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Snapshots: Fox On IR, Ekman-Larsson, Blue Jackets

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1:00 PM: Further updates have come on Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, as per Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic, the star will be placed on long-term injured reserve. Fox is expected to miss multiple weeks due to the shoulder injury. ESPN reporter Emily Kaplan shared that, at least, a longer term injury was avoided, and Fox should be set for the Olympics. However, it is a major blow to the struggling team nonetheless, to trudge into December without their #1 defenseman.

The 27-year-old alternate captain is tied for the Rangers’ team lead in points, with 26 in 27 games. In a season which has certainly not gone to plan, Fox has been a bright spot, playing at a franchise level, right on track with his best production to this point, which has been the 70+ point level.

Now, eyes may turn to GM Chris Drury to make a move to help out a seriously deflated defense corps, which has come at such an inopportune time. While questions exist on if Rangers can even keep up healthy or not, the franchise is at a serious crossroads. Now with Fox going down, Drury’s hand could be forced to try and provide reinforcements, although further mortgaging the future in an attempt to right the ship would be risky, as prior such moves to this point have already not panned out as initially hoped.

10:00 AM: The New York Rangers have not played up to expectation thus far in 2025-26, and their chances of making a serious push to climb the Eastern Conference standings may have taken a serious hit yesterday. Fox left yesterday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning with an injury, and head coach Mike Sullivan told the media after the game, including Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic, that Fox has suffered an upper-body injury and is still being evaluated.

While we are still waiting on official word on the extent of Fox’s injury, Daily Faceoff’s Arthur Staple cited sources this morning who said that Fox’s injury situation “doesn’t look good.” If Fox does indeed miss any kind of extended time, the Rangers would be left in an even more perilous position. Fox, the 2020-21 Norris Trophy winner, quarterbacks the Rangers’ top power play unit, a unit that the team has been heavily reliant on during its most recent competitive period. The team’s third-leading scorer, Mika Zibanejad, has been highly reliant on the power play for most of the offense he generates, so in the absence of Fox, it’d be fair to wonder where the Rangers’ offensive production will come from. The club doesn’t have another player with clear-cut power play quarterback ability. The team’s No. 2 defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov scored 30 points last season, but would be an imperfect fit in that role. Prospect Scott Morrow has gotten into some NHL games and has that kind of natural offensive ability, but Mercogliano wrote on Nov. 15 that “the early whispers” he’d heard from AHL Hartford regarding Morrow’s play were not “overly positive.” Morrow, who was ranked as the Rangers’ No. 2 prospect by Elite Prospects entering the season, has three points in 12 AHL games this season and one point in four NHL games.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • Toronto Maple Leafs blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson couldn’t finish yesterday’s win over the Pittsburgh Penguins due to an upper-body injury, head coach Craig Berube told the media yesterday. (via The Hockey News’ David Alter) Berube added that Ekman-Larsson would be evaluated today and that the injury isn’t expected to be serious. If the Maple Leafs lose Ekman-Larsson for any time due to this injury, it would cost them a very valuable player. Ekman-Larsson has been stellar in 2025-26, scoring 20 points in 25 games. That’s a 66-point pace over 82 games, a steep increase from the 29 points he scored in all of 2024-25. Ekman-Larsson also contributes on the penalty kill, albeit on a less regular basis compared to his contributions on the man advantage. The 34-year-old has two seasons left on his deal beyond this one at a $3.5MM AAV rate.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets team reporter Jeff Svoboda reported today that veterans Zach Werenski and Sean Monahan did not participate in today’s practice, and that the two players “have been battling through some things of late.” Werenski has been managing an upper-body injury, but thus far it hasn’t impacted his ability to dress for games. Werenski is Columbus’ most important player, skating in 26:30 per game with 24 points in 25 contests. Monahan dealt with an upper-body injury earlier in November, but it’s unclear at this time if his current ailment is related to what he was managing earlier this month. The 31-year-old pivot has had a slower-than-expected start to 2025-26, scoring just 11 points in 25 games. He scored 57 points in 54 games last season and was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for 2024-25.

New York Islanders Recall Marc Gatcomb

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The New York Islanders announced today that forward Marc Gatcomb has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders. This recall comes in the aftermath of an injury suffered by veteran winger Kyle Palmieri. Palmieri is expected to miss six to eight months with a torn ACL.

