Oilers Receiving Interest In Troy Stecher
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
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
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.
Metropolitan Notes: Panarin, Brazeau, Luchanko, Brown
At a time when several prominent pending unrestricted free agents have re-signed, one of the notable exceptions is Rangers winger Artemi Panarin. It doesn’t appear that will be changing anytime soon. In his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun reports that the sense is that New York isn’t in a particular hurry to engage in discussions, wanting to better assess how they’re faring under new head coach Mike Sullivan. Panarin just turned 34 so there’s a good chance this will be his final contract, meaning term will be important. If the Rangers aren’t willing to offer up a longer-term pact, Panarin could find himself the subject of plenty of trade speculation leading up to the trade deadline in March.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Penguins winger Justin Brazeau is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, relays team broadcaster Josh Getzoff (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has been one of Pittsburgh’s top offensive performers in the early going this season, collecting six goals and six assists in his first dozen games. That outcome was something few would have seen coming considering he entered the campaign with just 29 points in 95 career NHL games. He has provided plenty of value already in the first season of a two-year, $3MM contract but that will be on hold for now.
- The Flyers recently sent center Jett Luchanko back to junior but if the youngster has his way, he’ll be on the move again. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic mentions (subscription link) that the 19-year-old is hoping to be moved from his current OHL team in Guelph, with an eye on joining Brantford, an early-season contender. Luchanko, the 13th pick in 2024, has made Philadelphia’s roster out of training camp in each of the last two seasons but this time, he only got into four games before being sent back to the Storm where he had an assist in his first outing back with them.
- Devils winger Connor Brown will miss tonight’s game against Los Angeles with an undisclosed injury, notes team reporter Amanda Stein (Twitter link). However, it doesn’t appear he’ll be out too long as he’s listed as day-to-day. Brown is off to a strong start in his first season with New Jersey, picking up five goals and an assist through his first 11 games.
Capitals Recall Spencer Smallman
On the heels of Pierre-Luc Dubois suffering a lower-body injury in last night’s game against the Islanders, the Capitals have added some extra forward depth to their roster. The team announced that they’ve recalled winger Spencer Smallman from AHL Hershey. Washington had an open roster spot so no further moves were needed.
The 29-year-old is getting the first recall of his career in his second season with the Capitals. Smallman has been a consistent producer at the AHL level, notching between 21 and 34 points in each of the last four seasons with the latter number coming last year, helping to earn Smallman a two-year, two-way contract back in April.
This season, Smallman is producing at a similar clip, picking up two goals and an assist through six games with Hershey.
As for Dubois, he suffered his injury late in the first period (his second lower-body issue of the season) on Friday night in a collision with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and needed assistance to get off the ice. There was no immediate update postgame but given the difficulty he had putting weight on his leg following the injury, it’s reasonable to infer that he’s going to miss some time, necessitating Smallman’s promotion.
Central Notes: Zuccarello, Kantserov, Aamodt
The Wild could soon be getting a needed boost up front. On Friday, head coach John Hynes indicated (Twitter link) that winger Mats Zuccarello is within a week or so of returning to the lineup. The 38-year-old has yet to suit up this season due to a back injury that also caused him to miss training camp. While Zuccarello isn’t a major scoring threat, he’s one of Minnesota’s better playmakers and is coming off a solid showing in 2024-25 that saw him record 19 goals and 35 assists in 69 games. His eventual return would go a long way to giving them a second scoring line, an area that has been an issue in the early going this season.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov is in the final year of his KHL contract, leading some to hope that he will come to North America for next season. Speaking with RG’s Sergey Demidov, the 21-year-old indicated that he’d like to test himself in the NHL but isn’t planning on making a decision on his future until next year when his deal expires. A second-round pick in 2023 (44th overall), Kantserov had 38 points in 47 games last season and is off to a better start in 2025-26, notching a league-high 13 goals and eight assists in 21 appearances so far.
- Wyatt Aamodt’s stint with the Avalanche was short-lived. Just two days after recalling the blueliner, the team announced (Twitter link) that they have sent him back to AHL Colorado. The 27-year-old didn’t play on this recall, keeping his career NHL appearance total at two and his point total at one, a tally in last season’s final game. Aamodt has a goal and five assists in nine games with the Eagles so far this season. The move leaves Colorado with just six healthy blueliners at the moment but Samuel Girard has been skating in recent days and is thought to be nearing a return.
Max Willman Signs In KHL
It took a while but veteran Max Willman has found a team for this season. The KHL announced that the winger has signed with Barys Astana for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign.
The 30-year-old was originally drafted by Buffalo back in 2014, going in the fifth round but he ultimately never signed with them. After playing out his college career, he signed with Philadelphia’s farm team, eventually playing his way into an NHL contract two years later for the 2021-22 campaign.
Willman wound up getting into 41 games with the Flyers that season, seeing more time with them than he did in the minors with AHL Lehigh Valley. However, his playing time at the top level was much more limited the following year as Willman got into just nine games with Philadelphia.
It took some time for Willman to get a guaranteed deal as he played through a training camp tryout in New Jersey before inking a two-way contract for the 2023-24 campaign. However, he performed well enough in the minors to earn an 18-game stint with the Devils plus a new contract well before free agency, giving him some extra security heading into last season. However, he didn’t see any NHL action last season, instead potting 10 goals and 20 assists in 69 games in Utica.
