Devils Notes: Bordeleau, Markstrom, Lammikko
The New Jersey Devils acquired depth winger Thomas Bordeleau in a trade for center Shane Bowers in early July. In reflecting on that trade on Saturday, Bordeleau told Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News that he requested a trade from San Jose before the 2025 Trade Deadline. He explained that he didn’t feel he got a fair opportunity after coming back from an injury sustained in the 2023-24 training camp. With the path blocked ahead of him, he felt it was time for the fresh start.
After a full year with the San Jose Barracuda last year, Bordeleau hasn’t yet found a way to break out of the AHL in the Devils’ organization. He has two points, six penalty minutes, and a minus-four through five games with the Utica Comets this season – far below the scoring pace that led him to 38 poinnts in 59 games with the Barracuda last year. Bordeleau split time between the NHL and AHL lineups for three years before last season, ultimately totaling 18 points in 44 games in the Sharks’ lineup. With a quiet start to the 2025-26 season, Bourdeleau likely sits behind a few AHL teammates on New Jersey’s call-up chart.
Other notes out of New Jersey:
- Starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom returned to the Devils’ practice on Saturday, per team reporter Amanda Stein. He will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip to the west coast, which spans matchups against the Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Ducks. Markstrom has already missed five games with a lower-body injury sustained in October 13th’s win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has a meager .845 save percentage through parts of three games this season – far below the .900 he posted in 49 games last year. A return to practice will put Markstrom on pace to soon return to the crease, and begin working on improving those numbers.
- Stein also shared that depth forward Juho Lammikko participated in practice in place of top center Nico Hischier, who sat out for a maintenance day. Lammikko is not yet ready to return to the lineup, though he’s continuing to progress from a lower-body injury sustained before the start of the season. Lammikko has had intermittent stints in the NHL. He played in 40 games, and recorded six points, with the Florida Panthers in 2018-19 – then spent one season in both Finland’s Liiga and Russia’s KHL. He returned to the NHL for 119 games, combined between the Panthers and Vancouver Canucks between 2020 and 2022. He scored 20 points in those appearances. Lammikko has spent the last three years in a starring role for Zurich SC in Switzerland’s National League. His hot scoring – 112 points in 144 games – helped lead Zurich to back-to-back championships in 2024 and 2025. Now, Lammikko is nearing his first chance to crack into the Devils’ lineup.
Ducks Activate Jansen Harkins From IR
The Anaheim Ducks have activated forward Jansen Harkins off of injured reserve. Harkins has missed the first seven games of Anaheim’s season due to an upper-body injury sustained in the preseason. Despite returning to the active roster, Harkins is expected to serve as a healthy scratch in Anaheim’s Saturday matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Harkins is a true fourth-line forward for Anaheim. He recorded six points and a minus-13 through 62 games with the Ducks last season, while averaging roughly 11 minutes of ice time. But it was his off-puck impact that stood out. Harkins posted the best faceoff percentage (53.4) and third-most hits (136) on the Ducks 2024-25 roster. He had a similar impact with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2023-24 season – recording four assists and 74 hits in 45 games. Before a one-year stay in Pittsburgh, Harkins sepnt four years with the Winnipeg Jets, where he racked up 27 points and 86 hits in 154 games.
Despite Harkins bringing a poised and physical style, the Ducks will have little motivation to change up their fourth-line. Ryan Poehling has managed well enough as the team’s fourth-line center. He has managed two assists, splitting the gap in scoring between his wingers Sam Colangelo (one point) and Ross Johnston (three points). With chemistry looking strong between that trio, Harkins’ season debut may need to wait until Anaheim needs a physical, shutdown presence that Poehling can’t provide.
Hurricanes Recall Bradly Nadeau
The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled forward Bradly Nadeau from the AHL. Nadeau has scored in three games straight to start the Chicago Wolves’ season, with four points total. Carolina will now reward that hot start with the second mid-season call-up of the young pro’s career. He should help supplement the lineup while wingers Eric Robinson and William Carrier are out with injury. Both veteran wingers are expected to miss an extended period, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told NHL.com’s Walt Ruff.
