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Los Angeles Kings Sign Jimmy Lombardi To Entry-Level Contract

December 22, 2025 at 3:17 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu Leave a Comment

The Los Angeles Kings have signed prospect forward Jimmy Lombardi to a three-year entry-level contract, according to an announcement from Lombardi’s agent Dan Milstein as well as a team announcement. This news will coincide with Lombardi decomitting from the Big Ten’s University of Michigan – where he was slated to play next season – per Matthew Auchincloss of Michigan Daily Sports.

Lombardi, who turns 19 in February, was a fourth-round pick (No. 125 overall) by the Kings at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The No. 29 overall pick at the 2023 OHL Priority Selection, Lombardi scored 13 goals and 45 points for the Flint Firebirds in his draft year, ending the draft season with mixed rankings from public-facing scouting outlets. He was ranked as high as No. 59, by McKeen’s Hockey, and as low as No. 120, by Future Considerations. NHL Central Scouting ranked Lombardi No. 84 among North American skaters.

The Kings ultimately landed Lombardi a little bit later than his rankings from public sources. The early returns from their fourth-round choice have been uniformly positive. Lombardi entered the season ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the Kings’ system according to the team at Elite Prospects, and his performance in the OHL so far this season has likely increased his stock notably.

Flint is currently one of the top offensive teams in the OHL, led by New York Rangers prospect Nathan Aspinall, who leads the entire OHL in scoring. Lombardi’s 21 goals and 41 points tie for eighth in league scoring, alongside four other players, two of whom were first-round draft picks.

It’s entirely plausible that Lombardi’s jump in production was enough to motivate the Kings to sign Lombardi to his entry-level deal. What’s somewhat curious about this signing is the impact it has on his development path. Lombardi announced a commitment to play college hockey at the University of Michigan in June that he will now forgo.

That does not come as a huge surprise, of course, as the fact that he is now signed to his entry-level deal eliminates the possibility of Lombardi heading to the NCAA. While the door now appears to be open for players who have signed pro contracts in lower leagues such as the ECHL to play college hockey — Bemidji State, for example, now rosters 2021 Calgary Flames pick Jack Beck, who has 40 games of pro experience across the ECHL and AHL — there does not appear to be the same possibility for a player who signs an NHL deal.

While it’s often wise to not read too much into the simple signing of a prospect to an entry-level deal, Lombardi’s signing, due to his prior commitment to the Wolverines, does suggest something about how the organization — or Lombardi himself — views his pro readiness. Starting next season, NHL teams are expected to be able to loan one 19-year-old player to the AHL, under the terms of a new agreement between the league and the CHL.

Lombardi would have traditionally been ineligible to play in the AHL until 2027-28, due to the fact that he will turn 20 in February 2027. Under the new rule, the Kings could elect to make Lombardi their one allotted 19-year-old AHL reassignment, and today’s ELC signing paves the way for Lombardi to be able to do so.

Of course, it’s also possible that Lombardi plays in the OHL until the traditional point of becoming AHL-eligible, rendering this whole aspect of the conversation moot. But given the evolving dynamics of player development across the hockey world, these are aspects of ELC signings that are worth considering.

Pro Hockey Rumors’ Gabriel Foley also contributed to this article.

Los Angeles Kings| NHL| OHL Jimmy Lombardi

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Seattle’s Brandon Montour Out Week-To-Week

December 22, 2025 at 12:50 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu Leave a Comment

The Seattle Kraken announced today that defenseman Brandon Montour will miss approximately four weeks after undergoing successful hand surgery. Montour left the Kraken’s game last Tuesday with what was at the time an undisclosed injury, and didn’t dress for either of the team’s next two games. He has been placed on injured reserve.

With today’s announcement, the reason for Montour’s unavailability has become clear. The 31-year-old defenseman has become a key part of the Kraken blueline since signing a $7.14MM AAV deal with Seattle in 2024. He currently ranks No. 2 on the Kraken in time on ice per game, averaging 21:55 per game with 2:02 per game on the power play, just behind No. 1 defenseman Vince Dunn in each category.

Montour scored 18 goals and 41 points in his first season in Seattle, and has managed six goals and 16 points in 27 games this season, a scoring rate that is a slight tick above where he landed in 2024-25. Montour paired with lefty Ryan Lindgren to form Seattle’s second defensive pairing on Dec. 16, the date Montour suffered his injury.

