto has the opportunity to etch themselves into Maple Leafs history forever, although they’ll be facing a formidable task in righting the ship.
Edmonton Oilers Reassign Roby Jarventie
The Edmonton Oilers have reassigned forward Roby Järventie to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. The move leaves the Oilers with 13 healthy forwards on their active roster.
Järventie was originally recalled on March 19 when the Oilers shifted star center Leon Draisaitl to long-term injured reserve. The 23-year-old made his Oilers debut on March 21 in the team’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and ended up dressing for three games in Edmonton, and serving as a healthy scratch for one. His trio of games on this most recent recall were Järventie’s first NHL contests since he played in seven games for the Ottawa Senators in 2023-24.
The No. 33 pick of the 2020 NHL draft, Järventie has yet to make real headway in the NHL in the limited opportunities he’s received. The 6’3″, 209-pound winger has been a solid AHL scorer for much of his time in North America, and has 17 goals and 36 points in 52 AHL games this season. In the NHL, he’s registered one point in his 10 career games, but is still waiting on his first NHL goal.
On this most recent recall, Järventie played sparingly, averaging 8:00 time on ice per game. His impact on the box score was limited to one hit, two shots on goal, and four blocked shots. Interestingly, Järventie’s solid AHL production hasn’t actually come in a significant lineup role. He’s not one of the team’s leaders among forwards in terms of how much ice time he receives per game, and is typically behind both veterans such as Seth Griffith and Max Jones, as well as younger forwards such as Quinn Hutson, Viljami Marjala, and Isaac Howard on the depth chart.
For Järventie to maximize his odds of earning another NHL call-up, he’ll likely want to find a way to get onto the Condors’ top power play unit on a more consistent basis, and also find a way to earn a more substantial lineup role, so that he can increase his production at that level even further.
Hurricanes Sign Charlie Cerrato To AHL Tryout
The Carolina Hurricanes signed center prospect Charlie Cerrato to a tryout contract with their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, according to a team announcement. Team reporter Walt Ruff reported that the team is keeping its options open regarding signing Cerrato to an entry-level contract, either for the remainder of 2025-26 or one slated to begin in 2026-27.
In the increasingly murky, uncertain world of NCAA eligibility, signing Cerrato to a tryout agreement rather than a full contract could allow him to maintain his eligibility to play college hockey. If he ends up not signing an entry-level deal, there could be a path for him to return to college hockey, in a similar vein to other players who have returned to the college ranks after getting their feet wet in the AHL and ECHL.
Cerrato, 21, recently concluded his sophomore campaign with the Penn State Nittany Lions. While injuries limited him to just 23 games played, he improved his scoring rate slightly, posting 27 points. He scored 42 points in 38 games as a freshman.
The Maryland native was a member of the U.S. National Team Development Program before spending a year as a No. 1 center at the USHL level with the Youngstown Phantoms. His stellar debut season in college got him drafted No. 49 overall by the Hurricanes, a relatively high selection for someone who had been passed over at both the 2023 and 2024 entry drafts. But it was a reflection of just how much progress Cerrato had made in his development in his freshman season.
Entering the season, the team at Elite Prospects rated Cerrato as the No. 17 prospect, crediting his “off-puck qualities” with giving him a “likely path to a bottom-six NHL role.” He appears to have raised his stock over the course of this season, with The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler recently ranking him as the No. 5 prospect in Carolina’s system. According to Wheeler, Cerrato’s “believers are very confident he has an NHL future.”
With today’s tryout agreement signing, Cerrato has taken a concrete step towards realizing that NHL future. While he’ll first need to prove he can handle the rigors of the pro game at the AHL level, his status as a double-overage selection and his pro-style game likely mean he’ll have an accelerated timeline towards making it to the NHL compared to other 2025 picks.
The fact that he signed a tryout agreement, and therefore may have kept open the possibility of returning to college, makes Cerrato one of the more intriguing prospects to track in the AHL at this later stage of the season.