Over his three NHL stints, Willman has seven goals and three assists in 68 games while being considerably more productive in the minors, notching 54 goals and 65 helpers in 244 games over parts of six seasons. With his professional games played total likely to surpass 320 once he gets into some KHL contests, he’ll qualify as a veteran for AHL purposes beginning next season which could significantly affect his chances of returning to play in North America with AHL teams only being allotted five skater slots for veterans in their lineups.
West Notes: Hyman, Nyquist, Reaves, Blackhawks
When the Oilers placed winger Zach Hyman on LTIR to start the season as he continues to recover from wrist surgery, the hope was that he’d be able to return as soon as he was eligible, that being November 1st. However, that won’t be the case. Earlier this week, head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters including Gerry Moddejonge of the Edmonton Journal that the veteran’s return will be at least another week away. Knoblauch was quick to note that this isn’t an indication of a setback but rather that they’re being cautious to try to avoid any setbacks down the road. Whenever Hyman does return, his addition will be a welcome one as he has scored at least 27 goals in each of the last four seasons.
More from out West:
- After being injured on Thursday, Jets winger Gustav Nyquist isn’t expected to play tonight versus Pittsburgh, notes Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press. Instead, head coach Scott Arniel indicated that they expect a more detailed update on Nyquist’s situation after the weekend. The 36-year-old hasn’t scored in his first 11 games in a Winnipeg uniform but has collected five assists despite averaging a career-low 12:19 of ice time.
- Sharks winger Ryan Reaves is expected to receive further testing on his lower-body injury today, relays Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). There is some concern that the injury, sustained on Thursday, is believed to be serious. Reaves is in his first season with San Jose after being acquired from Toronto in an offseason swap and has two goals and 37 hits in ten games this season but is averaging just 6:43 per game of playing time.
- The Blackhawks have deployed the unconventional 11-forward, seven-defensemen lineup in all but two of their 11 games this season. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times examines the logic behind head coach Jeff Blashill’s logic, noting that the new bench boss is already thinking in terms of season-long load management, not wanting to overload his young blueliners. Five of their seven defenders are 24 or younger so their goal is to not overwork them by going with an extra rearguard most nights over a 12th forward, hoping that the strategy will pay off as the season goes on.
Wild Believed To Be Looking To Add A Middle-Six Forward
Heading into last offseason, there was an expectation that the Wild would be busy with much more salary cap space at their disposal. Instead, their spending was relatively tempered, headlined by the additions of winger Vladimir Tarasenko and center Nico Sturm. They also re-signed center Marco Rossi to a bridge deal after a prolonged period of trade speculation. The end result was them entering the season with much more cap space than they’ve been accustomed to.
At the moment, Minnesota has over $4.2MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. That amount is lowered a bit by the fact that they have 15 forwards counting against their cap thanks to injuries to Sturm and winger Mats Zuccarello, neither of whom have played this season.
It appears they’re looking to put that cap flexibility to use sooner than later. Anthony DiMarco of The Fourth Period reports that Minnesota is believed to be looking to add a middle-six forward. While they’ve been known to be coveting center help for several years now, they’re not limiting their search to just that position; they’re open to adding on the wing as well.
Entering play tonight, the Wild sit 21st in the NHL in goals scored despite having three forwards (Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Rossi) all averaging at least a point per game. While that line is producing, they’re not getting a ton of help elsewhere. Tarasenko has only scored once, Joel Eriksson Ek has just two goals, and Marcus Foligno is still looking for his first point of the season.
With that in mind, it makes sense that GM Bill Guerin appears to be looking at what might be out there on the trade front. On top of having some struggling veterans, top prospects Danila Yurov and Liam Ohgren have seen very limited playing time; it might be more beneficial for their development to play a bigger role with AHL Iowa over fourth-line ice time in Minnesota. Adding a middle-six forward could push one of them off the active roster, allowing for that extra playing time to happen while ideally giving their offense a bit of a boost as well.
Having said that, this is still a little early in the season for teams to start parting with proven talent. While there has been plenty of speculation around players like Nicholas Robertson (Toronto) or Yegor Chinakhov (Columbus), there’s no guarantee that adding one of them – or someone like that – would come in and give their attack the shot in the arm that they’re seeking. But if they’re looking for someone with more of a track record, they may have to wait a while yet before the market really starts to open up.
Avalanche Recall Taylor Makar
A pair of brothers could soon be getting a chance to play together in the NHL for the first time. The Avalanche announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Taylor Makar from AHL Colorado. They had two open spots on their active roster, meaning no corresponding move needed to be made to bring him up.
It’s the first recall of Makar’s career. The 24-year-old, the younger brother of star defenseman Cale Makar, was selected by the Avs in the seventh round back in 2021, taking him 220th overall. Makar went on to spend four years in college, three with UMass before transferring to the University of Maine for his senior year, one that saw him record 18 goals and 12 assists. For context, he had a total of 22 points over his first three college campaigns.
That improvement was enough for Colorado to sign Makar to a one-year, entry-level deal for this season. He’s off to a decent start with the Eagles, picking up one goal and three assists in nine games so far this season.
Makar’s recall is likely tied to the fact that winger Gavin Brindley left today’s game against Vegas after taking a hit from Ivan Barbashev and didn’t return. With the Avs only carrying 12 forwards on their active roster before this move, it would appear that Makar would be in line to make his NHL debut if Brindley can’t suit up on Saturday against San Jose.