With Montour sidelined, head coach Lane Lambert elevated Jamie Oleksiak off of the team’s third pairing into Montour’s role, electing to play Oleksiak on his off hand next to Lindgren. The elevation of Oleksiak paved the way for Josh Mahura to re-enter the Kraken lineup on the third pairing next to young defenseman Ryker Evans. Mahura, who averages 15:15 time on ice per game this season, had been a healthy scratch the prior two games and sat out most of November.

This injury to Montour will challenge the Kraken’s ability to re-enter the Western Conference playoff race. They sit seven points behind the Utah Mammoth, who hold the conference’s second wild card spot, though they have only played in 33 games compared to Utah’s 38. Seattle has gone 2-8-0 in its last 10 games, and losing a key veteran defenseman for four weeks certainly won’t help them reverse that trend.

Injury| Seattle| Seattle Kraken Brandon Montour

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Jaccob Slavin, Seth Jarvis Out Week-To-Week

December 22, 2025 at 11:41 am CDT | by Ethan Hetu 4 Comments

The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that two key players are out week-to-week with respective upper-body injuries: Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis.

The announcement of Jarvis’ injury does not come as any great surprise. His injury occurred on Friday and it was immediately clear that he would miss at least some time as a result of what happened. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters immediately after the game that Jarvis was “going to be out for a while.” He was placed on IR the following day, and today the Hurricanes confirmed that he’ll be out on a week-to-week basis.

The more surprising development is the injury to Slavin. Slavin missed two months due to a lower-body injury, and the Hurricanes only activated him on Dec. 14, which was about a week ago. The Hurricanes appeared to be easing Slavin into his return to game action as he played 14:31 time on ice in his first game on Dec. 14, 16:47 in his second game on Dec. 17, and 18:36 on Dec. 19, with all three numbers coming well below his traditional usage level as the team’s top defenseman.

Slavin was held out of the second game of the Hurricanes’ set of back-to-back games on Dec. 20, but at the time, his absence did not raise any eyebrows, as it was attributed to being part of his recovery process. It’s not abnormal for a player who only recently returned from a two-month injury absence to be rested for the second half of a back-to-back.

But the fact that Slavin is now slated to miss time on a week-to-week basis with a new upper-body injury throws into question whether the player suffered this injury during any of his three NHL games since returning on Dec. 14. Per The Raleigh News & Observer’s Chip Alexander, Brind’Amour said today that he assumes Slavin suffered the injury as a result of a hit from Florida Panthers forward A.J. Greer, one that came during the team’s Dec. 19 contest in Sunrise.

Regardless of when exactly he became injured, the reality is the Hurricanes are now once again without their most reliable and important defenseman. Slavin is widely considered to be one of the game’s best shutdown defensemen. Despite offensive production that is relatively pedestrian in comparison to his defensive excellence, Slavin has landed on Norris Trophy ballots in every season of his 11-year career other than his first. That’s a testament to just how highly regarded Slavin is as a defensive defenseman. Slavin is also a two-time Lady Byng Trophy winner, an extraordinarily difficult task for a blueliner asked to go up against the opposing team’s top offensive weapons on a nightly basis.

As the Hurricanes continue to push for their third Metropolitan Division title since 2021, Slavin’s absence will add some additional stress to the team’s defensive plans. The Hurricanes ran a left-side defense of K’Andre Miller, Alexander Nikishin, and Shayne Gostisbehere in Slavin’s absence on Saturday, and could continue to run that defense with Swedish import Joel Nystrom the most likely candidate to be recalled in the event Slavin once again lands on IR. Veteran Mike Reilly is also on the roster as the No. 7 defenseman.

Slavin is widely considered to be a lock to be selected to the United States’ roster for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, and The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported that “the belief is this won’t impact” Slavin’s availability for that tournament.

Carolina Hurricanes| Players Jaccob Slavin| Seth Jarvis

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New York Rangers Recall Brett Berard, Place J.T. Miller On IR

December 22, 2025 at 11:18 am CDT | by Ethan Hetu 1 Comment

The New York Rangers announced today that they have recalled winger Brett Berard from their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.