Nadeau has already played in three NHL games. He made his NHL debut at the tail end of the 2023-24 season, after signing with the club following the end of his freshman season at the University of Maine. Nadeau was assigned to the minor-leagues for the majority of the 2024-25 season, but made two appearances in the NHL in the final games of the season. He has recorded one assist, two blocked shots, and two hits in the Hurricanes lineup.
While he’s still searching for a spark in the NHL, Nadeau has looked unquestionably productive in the minor leagues. He has 62 points across 67 career games in the AHL. His stat line is slightly stained by a minus-19, but Nadeau’s ability to drive play and create scoring chances has nonetheless proved reliable. He’s taken on a top-line role in the Wolves’ lineup, and steadied his play with support from veteran linemate Ryan Suzuki.
Nadeau could now have his first extended chance at the NHL lineup as Carolina addresses their injuries. Carrier and Robinson have both averaged 10 minutes of ice time through seven games this season, with three and four points respectively. That depth scoring has been a core part of Carolina’s league-best start to the season, and gives Nadeau a mark to shoot for as he steps in. He should be expected to rotate through the team’s bottom-six, at least until he can play his way into a loftier role.
Maple Leafs Attempted Summer Trade Of Nicholas Robertson
Winger Nicholas Robertson will serve as a healthy scratch for the first time this season when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Robertson’s move out of the lineup comes after he recorded just one assist, and a minus-four, through the first four games of Toronto’s season. He’ll be replaced by rookie winger Easton Cowan, once again sparking concerns over Robertson’s ability to stick in the everyday lineup.
Those worries have led to plenty of trade rumors in the past. Now, it’s been revealed that the Leafs tried to bring those rumors to fruition this summer by offering Robertson to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for fellow trade-block winger Yegor Chinakhov, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in the latest 32 Thoughts article.
The move was ultimately rejected – for good reason. Chinakhov is a former first-round selection, going 21st-overall to Columbus in a shocking move at the 2020 NHL Draft. He’s since racked up 34 goals and 72 points in 178 games in the NHL. His best year so far came in 2023-24, when he scored 16 goals and 29 points in 53 games. Those numbers trump Robertson in both longevity and peak. A former second-round pick, Robertson has since recorded 57 points in 163 NHL games, with a single-season high of 27 points in 56 games also recorded in 2023-24.
Looking beyond the stats still favors Chinakhov in a direct matchup. Both players are volume shooters who don’t rack up many hits, blocks, or takeaways – but Chinakhov’s 6-foo-1, 200-pound frame helps him win space more frequently than the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Robertson. That imbalance would likely force Toronto to include an added incentive to swap the two wingers, which could have been the barrier that ended trade talks. Chinakhov also walked back his requests for a trade after a conversation with first-year Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason.
While news of a rejected trade won’t help Toronto moving forward, it does make the vision around Robertson’s market a bit clearer. He isn’t tempting enough to sit at the same value as other struggling, young wingers – surely in part thanks to his struggles to hold a nightly role. As he heads back to the press box for the first time this season, the Maple Leafs will no doubt continue their search for a change of scenery for their depth shooter. Robertson has averaged 16 goals and 29 points per 82 games played – modest numbers should if he can maintain them through an 82-game season.
Golden Knights Place Mark Stone On Long-Term Injured Reserve
Oct. 23: Stone’s IR placement has turned into an LTIR placement, per PuckPedia. They were short on cap space after recalling Carl Lindbom and Jaycob Megna from AHL Henderson on Wednesday, so this was the expected outcome. With an additional $3.82MM in their LTIR pool, they now have just under $2.5MM in cap space following the recalls. Since the placement is retroactive to Oct. 18 and he needs to miss at least 10 games and 24 days before he’s eligible to return, the soonest he’ll be back is Nov. 13 against the Islanders.
