Erik Gudbranson Had Shoulder Surgery, Out Indefinitely
Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson underwent successful surgery yesterday to address the shoulder injury he sustained last week against the Panthers, the team announced. He was already placed on injured reserve. There’s no timeline for his return to the ice.
Unfortunately for Columbus, they’ll be without another veteran leadership fixture for most of the season. Captain Boone Jenner also underwent shoulder surgery earlier this month, which could cost him the entire campaign, general manager Don Waddell said at the time.
While frequently on IR earlier in his career, the 32-year-old Gudbranson has largely managed to stay healthy since inking a four-year, $16MM deal with the Jackets in free agency in 2022. The stay-at-home defender has been severely overtaxed in largely top-four minutes, though, posting a -38 rating and a poor 43.4 CF% at even strength in 151 appearances as a Jacket while averaging north of 20 minutes per game.
Through three games this season, Gudbranson had no points, an even rating, four hits, and three giveaways while also taking a minor penalty. While a relative non-factor on the ice thus far, he’s an invaluable part of Columbus’ leadership team and was the third-oldest player on the active roster behind newcomers Jack Johnson and James van Riemsdyk.
The right-shot blue-liner’s long-term absence surely means that 2022 No. 6 overall pick David Jiříček will see more minutes than he has to begin the season. The 20-year-old has sat in the press box for most of the campaign thus far and only just made his season debut over the weekend against the Wild, paired with Johnson and recording an assist and a +1 rating in 11:23 of tice time.
Stars Activate Matt Dumba From Injured Reserve
The Stars will have defenseman Mathew Dumba‘s services again starting tonight against the Sabres. He’s been activated from injured reserve and will dress in Buffalo, relays the team’s Mike Heika.
Dumba has skated less than a half-hour’s worth of game action this season. After signing a two-year, $7.5MM deal to join the Stars in free agency over the summer, he sustained a lower-body injury in just his second game of the year against the Islanders on Oct. 12. It’s an awfully quick turnaround time for the injury, which was initially feared to require surgery and had him downgraded from day-to-day to week-to-week. All in all, the 30-year-old only misses about a week and a half and four games’ worth of action.
Also returning to the ice against the Sabres tonight are forwards Tyler Seguin and Sam Steel. Neither was on IR, but Dallas returning Matěj Blümel to the minors over the weekend was still a good indication they’d be back in the fold. Seguin had a lower-body injury that had kept him out for three straight, while Steel missed just one contest with an undisclosed injury.
The Stars are looking to get Dumba back on track after back-to-back underwhelming seasons. The former top-four fixture with the Wild was let go in the 2023 offseason and signed with the Coyotes, where he struggled to the tune of 10 points and a -13 rating in 58 games before being flipped to the Lightning at the trade deadline. He was a non-factor in a bottom-four role in Tampa before signing his multi-year deal with Dallas a few months ago.
In a small sample, early signs weren’t promising. The right-shot defender logged top-pairing minutes alongside Miro Heiskanen, but the duo struggled to control play with an xGF% of just 33.3, per MoneyPuck. Dumba was held off the scoresheet in his brief stint in the lineup and logged three giveaways, but he did end up with a +2 rating and four hits.
The Stars will go back to the Heiskanen-Dumba experiment tonight, per Robert Tiffin of D Magazine. How long it remains past Tuesday’s contest remains to be seen.
Rangers To Activate Ryan Lindgren From Injured Reserve
Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren will make his season debut tonight against the Canadiens, head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters, including Peter Baugh of The Athletic. He’ll need to be taken off injured reserve in the coming hours, but since he was already counting against the salary cap and the Rangers have an open spot on the 23-man roster, there’s no corresponding transaction necessary.
Lindgren won’t be entering the lineup in his usual top-pairing role, however. Laviolette added that he’ll pair Lindgren with rookie Victor Mancini, who’ll be playing in just his sixth career game tonight. The 2022 fifth-round pick out of Nebraska-Omaha was a surprise inclusion on the opening night roster after a strong training camp and has a goal, an assist and a +3 rating through five appearances this season. He’s averaged 15:03 per game, playing a third-pairing role alongside either Zachary Jones or Chad Ruhwedel.
It’s not entirely surprising to see Lindgren taken off his usual top-pairing home, even if it’s just temporary until he gets back up to speed. The 26-year-old is coming off a difficult season that saw him log the worst possession impacts of his career, posting a 47.8 CF% and 48.6 xGF%. Meanwhile, K’Andre Miller has flourished early on this year after being bumped up to first-pairing duties alongside Adam Fox. The two have controlled 71.3% of expected goals when deployed together, per MoneyPuck, and he’s got a goal and an assist to his name thus far.