According to the New York Post’s Mollie Walker, the Rangers placed captain J.T. Miller on IR in a corresponding move, one that created the necessary space on the Rangers’ roster to add Berard. Miller is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, one reported to be related to his right shoulder.

The move comes shortly after the Rangers were forced into playing a game with 11 forwards and seven defensemen dressed due to an unexpected absence of Gabe Perreault due to illness, as well as an injury to Matt Rempe. By recalling Berard, the Rangers have insulated themselves from further unexpected absences, and given head coach Mike Sullivan another forward option to work with as he constructs his lineup.

Berard, 23, has emerged as a top call-up option for the Rangers over the past year and a half, and appears to be on the cusp of reaching full-time NHL status. The 2020 fifth-round pick scored six goals and 10 points across 35 NHL games last season, showing some flashes of the offensive instincts that have made him a top-six forward at the AHL level. Berard scored 25 goals and 48 points as an AHL rookie in 2023-24 and 23 points in his 30 AHL games last season.

He has nine points in 19 games so far this year for Hartford, though it’s worth noting that the Wolf Pack have struggled, as a whole, to generate goals this season. Hartford’s top remaining scorer is 35-year-old AHL veteran Justin Dowling, who has 16 points in 23 games. The club ranks No. 26 in the AHL in goals scored this season, and while Berard has obviously contributed to that, the low-scoring environment has impacted his numbers.

Unfortunately for Berard, finding it harder to generate points has not been something that has been restricted to just the AHL level. He’s also scoreless through his 11 NHL games played this season across an average of 10:59 time on ice per game. Berard last played in the NHL on Dec. 15, skating 10:24 time on ice in the team’s 4-1 home loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

With the Rangers’ forward corps dinged by some notable absences at this point in time, there’s an opportunity available for Berard to seize at the NHL level. Seeing as he’s playing out the final year of his entry-level deal, the NHL opportunity in front of Berard afforded by today’s recall is an important one.

AHL| New York Rangers Brett Berard

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Islanders’ Isaiah George Out Week-To-Week

December 22, 2025 at 10:15 am CDT | by Ethan Hetu Leave a Comment

New York Islanders defenseman Isaiah George is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, according to The Hockey News’ Stefen Rosner.

George, who is currently playing for the Islanders’ AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, needed to be helped off of the ice after he collided awkwardly with the boards while attempting a defensive zone puck retrieval. Per Isles in the Sound’s Kenny Kaminsky, George “did not leave the ice under his own power.” George had only recently returned from a separate injury, an upper-body ailment that had cost him the chance to play for most of November and early December.

While George’s injury won’t have an immediate or direct on the Islanders’ NHL defense, the news is still relevant for the Islanders’ NHL plans as George’s injury means that a top defensive call-up option will be unavailable on a week-to-week basis.

The Islanders selected George in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, and he quickly rose to become one of the team’s more pro-ready defensive prospects.

He entered last season ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Islanders’ system by the team at Elite Prospects, and ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Islanders’ pool by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler in January.

Wheeler called George “one of the development stories of the year in hockey” and called his rapid development “a real surprise to those who followed him closely in the OHL.” Wheeler projected George to become a “useful depth defenseman” at the NHL level, and that appears to be what he has become, although he hasn’t played at the NHL level this season.

There are multiple factors influencing why George has not played at all in the NHL in 2025-26 after getting into 33 NHL games in 2024-25. First and foremost, the addition of 2025 No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer to the Islanders’ depth chart has meant Islanders’ depth blueliners have had one less lineup spot to compete for.

When Alexander Romanov is healthy, that means the Islanders can run a trio of left-handed defensemen that would be the envy of many teams across the league: Schaefer, Romanov, and veteran Adam Pelech. With Romanov out due to injury, the Islanders’ depth defensemen have been left to compete for one lineup spot, a spot next to Scott Mayfield on the team’s third pairing.

So far this season, the Islanders have elected to give older depth blueliners Marshall Warren and Travis Mitchell a look in that spot, rather than George. Of course, George’s earlier injury didn’t help his odds of earning a recall. But there are also other factors to consider as well. Perhaps most significant is contract status. George has an additional season left on his entry-level deal beyond 2025-26, while Mitchell and Warren are both playing on expiring contracts.