The team also announced that Palmieri has been placed on injured reserve, retroactive to his injury date of Nov. 11. The IR placement created the necessary room on the team’s NHL roster to allow for the addition of Gatcomb.

This recall of Gatcomb allows the Islanders to further reinforce their forward group, a group that has been left depleted due to Palmieri’s injury, as well as an injury to center Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Pageau is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

Gatcomb is, of course, not a one-to-one replacement for either injured veteran. Palmieri had scored 18 points in 25 games before his injury, while Pageau had 12 points in 22 games and led all Islanders players in short-handed time on ice per game. Gatcomb, 26, has just nine points in 40 career NHL games, and has not been an overwhelming scorer at the AHL level either. It’s extremely unlikely the Islanders will be able to replace the production they’ve lost with this recall, but it’s also extremely unlikely that the Islanders made this recall in order to get Gatcomb’s offensive production.

Instead, it’s far more likely the Islanders are looking for a call-up player with competitiveness, a strong work rate, positional versatility, and the ability to occupy a specific depth role while they elevate other players to fill the larger roles left open due to these injuries. Rookie Maxim Shabanov is likely to be elevated to the top-six to fill Palmieri’s role, and after scoring 67 points in 65 KHL games last season, he’s a more obvious fit for a scoring line than Gatcomb.

Gatcomb is likely to slot into the Islanders’ bottom-six, and at 26 years old, it’s likely that if he is to become a full-time NHLer, that’s the kind of role he’d occupy. This recall is a significant opportunity for the former UConn Husky, who went undrafted and originally signed with the Canucks organization coming out of college. He’s a pending RFA (with arbitration rights) playing out a one-year, one-way $900K contract.

Gatcomb’s 40 NHL games without a doubt helped Gatcomb earn a one-way contract for 2025-26, and this recall now gives him a pretty extensive runway to get into some NHL games and carve out a more regular spot on the Islanders’ NHL roster. While there’s no direct financial difference in his salary between the NHL and AHL, the more NHL games he gets into, and plays well in, the better his contract options are likely to be this summer. And while it’s unlikely his upcoming restricted free agency reaches that point, getting into NHL games would also aid his case in a future arbitration battle.

West Notes: Oilers Goaltending, Garland, Brossoit

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The Edmonton Oilers have surrendered the most goals of any team in the NHL so far this season, and that’s something many believe to be the primary driver of Edmonton’s less-than-stellar start to 2025-26. But while there are those who hope that the Oilers move on from netminders Stuart Skinner (.885 save percentage in 19 games) and Calvin Pickard (.847 in nine games), it doesn’t appear the Oilers feel any rush to get a deal done for a new goalie.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on yesterday’s Saturday Headlines segment that Edmonton has “made enough calls” to know which goalies are likely available to them, but are not willing to make a trade that they would view as a “lateral move.” Whether or not swapping Skinner for a goalie such as Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry, Columbus’ Elvis Merzlikins, or a member of Buffalo’s goalie trio would represent a real upgrade is a matter of fair debate, but as of right now, it appears that debate is settled as far as Edmonton’s management is concerned. According to Friedman, they’d rather continue ahead with Skinner, with whom they’ve reached back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, than make what they’d view as a less-than-optimal goalie swap.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland missed yesterday’s game with an injury, but Friedman reported that the ailment is “not believed to be serious.” Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre reported that Garland’s injury is not concussion-related, and while he will remain with the team for their road trip, he is questionable to play in the Canucks’ next game, Tuesday, in Denver. Garland is a key play-driver for the Canucks and has 15 points in 21 games so far in 2025-26.
  • Aside from Edmonton, Friedman also reported a development regarding the goalie situation of another Western team: the Chicago Blackhawks. Veteran goalie Laurent Brossoit is set to return from a year-and-a-half injury absence, but finds himself outside of Chicago’s goaltending plans. Friedman reported that the Blackhawks have given other teams permission to speak with Brossoit, likely with the hopes that opening the lines of communication will make it easier to complete a trade involving Brossoit. The fact that Brossoit makes $3.3MM against the cap complicates things, but the 32-year-old’s most recent NHL performances (.927 save percentage as a backup in both Winnipeg and Vegas) should help him garner some real interest from other teams.

