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Detroit Red Wings Recall Nate Danielson

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The Detroit Red Wings have announced that center Nate Danielson has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The ninth overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft, Danielson is now in line to make his NHL debut at the earliest in today’s matinee contest against the Chicago Blackhawks or in Thursday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.

The 21-year-old center began this season injured before he was reassigned to the AHL on Oct. 24. It took just four games in the AHL (where he scored five points) for Danielson to earn a recall to the team’s NHL roster.

The former Brandon Wheat Kings captain is in his second season playing professional hockey. He scored 12 goals and 39 points in 72 games for Grand Rapids last season, and added a goal in three playoff contests.

Entering the season, Danielson was ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the Red Wings’ system by Elite Prospects, though his ranking there can vary, as The Athletic’s Corey Pronman slotted Danielson as the team’s No. 1 prospect in August. Pronman wrote that he sees Danielson as a future top-six center, while Elite Prospects projects him more as a middle-six pivot.

Whatever his ultimate NHL role may be, it’s unlikely he’ll take up that role in Detroit any time soon. All four of the Red Wings’ NHL centers (Dylan Larkin, J.T. Compher, Andrew Copp, Michael Rasmussen) are under contract at least through 2026-27, and they have a combined cap hit of nearly $23MM.

One of those players could be shifted to the wing, of course, as could Danielson, but it’s important to nonetheless note how set-in-stone things appear to be at center for the Red Wings in this short-term future, and that’s before even bringing up the fact that the team’s top pick from 2022, Marco Kasper, is a natural center.

Having an abundance of capable NHL pivots is hardly a problem, and the addition of Danielson only further enhances the team’s depth in that area. He’s not yet proven himself at the NHL level, of course, but if his AHL performances are any indication, it would seem that Danielson has a long NHL career ahead of him.

Thanks to this recall, that NHL career could start very soon.

Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

New Jersey Devils Reassign Brian Halonen

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The New Jersey Devils have reassigned forward Brian Halonen to their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, according to a team announcement. The move drops the Devils down to 13 forwards on their active roster with 22 of 23 spots filled.

Halonen, 26, has played in nine games with New Jersey this season, his original NHL recall coming on Oct. 12 as part of the team’s response to the injury suffered by veteran winger Evgenii Dadonov.

Of Devils players to play more than one game in the NHL this season, Halonen ranks last in average time-on-ice per game. He’s played in just a shade over seven minutes of ice time per game, with the entirety of that usage coming at even strength. He did manage to score his first NHL goal during this recall, in the team’s Nov. 1 contest against the Los Angeles Kings.

As a depth forward who did not present any special teams utility to the Devils, it is not a massive surprise to see Halonen sent down. The former undrafted NCAA free agent has mostly been an AHL scorer for the Comets since he signed his entry-level deal with New Jersey in 2022.

The Minnesota native has posted solid numbers at the AHL level, scoring 103 points across 168 career games. He’s been especially effective as a goal scorer, notching 27 tallies last season and 20 across just 35 games in 2023-24.

While he’s received just 13 total NHL games in his career, his nine-game stint on his most recent recall was by far his most extensive NHL opportunity so far in his career. His quality goal-scoring performances in the AHL have propelled him to the top of the Devils AHL recall pecking order, and it would be no surprise to see him back on the team’s NHL roster at some point down the line.

Halonen is playing out the final year of a two-year, two-way contract that pays him a league-minimum salary at the NHL level and a $275K salary at the AHL level. If Halonen can continue to earn NHL call-ups and put together another 20-plus goal season in Utica, he could push for a one-way contract (or at least a really high-end AHL guarantee) in his upcoming unrestricted free agency.

St. Louis Blues Reassign Logan Mailloux, Recall Hunter Skinner

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The St. Louis Blues announced this morning that defenseman Logan Mailloux has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. In a corresponding move, the team recalled defenseman Hunter Skinner.