The Islanders have a GM in Mathieu Darche that is in the midst of his first full campaign with the club. While there has been no firm reporting that this is the case, one could speculate that Darche has chosen to recall Mitchell and Warren over George in part because he’s looking to get as much information as possible about how each of those expiring defensemen fare in the NHL while he considers how to approach each player’s upcoming free agency.

If the club knows it has George under contract for another year, from a resource-management perspective, there’s an argument to be made that the Islanders are better served using those NHL games to see what they have in Mitchell and Warren before the summer.

Of course, if the Islanders believe George is a substantial upgrade in the NHL over those two players, and believe that playing George over Mitchell or Warren improves their chances of winning games, then that aforementioned perspective naturally takes a back seat. But seeing as Warren is currently in the NHL and Mitchell only recently concluded an NHL call-up, it appears unlikely that the Islanders view the situation that way.

While he was likely eyeing a chance to return to the NHL, due to today’s injury development, George will have to first recover from his injury before he can make another push to earn a spot in head coach Patrick Roy’s lineup.

Photos courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Injury| New York Islanders Isaiah George

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Islanders Recall Marcus Hogberg On Emergency Basis

December 22, 2025 at 9:20 am CDT | by Ethan Hetu Leave a Comment

The New York Islanders announced today that netminder Marcus Hogberg has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, on an emergency basis. In their announcement, the Islanders added that incumbent starting goalie Ilya Sorokin “has a small nagging issue” and the club “is taking advantage of the holiday break to rest” Sorokin. The expectation is that Sorokin will be ready to play after the break.

The Islanders play the New Jersey Devils tomorrow, and then will wait until Saturday for their next game, which comes against the New York Rangers. Per Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press, this development indicates that backup netminder David Rittich will get the start tomorrow night against the Devils.

There have not been any reports of an injury to Sorokin prior to today, so this development comes as a bit of a surprise. Sorokin has received a substantial diet of starts so far in 2025-26, playing 24 games compared to Rittich’s 12. Sorokin’s performance hasn’t given any clear indication that he’s managing an injury, either, as he’s posted a solid .910 save percentage across his 24 games played.

Rittich, 33, is a veteran backup who the Islanders signed over the summer to a one-year, $1MM AAV deal. He’s served as the backup while former tandem goalie Semyon Varlamov has remained out with an injury. Rittich has gone 7-3-2 as an Islander with a .908 save percentage and 2.54 goals against average.

He’ll be backed up tomorrow by Hogberg, a 31-year-old netminder who served as Sorokin’s backup for much of last season. He posted a .878 save percentage across 15 games on Long Island last season, and has a .881 save percentage in 14 games for Bridgeport in 2025-26. He’s playing out the second year of the two-year deal that brought him to New York and his contract carries a one-way structure this season.

New York Islanders Marcus Hogberg

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Latest On Mason Marchment Extension Talks

December 22, 2025 at 9:06 am CDT | by Ethan Hetu 4 Comments

The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired veteran winger Mason Marchment from the Seattle Kraken on Friday of last week, and he made an instant impact for the club, scoring a goal in his first game after the trade.

Given the fact that the 30-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent, as well as the fact that Columbus surrendered a second-round pick in order to acquire him, many have wondered whether the Blue Jackets will try to sign Marchment to a contract extension before the end of the season.

The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline directly addressed the topic today, including in a recent piece comments from both the player and Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell. Regarding the possibility of signing Marchment to an extension, Waddell told Portzline that he talked to Marchment’s agent, Paul Capizzano of Quartexx, right after the trade was completed, and the two parties agreed to table extension talks until they got to see whether Marchment is a good fit in Columbus and likes playing there.

Marchment himself appeared to agree with that approach, telling Portzline “I’m just kind of going day-by-day right now” and “I really don’t have a plan or anything like that,” while adding that his most pressing priority has been thinking about and taking care of his newborn child. It’s understandable, given those circumstances, that Marchment may not want to rush into signing a new contract.

At 30 years old, it’s likely that Marchment’s upcoming free agency is one of the most important of his career. It’s far easier for a non-star-level player who is still in his early thirties to get a big contract in free agency than it is for someone in his mid to late thirties, so Marchment has a chance this upcoming summer to make the kind of money he likely won’t be able to make the next time he’s a free agent.