Oct. 21: Stone landed on injured reserve last night, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It’s purely a formality; a week-to-week designation ensured he’d missed the seven days required for IR. Vegas now has an open roster spot, but there’s only $310,275 remaining in their LTIR pool, according to PuckPedia. That doesn’t leave them enough room to make a corresponding recall unless they play short a skater for a game, allowing them to use an emergency exception and temporarily exceed the cap by recalling a player with a cap hit of $875,000 or less.
Oct. 20: Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy announced that winger Mark Stone is out week-to-week with a wrist injury in a Monday press conference, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic.
Stone fell face-first into the boards and briefly returned to the locker room in Vegas’ Thursday win over the Boston Bruins. He remained in the lineup and scored four points in Saturday’s win over the Calgary Flames, but appeared to take another awkward fall midway through the third period, also captured by Granger.
It’s not clear if either fall is connected to Stone’s injury. He’ll be forced out of the short term, leaving Vegas with a big hole in their top six. Stone ranks second on the team and across the NHL, scoring 13 points in six games. He has found a comfortable role next to scoring leader Jack Eichel and winger Ivan Barbashev, forming a top line that’s outscored opponents five-to-three at even-strength.
Stone has long been among Vegas’ best players but struggles with routine injury. He has missed 170 games across six full seasons with the Golden Knights, or roughly 35 percent of a possible 492 games. He’s also averaged 26 goals and 80 points per 82 games played in that period. That productivity and a lofty impact on defense make Stone a standout whenever he’s in the lineup. Now, Vegas will have to push through at least a few games without that difference-maker.
In Stone’s absence, Vegas will likely turn towards Brandon Saad or Reilly Smith to fill a top-six winger role. Smith has one point, while Saad hasn’t scored through six games this season. More pressingly, Stone’s absence should give Shea Theodore a chance to return to the top power-play unit. Vegas has been operating with five forwards on their top unit, thanks to Pavel Dorofeyev‘s five power-play points to start the year. That’s left Theodore with just five minutes of ice time and no scoring on the power-play. Vegas could also turn towards William Karlsson, who has one power-play point and three total points in six games.
Flames To Reassign Daniil Miromanov
Oct. 21: Miromanov has cleared waivers and will be on his way to the AHL, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Oct. 20: The Calgary Flames have placed defenseman Daniil Miromanov on waivers per Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. The move opens a roster spot that could soon be used to activate forward Martin Pospisil from injured reserve. Pospisil has missed the start of the season with an undisclosed injury sustained during the preseason.
This is Miromanov’s first time being placed on the waiver wire. He has stayed on the Flames’ roster since joining the club in the 2024 trade that sent Noah Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights. He scored seven points in the final 20 games of Calgary’s 2023-24 season. But he fell hard into the extra defender role last year, playing in only 44 games and otherwise serving as a routine healthy scratch. The minimal minutes were marked by minimal production – just nine points, 12 penalty minutes, and a plus-two.
Miromanov’s role has fallen even further this season. He played in just one of Calgary’s six games to start the season, and didn’t receive any notable stat changes or ice time on special teams. Now, he could be headed to the minor leagues for the first time since 2023. He previously played 89 games and scored a productive 68 points through three seasons with the Henderson Silver Knights. The Calgary Wranglers would certainly welcome that production, should Miromanov clear waivers.
But going unclaimed could be tough for a 6-foot-4, right-shot defenseman. That frame, and a history of strong minor-league scoring, could be enough to tempt a team with roster flexibility to take their chance on reworking his game. Miromanov has tallied 23 points, 38 hits, and 110 blocked shots through 94 games in the NHL.
Oilers Activate Jake Walman From IR
The Edmonton Oilers have activated defenseman Jake Walman from injured reserve. He missed the start of the season due to an undisclosed injury that landed him on injured reserve one day into the regular season.
