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Atlantic Notes: Norris, Kozak, Maple Leafs, Benoit

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There’s some good news on the horizon for the Sabres on the injury front.  Head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters including Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that center Josh Norris has resumed skating as he continues to recover from an early-season upper-body injury sustained in Buffalo’s season opener.  While the team never announced a formal timeline for his return beyond his absence being a long-term one, there was some hope that he’d only miss a couple of months.  Since he’s back on the ice already, that could ultimately be the case, assuming there aren’t any setbacks.

Meanwhile, another center is about to return as Tyson Kozak was a full participant in practice and could suit up on Thursday against St. Louis.  The 22-year-old has missed the last six games due to a lower-body injury and has a pair of goals in his seven appearances this season.  The Sabres have a full 23-player roster so they will need to make a move to free up a roster spot before Kozak can be activated off injured reserve.

More from the Atlantic:

  • With a cap and roster crunch looming in Toronto when Joseph Woll needs to be activated off LTIR, the Maple Leafs will need to make some moves sooner than later. Some have suspected that they will be waiving players or parting with an asset to get a team to take on a contract but David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that they’re not taking that approach just yet.  Instead, they’re still focused on landing a positive-value return in the form of draft capital.  With Woll not on a conditioning stint yet, they still have some time but sooner than later, their hand will be forced, barring further injuries.
  • Still with Toronto, prior to tonight’s game against Utah, the Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Simon Benoit would be scratched due to illness. The 27-year-old has been a regular on the third pairing this season, picking up two assists, 21 blocks, and 33 hits in 13 games while averaging over 17 minutes a night.  His absence may have played a role in Easton Cowan’s demotion as Dakota Mermis, who is also currently waiver-exempt, was needed in the lineup to cover for Benoit.

Jets And Adam Lowry Making Progress In Extension Talks

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Earlier this season, the Jets took care of their top prominent pending unrestricted free agent when they signed Kyle Connor to an eight-year extension.  Next on their priority list appears to be their captain Adam Lowry, who just made his season debut on Tuesday after missing the first four weeks of the season while recovering from hip surgery.

While an agreement in a new deal isn’t in place yet, it appears they’re making progress on that front.  TSN’s Darren Dreger recently reported in a TSN Insider Trading segment that the Jets view getting the center signed to a long-term deal and it’s getting closer to being completed.

The 32-year-old is in the final season of his five-year, $16.25MM deal signed back in 2021.  While Lowry isn’t a significant offensive producer (his career high in points in 36), he’s a strong defensive player who typically is a little above average on faceoffs and can play a shutdown role when needed or hold his own in the top six.  As a result, it’s fair to say that Winnipeg has gotten a strong return on that contract.

Those types of versatile players tend to have a sizable list of suitors in free agency and the fact he’s a center will only make that list grow larger.  It’s not implausible to think that Lowry will be in a good position to surpass $4MM per season on his next contract and receive a long-term deal.  He presently has a six-team no-trade clause and should be in a position to improve upon that as well.

Even with Connor locked up to a team-record $96MM contract beginning next season, the Jets have more than ample cap flexibility.  Per PuckPedia, they project to have around $27.5MM in cap room for 2026-27 and only around six players needed to sign with that money.  That would leave plenty of room for a new deal for Lowry and a long-term agreement for RFA Cole Perfetti, while still having wiggle room to reshape the roster.

In past weeks, we’ve seen a flurry of potential unrestricted free agents eschew testing the open market next July and opt to re-sign with their current teams.  It seems likely that Lowry, a veteran of a dozen seasons in Winnipeg, will be joining that list soon enough.

West Notes: Gaudette, Leskovar, Akey

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The Sharks have activated forward Adam Gaudette off injured reserve, relays Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News (Twitter link).  The 29-year-old has missed a little more than a week due to an upper-body injury.  Signed to a two-year, $4MM contract this past summer, Gaudette has been reasonably productive in limited playing time, picking up three goals and an assist in nine games despite playing less than 11 minutes a night.  That usage is similar to last season when he averaged just 10:25 per game but still managed to notch 19 goals in 81 games with Ottawa.  With Patrick Giles being sent back down on Monday, they had the open roster spot available to activate Gaudette so no further moves were needed.

