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Avalanche Issue Multiple Injury Updates

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The season has brought a never-ending string of injuries for the Colorado Avalanche. They’re facing absences to five different players – including Gabriel Landeskog and Ross Colton, who are each on injured reserve, and Jonathan Drouin, who is week-to-week. Unfortunately, their injury list is only going to grow longer – with Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports sharing that Oliver Kylington is day-to-day, Josh Manson is week-to-week, and Miles Wood is month-to-month. All three players are dealing with upper-body injuries.

Manson’s injury is the most pressing of the new set. The top-four defender left the team’s Friday loss to Dallas in the second period after falling awkwardly into the boards. He dropped his gloves immediately and seemed to be favoring his wrist or hand. Manson has been a key piece of the Avalanche blue-line with reliable depth injured around him. He averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time through five games before injury, recording one assist and seven shots on net in the role. Manson’s season-long stat line sits at six points, 16 penalty minutes, and a team-leading 51 hits in 24 games. He was replaced on Saturday by John Ludvig, playing in just his sixth game of the season. Ludvig has two points and 11 hits this season – putting him on pace to rival Manson’s stats across 24 games, if he keeps up this pace of points and hits.

Kylington’s injury is also new. Kylington seemed to sustain the injury in Colorado’s Wednesday win over Vegas. He didn’t play in either game this weekend, and is now confirmed as needing a bit more time until he’s back to full health. Kylington has two points, four penalty minutes, and a -2 through eight appearances this season. He’s been a depth defender at-best when the lineup calls on him, but Manson joining the list of injuries could open more of a role if Kylington returns soon.

The injuries to the forward group are old news by this point. Drouin’s upper-body injury is technically new, suffered on November 27th, though it returns him to an inactive list that he’s already spent three weeks on this season. Drouin suffered what’s believed to be a separate upper-body injury in Colorado’s season opener, and was placed on injured reserve from October 20th to November 14th. He’s only played in five games this season, but has managed an impressive four points – split evenly – while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. Miles Wood is in a similar spot, headed to IR from October 28th to November 14th – then reinjuring himself and moving back to the reserve just two weeks later. He’ll now be out for the long-term, depriving Colorado of an impactful depth forward who had three points in 16 games this season.

Colorado already recalled Nikita Prishchepov in response to new injuries, but could also look into a depth defenseman with Manson now out for the foreseeable future. Their best options would likely be veteran depth defenders Jacob MacDonald and Calle Rosen – though both players, and the rest of the Eagles blue-line, are left-handed; the opposite side of right-shot Manson.

Blue Jackets Recall Mikael Pyyhtia

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11:30 AM: Chinakhov will indeed sit out on Sunday, with NHL.com’s Jeff Svoboda confirming the winger didn’t travel with the team to Chicago. The Blue Jackets will continue their road trip with a four-game trip into Western Canada, potentially hindering Chinkahov’s ability to return soon – though he could join the team partway through their trip.

10:30 AM: The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Mikael Pyyhtia. He was sent to the minor leagues on November 20th after making the Blue Jackets roster out of training camp. Pyyhtia’s call-up could suggest that Columbus winger Yegor Chinakhov won’t be healthy for the team’s Sunday game. Chinakhov is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and sat out of the team’s Friday win over Calgary.

Pyyhtia played in four games during his AHL stint. He scored in three of those outings for five points total – including a three-assist night in an overtime win over Milwaukee. That’s a welcome bout of scoring after Pyyhtia managed just one goal through 17 games to start his NHL season. Pyyhtia was similarly snakebit last season, recording just two assists in 17 games – after earning a midseason call-up from the AHL. The 2024-25 season marks Pyyhtia’s second full year in North America, having made the move to Ohio at the end of the Liiga’s 2022-23 campaign. He played in parts of four seasons with TPS prior to coming over, recording 63 points in 140 games.