Maple Leafs Linked To Mike Gillis For GM Vacancy
The Maple Leafs have shown an interest in former Canucks general manager Mike Gillis in the exploratory stages of their search for a new GM, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said Tuesday on Sportsnet 590’s “The FAN Hockey Show.”
Toronto announced Monday night that they had fired Brad Treliving, who had one year left on his contract. Earlier today, Keith Pelley, the president of the team’s ownership group, said the new hire for the role “[has] to be data-centric” (via Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic).
Gillis would fill that role. The 67-year-old’s NHL front office resume is limited, and he hasn’t held a GM role for nearly a decade, but he was one of the league’s most progressive executives when he assumed his duties in Vancouver in 2008.
Gillis’ six-year run in Vancouver was one of the most successful in Canucks franchise history. They had a 261-146-51 (.626) record in six seasons under Gillis, won a franchise record five consecutive division titles, took home back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies, and got all the way to Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.
After falling out of the playoff picture in 2014 for the first time in Gillis’ tenure, he was fired. Since then, he served on the board of directors for Genève-Servette HC in Switzerland from 2016 to 2018. He was an NHLPA consultant from 2021 to 2023 regarding business development, but has largely stayed quiet since then.
If he were to take the helm in Toronto, it would be something of an ironic full-circle moment, considering he filed charges against the Leafs in 2009 in one of the only real tampering incidents the NHL has had in recent memory. Gillis ended up winning both of his claims, which saw the league fine Toronto head coach Ron Wilson for expressing his desire to sign Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin if the Canucks franchise icons ended up reaching free agency. The league also issued a warning to the club for airing a clip in which then-Leafs GM Brian Burke alleged Gillis had offered several assets – including Alexandre Burrows and Kevin Bieksa – to attempt to acquire the second overall pick in the 2009 draft from the Lightning, which they ended up using on Victor Hedman.
Predators Sign Aiden Fink To AHL Tryout
Predators right-wing prospect Aiden Fink signed an amateur tryout contract with the club’s AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, on Tuesday, Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey relays. The transaction signals Fink is turning pro, but gives Nashville more time to decide if they want to sign him to an entry-level contract with immediate effect or beginning next season.
If Fink signed an NHL contract that began now, he would be ineligible for AHL assignment. Signing the ATO first will allow the Penn State product to play a few games in Milwaukee to get up to speed before the Preds make the call on whether to work him into their lineup for their push for a wild-card spot.
Fink, 21, was a seventh-round pick in 2023 – as Kieser points out, the last selection that former general manager David Poile made. Since then, all the 5’10” winger has done is score.
Fink was drafted from the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The junior ‘A’ organization is far from a powerhouse compared to Canadian Hockey League clubs but has produced several NHL alumni, highlighted by Avalanche superstar Cale Makar. Fink was voted as the top player in all provincial junior ‘A’ leagues in his post-draft season, erupting for 41 goals and 97 points in 54 games for the Bandits.
After committing to Penn State University the year prior, he arrived in State College as a freshman in 2024. Fink scored a point per game or better in each of his three seasons as a Nittany Lion, wrapping up his collegiate career with a 38-point effort in 30 outings this season. Injuries and a goal-scoring slump meant he didn’t reach the heights of his 23-goal, 53-point sophomore season that truly put him on the map, but he was still one of the top talents in the Big 10.
Fink was particularly impressive on the international stage this year. The Calgary-born forward has never been part of the Canadian national junior or senior team but joined a select team of NCAA players that traveled to compete against top-flight European talent in the Spengler Cup invitational back in December. While they ended up losing the final to hosts HC Davos of the Swiss National League, Fink’s four goals and four assists in four games led the tournament in scoring.
His size and defensive limitations have kept Fink from being regarded as a legitimate top-10 prospect in a Nashville pool that’s on the deeper side. That said, his pure offensive ceiling is right up there among Nashville’s best – if he can handle the physical grind of the NHL and get to the areas he needs to in order to score.
