Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper On Personal Leave
The Tampa Bay Lightning will return from the Olympic break without their head coach. Jon Cooper will miss the team’s Wednesday and Thursday matchups for a personal leave of absence following the death of his father per NHL.com’s Benjamin Pierce. Cooper spent the last three weeks in Milan, Italy for the Winter Olympics where he served as Team Canada’s head coach en route to a Silver medal finish.
Like at the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off, the championship game between USA and Canada required extra time. While superstar Connor McDavid was able to clinch the 4-Nations win with an overtime goal, Canada lost their chance at the Gold medal thanks to a goal from New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes. The win came three days after Team USA’s women’s hockey team won the Gold medal over Team Canada’s women’s team with their own sudden-death goal.
Cooper was outspoken about the Olympic’s 3v3 overtime structure following the game, sharing that the sport doesn’t resemble hockey with two players removed from the ice for both sides, per Michael Traikos of The Hockey News. The move to 3v3 was a new change this season, after the IIHF long operated with a 4v4 overtime structure. Overtime was 5v5 in the NHL’s 4-Nation Face-Off.
Cooper’s players still left Milan with a medal in hand, in no small part thanks to their coach’s ability to manage a tight ship. The Lightning have made the playoffs in 11 of the last 12 NHL seasons. They won the Stanley Cup twice – back-to-back in 2020 and 2021 – and made the Cup Finals twice more, in 2015 and 2022. Tampa Bay seems well set to continue their playoff streak, currently leading the NHL’s Atlantic Division.
Assistant coach Jeff Halpern stepped in to fill Cooper’s absence through a brief leave during the 2021 COVID season. Halpern remains in the same role and could be the top option to replace Tampa Bay’s command. Tampa Bay’s official choice for short-term head coach has not been announced.
Blues’ Robert Thomas To Take Personal Leave Of Absence
The St. Louis Blues will be without their leading scorer and top center as they return from the Olympic break. The team announced that Robert Thomas will be taking a personal leave of absence until Friday of this week. He will miss Thursday’s game against the Seattle Kraken but should be back with the team beforf Saturday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
Thomas’ role in the Blues lineup can’t be understated. He has been a pillar of the Blues offense, averaging the most ice time (19 minutes) and scoring the most points (33) among St. Louis forwards through 42 games this season. Thomas entered this season on the heels of two career-years, marked by 60 assists in both seasons, to go with 86 points and 81 points respectively. He has been St. Louis’ main playmaker since the departure of Ryan O’Reilly and leaves a major hole to be filled for next game.
Thomas sat out of four games in late October and missed an additional 11 games after sustaining a lower-body injury on January 10th. St. Louis leaned heavily on Pavel Buchnevich in response, placing the veteran Russian winger into Thomas’ role atop the powerplay and penalty-killing units. Buchnevich also moved into the team’s top-center role, though he has struggled on faceoffs, with a 39.8 faceoff percentage this season. The Blues could look to Slovakian Olympian Dalibor Dvorsky to take center duties off of Buchnevich’s hands in the short-term, or could task Brayden Schenn and Jimmy Snuggerud with platooning in the role form their spots on the second-line. No approach will be perfect as St. Louis looks to replace their star in an important, Western Conference matchup.
Sabres Announce Multiple IR Moves
The Buffalo Sabres have sorted out their injuries ahead of their return to action on Wednesday night. Forwards Joshua Norris and Joshua Dunne, as well as goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, have been activated from injured reserve and will be available for Wednesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils. In a corresponding move, Buffalo has also placed wingers Zach Benson and Jordan Greenway on IR per NHL.com’s Heather Engel. Greenway has not played since January 22nd, while Benson missed Buffalo’s final game before break on February 5th.
Buffalo will exchange roster forwards with these moves. Norris has served a middle-six center role when healthy but has only appeared in 19 games this season as he battled through multiple injuries. His most recent was sustained on January 14th, in a matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. The 26 year old has racked up 17 points in his appearances this season, the third-highest scoring pace on the team behind Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin. He should return to an impact role on the second-line and should help the Sabres bridge the divide until Benson is able to return.
The 20-year-old Benson dealt with a couple of different ailments over the three-week Olympic break. His current injury has not been disclosed, though head coach Lindy Ruff did clarify that it is separate from the upper-body injury he sustained on February 2nd. Benson returned to skating earlier this week but hasn’t yet been folded into Buffalo’s practices, suggesting he could still have a bit before returning to NHL action. He will be eligible for activation as soon as he’s back to full health.