Pyyhtia has never been known as a top-scorer, but this call-up gives him a chance to return to the NHL lineup with wind in his sails. Chinakhov was replaced on Friday by the return of top-six forward Cole Sillinger, though Columbus’ bottom-six could use a spark in scoring. Pyyhtia could step in for any of Zach Aston-Reese, James van Riemsdyk, or Kevin Labanc – with the latter the favorite to step out of the lineup recently.

Maple Leafs Reassign Alex Steeves, Place Bobby McMann On IR

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3:00 PM: Confirming the report from Alter earlier, the Maple Leafs reassigned Steeves to the AHL and placed McMann on the injured reserve.

1:00 PM: The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to assign forward Alex Steeves to the minor leagues and place winger Bobby McMann on injured reserve, as they anticipate the return of Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, per David Alter of The Hockey News. Head coach Craig Berube shared on Thursday that McMann could miss the team’s next few games after suffering a handful of bruises in Wednesday’s matchup against Florida. McMann left that game at the end of the second period. An assignment to injured reserve, made retroactive to Wednesday, would hold McMann out of Toronto’s next two games.

There will be little complaining about the need for roster moves from a Toronto brass prepared to add 69-goal scorer Matthews back to the lineup. Matthews has missed Toronto’s last nine games with an upper-body injury. Toronto plans to separate Matthews from usual winger Mitch Marner when he returns, instead lining him up to William Nylander and fellow returnee Knies. Knies has missed Toronto’s last two games with his upper-body injury. He’ll return to a prime opportunity next to Toronto’s strongest scorers, after netting eight goals and 12 points in 20 games this season.

But while these moves bolster the top six, they’ll force some shifting around Toronto’s bottom-six. Fraser Minten and Connor Dewar will likely step down a peg to center Toronto’s third and fourth line respectively; while Alexander Nylander, Nikita Grebenkin, and Nicholas Robertson compete for ice time on the wings. The trio will try to fill McMann’s impactful role on the flanks. He has six goals and seven points in 21 games this season – ranking fourth among all Leafs in goals.

Meanwhile, Steeves is expected to return to the minors after failing to score on an NHL call-up again. Steeves hasn’t scored in the NHL since December of 2021 – when he recorded his first NHL point, an assist, in his third career game. Despite that, he leads the Toronto Marlies in scoring this season, with nine goals and 12 points in 10 games.

Avalanche Recall Nikita Prishchepov, Assign Chase Bradley

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The Colorado Avalanche have recalled forward Nikita Prishchepov to the NHL. It’s already Prishchepov’s fifth call-up of the season, with his last stint on the Avalanche roster ending on November 14th. In a corresponding move, Colorado has assigned forward Chase Bradley to the AHL, ending the first call-up of his NHL career after just three days.

Bradley stepped into the first two NHL games of his career on the short recall, but failed to record any notable stat changes while averaging just 5:35 in ice time. It’s Bradley’s first year of professional hockey, after spending the last three seasons climbing the University of Connecticut lineup. He recorded 51 points in 95 games with the Huskies, including 22 points in 31 games last season – good for second on the team in scoring behind Nashville Predators prospect Matthew Wood. While his NHL scoring is yet to come, Bradley has found a bit more production in the minors – posting three goals and four points through his first 17 AHL games.

Prishchepov is in a very similar spot, playing through his first year of professional hockey with a strong start in the minors – six points in 12 games – but so far no scoring through six NHL games. Prishchepov became the third player drafted in the 2024 NHL Draft – and the first selected outside of the top-15 picks – to make his NHL debut. Recording a point would make him just the second 2024 draftee to score, behind first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini.

Lightning Recall Conor Sheary, Assign Matt Tomkins

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forward Conor Sheary from, and re-assigned goaltender Matt Tomkins to, the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. Sheary was assigned to the minor leagues on October 24th, setting him up to play his first 11 AHL games since the 2015-16 season. He scored three goals and seven points, good for fifth on the Crunch in scoring on a point-per-game basis (0.64).

