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Hurricanes Recall Bradly Nadeau, Assign Gavin Bayreuther To AHL

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10:00 p.m.: Shortly after their overtime loss to the Oilers, the Hurricanes announced they’ve reassigned Nadeau back to AHL Chicago. He did not play in tonight’s contest.

2:33 p.m.: The Hurricanes have made a pair of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against Edmonton.  The team announced that they have recalled winger Bradly Nadeau from AHL Chicago.  To make room for him on the roster, defenseman Gavin Bayreuther has been returned to the Wolves.

It’s the second recall of the season for Nadeau.  The 20-year-old got into six games in his first stint, picking up his first career goal while averaging 11:30 per game.  It’s already the third straight year that Nadeau has received NHL action as he got into one game in 2023-24 after being drafted 30th overall and made two appearances with them last season.

Nadeau has been quite productive in his limited action with the Wolves this season, picking up three goals and four assists.  That comes on the heels of an impressive rookie showing in 2024-25 where he had 32 goals and 26 assists in 64 games with Chicago.  If he gets into the lineup again on this recall, it’s likely that his minutes will be managed in a bottom-six role as it was in his first stint.

As for Bayreuther, the 31-year-old didn’t see any game action with Carolina after being recalled last weekend.  He has three goals and three assists in nine AHL contests with the Wolves and has 122 career NHL outings under his belt with a total of 28 points.  He returned to North America this season after playing with Lausanne in Switzerland in 2024-25.

Kraken Issue Several Injury Updates

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The Kraken have had more than their fair share of injury issues over the first six weeks of the season.  Head coach Lane Lambert provided some updates on that front today, via team reporter Alison Lukan (Twitter link) and there is both good and bad news.

The good news is that center Frederick Gaudreau is getting close to returning from an upper-body injury that has sidelined him for close to a month while winger Jared McCann (lower body) is making progress and could travel with the team on their upcoming road trip.  However, the bad news is that winger Kaapo Kakko is listed as out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Gaudreau is in his first season with Seattle after being acquired from Minnesota over the offseason.  The 32-year-old was injured in the fourth game of the season and hasn’t returned since then.  Gaudreau had an assist in those four outings but struggled at the faceoff dot, winning just 18 of 51 draws.  He has 61 goals and 92 assists in 414 career outings and should return to the bottom-six role he had last month once he’s officially activated off injured reserve.

As for McCann, he only lasted one more game than Gaudreau did, getting injured in the fifth game of the campaign.  He was off to a strong start before being sidelined after tallying three goals and an assist while logging over 17 minutes per night.  The 29-year-old has surpassed the 60-point mark in three straight seasons so getting him back potentially sooner than later would be a real shot in the arm to an offense that ranks 30th in goals scored heading into Saturday’s action.

Kakko, meanwhile, has had a rough first full year with the Kraken.  After a solid showing in the second half of last season landed him a three-year deal over the summer, he broke his hand late in training camp, missing the first few weeks of the regular season as a result.  The 24-year-old has struggled since returning, notching just one point – a goal – in seven games with that tally coming in his last outing against Winnipeg before departing with this injury.  Now, he’ll be forced to sit for a while once again which certainly won’t help his chances of making Finland’s roster for the Olympics in February.  He remains on the active roster for now but will likely be shifted to IR once Gaudreau is ready to return.

Minor Transactions: 11/15/25

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While regular season play around the hockey world has been underway for a while now, there are still some free agents looking for places to suit up.  A pair of former NHLers were able to find new deals recently; those are among the moves in our latest minor transactions roundup.

  • Veteran goaltender Dustin Tokarski has signed a tryout deal with AHL Grand Rapids, per a team release. The 36-year-old has 86 career NHL appearances under his belt over parts of ten seasons but has seen plenty of action in the minors with 444 outings in 16 years.  Last season, Tokarski played in six games with Carolina (winning four), posting a 2.18 GAA and a .902 SV% while also getting into 21 outings with AHL Chicago where he had a 2.84 GAA and a .897 SV%.
  • Former NHL winger Linus Omark has left his team in Switzerland to play for his home team in Sweden’s third division as Overtornea announced on their Facebook page that they’ve signed him. Omark had 32 points in 79 career NHL games between Edmonton and Buffalo but has been playing overseas since 2014, spending time in four different countries.  Omark made quite the first impression for his new team, picking up six points in his debut.
  • Veteran Luke Witkowski isn’t ready to call it a career as SHL Brynas announced that they’ve signed him for the remainder of the season. The 35-year-old, who has played both on the back end and the wing, is joining the team as a defenseman.  Witkowski has 13 points, 162 penalty minutes, and 292 hits in 132 career NHL games over parts of seven seasons.  In 2024-25, he suited up with SHL Skelleftea, notching three points in 25 games.
  • The Oilers have reassigned defenseman Beau Akey from ECHL Fort Wayne to AHL Bakersfield, per the AHL’s transactions log. The first-year pro missed the first month of the season with an injury and was sent down to the Komets in what amounted to a four-game conditioning stint where he had his first professional goal.

