Sharks Recall Zack Ostapchuk
4:41 p.m.: It’s an IR placement for Misa as the corresponding move, per Peng. He sustained the injury in the morning skate prior to yesterday’s game, so the placement can only be backdated to Nov. 5. That puts him out for San Jose’s next three games. He’ll be eligible for activation on Nov. 13.
3:13 p.m.: The Sharks have recalled center Zack Ostapchuk from AHL San Jose, according to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. With no open roster spot, they need to make a corresponding move. That will presumably be an IR placement for either William Eklund or Michael Misa, both of whom are ticketed to miss tomorrow’s game against the Jets with lower-body injuries.
Both Eklund and Misa missed yesterday’s 6-1 drubbing of the Kraken as well, which means San Jose was forced to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Ostapchuk gives them a 12th forward to slot in against Winnipeg if they want to go back to the traditional allocation. Acquired from the Senators in last year’s Fabian Zetterlund deal, the 22-year-old pivot isn’t off to a great start in the minors. Through nine AHL games, he has two goals and an assist with a -4 rating.
Ostapchuk, a second-round pick back in 2021, hasn’t had sustained offensive success anywhere since turning pro in 2023. He was well over a point per game in his final year in juniors, but aside from 11 points in 15 games for AHL Belleville last year before the trade, he has yet to pop. He spent most of last season up in the NHL with Ottawa and San Jose, but only recorded one goal and four points in 56 appearances while averaging 9:25 per game.
His long-term ceiling likely remains that of a fourth-line center. He showed he can at least handle the role last year and posted solid possession metrics in 13 games with the Sharks down the stretch – evidenced by a -1 rating despite not recording a point. He won 48.6% of his faceoffs, a good number for a pivot in his age-21 season with plenty of room to grow.
Ostapchuk will remain waiver-exempt this season but loses that status for 2026-27. He’ll get another chance here to stick around in a fourth-line role for the Sharks as he aims to push Misa or fellow AHL call-up Ethan Cardwell out of a job when San Jose gets back to carrying a healthy forward group.
Devils Place Brett Pesce On IR, Activate Cody Glass
The Devils officially announced that defenseman Brett Pesce has been placed on injured reserve. His roster spot will go to center Cody Glass, who’s coming off IR and will be available tonight against the Canadiens.
Pesce’s IR placement is backdated to his last appearance on Oct. 26. Since that’s more than a week ago, he can technically be activated at any time, but he’ll be on IR for at least a couple of more weeks. The team said Pesce, who’s dealing with an upper-body issue, won’t be back until Thanksgiving at the earliest.
In his second season in New Jersey, the 30-year-old continues to play as their top shutdown option. Not including his last game, in which he played 6:07 before leaving with the injury, he was averaging 21:20 of ice time, which would stand as second on the team amid what’s been an incredibly balanced deployment from head coach Sheldon Keefe regarding his back end. Of the Devils’ six regulars on defense, none has averaged more than 22 minutes per game, and none has averaged less than 16.
Before the injury, Pesce had three assists and a +3 rating in nine showings. He was Luke Hughes‘ right-hand man at even strength with spectacular results. Among the 104 defense pairings with at least 60 minutes together, Hughes and Pesce’s 60.2 xGF% ranks 10th, per MoneyPuck.
Seamus Casey and Dennis Cholowski have rotated into the lineup in Pesce’s absence. The former is no longer an option, at least for now, after he was sent back to AHL Utica yesterday in exchange for veteran Colton White.
As for Glass, the Devils are welcoming him back after a 16-day, seven-game absence. He played in six straight to start the year before sustaining an upper-body injury against the Maple Leafs on Oct. 21. So far, he’s given New Jersey decent reward for the two-year, $5MM contract they signed him to this summer. He had two goals and a +1 rating while seeing 12:34 of ice time per game. He was centering the third line between Connor Brown and Arseny Gritsyuk before exiting the lineup. Glass returns to that slot tonight, per Mike Morreale of NHL.com, but will have Ondřej Palát on his flank instead of Brown as the latter deals with an undisclosed injury for the third straight game.
Blues Expected To Scratch Jordan Kyrou
A tough start in St. Louis is coming to a head today. The club is making top-six winger Jordan Kyrou a healthy scratch for tonight’s game against the Sabres, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.
While likely a message-sending vehicle to the entire team rather than targeted at Kyrou, it’s still a perplexing decision for a club scoring 2.71 goals per game, 24th in the league. Few Blues have performed up to expectations through 14 games, Kyrou included, but he’s still tied for second on the team in scoring with four goals and eight points. He’s fourth among forwards in average ice time per game at 17:23.
It’s also hard to attribute St. Louis’ 4-8-2 record to much else other than their goaltending. Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer have combined for one of the more disastrous starts from a goalie tandem in recent memory. Among the 43 goalies with at least five games played this season, Binnington’s .859 SV% ranks 40th, and Hofer’s .836 SV% ranks last. They’ve combined to allow 11 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. With even average goaltending, the Blues are looking at a -10 goal differential instead of their current -21 and would be hovering around .500 instead of four games below it.