Sheary’s last stint in the minor leagues came during the first two years of his professional career, after signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Penguins as an undrafted college free agent in 2014. He scored 20 goals and 45 points in 58 games as an AHL rookie, and earned an NHL call-up as a sophomore after 36 points in 30 games. Sheary didn’t breakout as an NHL scorer right away, but excelled at handling the intangibles and making impactful plays away from the puck. That earned him a hardy spot in Pittsburgh’s bottom-six as they approached the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where Sheary’s 10 points in 23 games were a major piece of the team’s eventual championship-win. That level of success in his rookie year gave Sheary plenty of momentum headed into 2016-17, where he solidified an everyday role with 23 goals and 53 points in 61 games – an 82-game pace of 71 points – and tallied another seven points in 22 playoff games as Pittsburgh chased their second-straight Cup win.

Sheary’s 53-point season stands as a career-high, but he’s been an impactful third-liner ever since – continuing to provide valuable depth through stints with the Buffalo Sabres, Washington Capitals, and as of last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, eight seasons since his last Cup-win, the wheels finally seem to be slowing for the 32-year-old Sheary. He scored just 15 points in 57 games with Tampa Bay last season, and went without any points in their first three games this year. Sheary signed a three-year, $6MM contract with the Lightning in 2023, but has so far failed to find the spark that led him to 102 points in 206 games with Washington in the three years prior. He’ll get another chance to find that spark now, hoping that a pass through waivers and productive stint in the minors will be enough fuel. Sheary will step into a Bolts offense in need of help, and could bump Cam Atkinson or Darren Raddysh out of the lineup.

Meanwhile, Tomkins will return to the minors just one day after being called up. He served as an emergency third-string option in Tampa’s trip to Nashville on Friday, but has yet to step into the lineup at any point this season. His only playing time this season stands as eight games in the AHL, where Tomkins has managed three wins and a .890 save percentage. He’s a career depth-goaltender, setting a 29-37-6 record and .898 save percentage in 73 games and six seasons in the AHL. Tomkins also took a brief, two-season trip to Sweden’s SHL, where he posted a .910 in 65 games split between Frolunda HC and Farjestad BK. His return to the AHL will provide some support to Syracuse starter Brandon Halverson, who has a .938 in 10 games this season – second-highest in the AHL.

Predators Acquire Justus Annunen From Avalanche

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The Nashville Predators have acquired goaltender Justus Annunen and a 2025 sixth-round pick from the Colorado Avalanche, in exchange for veteran goaltender Scott Wedgewood.

Goaltending has been the sore spot of Colorado’s early season. They’ve already iced four different goaltenders while dealing with nagging injury and inconsistent play from both Annunen and starter Alexandar Georgiev. The latter has seemed to finally get his feet back under him, posting three wins and a .891 save percentage over Colorado’s last five games – an improvement over his season-long stat line of seven wins and a .872 save percentage in 15 games. Perhaps on the back of that momentum, Colorado has decided to buy some added veteran experience for their backup role – acquiring the 32-year-old Wedgewood in his seventh NHL season.

Wedgewood is off to a bit of a shaky start this year, with just one win and a .878 Sv% through five games with Nashville so far. He was a much more notable piece of the Dallas Stars’ success over the last two seasons, recording a .915 in 21 games in 2022-23 and a .899 in 32 games last year. Both performances stood well behind perennial Stars starter Jake Oettinger, convincing Nashville to sign the veteran Wedgewood to a two-year, $3MM contract this summer. That deal, coupled with starter Juuse Saros’ eight-year, $61.92MM contract extension, effectively pushed top prospect Yaroslav Askarov out of the Predators organization. With no clear path to a starting or backup role in the NHL, Askarov was instead traded to the San Jose Sharks for top prospect David Edstrom, goalie prospect Magnus Chrona, and a 2025 first-round pick.