Lindgren had been out with an upper-body injury he sustained in a preseason game against the Islanders nearly a month ago. It’s a delayed start to what will be an important season for the injury-prone defender, who narrowly avoided arbitration this summer with a one-year, $4.5MM agreement to walk him to unrestricted free agency next year. With Miller’s continued emergence and Lindgren’s declining defensive impacts, it’s unlikely he’ll be brought back if he can’t turn things around quickly.
While a 2016 second-round pick of the Bruins, Manhattan is the only NHL home Lindgren’s ever known. He was part of the return that sent Rick Nash to Boston at the 2018 trade deadline, and he’s since scored 10 goals and 70 assists for 80 points with a +99 rating in 333 games for the Blueshirts.
Blues Sign Jake Neighbours To Two-Year Extension
The Blues will avoid restricted free agency next summer with young winger Jake Neighbours. He’s put pen to paper on a two-year, $7.5MM extension, per a team release.
It’s a solid bridge deal for the 2020 26th overall pick. Now 22, Neighbours emerged as a top secondary goal-scoring option for St. Louis last season. He tied with Pavel Buchnevich for second on the team in goals with 27, although he only added 11 assists for a more pedestrian 38 points in 77 games. He averaged 15:42 per game, sixth among Blues forwards, and shot at a team-high 18.6%. The 6’0″, 201-lb winger was also one of their more physical players, registering 138 hits.
Neighbours serves in a top-six role, most recently at right wing alongside Buchnevich and sophomore Zachary Bolduc. But last season’s showing demonstrated that the ingredients are there for Neighbours to remain an effective second-line piece or even a complementary first-line one if the Blues return to routine playoff contention soon.
The Calgary native got off to a slow start this season without a point through his first four appearances but rebounded over the past few days with two goals and an assist in wins over the Islanders and the Hurricanes. He’s averaging 15:48 per game so far this season, up slightly over last year’s usage, and has a -2 rating with 12 shots on goal. His luck should continue trending upward – his possession metrics thus far are pristine (59.6 CF%, 50.0 xGF%) compared to last year’s underwhelming totals (45.1 CF%, 46.7 xGF%).
Neighbours is in the final season of his entry-level contract, which counts $835,834 against the cap and pays him just $832.5K in base salary this season. He won’t receive any performance or signing bonuses this year. PuckPedia reports his extension breaks down to a $3.5MM base salary in 2025-26 and a $4MM base salary in 2026-27 with no bonuses included, working out to a cap hit of $3.75MM.
The Blues now have roughly $8.14MM in cap space for next season, with only four roster spots to fill. That’s assuming the upper limit rises to $92.5MM, as expected. They still need to extend or replace a few depth pieces, namely pending RFA netminder Joel Hofer, but there’s no genuinely groundbreaking offseason business left in 2025 for the Blues’ front office.
The base salary breakdown means Neighbours will be due a $4MM qualifying offer upon expiry in 2027. He’ll be an RFA at that time with one year remaining under team control before becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2029.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Juraj Slafkovský Out At Least One Week With Upper-Body Injury
Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovský will miss at least the next week with an upper-body injury, the team announced today. He hasn’t been placed on injured reserve but can be if needed. He’ll be absent for the team’s next four games at a minimum before being re-evaluated.
Slafkovský is dealing with a suspected shoulder injury sustained while practicing late last week, but he played through it and recorded two assists in a contest against the Islanders on Saturday. They’re shutting him down for now, though – whether that’s due to a setback or just purely for precautionary reasons remains to be seen.
It puts a damper on what had been a decent start to the campaign for the 2022 first-overall pick. Slafkovský wasn’t shooting the puck with nearly as much aplomb as last season, lighting the lamp once on seven shots through six games, but had added five assists to click at a point-per-game pace alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. They’ve really struggled to defend as a unit, though, allowing an eye-popping 4.41 xGA per 60 minutes, per MoneyPuck.
Enforcer Michael Pezzetta will draw into the lineup and make his season debut tonight against the Rangers, the team said. But it’s highly unlikely he’ll shoulder Slafkovský’s vacated first-line minutes. If head coach Martin St. Louis‘ deployment last season is any indication, that honor will likely go to Josh Anderson. He logged over 77 minutes alongside Caufield and Suzuki, second to Slafkovský’s whopping 751 minutes.
Slafkovský’s earliest potential return will be against the Capitals on the last day of the month.
Islanders Recall Liam Foudy
The Islanders announced that forward Julien Gauthier has been assigned to AHL Bridgeport after clearing waivers yesterday. Forward Liam Foudy was recalled to take Gauthier’s place on the active roster and to enter the lineup in place of Anthony Duclair, who will miss multiple weeks after sustaining an apparent left leg injury against the Canadiens over the weekend.