Elsewhere out West:

  • The Wild announced (Twitter link) that they have activated defenseman Stevie Leskovar off season-opening injured reserve and assigned him to ECHL Iowa. The 21-year-old is in the first season of his entry-level contract but he was dealing with a wrist injury that had kept him out of the lineup.  Leskovar had six points in 35 games last season with OHL Brampton and also got into one professional game with AHL Iowa.  But for now, he’ll go to the Heartlanders and look to get some playing time in at that level with the hopes of an AHL promotion later on.
  • The Oilers have assigned defenseman Beau Akey to ECHL Fort Wayne, per an announcement from AHL Bakersfield (Twitter link). The 20-year-old was a second-round pick back in 2023 and is in his first professional season but hasn’t been able to play yet due to injury.  Now cleared to return, he’ll get a chance to get in some game action with the Komets and will likely rejoin the Condors soon after with this assignment being more of a conditioning assignment than a long-term one.  Akey had 32 points in 52 games with OHL Barrie last season.

Metropolitan Notes: Devils, Fensore, Berni

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The Devils should soon be getting some help on the injury front.  Head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters today including Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that winger Connor Brown is a possibility to return Thursday against Montreal.  He has missed the last two games due to an undisclosed injury, putting on hold what has been a strong start to his season with five tallies in his first 11 outings.  Meanwhile, center Cody Glass and winger Zack MacEwen are skating and while Keefe suggested they’re unlikely to play tomorrow, they’re likely to skate Friday and are also nearing returns.  Glass, who has missed a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury has a pair of goals in six games so far while MacEwen has made one appearance thus far and has missed the last three weeks with an upper-body issue.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Hurricanes have once again assigned defenseman Domenick Fensore to AHL Chicago, per a team release. Recalled on Sunday, he didn’t see any action this time out, keeping him at one NHL appearance on the season.  The 24-year-old has three goals and four assists in five games with the Wolves this season and will have to suit up for them at least once before being eligible to once again be recalled as injury insurance.  In the meantime, his roster spot could be earmarked for K’Andre Miller, who is believed to be nearing a return from a lower-body injury.
  • It’s fair to say that Tim Berni won’t be returning to the NHL anytime soon. The Blue Jackets RFA defenseman will be staying in Switzerland as Zurich of the NL announced that they’ve signed the 25-year-old to a six-year contract beginning next season.  This season, Berni has three points in 20 games with Geneve-Servette.  He previously saw action in 59 games with Columbus back in 2022-23 but even with close to a regular role on the roster, he elected to return home after that season.

Five Key Stories: 10/27/25 – 11/2/25

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The turning of the calendar to November wasn’t a deadline of any sorts when it comes to contract extensions.  However, the end of October saw a flurry of notable extensions across the NHL which highlight our key stories.

Eight For Cooley: The big spending started in Utah as the Mammoth signed center Logan Cooley to an eight-year, $80MM extension, the richest post-entry-level deal in NHL history.  It wasn’t too long ago that he reportedly turned down a deal that was worth $77MM which suggested talks would be put on hold.  Instead, $3MM more pushed it across the finish line.  Cooley was the third overall pick in 2022 and showed plenty of promise in his first two NHL seasons to suggest he can live up to that draft billing.  He’s off to an even better start this season and now Utah has the player they feel is their top center of the future locked up through his prime years.

Eight For Harley: Next up on the long-term contract front was Stars defenseman Thomas Harley, who received an eight-year, $84.7MM extension.  The 24-year-old has blossomed into a true top-pairing defenseman over the past two seasons and finished seventh in Norris Trophy voting last season.  The deal will make him the fourth-highest-paid blueliner in the NHL in 2026-27 behind Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty, and Rasmus Dahlin but keeps him signed through his age-32 season and in this rising cap environment, the deal should hold up pretty well in the end.  With Miro Heiskanen signed through 2028-29, the top of the back end for Dallas is now locked up for a while.