Predators general manager Barry Trotz told Sportsnet at the time of his trade that the Predators had a robust development plan for Askarov – one that would track him into the Nashville starting role. With the star Russian moved out, Nashville will now replace their role of top goalie prospect with the 24-year-old Annunen. It was meant to be a breakout year for the Finnish netminder, after posting a dazzling .928 in 14 games with Colorado last season; and adding a .908 in 23 AHL games. He won Colorado’s backup role out of training camp, but hasn’t found the same success he showed last season – with a meager six wins and .872 save percentage in 11 appearances. Annunen, originally a third-round pick in 2018, has been lauded as one of the best goalie prospects across the hockey world in recent years – spurred by a four-year, 49-game career in Finland’s Liiga, where he posted 22 wins and a .906. He’s stayed productive in North American pros, with a collective .905 across 114 career AHL games, and a .902 in 29 NHL games, over the last four seasons.

With Wedgewood moved out, Annunen should have a clear path to Nashville’s backup role behind Saros. Starting minutes will be hard to come by – Saros has a .912 in 20 games this season – but Annunen should offer far more upside than career depth-goaltender Wedgewood. Nashville will hope to bank on that upside, while Colorado hopes a greater veteran presence can right their ship – sensible approaches for the teams that respectively rank seventh and fourth in the Central Division.

Flames’ Young Stars Fueling Unexpected Success

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The Calgary Flames held a fire sale between last season and the summer, moving out multiple top-of-the-lineup pieces – including top forward Elias Lindholm, top defenders Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev, and starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom. Calgary moved out more than $24MM in cap space between all of their trades, and yet – as the 2024-25 season prepares to enter December – the Flames sit comfortably in a playoff spot. They’re 12-8-4 so far, ranked third in the Pacific Division and sixth in the Western Conference. Even better, Calgary boasts the third-most cap space in the league – with a projected $25.9MM in current available funds. The hot start and open budget put Calgary in the best spot they’ve been in years, and it’s a direct result of novice general manager Craig Conroy’s timely reliance on the prospect pool.

Conroy emphasized on Sportsnet’s Flames Talk podcast this summer that the goal of the Flames’ season would be to create opportunity for their in-house prospects. 24 games into the season and it seems every single prospect to receive a chance has seized it in full.

Dustin Wolf is quickly establishing himself as a franchise goaltender, posting eight wins and a .918 save percentage through 13 games in what is his formal rookie season. That kind of performance will command respect in the race for the Calder Trophy, even against Matvei Michkov and Logan Stankoven rivaling point-per-game scoring. Wolf is thriving in what is the first hardy starting experience of his career, continuing to dominate North American pros after taking home the AHL’s Les Cunningham ’MVP’ award in 2023, and the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award for goalie-of-the-year in both 2022 and 2023. He spent just a bit too much time with the NHL roster last season to rival either award, but recorded a cumulative 97 wins and .926 save percentage through 141 games and four seasons in the AHL. That ability is now directly benefiting the Flames. Wolf has posted a save percentage above .900 in 61.5 percent of his starts this year, just 0.4 percent behind Markstrom’s tally in 2021-22 – when he finished the year second in Vezina Trophy voting.

Wolf’s dazzling defense of Calgary’s garrison has given youngsters Connor Zary and Matthew Coronato plenty of space to lead the offensive charge. Zary has become Calgary’s third-most utilized forward at even-strength, with 349 minutes of five-versus-five ice time in 24 games – 13 minutes fewer than Nazem Kadri, two fewer than Mikael Backlund, and 12 more than Jonathan Huberdeau. Zary’s had no trouble keeping up with the studded veterans he’s keeping company with, scoring six points at even strength and 12 points on the year as a whole – tying Huberdeau and one behind Kadri. He’s become a core piece of Calgary’s top-six – a role flirted with when he recorded 14 goals and 34 points in 63 games as a rookie last season. The bulk of his scoring, between this year and last, has come thanks to a nonstop motor and ability to play at top speeds. But while Zary’s outskates his opponents on the top-line, Coronato has taken to outworking them in the middle-six. He’s also jumped up the Flames’ scoring chart, with six goals and 10 points in 19 games this season. That’s one fewer goal than each of Kadri and Huberdeau, and puts Coronato on pace for 26 goals across 82 games – which would mark the highest scoring from a U22 Flame since Matthew Tkachuk and Sean Monahan each surpassed the 25-goal mark three separate times before their 22nd birthday.