Hurricanes Notes: Jarvis, Kotkaniemi, Svechnikov

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It has been a particularly tough start to the season for the Hurricanes on the injury front with over 40% of their season-opening roster dealing with some sort of injury or illness within the first six weeks.  Two more players joined that list last night against Vancouver as winger Seth Jarvis and center Jesperi Kotkaniemi departed.

Jarvis took a high stick to his eye from teammate Andrei Svechnikov and left early in the first period although head coach Rod Brind’Amour noted to reporters postgame including Justin Pelletier of the Raleigh News & Observer that the early thought is that Jarvis shouldn’t be out for too long.  Jarvis has been a key producer in the early going with 10 goals and 16 points in 17 appearances so far.

Kotkaniemi’s situation is a little murkier.  He departed in the second period after blocking a shot with Brind’Amour noting after the game that the center is dealing with an ankle injury.  Whether that’s a sprain, a fracture, or something else remains to be seen, making his potential return date more uncertain.  The 25-year-old has three goals and two assists in 15 games this season, his lowest point-per-game average since his sophomore season with Montreal back in 2019-20.

Meanwhile, Svechnikov won’t face any supplemental discipline for his elbow on Canucks blueliner Filip Hronek late in last night’s game, reports Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic (Twitter link).  The incident occurred late in the third period with no penalty call on the play; Hronek was subsequently pulled by the concussion spotter and did not return.  Dhaliwal notes that Hronek’s movement on the play while controlling the puck was a direct contributor to Svechnikov’s check getting him in his head instead of his arm which likely played a big role in the decision for there to be no fine or suspension.

Rasmus Dahlin Rejoins Sabres, Zac Jones Assigned To AHL

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A little more than a week ago, Sabres blueliner Rasmus Dahlin took a leave of absence to return to Sweden to be with his fiancée who continues to recover from a heart transplant from the summer.  He has now returned to the team as Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News relayed (Twitter link) that the captain has returned to the team and took part in today’s morning skate.  The Sabres subsequently announced that blueliner Zac Jones has been sent back to AHL Rochester to make room for Dahlin on their active roster.

Dahlin had played in 14 games before briefly stepping away but had gotten off to a tough start by his high standards with the team scuffling early on.  He had a goal and eight assists in those outings along with 17 blocks in a little over 24 minutes a night.  However, like several of his teammates, some defensive miscues proved to be problematic.

But even with that, his return will certainly be a welcome one.  He anchors Buffalo’s top pairing at even strength and runs their number one power play while also seeing some action shorthanded.  Dahlin’s return will likely take Jacob Bryson out of the lineup after he got into the last three games.

As for Jones, he was brought up a little more than a week ago following a very strong start with the Americans (where he had 13 assists in 11 games) but didn’t see any action with Buffalo.  Despite being up for more than a week, he still leads all AHL blueliners in points.  Jones is in his first season with Buffalo after signing a one-year, $900K contract with them in free agency.  He has 28 points in 115 career NHL outings, all with the Rangers.

Maple Leafs Claim Troy Stecher Off Waivers From Oilers

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The Maple Leafs have turned to the waiver wire to add some depth on the back end.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they have claimed blueliner Troy Stecher off waivers from Edmonton.  To free up a roster spot, the team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Anthony Stolarz has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 11th.

The 31-year-old is in his third season with the Oilers after being acquired from Arizona back in 2024.  After playing somewhat of a regular role last season when he made 66 appearances, playing time has been much harder to come by in 2025-26.  This season, Stecher has only played in six games and has been held off the scoresheet while adding three blocked shots in just under 14 minutes per night of playing time.

In his 10-year NHL career, Stecher has played in 566 games with six different teams and hasn’t been with a franchise for more than four seasons.  He has 22 goals and 95 assists to his credit along with 629 blocked shots with a 17:25 ATOI.