Walman joined the Oilers at the 2025 Trade Deadline, with a 2026 first-round pick and forward prospect Carl Berglund headed back to the San Jose Sharks. He played through 15 games and racked up a productive eight points through the end of Edmonton’s regular season. That earned him a core role in the team’s postseason lineup, setting him up to deliver 10 points in 22 games through the Oilers’ push to a Stanley Cup Final loss.
Walman only managed to appear in one preseason game before sustaining his latest injury. That gives the Oilers a 38-game sample of what the puck-moving defender can offer the team. He averaged over 21 minutes of ice time in his limited sample with the Oilers last season – a light respite after he averaged 23 minutes of ice time through 50 games with San Jose to start the year. It was the first season that Walman averaged north of 20 minutes of ice time, though he came close to that mark with the Detroit Red Wings in both 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Small sample size aside, there seems to be little doubting that Walman will soon slot back into his role alongside Darnell Nurse. The duo outscored opponents eight-to-two through the end of the 2024-25 season. Nurse has spent the start of this season rotating between minutes with Troy Stecher, Alec Regula, and Brett Kulak. Despite the heap of change, none of Nurse’s pairings have been on the ice for an even-strength goal yet. That has left a heavy load for Edmonton’s other D-pairings – a load that the team should be able to mitigate with the return of Walman.
The Oilers have lose their last three games, after starting the year 2-0-1. Much of that struggle can be attributed to their measly 1.6 goals-for-per-60 average – fourth-worst in the NHL so far. With an average of 12 goals and 34 points per 82 games played since 2023, Walman could be the exact piece Edmonton needs to turn their fates around. Walman is expected to make his season debut in Tuesday’s matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
Marco Rossi, Zach Bogosian Out For The Wild
The Minnesota Wild will be without forward Marco Rossi and defenseman Zach Bogosian in Monday night’s game against the New York Rangers, head coach John Hynes told Peter Baugh of The Athletic. Both players suffered lower-body injuries as the result of blocked shots – Bogosian sustaining his on Friday, and Rossi getting hurt on Saturday.
This news will bring an end to Rossi’s team-leading iron-man streak. He has played in a consecutive 173 games, dating back to April 2023. That tally is the 30th-longest streak in the NHL, and the fourth-longest among players 24 or younger. With Rossi’s streak ending, Minnesota’s new team-leader will be Matt Boldy, who has played in 161 consecutive games – 33rd-most in the league and sixth among U24 players.
More than ending a team-leading streak, Minnesota will be losing one of their top forwards with Rossi’s absence. He has served as the team’s top-line center between star wingers Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov. That trio is one of only two Wild lines to score multiple even-strength goals this season – though they’ve still been outscored by opponents two-to-three, despite winning the expected-goals race with 2.1-to-1.7. Rossi himself has scored five points in six games, putting him on pace to exceed the career-high 60 points he potted in 82 games last year.
Joel Eriksson Ek will move to the top-line in Rossi’s place, while Ben Jones steps into a fourth-line center role. This swap will also promote rookie Danila Yurov into the top-nine, providing a stronger platform for him to find his first career point after going scoreless in his first four NHL games.
Minnesota will also lose the reliable Bogosian, who has served as a stout veteran presence on the team’s bottom-pair for the last three seasons. His ice time has dwindled every year in Minnesota, falling to just 14 minutes on average through five games this season. He’s posted a plus-three in the muted role, but otherwise has yet to manage any notable stat changes this season. David Jiříček will stick in the lineup in Bogosian’s absence. Jiříček recorded one shot on goal in a relief role on Saturday. It was his second NHL game of the season.
Evening Notes: Dubois, Marchessault, Lowry
Washington Capitals centerman Pierre-Luc Dubois donned a non-contact jersey for a second-straight practice on Friday. He won’t be ready for Washington’s Sunday matchup against the Vancouver Canucks, but could return on Tuesday, head coach Spencer Carbery told Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson. Dubois has been day-to-day with a lower-body injury for much of the last week.