The surge of production from Zary and Coronato in the top-nine has helped Calgary’s lineup truly settle into place. Utility winger Blake Coleman has been able to resign to a top-notch supporting role, rather than needing to drive play on his own; while Coronato’s role of gritty scorer opens more space for Martin Pospisil to embrace his bruiser tendencies. It’s created a lineup that’s cohesive, multifaceted, and capable of taking on the NHL’s best lineups – made evident by Calgary’s recent three-game stretch of wins over the New York Islanders, Rangers, and Minnesota Wild.

A year intended for retooling has instead become a year of success for the Flames. They’re on an upward trajectory, fueled almost entirely by the team’s timely leaning into their prospect pool. Wolf’s performance as a formal rookie will have Calgary as a top mention in the Calder Trophy race, while Zary and Coronato’s mix of scoring could push the team into the postseason for the first time since 2022. Even without either accolade, the performance of Calgary’s top youngsters this season sets up plenty of reasons to be excited about their long-term outlook.

Central Notes: Brossoit, Hintz, Lundkvist, Stankoven, Lamoureux, Bortuzzo

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Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Laurent Brossoit will need to wait at least six more weeks to make his team debut, after undergoing a second surgery on his knee per Scott Powers of The Athletic. Brossoit signed a two-year, $6.6MM contract with the Blackhawks this summer, but began the year on season-opening injured reserve after a late-summer surgery on his right meniscus. He didn’t return to skating until late October, and hasn’t had a clear timeline until today.

Brossoit moved to Chicago with sights on challenging Petr Mrazek for the starting role. He had built plenty of momentum over the last two seasons – stepping up as a playoff starter for the Stanley Cup-winning Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, and partnering with Connor Hellebuyck to win the Winnipeg Jets last year’s William M. Jennings Trophy for the highest save percentage. Brossoit set a .927 save percentage in 34 games across the pair of years, bringing his career totals up to a .911 save percentage in 140 games, and 10 seasons, in the NHL. But he’s still yet to play 25 or more games in a season despite performing consistently well.

Mrazek has performed surprisingly well in Chicago’s starting role this season, recording a .912 save percentage in 16 games. He’s played in 72 percent of the team’s games this season, putting him on pace for 60 starts. All other ice time has gone to Arvid Soderblom, who’s posted an impressive .926 in six starts. The pair will have at least a month and a half to further plant their feet in the Hawks’ lineup, giving Brossoit a steep hill to overcome when he’s back to full health.

Other notes out of the Midwest:

  • The Dallas Stars will see the return of both forward Roope Hintz (undisclosed) and defenseman Nils Lundkvist (lower-body) on Friday night per NHL.com’s Mike Heika. Hintz sat out of Dallas’ Wednesday loss to Chicago, while Lundkvist has missed the last three games. Lundkvist will replace Brendan Smith, while Hintz will tag out with Logan Stankoven, who’s injured with “a little thing from last game,” per Heika. Hintz has eight goals and 13 points in 20 games this season, two fewer points than Stankoven has managed in 21 games. While they swap out in the top six, Lundkvist will search for his first goal of the season – currently boasting just one assist in 15 games.
  • The Utah Hockey Club is also making some injury-related swaps, with Maveric Lamoureux out four-to-six weeks with an upper-body injury, per a team announcement.  Meanwhile, Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune shares that Juuso Valimaki will step into Lamoureux’s absence, and that Robert Bortuzzo will reenter the lineup after leaving Tuesday’s game early with injury. Lamoureux has one goal and three points in 15 games this season – the first of his NHL career. He’s also recorded a team-leading 42 penalty minutes. That’s a bleak stat line, but still more than Bortuzzo or Valimaki have managed – with both vets still without a point through nine and 16 games respectively. They’ll each get another chance to find the scoresheet on Friday.