Central Notes: Cooley, Foligno, Rossi, McCarron

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The Utah Mammoth were shut out yesterday by the St. Louis Blues, an unfortunate outcome for Utah that was made even more unfortunate due to an apparent injury suffered by star center Logan Cooley. The 2022 No. 3 pick had to be helped off the ice yesterday after a collision with Blues forward Alexei Toropchenko. Toropchenko did not receive a penalty on the play initially, but was assessed a match penalty after the game’s officials convened.

While we are currently awaiting an official update on Cooley’s status, FanDuel Sports Network’s Andy Strickland reported that Cooley “avoided serious injury” and that his apparent injury yesterday was more “very painful” muscle cramping than any kind of serious structural damage. Assuming Strickland’s report is accurate, that would be a massive, positive development for the Mammoth. Cooley is among their most important offensive players with 23 points in 26 games. He recently signed an eight-year, $10MM AAV contract extension to remain in Utah.

Other notes from the Central Division:

  • Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes told the media yesterday, including The Athletic’s Joe Smith, that forward Marcus Foligno will not travel with the team for its upcoming four-game road trip. In addition, he said the club is still evaluating whether center Marco Rossi will travel. Foligno is on IR with a lower-body injury and has missed each of the Wild’s last two games. Rossi is also on IR with a lower-body injury but is further along than Foligno by all accounts. He’s missed the Wild’s last eight games, last playing on Nov. 11.
  • The Nashville Predators may be without towering forward Michael McCarron for a short while, as head coach Andrew Brunette revealed, per team reporter Brooks Bratten, that McCarron is currently considered “day-to-day” with an undisclosed injury. According to Bratten, McCarron “didn’t play much after his fight with Logan Stanley in the first period,” which could be the cause of his injury. If McCarron misses any games, the Predators won’t lose much offense (he has just five points in 25 games) but will likely miss McCarron’s penalty killing. He ranks second among Predators forwards in short-handed time on ice per game with 2:26.

East Notes: Maple Leafs Forwards, Benoit, Parssinen

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The Toronto Maple Leafs had a few developments announced in advance of the team’s game tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Most important of them was the news that star forward William Nylander would return to the lineup after a one-game absence. Nylander has become the Maple Leafs’ most important winger since the offseason departure of Mitch Marner. The 29-year-old has 31 points in 20 games this season, good for the team lead over veteran John Tavares, who has 28 points. Nylander missed the team’s last game with an illness.

While Nylander returned to the lineup, forward Matias Maccelli and Calle Jarnkrok were held out of the lineup as healthy scratches. Neither player has had as strong of a season as they’d likely have hoped for, and from a production perspective, that’s especially true in the case of Jarnkrok. The 34-year-old has just four goals in 19 games, and no assists. Jarnkrok has never been an overwhelming producer of offense, but he did notch 39 points in 2022-23. Maccelli is in a similar boat, with his 2025-26 numbers coming below the standard he’d set in prior campaigns. Maccelli scored 57 points in 2023-24, but struggled in 2024-25 and has continued those struggles into 2025-26. Maccelli has nine points through 22 games this season.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported tonight that Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit missed tonight’s game for personal reasons. No additional information was provided, something that is standard and expected for absences due to personal reasons. Benoit’s spot in the lineup was filled by veteran Philippe Myers. The 6’5″ blueliner has operated in a reserve capacity for the Maple Leafs so far this season, skating in a total of 10 games, averaging 14:13 time on ice per game.
  • According to reporter Keegan Jarvis, who covers the Hartford Wolf Pack for Blueshirt Banter, forward Juuso Parssinen suffered an injury in his first game with the Wolf Pack and is now out on a week-to-week timeline. Parssinen was reassigned to Hartford on Nov. 26 after clearing waivers that same day. The 24-year-old was signed to a two-year, $1.25MM AAV extension by the Rangers, who believed he could fill their need for a third-line center when they acquired him from the Colorado Avalanche. But Parssinen was passed on the depth chart by rookie Noah Laba, and has now found himself in the AHL. Before he can get back onto the ice and try to earn his way back into the NHL, Parssinen will now need to work his way back to full health.

Minnesota Wild Activate Vladimir Tarasenko, Reassign Hunter Haight

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The Minnesota Wild announced today that veteran forward Vladimir Tarasenko has been activated off of injured reserve. In a corresponding move, the team reassigned forward Hunter Haight to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild.

Tarasenko had been on injured reserve since Nov. 20, with his placement made retroactive to Nov. 14. Tarasenko has not appeared in a game since Nov. 11. Tarasenko has been dealing with a lower-body injury, one that has caused him to miss a total of seven games.