Gauthier clears waivers and heads to the minors after making the Islanders’ opening night roster for the second year in a row. But while it took until February for him to get demoted to Bridgeport last season, his stint on the NHL roster lasted just a couple of weeks this time around. Gauthier sat in the press box for the first four games of the campaign and made his season debut against Montreal, posting zeroes across the board in 7:42 of ice time.
He never reached the potential most expected from him after going No. 21 overall in the 2016 draft. The 27-year-old has never scored more than 10 goals in a season and only hit double-digit points once, notching 14 in a career-high 57 appearances with the Rangers and Senators in 2022-23. Even that career-best production wasn’t enough for the Sens to keep him after acquiring him from the Blueshirts mid-season, opting not to issue him a qualifying offer at the end of the year. He landed with the Islanders on a two-year, $1.575MM contract.
His return to the minors gives Foudy, another former mid-first-round pick struggling to get off the ground, a chance at NHL minutes on Long Island. Once regarded as one of the better prospects in the Blue Jackets system, he’s looking to re-establish himself as a legitimate NHL option after being waived and claimed by the Predators last season and subsequently being non-tendered.
Foudy has split his professional career fairly evenly between the NHL and AHL by looking at total games played, but he was only ever a true fixture in the lineup for one team – the 2022-23 edition of the Blue Jackets. The results weren’t pretty. He tied for 13th on the team in scoring with 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in 62 games, posting a -26 rating and averaging 12:08 per night. The 6’2″, 188-lb winger was responsible with the puck, though, logging 23 takeaways compared to just seven giveaways.
But after making just one appearance for Columbus the following year, Foudy landed on the waiver wire. He was given a fresh start in Nashville, where he managed three assists and a -2 rating in 12 games before landing on waivers again in December. He cleared and was assigned to AHL Milwaukee, where he played out the rest of the campaign. Foudy ended the year with 16 points (10 G, 6 A) and a +7 rating in 28 games in the minors.
Foudy was a late cut from New York’s training camp roster this time around and looked to be high on the list of potential in-season call-ups after once again clearing waivers. After starting the year with four assists in five games for AHL Bridgeport, he’ll look to prove he can carve out a niche for himself at the game’s highest level. He’s one of 12 healthy forwards available with Duclair on the shelf and, as such, should make his Islanders debut tonight against the Red Wings.
Victor Olofsson Out Week-To-Week With Lower Body Injury
Golden Knights winger Victor Olofsson will be out of action on a week-to-week basis with the lower body injury that’s cost him the last two games, head coach Bruce Cassidy said Monday. He’s not yet on injured reserve, but even if they moved him there, they wouldn’t have the cap space for a call-up unless he was placed on LTIR.
It’s a tough blow for the Knights, who are 3-2-1 through six games and fourth in the Pacific Division. Floating around a wild card spot is what most expected from them after losing a few key forwards, namely Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson, to free agency. But their pedestrian record has nothing to do with a lack of offense. It’s the opposite – their 3.83 GF/GP ranks sixth in the league. It’s subpar possession play and a poor showing from Adin Hill (4 GP, .851 SV%, 3.81 GAA) in goal that’s held them back so far.
Before sustaining his LBI, Olofsson looked like he would be an essential part of Vegas’ secondary scoring after inking a one-year, $1.075MM prove-it deal in free agency. The 29-year-old had managed three goals on 11 shots in four games and averaged over 15 minutes per game, his highest usage in three years. He’d logged significant time on the wing with both Tomáš Hertl and Nicolas Roy, and unlike what we’ve come to expect from Olofsson, his defensive impacts were substantial. His 55.4 CF% at even strength ranks as the team’s best by far, night and day, from his often subpar possession metrics over the first six years of his NHL career with the Sabres.
Last year was especially difficult for Olofsson, who was a frequent healthy scratch and had just seven goals and 15 points in 51 games for Buffalo. While he was never a true top-of-the-lineup player, he could at least score with aplomb, routinely shooting at or around 15% and breaking the 20-goal plateau three times in four years between 2019-20 and 2022-23. If he can get back in the lineup before mid-November, he’s likely got a shot at reaching those totals again in a Vegas sweater.
There hasn’t been a clear direct replacement for Olofsson thus far. Outside of the Golden Knights’ top line of Ivan Barbashev, Jack Eichel, and Mark Stone, their other forward units have been in flux for the first few weeks of the campaign. With center William Karlsson nearing a return from the undisclosed injury that’s cost him all of the season to date, don’t expect a corresponding transaction aside from his activation.
Oilers Sign Sam O’Reilly To Entry-Level Deal
The Oilers have signed 2024 first-round pick Sam O’Reilly to a three-year, entry-level contract, per a team release. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
A likely signing bonus in the deal this season will be a nice gift for O’Reilly, who stuck around on the training camp roster longer than most anticipated. The Oilers, who had traded away their first-round pick to the Ducks in last season’s Adam Henrique trade, swung a deal with the Flyers on draft day to move back into the first round at No. 32 overall.