Buffalo will want their dynamo winger back as soon as possible. Benson has earned 26 points in 42 games this season – a 51-point scoring pace. On top of that, his best impacts have seemed to come away from the puck, where his mix of tenacity and skill allow Benson to fill any role on the forecheck. He has often been deployed on the second-line but has received upwards of 20 minutes of ice time a night when Buffalo needs a punch.
The biggest impact from these moves could be in net. Luukkonen went down with a lower-body injury on January 27th. The injury not only held him out of Buffalo’s subsequent five games, it also costed Luukkonen his spot on Team Finland’s Olympic roster.
Buffalo survived Luukkonen’s absence by leaning on Alex Lyon as their starter. He performed well, setting a .922 save percentage and two wins in four games in injury-relief, while rookie backup Colten Ellis recorded one overtime-loss. Luukkonen has split starts with Lyon for much of the year and recorded 11 wins and a .902 save percentage in 21 games. Those marks both fall just shy of the 14 wins and .912 save percentage that Lyon has reached in 27 games. The pair of goaltenders will continue to compete for starts, while Ellis likely remains with the NHL roster as an extra hand.
Buffalo’s series of moves is wrapped up by swapping two bruising depth-forwards off of IR. Greenway ranks seventh on the Sabres in hits-per-game, with an average of 7.18. Just above him, at sixth, is Dunne who has averaged 7.66 hits in what is his first chance at an extended NHL look. Greenway has beat out the first-year pro on the scorecard, netting five points and a minus-nine in 33 games, while Dunne has four points and a minus-four in 28 games. The two will exchange spots near the bottom of Buffalo’s lineup. The veteran Greenway would seem to have the edge on minutes when he’s back to full health.
Sabres’ Zach Benson Not Expected To Return This Week
The NHL’s three-week break wasn’t long enough for a top Buffalo Sabres forward to kick the injury bug. Winger Zach Benson is not expected to play in the team’s return from the Olympic break due to an undisclosed issue separate from his recent upper-body injury, head coach Lindy Ruff told NHL.com’s Heather Engel. Benson has been practicing on his own, per Engel.
Benson had a hard crash into the boards during Buffalo’s February 2nd win over the Florida Panthers. He scored Buffalo’s fourth goal of the game before going down with injury. With that tally, Benson reached four points over his last six games and 26 points in 42 games on the season. He appears set to crack 20 assists, and a positive plus-minus, for the first time in his three-year NHL career. That growth has coincided with a boost up the lineup. Benson has commanded second-line minutes at points this season, largely on the back of his effort away from the puck.
That tenacity caught up to the 5-foot-10 forward as Buffalo approached the midlde of the season. Buffalo turned toward top prospect Konsta Helenius for their last two games following Benson’s injury. Helenius recorded four hits and an even plus-minus in the matchups. He failed to continue the hot scoring that he kicked off his NHL career with – netting four points in his first three games – but still proved impactful away from the puck.
That will make Buffalo’s decisions a bit tougher when Benson is back to full health. Benson will slot back into the Sabres top-nine while Helenius will push into competition for ice time with Isak Rosen, Tyson Kozak, and Beck Malenstyn. Of the bunch, the Sabres have preferred to keep Helenius in the minors, where his 38 points in 40 games rank third on the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
Mammoth Recall Maksymilian Szuber, Assign Scott Perunovich
The Utah Mammoth have joined many teams in rotating around their roster days before the NHL returns from the Olympic break. Defenseman Maksymilian Szuber has been recalled to the NHL club while Scott Perunovich has been assigned to the minor leagues, per a team announcement.
It is unclear if Szuber will stick with the NHL club through their return to game action but the young prospect has had a strong start to the year. Szuber has recorded 10 goals, 24 points, 38 penalty minutes, and a plus-five in 44 games with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. He has been involved all over the ice, using his big frame to dominate play up-and-down the ice. That presence has established Szuber as Tucson’s second-best defenseman behind Utah top prospect Dmitry Simashev – though Szuber is the only blue-liner on the team with double-digit goals.