Eight For Necas: When Colorado moved Mikko Rantanen last season while receiving Martin Necas as the centerpiece of the return, they were kicking the contract talks down the road by one year.  Now, with Necas entering the final year of his deal, the pressure was on to work something out.  They were able to do just that, agreeing on an eight-year, $92MM contract that begins next season.  Unlike the other two deals above, this one only covers UFA-eligible seasons.  The 26-year-old had a career year in 2024-25 with 83 points in 79 games and he’s scoring at a higher point-per-game clip in the early going of this season alongside Nathan MacKinnon and now their top duo is locked up through 2031.  Another big contract looms large with defenseman Cale Makar as he becomes extension-eligible in July.

Two For Goalies: Some goaltenders got in on the signing fun, though for much shorter contracts.  The Devils signed Jacob Markstrom to a two-year, $6MM extension.  The 35-year-old is in his second season as New Jersey’s starter and helped to stabilize their play between the pipes last season.  The $6MM AAV matches his current contract and with Jake Allen signed at $1.8MM, the Devils have a veteran goalie tandem in place at a pretty affordable price tag for the next two years.  Meanwhile, another netminder received a two-year contract, just not from an NHL team.  Unrestricted free agent Ilya Samsonov wasn’t able to catch on with an NHL team so he has returned to the KHL, signing with HC Sochi.  The 28-year-old was once viewed as a starter of the future but a .890 SV% over the past two seasons certainly didn’t help his market.

Trade Interest In Schneider: It hasn’t been a great start to the season for Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider while the Rangers find themselves in a 10-team group separated by just one point in the standings.  With the youngster not quite living up to expectations so far, teams have reportedly started making inquiries about Schneider to see if he could be made available.  The 24-year-old is in the final season of his bridge deal with a $2.2MM AAV while his qualifying offer checks in at $2.64MM with arbitration rights.  At this point, it would be surprising to see the Rangers move Schneider but if they decide they need to further shake up their roster, he’s one player who should generate plenty of interest.

Photo courtesy of Winslow Townson-Imagn Images.

Latest On David Kampf

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Over the offseason, the Maple Leafs were looking to find a new home for veteran center David Kampf but no trade came to fruition.  As a result, he was ultimately waived in training camp and, after going unclaimed, he was assigned to AHL Toronto.

Considering that GM Brad Treliving signed the 30-year-old to a four-year, $9.6MM contract a little more than two years ago, this was an outcome that wasn’t expected.  The plan was that he’d continue to anchor the fourth line while providing strong work at the faceoff dot and on the penalty kill.  But his role was reduced last season under Craig Berube and other lower-cost players now occupy his spot on the roster.

This season, Kampf had only played in four of seven games with the Marlies heading into the weekend.  He didn’t suit up on the road in Chicago either as  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (video link) that the veteran is taking a couple of days to ponder his future.

In recent years, we’ve seen a handful of players walk away from guaranteed money in the hopes of getting a more favorable opportunity in the NHL or simply to get back into the NHL.  Among that group are Conor Sheary, Brandon Saad, and Filip Zadina.  It’s possible that Kampf is pondering a similar route although he’d be walking away from more than $3MM in money owed between his salary this season and next plus next season’s signing bonus.

While that possibility is on the table, TSN’s Darren Dreger recently noted that the Maple Leafs are still trying to find a new home for Kampf.  However, with the team needing to free up cap space to accommodate Joseph Woll’s pending return from LTIR, they’re not necessarily in a spot where they can afford to take a similarly-priced player back.  Meanwhile, retaining salary would also make getting back to compliance a little trickier although they are dealing with a $1.25MM dead cap charge while Kampf is in the minors.  Technically, retaining less than that amount would still save them some cap room but it would tie up a salary retention slot through June 30, 2027.