Knowing that a cap crunch was coming with Zach Hyman nearing a return (he was officially activated earlier today and will make his season debut tonight), Edmonton had been looking to move Stecher in recent weeks.  Clearly, no move came to fruition which resulted in yesterday’s waiver placement.  With Stecher coming off the roster, the Oilers now have $212.5K remaining in their LTIR pool, per PuckPedia.

Toronto is currently without blueliner Chris Tanev who is out with an upper-body injury sustained in his first game after returning from a concussion.  His injury has resulted in Dakota Mermis serving as the reserve defenseman in recent weeks.  It’s possible that Stecher is being eyed as an upgrade for that spot although he could push Philippe Myers for playing time as well.

Stecher is in the final season of a two-year, $1.55MM contract which carries a $787.5K cap charge, making him a low-cost pickup for the Maple Leafs.  He’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

As for Stolarz, he left Tuesday’s game against Boston due to an upper-body injury.  Initially listed as out day-to-day, he’ll now miss at least a week past the 11th, ruling him out of Toronto’s next two games.  He’s someone who could probably benefit from the rest as the 31-year-old has struggled mightily out of the gate, posting a 3.51 GAA and a .884 SV% in his first 13 appearances.  Joseph Woll was recently recalled from his conditioning stint with the AHL’s Marlies and will be in uniform tonight against Chicago with Dennis Hildeby being their other active option.

Wild Recall Liam Ohgren And Tyler Pitlick, Assign David Spacek To AHL

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With the Wild placing center Marco Rossi on injured reserve yesterday due to a lower-body injury, they had an open roster spot.  They’ve made a trio of moves to ultimately fill that spot, announcing the recalls of wingers Liam Ohgren and Tyler Pitlick while assigning defenseman David Spacek to AHL Iowa.

The 21-year-old made Minnesota’s roster out of training camp but playing time was hard to come by.  In five games, the 2022 first-round pick played more than ten minutes just once as he was a fixture on the fourth line.  Ohgren didn’t have any points in those outings while picking up four shots on goal.  Including last year’s action, he has three goals and four assists in 33 career NHL contests.

In an effort to get him more playing time, the Wild sent Ohgren down to Iowa in mid-October.  He has suited in nine games with them, picking up three goals and two assists.  While that’s decent production, it’s worth noting that he was much more productive in the minors last season, coming up just shy of a point per game with 19 goals and 18 assists in 41 appearances.

Pitlick is in his first season with Minnesota after signing a two-year, two-way deal with them in free agency over the summer.  While he cleared waivers last month after not making the opening roster, he has spent the bulk of this season in the NHL following a recall two weeks into the season.  He has played in nine games so far and hasn’t recorded a point but has 24 hits and 22 penalty minutes.  Notably, if he plays in one more NHL contest, he will need to pass through waivers again before he can be assigned to Iowa.

The 34-year-old has three goals and an assist in five games so far in the minors.  Over his career, Pitlick has played in 429 career NHL contests over parts of ten seasons for nine different franchises.

As for Spacek, he was recalled back on Monday with fellow blueliner Jake Middleton dealing with an illness but is still waiting to make his NHL debut.  The 22-year-old is in his second professional campaign and has six assists in a dozen games so far with Iowa.

Sharks Place Jeff Skinner On Injured Reserve, Recall Zack Ostapchuk

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Sharks winger Jeff Skinner left Thursday’s game against Calgary due to a lower-body injury and it will keep him out of the lineup for at least a week.  He has been placed on injured reserve, according to the NHL’s media site.  Taking his place on the roster will be center Zack Ostapchuk who has been recalled according to the AHL’s transactions log.

Skinner is in his first season with San Jose after signing a one-year, $3MM contract with them in free agency back in July.  The 33-year-old has slowed down offensively over the last couple of seasons and that has continued early on in 2025-26 as he has been limited to four goals and three assists in 17 appearances while averaging a career-low 12:22 in ATOI.

As for Ostapchuk, this will be his second recall of the season after briefly being up with the Sharks last week although he didn’t see any game action.  The 22-year-old has played in 11 games with the Barracuda this season, picking up three goals and an assist.  He got into 56 NHL outings last season between Ottawa and San Jose, notching four points and 110 hits on their respective fourth lines.