Red Wings Sign Trey Augustine To Entry-Level Deal
The Red Wings announced they’ve signed top goaltending prospect Trey Augustine to his three-year, entry-level deal. The contract won’t burn a year now – it’ll begin next season, and he’ll instead finish up the year on an amateur tryout with AHL Grand Rapids.
Augustine, a second-round pick in 2023, has far exceeded his draft billing so far in his development. The Michigan native finally turns pro after his junior season at Michigan State – opting to return for one more shot at a national championship with the Spartans despite most believing he was ready to make the jump last summer. After they were upset in the regional finals of the national tournament by Wisconsin, though, it was clear Augustine would be heading to either Detroit or Grand Rapids in short order.
It may be Grand Rapids for now, but next fall, Augustine will get an open competition with the Wings’ other high-end goalie prospect, Sebastian Cossa, to compete for the backup job behind John Gibson. Incumbent #2 Cam Talbot is a pending unrestricted free agent and, given his struggles this season and Detroit’s stocked pipeline, doesn’t appear likely to return.
The 6’1″, 194-lb Augustine already has several honors in his trophy case. He was the United States’ starter at three straight World Juniors – a highly unusual feat – and guided them to bronze in 2023 and back-to-back golds in 2024 and 2025. At the collegiate level, he helped Michigan State to a pair of Big 10 tournament championships, a pair of regular-season titles, and was named the conference’s top goaltender as both a sophomore and a junior.
A top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award this year as the best player in college hockey, he put up a stellar .929 SV%, 2.11 GAA, three shutouts, and a 24-9-1 record in 34 outings for the Spartans as his final act. On the whole, he posted a .922 SV%, 2.40 GAA, and a 66-25-7 record in 99 games for MSU, leaving as arguably the second-best goaltender in program history behind ex-Sabres star Ryan Miller.
Augustine and Cossa were the Wings’ #4 and #5-ranked prospects by The Athletic’s Max Bultman earlier this year. The risk in his projection has always stemmed from his size rather than his numbers. But with how linear his development has been to this stage, there’s little reason to believe he can’t make a seamless jump to the pro ranks – especially if he’s arriving as an AHL starting option next season while Cossa, Detroit’s 2021 first-rounder with four full seasons of pro experience now behind him, gets the early nod as Gibson’s backup.
Mammoth Reassign Daniil But
The Mammoth reassigned left-winger Daniil But to AHL Tucson on Tuesday, according to a team announcement.
But, 21, was recalled from Tucson just last week. The 6’5″ rookie suited up in Utah’s 7-4 loss to the Capitals last Thursday. However, he only logged 9:08 of ice time with a -1 rating before heading to the press box for their 6-2 win over the Kings two days later.
With the Mammoth not back in action until Thursday against the Kraken amid an unusually lengthy break this time of year, there’s no sense in keeping But up, especially if he wasn’t going to re-enter the lineup later this week. They’re still without center Barrett Hayton, whose upper-body injury spurred But’s recall in the first place, but instead opted to insert Kailer Yamamoto into the lineup against L.A. in the spot But briefly held as their second-line left winger after the trio of But, Logan Cooley, and Dylan Guenther was outshot 4-2 and posted a 32.8 xGF% at 5-on-5 against Washington.
Selected 12th overall in 2023, the Mammoth have given But three separate recalls from Tucson this season and have played him exclusively in top-nine minutes when dressed, usually down on the third line with Michael Carcone and Jack McBain. His advanced numbers are strong, generating 3.24 shot attempts per game with a 55.2% Corsi share, but he’s been relatively stymied offensively with a 3-4–7 scoring line in 29 games. That’s an eight-goal, 20-point pace over 82 games.
They’ll get him a longer runway in Tucson, where he’s lit up the scoresheet for 16 goals and 33 points in 34 games. He’s shown more than enough there to put him squarely in contention for a roster spot next fall, but for now, it doesn’t look like Utah is keen on him as one of their top 12 forwards heading into what should be the franchise’s first trip to the playoffs.