If Woll’s return is the pressure point on the team, that could still be a week or two away as it’s expected that he’ll need a conditioning stint with the Marlies, one that would last three games but could be extended by two more with league approval.  However, if Kampf doesn’t want to wait that long, he could try to force the issue sooner but he’d likely have to walk away from the rest of his contract to do so.  If that were to happen, his contract would come off Toronto’s books entirely beyond what has already been accrued over the first few weeks of the season.

 

Canucks Believed To Have Inquired About Steven Stamkos

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The Canucks have long been searching for extra help down the middle, a need amplified by the latest injury to Filip Chytil.  To that end, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic recently reported (audio link) that he has been told that Vancouver has kicked the tires on Predators forward Steven Stamkos as they continue to cast a wide net in their search for a center.

Stamkos was one of Nashville’s splashy signings in the 2024 offseason, a summer that also saw GM Barry Trotz bring in winger Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei in the hopes of establishing themselves as a contender in a tough Central Division.  While Marchessault has worked out reasonably well so far (though underachieving relative to expectations), the other two haven’t.

Stamkos is in the second season of a four-year, $32MM pact, signed with the belief that he could still be a steady scorer away from Tampa Bay where he spent the first 16 years of his career.  However, after putting up 40 goals and 81 points in his final season with the Lightning, the 35-year-old managed just 27 goals and 53 points last season.  This year, he’s off to a much slower start, managing just a goal and an assist through 13 outings.

It should be noted that on top of having a contract that looks to be well above market value with how he has played so far, Stamkos also has a full no-move clause.  That means that even if the two teams could agree on a trade, he has full veto power if he doesn’t want to go there.

At this point, there’s no indication that Stamkos is interested in even considering a change of scenery.  However, with how things went off the rails for the Preds last year, another quiet start this season, and his own struggles, it wouldn’t be shocking if he or the team decided to ponder the possibility.

Vancouver’s salary cap situation is quite tight; they’re nearly $2.8MM into LTIR, per PuckPedia.  That means that the Canucks would need to match money to make a move work, something that could be mitigated in part by Nashville retaining salary.  On the other hand, the Predators only have one retention slot remaining this season having already utilized them on Mattias Ekholm and Colton Sissons.  Considering his value has dropped considerably, does it make sense to use that last slot (retaining several million dollars a year for multiple seasons) to elicit what would likely be a middling return?  Or, would they be better off saving that last slot for someone else this season and revisiting the idea over the summer after those other two slots open back up?

While Stamkos is probably better off as a winger at this stage of his career, he has played with some regularity at center for the past few years after primarily playing the position before that.  Given Vancouver’s need for help down the middle, he would certainly help there.  However, considering how difficult it would be to make the cap fit work for the Canucks, Stamkos doesn’t seem like the most plausible of candidates at the moment.  That said, they appear to be examining all possibilities as they look to upgrade the center position.

Oilers Receiving Interest In Troy Stecher

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The Oilers should be getting some help on the injury front over the next couple of weeks with Zach Hyman, Mattias Janmark, and Alec Regula all potentially returning.  That means a roster crunch will soon be coming and when Hyman comes off LTIR, they’ll have to get back to a cap-compliant roster, meaning moves will have to be made as they’re nearly $2.8MM over the cap ceiling, per PuckPedia.

It appears that one of the possibilities to be dealt is defenseman Troy Stecher.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (video link) that there appears to be some interest in the veteran blueliner while Edmonton is open to finding him a soft landing where he’d have a chance to stay on an NHL roster.

The 31-year-old is in his third season with the Oilers and has been in and out of the lineup in the early going this season.  Stecher has made six appearances so far in 2025-26 and has been held off the scoresheet while picking up three blocked shots in a little under 14 minutes a night of playing time.

Over his career, Stecher has played in 566 games over parts of ten seasons, generally playing on the third pairing.  He has 22 goals and 95 assists in those appearances along with 629 blocks and 562 hits in 17:29 per game of ice time.  At this stage of his career, he might be better off in more of a sixth or seventh role where his minutes would be a bit more limited but after playing 66 games in 2024-25, he can still be a regular when called upon.