The move comes amid what has been an extremely difficult start to the 2025-26 season at the NHL level for Mailloux. Blues GM Doug Armstrong spoke to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford about the move. Armstrong said Mailloux “needs a reset” but refused to place all the blame for Mailloux’s tough start on the player himself. He noted that St. Louis is, as a whole, “not functioning at a high level right now” and that Mailloux’s struggles have been a small part of that.

In explaining the motivations behind this move, Armstrong said the team wants Mailloux to be able to play without the level of “anxiety” and pressure that exists at the NHL level. The Blues believe, Armstrong said, that sending Mailloux back to the AHL will help him “get his game back” and “unlock his mind.”

St. Louis acquired Mailloux, who is a 2021 first-round pick, from the Montreal Canadiens over the summer in a one-for-one trade, sacrificing forward Zachary Bolduc after his promising rookie year in the NHL. Trading away a rookie forward right after a 19-goal, 36-point rookie season that saw him earn down-ballot Calder Trophy consideration certainly isn’t a decision a team takes lightly. But the Blues saw an opportunity to acquire a young right-handed defenseman with a rare combination of size and dynamic offensive ability.

Big right-shot defensemen who can skate and play a quality offensive game are one of the hardest-to-find commodities in the NHL, yet players of that archetype remain extremely in-demand among NHL teams.

That supply-and-demand consideration had to have played a role in making Mailloux a first-round pick despite the off-ice issues surrounding him, and without question motivated the Blues’ decision to trade Bolduc in order to acquire him.

So far, Mailloux hasn’t been able to reward the Blues’ faith in him with quality play at the NHL level.

Through two professional seasons in the Canadiens organization, Mailloux proved to be an exceptional offensive weapon on the back end, but also a defenseman who at times struggled mightily with decision-making and reading the play in his own end. Those issues have resurfaced in the NHL this season.

He was never able to reach a level of reliability in the defensive zone to earn a consistent NHL role in Montreal, playing with the Canadiens only on a sporadic basis. But he did manage to make his presence felt at the AHL level, playing in two AHL All-Star games and landing on the 2023-24 All-Rookie team.

It’s that previous success he has at the AHL level that has likely led to the Blues’ belief that a stint in the AHL could go a long way in helping Mailloux “reset” his game.

Through nine NHL contests this season, Mailloux has failed to register a point and has logged a -12 plus/minus rating despite averaging the second-fewest minutes per game of any Blues defenseman.

The Blues’ season as a whole has not gone to plan, and surrendering a game-tying goal with a second left and then losing in overtime last night cannot have helped matters. This transaction is unlikely to be the only move the Blues make in order to try to spark a turnaround in results.

From Mailloux’s perspective, it would be understandable to be discouraged by a return to the AHL after making the NHL roster out of training camp. But getting the chance to rediscover his game and build some confidence in a league he’s largely starred in could genuinely make a difference in helping him stay in the NHL on a more permanent basis the next time he’s called up.

This move is a disappointing development for one young defenseman but a significant opportunity for another. Skinner, 24, has yet to make his NHL debut and this recall positions him to do exactly that, with his first opportunity coming Nov. 11 against the Calgary Flames.

The 6’3″ right-shot defenseman was originally acquired in 2023 as part of the trade that sent Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers, and he has worked his way up to the NHL all the way from the ECHL. While he’s not considered a top prospect by any stretch, Skinner offers the Blues a physical edge they could find useful.

Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Morning Notes: McKenna, Karlsson, Laughton

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17-year-old Gavin McKenna is one of the top prospects in hockey and the presumptive No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft. Currently playing NCAA hockey for the Penn State Nittany Lions, he’s gotten off to a productive start, scoring 14 points in 12 games. But even with that production, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler has indicated that McKenna’s performances in college hockey thus far have some left NHL teams wanting more.