Therefore, if this upcoming summer is the one where Marchment is likely to target a large contract that could take him until the twilight years of his NHL career, it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to sign that kind of contract in Columbus before knowing whether he’s a great fit with that organization. It’s also an understandable approach for the Blue Jackets to take.

Although they might prefer to have traded a second-round pick for a player under contract beyond this season, the fact of the matter is retaining Marchment will likely take a solid amount of investment. It would mean committing a sum of at least $4MM AAV (he’s unlikely to accept a significant pay cut after back-to-back seasons scoring around 20 goals and 50 points in 2023-24 and 2024-25) for a player in his thirties, with some term likely attached to the deal.

Columbus could very well be interested in retaining Marchment, but it simply wouldn’t be a prudent decision to extend him so quickly after acquiring him. While the Blue Jackets likely thought through these considerations before trading for him, they don’t know for sure whether he’ll be a fit in head coach Dean Evason’s plans, nor do they know if he’ll be a fit in their overall roster-building calculus.

Keeping their options open moving forward, while trying their best to effectively integrate Marchment into their team, is the most sustainable path forward and allows both sides to gain as much useful information as possible before making a significant commitment to each other.

It’s likely to be a busy summer in Columbus, as Marchment isn’t the only significant pending free agent. Captain Boone Jenner and veteran pivot Charlie Coyle are also set to be unrestricted free agents, while starting netminder Jet Greaves is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights.

Columbus Blue Jackets Mason Marchment

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Morning Notes: Kulak, Chernyshov, Blue Jackets

December 22, 2025 at 8:10 am CDT | by Ethan Hetu 3 Comments

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired veteran defenseman Brett Kulak from the Edmonton Oilers as part of the trade between the two clubs that swapped netminder Tristan Jarry for Stuart Skinner. While Kulak adds a level of experience to Pittsburgh’s back end that could be valuable, the club only recently ended an eight-game losing streak that raised significant questions about their ability to compete for a playoff spot this season. That losing streak raised a few questions as to whether the Penguins are best served keeping Kulak for the rest of the year (his $2.75MM AAV deal expires at the end of the season) or if they would benefit from trading him to another team.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that before Kulak was traded to Pittsburgh, “there were teams interested” in acquiring him from the Oilers, but a trade never materialized largely for salary cap reasons. Friedman cited the Penguins’ trade of Luke Schenn to the Winnipeg Jets, very shortly after acquiring him from the Nashville Predators, as a notable precedent here that the team set regarding its willingness to quickly flip a veteran blueliner. While there has not been any concrete indication that Pittsburgh is actively exploring this route with Kulak, Friedman’s reporting indicates it’s something to keep in mind at the very least.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • While the injury suffered by San Jose Sharks forward Will Smith was certainly not something the Sharks have benefited from, the opportunity provided by his absence in the lineup has at least been something other young players have so far been able to take advantage of. 2024 second-round pick Igor Chernyshov has played in the first three NHL games of his career, landing on franchise pivot Macklin Celebrini’s wing as a result of Smith’s absence. He’s managed three assists in his first three games, playing at an impressive level for a player with no prior experience at the NHL level. That has raised questions as to whether the Sharks would benefit from keeping Chernyshov in the NHL, even after Smith returns, and per San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky admitted the team “didn’t think he was gonna be this quick to help us,” and added that Chernyshov has far exceeded expectations thus far in the NHL.
  • New Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmo Kekäläinen brought one of his former longtime lieutenants, Columbus Blue Jackets assistant GM Josh Flynn, to Buffalo this week in order to fill the same role but for the Sabres. In the aftermath of that move, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline wrote today regarding which other Blue Jackets hockey operations staff might join Flynn in heading to Buffalo. Portzline specifically cited Blue Jackets director of pro scouting Basil McRae, who was formerly an assistant GM before shifting titles after the arrival of current Columbus GM Don Waddell, as a possibility. He also named director of amateur scouting Ville Sirén and goaltending coach Nicklas Backstrom as two other names who Kekäläinen might look to add to his staff in Buffalo.