Narrowly above both Szuber and Simashev in scoring is the veteran Perunovich, who has three goals and 30 points in 43 AHL games this season. The 27 year old has landed in Utah’s AHL system after failing to stick in the NHL lineup for the St. Louis Blues or New York Islanders. He has racked up 32 points in 108 NHL games dating back to 2021 but hasn’t yet debuted with the Utah Mammoth.
With this move, Perunovich seems set to continue filling his top-four role with the Roadrunners, while Szuber could earn his second NHL game. The German defender will compete with Ian Cole, Olli Maatta, and Kevin Connauton for time in the lineup. He made his debut with the Mammoth last season and recorded one penalty and a minus-one.
Capitals’ John Carlson Day-To-Day With Injury
The Washington Capitals could be missing a major piece when they return to NHL action on Wednesday. Top defenseman John Carlson sat out of the team’s Sunday practice, instead doing individual drills in a no-contact jersey, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. Head coach Spencer Carbery later designated Carlson as out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, adds Silber.
Carlson sustained his injury in Washington’s February 5th win over the Nashville Predators. He left that match late in the first period, after getting tangled up with Predators’ forward Cole Smith. The Capitals had hoped that an extended break would help Carlson heal up from the injury, though it will now follow the club through their return to action.
Carlson has continue to serve as a key offensive-defenseman for the Capitals. He has scored 17 points in his last 17 games, dating back to Washington’s highest-scoring game of the season on January 5th. That streak includes the game that Carlson was injured in, thanks to a secondary assist he earned on Washington’s second goal of the game. It was Carlson’s ninth power-play assist of the season, the most of any Capitals defenseman.
In total, the 36-year-old Carlson has posted 10 goals and 36 points in 55 games this season. He is on pace for 69 points in 82 games, closer to his scoring heights from a few years back after he stuck closer to 50 points in the last two seasons. Part of that is thanks to fellow offensive-defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who has taken the weight of a number-one role off of Carlson’s shoulders. Chychrun will carry the brunt of the load in Carlson’s absence, while Declan Chisholm and Dylan McIlrath vye for the open spot at right-defense.
Jordan Weal Signs Two-Year Extension In KHL
Former Philadelphia Flyers center Jordan Weal won’t be leaving Russia any time soon. He has signed a two-year extension with the KHL’s Moscow Dynamo per a league announcement. Weal moved to the KHL for the 2021-22 season and joined Dynamo the year after.
Weal’s international move has proven fruitful. His tenure in Moscow started with 14 goals and 43 points scored in 62 games of the 2022-23 season. That performance was a strong step up from Weal’s 30 points in 36 games with Kazan Ak-Bars in his first season in Russia – but it was no match for what would come. Weal broke out with 30 goals and 77 points in 66 games of the 2023-24 season. He finished fourth in the KHL in scoring behind fellow former-NHL players Nikita Gusev, Reid Boucher, and Nikolay Goldobin.
Weal’s scoring has followed the flow of the KHL – dipping over the last few seasons after a year of explosive offense. He followed his breakout year with 51 points in 66 games last year. He is on pace to beat that mark so far this season, with 12 goals and a team-leading 46 points in 57 games so far. Those marks have kept Weal locked into a top-six role on a nightly basis, even as his scoring totals have fallen back to Earth.
Dynamo will now lock Weal into that spot through the next two seasons. The 33-year-old will serve as reliable, veteran depth as Moscow looks to promote rising prospects Mikhail Melikov, Artyom Bondar, and Maxim Ilyin to the pro flight. The club currently ranks sixth in the KHL’s Western Conference, four points ahead of playoff contention.
2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey Medal Matchups Set
The stage has been set for the medal games for the 2026 Winter Olympic’s Men’s Hockey tournament. Team Canada was the first to seal a path to the Gold medal game with their 3-2 win over Team Finland on Friday. Soon after, Team USA earned the spot of contender with a confident 6-2 win over Team Slovakia. While the hockey world’s top rivals face off for Gold, the Bronze medal game will host the losing-parties, Finland and Slovakia.
A Canada and USA matchup seemed like the inevitable outcome of the NHL’s return to the Winter Olympics. After three tournaments without the world’s top talent, this year’s tournament has shown the next-level speed, skill, and strength that the NHL’s stars bring. Canada has been led by a superstar top line – with proven-greats Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon joined by Macklin Celebrini, the youngest skater to suit up for Canada at an Olympic men’s hockey tournament. Celebrini has played well above his age, leading the entire tournament in goals with five through as many games. He ranks second in total scoring with 10 points, behind McDavid’s 13 points.