Wheeler reported yesterday that after McKenna’s Penn State dropped back-to-back games against Michigan State in East Lansing, “the gathering collection of scouts and hockey folks weren’t kind to” McKenna in their thoughts postgame. Wheeler reported that “multiple NHL scouts” commented to The Athletic on McKenna’s “work rate off the puck, a number of backchecks he appeared to give up on,” and perhaps most distressingly for McKenna’s draft stock, “an ongoing desire for more effort.” Wheeler stopped short of saying that McKenna’s status as 2026’s top prospect was truly under threat; he is still a point-per-game NCAA freshman, after all, and his incredible skill level is still evident. But Wheeler did note that “this college hockey season has revealed” that McKenna is right now “a flawed player” whose flaws were better masked when he was playing in, and dominating, the WHL.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • Injury issues have once again surfaced for Vegas Golden Knights veteran William Karlsson, who left last night’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks with an injury. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger relayed word from Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy last night, who guessed that Karlsson would be out on a day-to-day basis, but did also note that they don’t know for sure the extent of his injury. Since Vegas is not on the ice today, the earliest an update on Karlsson’s status is likely to be released is Monday. Karlsson played in just 53 games last season due to injury and has seven points through 14 games in 2025-26.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs veteran forward Scott Laughton left last night’s loss against the Boston Bruins with an upper-body injury after finding himself on the wrong end of a Nikita Zadorov body check. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told the media after the game, including The Hockey News’ David Alter, that the severity of Laughton’s injury is currently still being evaluated, but he did note that the player will miss the Maple Leafs’ game Sunday. Per TSN’s Mark Masters, Berube expressed frustration regarding the hit that injured Laughton, saying postgame “I thought it was a head shot.” Injuries have limited Laughton to just two games played this season, his first coming on Nov. 5.

Pacific Injury Updates: Ducks, Flames, Oilers, Canucks

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The early-season brilliance of the Anaheim Ducks has been one of the defining storylines of this young 2025-26 season so far, and it appears today that they will soon get some reinforcements in the form of veterans returning from injury. Per The Hockey News’ Derek Lee, Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said today that veterans Ryan Strome, Mikael Granlund, and Radko Gudas are each getting very close to returning to the ice from their respective injuries.

Gudas hasn’t played since Oct. 23 due to a lower-body injury, while Granlund has been out since Oct. 25 with his own lower-body injury. Strome hasn’t played yet this season due to an upper-body injury, but Quenneville said he’s “very close to consideration” to play in tomorrow’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. All the Ducks have done despite the absence of those key veterans is win. Powered by a young core including breakout sensation Leo Carlsson, the Ducks have put together a five-game winning streak. Getting back Strome, who scored 41 points last season, alongside Granlund, who has eight points in eight games, should only further bolster what has been the league’s most lethal attack in 2025-26. The return of Gudas is unlikely to help in terms of scoring, but will provide the team with even more physicality on defense as well as useful veteran insulation for the club’s stable of still-developing young blueliners.

Other injury updates from the Pacific Division:

  • Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike relayed two injury updates from Calgary Flames head coach Ryan Huska today: defenseman Kevin Bahl, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury, may return against the Minnesota Wild tomorrow, while forward Martin Pospisil’s absence due to an upper-body injury is “still going to be a while.” Bahl, who this season signed a $5.5MM AAV extension to remain in Calgary, missed the team’s game Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Pospisil has been out for far longer; he has yet to make his season debut in 2025-26.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have a few injury updates of their own, courtesy of Oilers TV host Tony Brar. Mattias Janmark is reportedly “very close” to returning from his injury, one that has kept him from making his season debut in 2025-26. In addition, Zach Hyman is nearing a return to the ice, it’s likely to be within the next week and could come as early as Monday. Like Janmark, Hyman also has not yet played in the 2025-26 season. Both players play regular roles in Edmonton. Hyman is a key goal scorer and offensive contributor (he scored 54 goals in 2023-24 and had 27 last season) while Janmark is a steady, reliable bottom-six winger who plays a regular role on the team’s penalty kill. The Oilers’ penalty kill currently ranks No. 15 in the NHL, so the return of Janmark could help the unit achieve a notable boost in efficiency.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are likely to benefit from the return from injury of two forwards, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Teddy Blueger, Patrick Johnston of The Province reported today. Lekkerimaki, 21, hasn’t played since Oct. 19, and has one goal in four games this season. Blueger has also not played since Oct. 19, and also has one goal to his name. The return of Blueger in particular should help the Canucks. The 31-year-old veteran center ranked second among forwards on the team in short-handed ice time per game last season, and the forward who ranked No. 1, Pius Suter, now plays for the St. Louis Blues. Seeing as the Canucks penalty kill currently ranks second to last in the NHL, getting a key contributor back from injury is surely a positive development for their hopes of improving in that area.