Edmonton then proceeded to make O’Reilly, who doesn’t turn 19 until March, the last pick of the round. The 6’1″ center’s offensive totals didn’t jump off the page in his draft year on a stacked OHL London team, and they’re also not expected to if he cracks the NHL. He projects as a physical depth piece with strong defensive instincts, making him extremely projectable as the Oilers’ No. 3 or No. 4 center in a few years.
A Toronto native, O’Reilly has been slightly underwhelming out of the gate with London this season – as have most of his teammates. However, his two goals and three assists for five points in seven games are only tied for ninth on the team, and his -3 rating is tied for third-worst. It’s still far too early in his post-draft campaign to write him off, though. Allan Mitchell of The Athletic ranked O’Reilly as the No. 2 prospect in the Edmonton pipeline and their best up-and-coming forward piece over the summer. However, he’s been unseated from that role after they acquired 2022 ninth-overall pick Matthew Savoie from the Sabres.
O’Reilly is unlikely to play 10 NHL games this season, so expect his ELC to slide to the 2025-26 season. If he fails to hit 10 NHL GP next year, too, it’s eligible to slide again to 2026-27.
Predators Recall Zachary L’Heureux
The Predators have called up left winger Zachary L’Heureux from AHL Milwaukee, and line rushes indicate he’ll make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Bruins (per 102.5 The Game’s Nick Kieser). Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean was first to report the move, which doesn’t require a corresponding transaction with an open spot on the Preds’ 23-man roster. It appears he’s entering the lineup for Philip Tomasino, who’s headed to the press box after playing just 5:08 against the Red Wings on Saturday.
L’Heureux, 21, was the 27th overall pick in 2021. Most describe the 5’11”, 196-lb forward as an agitator, which might be a contender for hockey’s understatement of the year award. The Montreal native’s games played totals during his time in juniors with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats and Halifax Mooseheads consistently remained low due to multiple lengthy suspensions, and he wound up posting a whopping 197 PIMs in 66 games with Milwaukee last year in his first professional season.
However, that doesn’t take away from the legitimate upside in L’Heureux’s offensive game. After a 19-goal, 48-point regular season, L’Heureux led the AHL postseason in goals with 10 in just 15 games as the Admirals lost the Western Conference Final to Coachella Valley. He also led all rookies in overall scoring with 15 points.
He was also a legitimate scoring threat in juniors, totaling 190 points in 167 career QMJHL games. In February of this year, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked L’Heureux sixth in Nashville’s prospect pool. He’s not cracking many league-wide Top 75 or Top 100 rankings, but he still carries great upside. He could be legitimately impactful in a fourth-line scenario long-term, even if his offensive game never pops at the NHL level.
L’Heureux is expected to suit up on a line with Michael McCarron and Cole Smith as the Preds look to record their first win of the season tomorrow and make progress in getting out of a 0-5-0 hole.
Devils Reassign Seamus Casey, Recall Daniil Misyul
Devils rookie defenseman Seamus Casey will get some reps in the minors after being sent down to AHL Utica, per a team announcement. 24-year-old Daniil Misyul was recalled in a corresponding transaction and will likely make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Lightning.
Casey, 20, managed to crack New Jersey’s opening night roster on his first try, undoubtedly aided by injuries to Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce. But the 2022 second-round pick took the opportunity and ran with it, posting three goals and an assist with a +2 rating through his first eight contests. He’s been highly sheltered by head coach Sheldon Keefe, averaging under 12 minutes per game. That’s related to some shoddy possession metrics, especially considering his frequent offensive-zone deployment. He’s controlled just 40.4% of shot attempts, far below the team average, with his rating boosted by a sky-high 97.8 oiSV%.
The former Michigan standout is also one of four right-shot defensemen on the Devils roster, and he’s been the one tabbed to play on his off side with Hughes out. That likely offers some explanation for his poor defensive showing thus far, but regardless, some extended time in Utica logging top-four minutes on his natural right side should do wonders for his development in his first professional season. It’s also why they’ve recalled a left-shot defender in Misyul.
Casey, who checks in at 5’10” and 181 lbs, had 15 goals and 59 assists for 74 points in 77 games in NCAA play for the Wolverines over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. His offensive dominance helped guide Michigan to the Big 10 championship in 2023 and earned him a spot on the NCAA’s West Region First All-American Team last year.
Misyul has been in New Jersey’s system much longer than Casey, going 70th overall in the 2019 draft. The Belarusian defender came over to North America just last season and is in the final year of his entry-level contract. A physical, stay-at-home talent, Misyul has no points and a -2 rating with 8 PIMs in three games for Utica so far this season. He had 14 points and a +1 rating in 44 appearances for the Comets last year.