Before his injury, Tarasenko had gotten off to a decent start to his Wild tenure. The 33-year-old signed a one-year, $4.75MM deal with the Wild this past summer, coming off of an underwhelming campaign with the Detroit Red Wings. Tarasenko scored 11 goals and 33 points, which are passable numbers for a player operating within a specific role, but are well below the standards Tarasenko set earlier in his career.

Before his injury, Tarasenko had scored 10 points in 18 games for the Wild, which is a 46-point, 82-game pace. That’s a notable improvement over his production from last season, even if it is not quite the kind of production hockey fans grew accustomed to seeing out of Tarasenko during his days as a star winger for the St. Louis Blues.

Getting Tarasenko back is a positive development for a Wild team that has been on a roll recently. They’ve relied heavily on the offensive contributions of a few key players (namely stars Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy) so getting Tarasenko back to full health should help deepen their attack.

As for Haight, his spot on the Wild’s NHL roster is an unfortunate casualty of Tarasenko’s return to health. The 21-year-old was a 2022 second-round pick who earned himself an NHL recall after a solid start to his pro career. 2024-25 was his debut season in the pro ranks, and he impressed scoring 20 goals and 34 points in 67 games. He was never an overwhelming producer during his days in the OHL, so the productive rookie year in the AHL was certainly encouraging.

The Iowa Wild have struggled as a whole to put the puck in the net this season, ranking No. 30 out of 32 teams in the AHL in terms of total goals scored. That’s why while Haight’s production this year (five points in 13 games) doesn’t jump off the page, it’s important to provide context to the environment he’s playing in to help explain why he’s earned this early recall. At the NHL level, Haight played in two games, averaging under 10 minutes of ice time per game.

While he didn’t get the chance to truly make his mark at the NHL level, it’s likely we’ll see Haight back in the NHL at some point down the line. The team at Elite Prospects ranked Haight the No. 9 prospect in the Wild’s system before the season, with scout David St-Louis praising what he saw as Haight’s “hyper-creative style of play.” The hope moving forward for Haight will be that he can help translate that creativity into more steady AHL production, even as Iowa continues to struggle as a team overall.

Looking at things from a financial lens, Haight will want to earn as many recalls as possible in order to place himself in the best position he can to earn a roster spot on the Wild’s 2026-27 NHL roster. Haight’s entry-level contract enters its final year next season, and unlike previous years on his deal, he won’t earn any signing bonus for next season. (He had a $95K signing bonus on his deal for 2025-26.) Because of that, if Haight can’t make it to the NHL roster for next season, he’ll be stuck in the AHL making an $82.5K AHL salary, a significant reduction from his total compensation in each of the last two seasons.

While there’s more motivation to make it to the NHL than just pure salary difference, Haight’s contract situation further emphasizes his need to make a push for more NHL call-ups beyond this most recent one.

Latest On Travis Dermott

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28-year-old defenseman Travis Dermott is a veteran of nearly 350 NHL games, but doesn’t currently have a contract for the 2025-26 season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported today that Dermott underwent shoulder surgery in June and has now fully recovered, and is looking for a place to play this season to resume his career.

At one point, it looked as though Dermott was going to be a steady, long-term fixture on an NHL blueline – specifically that of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team that selected him 34th overall at the 2015 draft. The former Erie Otter was ranked No. 3 in the Maple Leafs’ prospect pool in February 2018 by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler. Dermott ended the season a Calder Cup champion, and Wheeler at the time projected him to become a No. 3 or No. 4 NHL defenseman, someone “who can positively impact possession and play on the penalty kill.”

Dermott’s offensive production never quite took a step forward at the NHL level, and he has a career-high of just 17 points. His overall play was inconsistent, and persistent injury issues cost him the chance to get into a rhythm at the NHL level.

If one specific point can be looked at as a turning point for Dermott in Toronto, it was overtime of game six of the team’s 2021 first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens. While the Maple Leafs dominated most of the extra frame, Dermott ended up fumbling the puck and had to watch as Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi rifled a game-winning goal past Jack Campbell, forcing a game seven that the Maple Leafs ultimately lost.

Dermott was never able to fully earn the trust of the Maple Leafs, and that moment underscored his inability to secure a firm grasp on a regular NHL role in Toronto. The following year after that playoff series, Dermott was traded to the Vancouver Canucks.