Atlantic Injury Updates: Bruins, Cirelli, Tanev

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Several updates on the availability of their players have been reported today, namely Charlie McAvoy, Casey Mittelstadt, and John Beecher. Per The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa, the Bruins’ top defenseman McAvoy did not travel with the team due to a personal matter, while Mittelstadt did not travel due to an upper-body injury. In addition, team reporter Belle Fraser reported today that Beecher is out with his own upper-body injury.

These injuries have left the Bruins in a somewhat precarious position entering their game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins were already dealing with an injury to top center Elias Lindholm, who was later placed on injured reserve. According to Fraser, veteran Jeffrey Viel will replace Beecher on the Bruins’ fourth line, while Alex Steeves, who was recalled today from AHL Providence, will play on the team’s second line, the one centered by Pavel Zacha. Due to McAvoy’s absence, defenseman Mason Lohrei, a healthy scratch for the last five games, will draw back into the lineup. The Bruins are on a five-game winning streak, but these injuries are likely to test the sustainability of the club’s winning ways.

Other injury notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without center Anthony Cirelli for tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals, relays Lightning team reporter Benjamin Pierce. Cirelli is managing an injury, one that caused him to leave Tampa’s last game early. Head coach Jon Cooper did note that the club is hopeful Cirelli will be able to return in time for the Lightning’s game against the New York Rangers on Wednesday, Nov. 12. Cirelli is a key two-way center for the Lightning, scoring seven goals and 11 points in 14 games so far in 2025-26 while also occupying a role on Tampa’s top penalty-kill unit. In part due to Cirelli’s strong defensive abilities, the Lightning have managed to kill penalties at a 89.4% rate so far this year, good for fourth-best in the NHL.
  • There was an encouraging development coming out of Toronto today as Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev was spotted skating for the first time since he was stretchered off the ice during the team’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 2. (Report via TSN’s Mark Masters) While there have not been any additional specifics on a recovery timeline for Tanev, the mere fact that he’s back on the ice so soon after the injury scare he suffered has to be seen as a positive sign for his readiness to play. Tanev, who has dealt with concussions in the past in his career, is a key defensive defenseman for the Maple Leafs and has averaged 17:20 time-on-ice per game this season, including 2:40 per game on the penalty kill.

Florida Panthers’ Jonah Gadjovich To Undergo Surgery, Will Miss Three Months

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Florida Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich will undergo surgery as part of his recovery from his upper-body injury suffered on Oct. 25 against the Vegas Golden Knights, relays Katie Engleson, the Panthers’ rinkside reporter.

It’s a tough break for Gadjovich, who had played in all 10 of the Panthers’ games leading up to his injury. Gadjovich skated in just 42 regular-season games in 2024-25, but the injuries the Panthers have already suffered up front looked to have paved the way for Gadjovich to play a more regular role in 2025-26. Now, due to this injury, he’ll miss that opportunity to get to play NHL games on a more regular basis than he has had in the past.

The 27-year-old has been part of the Panthers’ back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams, originally arriving in the organization on an AHL contract before he was signed to a full NHL deal.