Dubois appeared in three games before sustaining his injury. His only notable stat changes came in the form of five shots on net, two hits, and a plus-one. He continued to serve as a top-six center for the Capitals, centering Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson. Washington has turned towards Connor McMichael to fill that role in Dubois’ absence. McMichael has one point – his first of the year – and a plus-one in the relief role. That scoring surely won’t be enough to command Dubois’ spot once he’s back to full health. Dubois should be expected to return in the coming week, and continue his hunt for his first score of the year.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Winger Jonathan Marchessault sat out of the Nashville Predators’ Saturday matchup against the Winnipeg Jets. He is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, per a team announcement. Nashville opted to ice seven defensemen in the matchup – pulling defender Nick Blackenburg into the lineup. They went on to lose by a score of 1-4. Marchessault is tied for the Predators’ lead in scoring with four points through five games this season. He finished second on the team in scoring last season, with 56 points in 78 game placing him behind only Filip Forsberg, who scored 76 points in 82 games. That standing will make Marchessault’s absence quickly felt, even if he’s only out for the short term.
- On the other side of that matchup, Winnipeg received a bit of positive injury news when captain Adam Lowry returned to practice in a no-contact jersey on Saturday, per NHL.com’s Mitchell Clinton. Lowry has been recovering from hip surgery he underwent in late May. He is still working back to full health this season, but did manage 13 appearances and scored four goals in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. He also scored 34 points in 73 regular season games. Lowry is a core piece of Winnipeg’s lineup when healthy, offering stout two-way play from a middle-six center role. He will be slotted back into a busy role as soon as he’s ready to make his season debut.
Injury Notes: Dickinson, Mikkola, Harkins
Chicago Blackhawks centerman Jason Dickinson is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and will be a game-time decision on Sunday, head coach Jeff Blashill told Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio. Dickinson headed to the locker room partway through Friday’s game against Vancouver after receiving a heavy, awkward hit from Canucks winger Conor Garland. He returned, left again, then returned again throughout the remaining game – though it seems the injury is sticking around a day later.
Dickinson has been a core piece of one of Chicago’s best lines this season, centering fellow NHL veterans Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev. The trio have outscored their opponents four-to-one in six games together, more than any other Hawks line. Dickinson sitting out of Sunday’s match against the Anaheim Ducks would force Chicago to break up their starting forward line against stingy competition. The Ducks sit with a 2-2-0 record and negative goal-differential (-3) but they’re led by legendary Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville and roster a long list of promising youngsters who can takeover games. Chicago has been thriving as of late – with a 2-1-1 record in their last four – but this injury news could bring that down.
Other injury news from across the NHL:
- Speaking of Anaheim, bruising forward Jansen Harkins returned to the team’s practice in a no-contact jersey on Saturday, captured by Patrick Present of The Hockey News. Harkins is recovering from an upper-body injury sustained in a preseason match against the Los Angeles Kings on September 21. He was originally expected to miss about eight weeks, placing his return date still three weeks away. But already returning to practice could be enough to shorten that timeframe for Harkins. Then again, the Ducks may want to monitor their bottom-line bruiser a bit closer, after he ranked third on the team with 136 hits in 62 games last season.
- Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola left Saturday’s match against the Buffalo Sabres with an upper-body injury. He sustained the injury after getting tangled up with Sabres winger Tyson Kozak and falling awkwardly into the boards. Mikkola only appeared in seven minutes of ice time prior to the injury. He remains without any scoring through seven games this season, though the physical impact Mikkola brings to each game will still be sorely missed should he have to sit out any more. He was a nightly feature in both of Florida’s Stanley Cup wins, and continues to play upwards of 24 minutes a night this season. That role will be tough to replace. Recent waiver claim Donovan Sebrango would be the next in line for ice time. He recorded 20 points and 79 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Belleville Senators last season, and has no scoring in four career appearances in the NHL.