Injuries once again proved a major roadblock to Dermott’s progress, limiting him to just 28 NHL games across two seasons in Vancouver. The Canucks cut him loose after he played in just 12 games in 2022-23.

Dermott spent all of 2023-24 in the NHL with the since-relocated Arizona Coyotes, and sticking in the NHL for the full season helped him earn a one-year, $775K deal with the Edmonton Oilers for 2024-25, a deal that contained a hefty $500K AHL salary in the event Dermott got sent down.

Once again, Dermott wasn’t able to get on the ice consistently. He was limited to just 10 games in Edmonton in total, and nine games for the Minnesota Wild after he was claimed off of waivers in December. Injuries had limited him in the past, but in Minnesota, he was a regular healthy scratch.

At this point, the key for Dermott to re-establish himself as an NHL-relevant player will be to stay and find a way to get into an NHL lineup and play well enough to hold onto that spot. He offers more NHL experience than most players still without a contract at this point in the season, so it’s easy to see a team giving Dermott a shot. But given his form over the last few years, those hoping to get the version of Dermott that existed at times during his Maple Leafs tenure should probably temper their expectations.

At 28 years old, whatever playing opportunity Dermott receives will be an absolutely massive one for the future of his career. It’s easy to see Dermott’s next contract as a fork-in-the-road moment in his NHL career, so it’ll be extremely important for him to get off to a fast start wherever he lands in the next few weeks.

Photos courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

West Notes: Canucks Strategy, Hart, Hinostroza

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Earlier today, we covered reports coming out of Vancouver that the Canucks had made it known across the league that key veteran players, namely, their pending unrestricted free agents, were available to other teams in trade talks. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance provided some more detail on the situation in Vancouver, reporting that the club’s “hockey operations leadership spent much of the day in high-level meetings” and emerged with “a growing belief that the time has come to proactively chart a clear direction for the franchise.” While Drance clarified that the team is unlikely “to publicly brand their overall approach” as a “rebuild,” the Canucks have decided to realign their priorities “into a younger overall direction.”

Perhaps the most alarming element of Drance’s reporting, at least for the Canucks’ short-term future, was his revelation that Canucks management “has seen enough to be skeptical of this group’s urgency and will to win on a consistent basis.” That impacts the Canucks’ immediate planning, as the team had long been rumored to be highly interested in acquiring an NHL-ready second-line center. That has now changed, with Drance writing that “the notion of paying futures for a second-line center upgrade will be off the table for the time being.” The Canucks are in a difficult spot, to be sure, and the looming unrestricted free agency of franchise face Quinn Hughes doesn’t help matters. But at the very least it appears the team is engaging in an honest interrogation of its own competitive chances, one that appears to have led to them selecting a more sustainable path to contention.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • The Vegas Golden Knights are “expected to recall” netminder Carter Hart to their NHL roster as early as next week, according to TSN’s Chris Johnston. Hart, the former starting netminder for the Philadelphia Flyers, hasn’t played in an NHL game since the 2023-24 season. He was acquitted of charges in this past summer’s high-profile trial, and signed with Vegas in October. They sent him to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, in November, and he has played in two games, posting a 1-1-0 record and a .875 save percentage. He’s expected to make one more start on his conditioning stint before joining the Golden Knights’ NHL roster. The Golden Knights remain without Adin Hill due to an injury, and have relied upon Akira Schmid and Carl Lindbom in Hill’s absence.
  • Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes provided the media, including The Athletic’s Michael Russo, with clarification on the recovery timeline of injured forward Vinnie Hinostroza. Hynes said that Hinostroza is likely to miss four-to-six weeks with his injury, a lower-body ailment he suffered on Nov. 21. Hinostroza, 31, was acquired by the Wild off of waivers from the Nashville Predators last season and has scored 13 points across 46 games with the team.

Metro Notes: McGroarty, Harding, Svechnikov

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The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward prospect Rutger McGroarty from the Winnipeg Jets in the summer of 2024 with the hope that he’d quickly translate his success at the NCAA to the pro ranks, and become an NHL player in short order. While that hasn’t happened just yet, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reported today that “many in the Penguins organization have been blown away by how dominant McGroarty looked” in his two AHL games this season, noted that “it won’t be much longer until” McGroarty is elevated to Pittsburgh’s NHL roster.