He subsequently earned a two-year, one-way league minimum extension, and signed an additional two-year, one-way $905K AAV contract extension on Oct. 12. That deal included a $10K signing bonus for its first year, the first signing bonus Gadjovich has received since the standard bonuses included in his entry-level contract.

A grinder by trade, the 6’3″ winger ranks last in time-on-ice per game among all Panthers forwards this season, averaging under eight minutes per contest with no special-teams usage. He does have three assists, though, and despite his limited ice time ranks fourth among Panthers forwards in hits with 30.

Gadjovich provides a relentless, physical element to the Panthers’ fourth line, one they’ll now have to be without for the next few months. In Gadjovich’s vacated fourth-line right-wing spot, the Panthers have played forward Noah Gregor. Gregor is playing just about the same amount of ice time, although the Panthers did utilize him on the penalty kill on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4.

This unfortunate injury suffered by Gadjovich does have potentially significant implications for Gregor. The 27-year-old entered the season on a PTO, and parlayed that into a one-year, two-way deal carrying a $775K NHL value and $450K AHL salary. With Gadjovich, who is Gregor’s primary competitor for NHL ice time, now sidelined for a few months, Gregor has a clear chance to play regular NHL games for the Panthers.

With that opportunity, Gregor, who has not played in the AHL since 2021, could very well earn the right to remain an NHL player for another season. By putting forward solid performances in this fourth-line NHL role, he could even position himself to once again receive a one-way contract next season. Gregor played on one-way deals from 2022-23 through 2024-25.

The Panthers have struggled with significant injuries in 2025-26, and have not looked nearly as dominant so far as a result. The loss of Gadjovich is a far more manageable one for the team to absorb compared to the injuries suffered by Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, but this is nonetheless an unfortunate development for a team that is badly in need of some positive luck when it comes to injuries.

Photos courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Kings To Activate Warren Foegele

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The Los Angeles Kings will activate forward Warren Foegele off of injured reserve tomorrow, team reporter Zach Dooley revealed today. Dooley also shared that Foegele says he’s “feeling really good” after missing almost two weeks with an upper-body injury. The Kings have an open spot on their active roster, so the Kings are not under any pressure to make an immediate corresponding roster move.

The 29-year-old winger hasn’t played since he suffered his injury early in the Kings’ Oct. 26 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Although Foegele had been playing a solid third-line left wing role alongside Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore, he had struggled to find the scoresheet through ten games of the season. He has just one point to his name in 2025-26, a notably slow start for a player who set career highs in goals (24) and points (46) last season.

With scorer Andrei Kuzmenko now occupying Foegele’s former lineup spot, Dooley reports that Foegele is “expected” to return to the lineup on the Kings’ fourth line alongside Corey Perry and Alex Turcotte. If that ends up being the case, undrafted veteran forward Jeff Malott appears set to become a healthy scratch.

The 6’5″ winger earned an NHL role after a strong 2024-25 with the AHL’s Ontario Reign (he had 23 goals, 51 points in 61 games) but has just two points through 13 NHL games this season and is averaging under eight minutes of ice time per game, with zero penalty-kill contributions.

Even if Foegele isn’t scoring, the penalty kill is where he can still make valuable contributions to the Kings’ overall efforts to win games. He ranked fourth among Kings forwards in short-handed ice time per game in 2024-25, helping the Kings to a No. 8 finish in the league’s overall penalty kill success rate standings.

With Los Angeles looking to claw its way to the top of a hotly-contested Pacific Division, Foegele’s return from injury is a helpful development, further fortifying the team’s bottom-six.

Seattle Kraken To Activate Ryker Evans

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The Seattle Kraken have activated defenseman Ryker Evans off injured reserve today, per an official announcement. They also placed netminder Joey Daccord on injured reserve in a corresponding move.

Daccord sustained an upper-body injury in the team’s loss on Nov. 5, and will now be out at least a week due to this IR placement. The Kraken have carried three goalies on their roster this season, so they are uniquely prepared to absorb Daccord’s absence. While he recovers from his injury, the Kraken will rely on a pair of veterans: Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray.