With a robust cast and a confident goalie backing their top line, Canada won’t be an easy out. Team USA will attempt the feat with a well-rounded lineup, backed by reigning NHL Hart Trophy-winner Connor Hellebuyck, the first goalie to win the award since 2015. The Americans have spread their offense out, with each of Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes, and Jack Eichel stepping up to drive play at any given time. Those drivers are flanked by impact scorers like Auston Matthews, Matt Boldy, and Zach Werenski – giving the United States a roster that brings 60 minutes of dangerous offense.
The Team Canada versus Team USA matchup will carry a bit more oomph after the USA women’s team beat Canada by a score of 2-1 on Thursday. During the game, USA captain Hilary Knight recorded her 33rd career point at the Olympics, surpassing Jenny Potter for the country’s women’s record. Knight still ranks behind Canadian star Marie-Philip Poulin‘s 39 career points, though the former prevailed in the Gold matchup.
Meanwhile, Slovakia will stand up to a tough test for the Bronze medal. They brought the fourth-fewest NHL players of any team at this year’s tournament. Despite that, a cohesive and physical front has led the Slovaks above usual-contenders Team Sweden, who brought a full roster of NHL talent. The Finns have 24 NHL players, one shy of a full roster, and have leaned on their stars to push a downhill offense. Mikko Rantanen and Sebastian Aho have set a top pace, while Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell hold a strong line behind them. When the stars are off the ice, Erik Haula, Joel Armia, and Artturi Lehkonen have kept the tempo going. They will have to beat the Slovaks with skill in what should be a closely-fought matchup.
Team Canada and Team USA will compete for Gold at 8 A.M. ET on Sunday morning. The Bronze medal game will take place at 2:40 P.M. ET on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke-Imagn Images.
Team USA’s Tage Thompson Leaves Game For Precautionary Reasons
Team USA winger Tage Thompson was held out of the third period against Team Slovakia for precautionary reasons. He was seen removing his skate and walking up-and-down the tunnel between the second and third periods, though the nature of his injury wasn’t specified. USA head coach Mike Sullivan shared postgame that he expects Thompson to suit up for Sunday’s Gold Medal matchup against Team Canada per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Thompson scored a powerplay goal in the second period. He has been a hot hand for the United States all tournament long, scoring three goals and four points in five games. Thompson’s big frame and sharpshooting have earned him a role on the top power-play unit – a bold statement after the 28 year old was left off of USA’s roster for the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off. Thompson has emerged as a core piece of the USA offense and should be slotted into another starring role should he indeed suit up for the Gold Medal game.
This level of scoring comes as no surprise to the Buffalo Sabres. Thompson leads the Sabres with 30 goals and 59 points in 57 games, putting him on pace to reach 43 goals and 85 points across 82 games. That mark would land above the 44 goals and 72 points that Thompson posted last season, though still sits under his career-high 47 goals and 94 points scored in 78 games of the 2022-23 season.
Rangers’ Matt Rempe Will Undergo Thumb Procedure, Placed On IR
New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan will have to make some lineup changes when he returns from Team USA’s run at the Winter Olympics. The Rangers announced that enforcer Matt Rempe will undergo another procedure to fix the thumb injury that held him out of 24 games earlier in the season, per the New York Post’s Mollie Walker. Rempe has been placed on injured reserve while he recovers from the procedure. He will be eligible to return on February 27th, the day after New York’s first game back from the Olympic break.
Rempe sustained his injury in a fight with San Jose Sharks winger Ryan Reaves in late October. He stayed out of the lineup until mid-December, then rotated into games through the start of the Olympic break. Rempe has totaled one goal, a minus-four, and 11 penalty minutes in 26 games this season. He has also thrown 86 hits, giving him the highest per-game average on the team.
The NHL’s tallest player has stuck to his fourth-line role in the Rangers lineup this season – though with a bit more poise than normal. Rempe went 12 games without a penalty after returning from his injury in December. He followed that with back-to-back games with a penalty but avoided the penalty box in his last three games. A part of that discipline is surely Rempe’s inability to fight while he nurses an injured thumb. He has only two fights this season, after recording six last season. His health will continue to be assessed as New York kicks back into gear for the season’s final sprint.