Sabres Recall Tyson Kozak With Sam Lafferty Out

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Buffalo Sabres Sam Lafferty left the team’s Friday loss to the Vancouver Canucks with a lower-body injury. Head coach Lindy Ruff shared that Lafferty isn’t expected to play against the Islanders on Saturday, prompting the team to recall forward Tyson Kozak, per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Lysowski adds that Kozak could make his debut right away, leapfrogging Nicolas Aube-Kubel as the team’s extra forward.

Lafferty has just one goal in 21 games this season from Buffalo’s fourth line. He’s added onto that 14 penalty minutes, a -2, and 26 hits – the slimmest stat line of any routine Sabres lineup piece. That should pave a strong path to minutes for Kozak, who seems to have finally found his groove at the pro level. He has five goals and six points in 14 game this season, already matching his goal-totals from 55 games in 2022-23, and 41 games in 2023-24. He’ll become the first seventh round pick from the 2021 NHL Draft to make his debut, should he step in – with the closest NHL company being fifth-round pick Joshua Roy, who’s played 25 games with Montreal.

Kozak was a diligent playmaker in junior hockey, recording 109 points across 152 games with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, though that tenure was interrupted by COVID-19 cancellations. He served as Portland’s captain in his final season of 2021-22, posting 69 points in 66 games with a letter on his chest. He’s not been as diligent at the pro level, but could still hit a strong groove should this hot start to the season continue.

Blues Activate Philip Broberg Off IR, Assign Corey Schueneman

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St. Louis Blues defender Philip Broberg has been activated off of injured reserve and is expected to return to the lineup on Saturday. Broberg has missed St. Louis’ last 12 games since suffering a lower-body injury on an awkward collision with Mitch Marner in the team’s November 2nd win over Toronto.

Broberg was the feel-good story of St. Louis’ early season. He was a buzzer-beater addition to the Blues lineup before the start of the season, with general manager Doug Armstrong successfully offer-sheeting both Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway away from the Edmonton Oilers. Broberg instantly stepped up in his new setting, recording a point in each of his first six games with the Blues. That production, and injuries to Nick Leddy and Torey Krug, were enough for Broberg to climb into a top-line role with the Blues – working his way up to averaging 20:25 in ice time before suffering his injury. He now sits with nine points through 12 games – a 70-game pace of 53 points.

It’s new signs of life for the 23-year-old Broberg who, prior to this year, many classified as the defining bust from the 2019 NHL Draft – where Edmonton selected him eighth overall. Broberg followed his draft selection with two seasons for Sweden’s Skelleftea AIK before joining the Oilers in 2021-22. He started that year in the minors, but earned a call-up after scoring 10 points in his first 14 games. Broberg recorded an assist in his NHL debut, but quickly hit a skid that carried through the end of his tenure in Edmonton. He recorded just 13 points across three seasons and 81 games with the Oilers, spending most of his time bouncing between the NHL and AHL rosters. It was a dismal start to his NHL career – making Broberg’s breakout in St. Louis all the more impressive. He’ll look to stay hot after nearly a month away, and under a new head coach – with Drew Bannister being replaced by Jim Montgomery on November 25th. Montgomery has so far led the Blues to a 2-0-0 record and 8-to-2 goal differential.

In a corresponding move, St. Louis has also assigned veteran depth defender Corey Schueneman back to the AHL. Schueneman returns to the minors after no scoring in four games. He recorded four shots on goal and seven blocked shots, but otherwise stayed quiet while rotating into the lineup with Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Schueneman already has five points in 13 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds. He’s a seven-year veteran of the minor leagues, with 95 points and 257 career AHL games – and seven points in 31 appearances with the Montreal Canadiens between 2021 and 2022.

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