A one-time Vezina Trophy finalist, Grubauer has struggled immensely in Seattle, and has played in just two games so far this season. Murray, 31, is a two-time Stanley Cup champion who has also played in just two games this year, posting a .889 save percentage. Murray is playing out a one-year, $1MM deal while Grubauer has an additional season remaining on the six-year, $5.9MM AAV deal he signed in 2021.

As for Evans, this activation lines him up to play his first game of the 2025-26 season. He’s been out since the preseason with an upper-body injury. The 23-year-old 2021 second-round pick broke into the NHL as a full-time player in 2024-25. He got a run of 36 games in 2023-24, scoring just nine points despite playing nearly two minutes of ice time on the power play per game.

The Kraken’s signing of Brandon Montour from the Florida Panthers knocked Evans off of the Kraken power play, but he nonetheless managed a solid first season in the NHL, scoring 25 points in 73 games.

With Montour and Vince Dunn set to man the Kraken’s top power play units for the foreseeable future, Evans will have to find a way to maximize his effectiveness at even strength. That’s especially true seeing as his impact on the penalty kill last season was limited.

As for where he could slot into the Kraken lineup, the clearest opening would be for Evans to unseat 27-year-old Josh Mahura on the team’s third pairing. Mahura, who is also a left-shot defenseman, has two points in 13 games this season and is averaging 15:10 time-on-ice per game.

West Notes: Patera, Blackwell, Kärki

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The Vancouver Canucks announced today that netminder Jiri Patera has been recalled on an emergency basis from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Patera, 26, has played each of the last two seasons exclusively at the AHL level, though an injury did cost him a chance to earn NHL games last season, as he was limited to just seven games played. He’s already up to five games played so far this season, posting a .894 save percentage, 3.10 goals-against average, and 1-2-2 record.

CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal reported on this recall in some additional detail, noting that while netminder Kevin Lankinen is not currently injured, Thatcher Demko “may need a maintenance day.” And since the Canucks have back-to-back games to play on Saturday and Sunday, recalling Patera allows the team to be cautious and give head coach Adam Foote an additional goaltender to work with in case Demko is not able to play in one of the team’s two upcoming games. Dhaliwal did also note that Demko “is not hurt.” While he hasn’t yet played for the Canucks, Patera does have some NHL experience. The 26-year-old played in eight games across two seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, posting a .902 save percentage.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • The Dallas Stars might have to deal with the loss of Colin Blackwell due to an injury, reports Stars Thoughts’ Robert Tiffin. Per Tiffin, Blackwell “took a heavy shot last night in the leg/foot” and did not practice today. While there has not been any official update from the Stars, it appears entirely possible that Blackwell will miss some time due to injury. The 32-year-old veteran of over 300 NHL games isn’t much of an offensive producer (he has one point through 14 games) but has been a key contributor on the penalty kill. He leads all Stars forwards in short-handed ice time per game so far this season, and ranked second in 2024-25, just behind Sam Steel.
  • Vegas Golden Knights prospect Arttu Kärki, who ranked No. 13 in the team’s system by Elite Prospects in August, has signed a contract to transfer to Jukurit in Finland’s Liiga. The deal runs through next season, and should give the 20-year-old blueliner a more consistent place to play moving forward. The 2023 third-round pick was drafted by Vegas out of Finland’s U20 circuit, but spent the following season in the OHL. He split last season between Tappara and Assat, and now will play for his fourth Liiga team in two years. Kärki has only played in one game so far this year, a Sept. 9 victory for HIFK Helsinki over Jukurit of all teams, and Kärki scored a goal and played in just under 18 minutes of ice time. The Golden Knights maintain the exclusive rights to sign Kärki to an entry-level deal until June 1, 2027, and Elite Prospects scout Lassi Alanen wrote in August that “if everything breaks right” Kärki could “end up as a No. 5 NHL defenceman.”

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