Stecher is in the final season of his contract, one that carries a $787.5K cap charge and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.  Given their looming roster crunch, Edmonton likely won’t be able to command a significant return if they decide to move Stecher and not a different defender but even if it’s a late-round pick in return, it would be an asset for a player they’d otherwise be likely to lose on waivers when their injured players return.

Kyle Burroughs Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL

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Sunday: The Kings announced (Twitter link) that Burroughs has been activated off injured reserve, cleared waivers, and has been assigned to AHL Ontario.

Saturday: Veteran defenseman Kyle Burroughs has yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury sustained in the preseason.  It appears he is now ready to return but he won’t be suiting up for the Kings as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Los Angeles has placed the blueliner on waivers.

The 30-year-old is in his second season with the Kings who acquired him a little more than 14 months ago in exchange for winger Carl Grundstrom.  The move gave Los Angeles some extra defensive depth and grit on the heels of Burroughs’ best showing, a 2023-24 campaign that saw him play in 73 games where he recorded eight points, 134 blocks, and 233 hits while averaging over 19 minutes a night of playing time.

However, his first season with the Kings didn’t go anywhere near as well.  Burroughs often found himself on the outside looking in when it came to a place in the lineup and when he was dressed for a game, his role was much different.  Head coach Jim Hiller used Burroughs rather sparingly as his playing time was below eight minutes a night, making it hard for him to have the type of impact he had with San Jose.  In 33 outings, he had three assists, 14 blocks, and 42 hits.

With Burroughs cleared to come back and Los Angeles not having an open roster spot available, the Kings had a choice.  They could either send someone down (Brandt Clarke is the only waiver-exempt player so a different player would have needed to be waived) or try to send Burroughs down instead and clearly, they chose the latter route.

Burroughs is in the final season of a three-year, $3.3MM contract signed back in 2023 with the Sharks.  A $1.1MM price tag for an experienced blueliner with 201 appearances at the NHL level isn’t overly high so if there’s a team looking for some experienced depth, it’s possible that a team places a claim by Sunday’s 1 PM CT deadline.  If that doesn’t happen, the veteran will be on his way to AHL Ontario for what would be his first taste of minor league action since the 2020-21 campaign.  His entire cap hit would be cleared off the books if that happens.

Kraken Expected To Activate Kaapo Kakko

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It has been a tough season on the injury front for Seattle with several key players missing time already and several players still on injured reserve.  That number will be dropping by one, however, as Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic relays (subscription link) that winger Kaapo Kakko is expected to be activated off IR and suit up tonight against the Rangers, his former team.  Officially, he’s listed as a game-time decision, per team radio host Mike Benton (Twitter link).

The 24-year-old suffered a broken hand late in training camp that was expected to keep him out for six weeks.  Assuming he’s indeed activated for tonight’s game after being a full participant in practice Friday, he’ll come in slightly ahead of that target.

Last season was a mixed bag for Kakko.  Re-signed to a one-year, $2.4MM contract before qualifying offers were tendered, it looked like it was shaping up to be his last chance in New York.  That turned out to be the case.  After putting up just four goals and 10 assists in his first 30 games, the Rangers decided to pull the trigger on a move, sending him to the Kraken for defenseman William Borgen, plus 2025 third and sixth-round picks.

After the swap, Kakko found himself with a more consistent opportunity in Seattle’s top six and he made the most of it.  Over the final 49 games, he notched 10 goals and 20 assists while his ATOI jumped by nearly four minutes a night, showing some of the promise that made him the second overall selection back in 2019.

That showing was also good enough to give him enough leverage for a multi-year deal this summer.  In his final season of RFA eligibility, Seattle tendered Kakko a qualifying offer and the two sides eventually avoided arbitration with a three-year, $13.575MM contract that gave Kakko the security he was seeking and the Kraken a couple of extra years of club control.  Now, after missing the first month of the season, it looks like he’s set to try to get back to the same type of role he had down the stretch.

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