It’s been a bit of a bumpy road for McGroarty at the pro level, as he not only struggled with some injuries, but also found his sub-par skating to be a larger barrier to his ability to impact a game than most likely expected. Yohe wrote that McGroarty “looked like a fish out of water at the NHL level” early last season, but also noted that “he looked like a decidedly different player in his second NHL stint” later in the season. McGroarty finished with 14 goals and 39 points in 60 AHL games last year, and has two goals through two AHL games this year. Whether the Penguins’ belief that McGroarty is a transformed and far more effective player actually materializes in tangible on-ice production remains to be seen, but it’s clear he’ll be a player to watch whenever his expected recall is made official.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Besides McGroarty, one player that Yohe reported is also impressing Penguins brass is 2024 seventh-rounder Finn Harding. The Penguins were able to add Harding with the third-to-last pick of that year’s draft, and per Yohe, “the Penguins believe he has a future as an NHL player,” with team sources comparing him to former Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy. Harding began his pro career last season with an eight-game cameo at the ECHL level. So far this season, Harding has five points through 14 AHL games. If Harding, who is a 6’2″ right-shot blueliner, can end up anything like Lovejoy, who had a 544-game NHL career and won a Stanley Cup in 2016, the Penguins are likely to be quite pleased with their seventh-round investment.
  • On Sunday, reports emerged that Carolina Hurricanes star Andrei Svechnikov was reportedly open to a trade earlier in the season as he struggled with lower-than-expected usage and a season-opening scoring drought. Today, Svechnikov denied those reports, according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. While it’s not without precedent for a player to publicly deny a private period of frustration that in reality very much existed, in Svechnikov’s case, his reported unhappiness was always unlikely to actually lead to a trade. The Hurricanes reportedly view Svechnikov as a cornerstone player, one that is central to their hopes of building a Stanley Cup championship team, and therefore it remains highly unlikely that they will reach an agreement with another team on a deal that sends Svechnikov out of Raleigh.

Carolina Hurricanes Recall Justin Robidas, Move Jesperi Kotkaniemi To IR

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The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that forward Justin Robidas has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. In a corresponding move, they placed center Jesperi Kotkaniemi on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 14.

Since Kotkaniemi’s IR placement is retroactive to more than a week ago, he is eligible to be activated whenever he is ready to return to the ice. He was originally injured blocking a shot during the team’s game Nov. 14, and head coach Rod Brind’Amour revealed he is dealing with an injury to his ankle.

The 2018 No. 3 overall pick, Kotkaniemi has five points in 15 games played this season, skating in just over 10 minutes of ice time per night. In terms of usage, Kotkaniemi has been Brind’Amour’s most sparingly-utilized forward in 2025-26, a notable decline from last season where he averaged over 14 minutes of ice time per game en route to a 33-point season.

In recalling Robidas, the organization has added one of its developmental success stories back to its NHL roster. The 22-year-old is the son of former NHLer and current Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Stephane Robidas, and was a fifth-round pick at the 2021 NHL Draft. While he was a QMJHL star and captain of his junior team, who drew rave reviews from scouts due to his skating ability and work ethic, his 5’8″ frame led to most assuming he was more of a long-shot to become an NHL player.

While he hasn’t established himself as a full-time NHLer just yet, his progress since joining the pro ranks has been nothing but positive. Complications relating to the Hurricanes’ minor-league affiliate agreements caused Robidas to play his first professional season in the third-tier ECHL, where he scored 27 points in 32 games before suffering a season-ending injury. The following year, Robidas showed no signs of slowing down, quickly adapting to the step-up in competition from the ECHL to AHL. In 72 games for the Wolves, Robidas scored 20 goals and 55 points.

That strong performance as an AHL rookie gave Robidas the chance to make his NHL debut, and in two NHL games last season, Robidas managed two points. So far this year, Robidas has kept up his scoring pace, as he has 12 points through 16 games. While his slight frame is likely to always work against him in terms of carving out a long-term place in the NHL, he’s done everything in his power thus far in his pro career to be an impactful all-around player. His swiftness on the ice and high work rate lends itself well to the specific style of play the Hurricanes like to employ, and with this call-up, Robidas will get a new chance to showcase his talents to the Hurricanes’ decision-makers.

While he’s not a full-time NHL player just yet, if he can get into some games during this call-up and play well, today’s transaction could go a long way in helping him achieve that status at some point down the line.

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