The fourth line is likely where he will land as they only have 12 healthy forwards at the moment so the Sharks will either need to play Ostapchuk tonight against Seattle or dress seven defensemen which would give either Nick Leddy or Shakir Mukhamadullin a chance to get back into the lineup.  Blueliner Vincent Iorio is also on the active roster but is with the Barracuda on a conditioning assignment, making him unavailable for tonight’s contest.

Penguins Activate And Assign Rutger McGroarty And Joel Blomqvist

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The Penguins have had two of their better prospects return to full health.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Rutger McGroarty and goaltender Joel Blomqvist have been activated off season-opening injured reserve.  They have been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

McGroarty was acquired from Winnipeg last year in a swap of 14th overall picks but spent the bulk of his rookie year in the minors.  He made Pittsburgh’s roster out of training camp but was sent down after just three games.  He played in 60 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, picking up 14 goals and 25 assists.  That earned McGroarty a recall in late March and he did well with it, putting up three points in five games down the stretch.

McGroarty had been dealing with an upper-body injury sustained before training camp as he didn’t take part in their rookie tournament or the preseason.  Since he spent some time on Pittsburgh’s roster last season, he was carrying a reduced cap charge of just over $148K which will now come off their books.

As for Blomqvist, he came close to an even split between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season.  He got into 15 games at the top level and had some struggles, putting up a 3.81 GAA and a .885 SV% in his first taste of NHL action.  Meanwhile, in the minors, he posted a 2.84 GAA and a .914 SV%.  That’s certainly better than his time with Pittsburgh but it was also worse than his rookie-season performance that saw him compile a 2.16 GAA and a .921 SV% in 45 outings in 2024-25.

For a while, it looked like Blomqvist was going to be Tristan Jarry’s backup heading into the season but that changed when they acquired Arturs Silovs from Vancouver in the summer.  While there could be a short-term recall option for him with Jarry currently injured and Sergei Murashov serving as the backup, the better play development-wise might simply be to get him as much game action as possible in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  Like McGroarty, Blomqvist had a reduced cap charge while on SOIR (tied to how many days he was on Pittsburgh’s roster) so this move will take his revised $341K charge off their cap.

Ducks Not Entering Into Substantive Extension Talks With Leo Carlsson Yet

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The Ducks have been one of the pleasant surprises through the first month and a bit of the season.  After coming up well short of a playoff spot for the past several years, they enter play tonight sitting atop the Pacific Division.

A big reason for that has been the play of center Leo Carlsson.  The third-year player is among the NHL’s top scorers in the early going, recording 11 goals and 15 assists through Anaheim’s first 16 games; his 26 points are tied for the second-most in the league.

The timing for that offensive breakout is certainly ideal for Carlsson.  He’s slated to become a restricted free agent next summer and this type of production will only be sending the price tag upward.  But it doesn’t appear as if the Ducks or Carlsson are in any rush to start substantive discussions on a new deal, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.  Instead, both sides appear content to push things until at least the second half of the season.

The 20-year-old was the second overall pick in 2023 and made the jump right away to the NHL although his minutes were managed in his rookie year.  As a result, he played in just 55 games, picking up 12 goals and 17 assists.  Last season, he was more productive, tallying 20 goals and 25 helpers in 76 games.  Still, few could have expected this type of offensive jump in the early going.

It’s the size of that jump that makes waiting a prudent move for both sides.  While there’s a natural inclination to think that the eight-year, $80MM extension Utah recently gave Logan Cooley could stand as a reasonable comparison, the Mammoth’s middleman was a lot more productive in his first two seasons, notching 44 and 65 points respectively.  On the other hand, Carlsson’s breakout this season vastly surpasses Cooley’s strong start as he’s doubling him up in points in the early going.    How sustainable this hot start is will go a long way in determining if Carlsson comes in below this price tag or if he has a shot at surpassing it.

Ducks GM Pat Verbeek is typically hesitant to hand out long-term contracts to players coming off entry-level contracts and has taken several negotiations deep into the offseason.  Fellow center Mason McTavish is the most recent example of that as it took until late September for him to sign his six-year, $42MM deal.  If those trends continue, it might not matter all that much how significant talks get in the coming months between the Ducks and Carlsson; it could very well be another long-term discussion.

Fortunately for Anaheim, their cap situation won’t play any role in discussions as they have more than $40MM in cap space for next season, per PuckPedia, meaning all options in terms of the length of a deal should be on the table.  But for now, both sides are happy with waiting things out.

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