Buffalo Sabres| Columbus Blue Jackets| Pittsburgh Penguins| San Jose Sharks Brett Kulak| Igor Chernyshov

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Metro Notes: Helenius, Leonard, Foerster

December 21, 2025 at 2:16 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu Leave a Comment

The Buffalo Sabres will not be sending top prospect and Team Finland star Konsta Helenius to the 2026 World Championships, reports Finnish hockey outlet Kiekko Uutiset. Helenius ranked second on Finland’s World Juniors roster in scoring at last year’s tournament. His command over the top center role was a crucial piece in Finland’s run to a silver medal.

But after a fourth-place finish at age 17, and a Silver Medal win at age 18, Helenius now won’t have a chance to reach the summit this season. Instead, he’ll stick in his role as a pillar of the Rocheester Americans’ offense. Helenius leads all Americans forwards in scoring with 26 points in 27 games. It’s a breakout year after he scored 35 points in 65 games as an AHL rookie last season, and could result in Helenius receiving his NHL debut sooner rather than later. With those hopes in sight, the Sabres will choose to keep Helenius close to home, while Team Finland will have to lean on Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen to fill their top center role.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Washington Capitals forward Ryan Leonard has not played since Dec. 5 due to an upper-body injury, but he’s now considered only day-to-day and appears to be nearing a return to the lineup, per The Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson. Leonard, 20, is one of the key young forwards on the Capitals, and has 18 points in 29 games this season. The 2023 No. 8 overall pick was playing on Washington’s third line alongside Nic Dowd and Ethen Frank for the game in which he suffered his injury.
  • On Dec. 17, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that forward Tyson Foerster was set to miss five months after undergoing surgery, effectively ending his 2025-26 regular season. Yesterday, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz relayed word from general manager Daniel Briere regarding Foerster’s injury timeline. Briere noted that the original announcement of five months was more of a “range” than a specific timeline, noting that Foerster’s actual recovery timeline “could be a little less” or “a little more” and that the club does not know “exactly for sure” when Foerster will be able to return. That’s not out of the ordinary given that teams can’t fully predict the future in terms of how a player’s body will respond to a recovery process, but it does provide at least a little bit of room for optimism that Foerster may not miss quite as much time as has been projected. The 23-year-old 2020 first-round pick scored 10 goals and 13 points in 21 games this season.

Philadelphia Flyers| Snapshots| Washington Capitals Konsta Helenius| Ryan Leonard| Tyson Foerster

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New Jersey Devils To Activate Jack Hughes

December 21, 2025 at 10:30 am CDT | by Ethan Hetu 2 Comments

The New Jersey Devils are expected to receive a big boost tonight, as franchise center Jack Hughes told the media today, including NHL.com’s Mike Morreale, that he expects to be in the lineup for the team’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.

In addition, the club will see winger Timo Meier return to the lineup after a five-game absence and rookie Arseni Gritsyuk return after a four-game absence.

Hughes has not played since Nov. 15 after reportedly injuring his hand in an off-ice accident. He underwent finger surgery in the aftermath of the injury, and ended up missing 18 games. When healthy, Hughes is the Devils’ most dangerous offensive player. His 20 points in 17 games this season leads the team on a points-per-game basis, and his return should provide a massive boost to the Devils’ ability to score goals.

Despite significant injury losses, the Devils have managed to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They currently sit in the second wild-card spot, but the return of Hughes, Meier, and Gritsyuk, as well as the recent return of defenseman Brett Pesce, figures to give the team a jolt that will likely be reflected in the standings.

At the moment, it isn’t entirely clear who will slot in next to Hughes on what will undoubtedly be the Devils’ most relied-upon scoring line. Per team reporter Amanda Stein, Hughes skated with Gritsyuk on his wing in morning skate, as well as “a rotation” of veteran Stefan Noesen and Marc McLaughlin alongside them.

But seeing as not everyone was on the ice for the Devils’ optional morning skate, those practice reps should not be seen as a firm indication of where Hughes will land in head coach Sheldon Keefe’s lineup.

Hughes skated alongside Gritsyuk and Dawson Mercer in his most recent game on Nov. 12, so it’s possible Keefe will elect to reassemble that line tonight. With Hughes out, Mercer has most recently slotted in as New Jersey’s first line right winger, lining up next to captain Nico Hischier and team leading scorer Jesper Bratt.

Injury| New Jersey Devils Jack Hughes

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