The group of skaters, as a whole, has largely held up its end of the bargain. There hasn’t been a dominant offensive force – Pius Suter‘s nine points lead the team – but they’ve put together above-average two-way play, including a 54.4% share of high-danger chances at even strength. Individual ratings like Kyrou’s -8 mark and Brayden Schenn‘s -13 are deceptively low because of the goaltending behind them. St. Louis’ de facto second line, featuring Kyrou, Schenn, and Dylan Holloway, has actually been quite adept at controlling play. Out of 54 forward line combinations with at least 60 minutes together, their 58.7 xGF% ranks 13th, per MoneyPuck. In terms of raw shot attempts, they’re still a respectable 27th at 54%.
Kyrou was frequently mentioned as a trade candidate last summer, including being linked to the Canadiens more than once. That talk largely quieted after Kyrou’s full no-trade clause kicked in on July 1. As of now, there’s been no indication that he’s been asked to waive it or that he’d be willing to do so if asked. He’s only in the third year of an eight-year, $65MM deal that carries a cap hit of $8.125MM.
While it’s been a tough stretch, Kyrou is as consistent a high-end second-line/fringe first-line piece as they come. He’s topped 30 goals for three years in a row and has finished with no less than 67 and no more than 75 points in the last four years. His early-season pace now puts him on track for 47 points over an 82-game schedule, which he won’t achieve with tonight’s scratch. While he’s finishing slightly below his career average at 12.5%, it’s a general lack of chance generation that brings his point totals down. He’s registering 21% fewer shots on goal and 12% fewer shot attempts per game than he did last year.
Several Teams Showing Interest In Vitali Pinchuk
There are still several months to go until the end of the regular season, when the international free agent market begins to pick up. Nonetheless, European leagues start their seasons earlier than the NHL, meaning sample sizes are large enough by the time November rolls around for teams to begin to identify breakout targets.
One of those names to keep an eye out for is Belarusian center Vitali Pinchuk, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. “Several teams” have made contact with his representation as he mulls a jump to North America following the conclusion of his season with Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, where he’s spent the vast majority of his professional career.
Pinchuk, 23, isn’t a total stranger to North American hockey. He was initially draft eligible in 2020 and spent that season in the Ontario Hockey League in hopes of boosting his chances of being picked. The 6’3″, 203-lb pivot recorded 13 goals and 34 points in 54 games with a -12 rating, but wasn’t picked. When the OHL closed its doors for the 2020-21 season due to the pandemic, Pinchuk returned to Belarus, where he has remained ever since.
He made his KHL debut for Dinamo the following year. He was a fixture of Belarus’ teams at the World Juniors until the country was banned from international competition by the IIHF for its part in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – in fact, he was named the country’s top young player in 2021. His development has been a slow burn, but he had his first meaningful breakthrough in the 2023-24 season. After posting limited point totals in bottom-six jobs over the previous few years and struggling to stay in the lineup, he worked his way into a top-nine job with Dinamo with nine goals and 22 points in 43 games.
It was last season that Pinchuk began to take on star status in the KHL. Dinamo’s 39-21-8 record last season was its best in eight years, and Pinchuk finished second on the club with 25 goals and fifth with 43 points in 66 games. This season, the club is off to a torrid 13-5-3 start with Pinchuk clicking at a point per game, logging a 9-12–21 scoring line through 21 contests.
A point-per-game season in the more offensively conservative KHL is no small feat. Only three players hit the mark last season after seven achieved it in 2023-24. Keeping up that pace will be challenging for Pinchuk, but even still, he’s one of only 13 names with at least five games played at this point in the year to be at or above the mark.
Pinchuk turns 24 in January, so that will be his signing age if he inks an NHL contract next summer. That limits him to landing a one-year, entry-level contract that would make him a restricted free agent in 2027.
Hurricanes Activate K’Andre Miller From Injured Reserve
After a two-and-a-half-week absence, K’Andre Miller is set to make his return to the Hurricanes lineup. The team announced that Miller has been reinstated from injured reserve today and will play tonight against the Wild.
Miller arrived in Carolina over the offseason to much fanfare, signing an eight-year, $60MM deal as part of a sign-and-trade with the Rangers. It’s a major bet on Miller’s upside by Carolina after he stagnated in a second-pairing role in New York over the past few years. The left-shot’s seven goals and 27 points last year were his lowest offensive outputs since his sophomore campaign in 2021-22, and he posted his second straight season with a sub-50 xGF% and only recorded 107 hits, down from the 150 range in the three years prior.
Early on, Miller delivered on the Hurricanes’ expectations. The 2018 No. 22 overall pick flourished in increased usage, averaging north of 23 minutes per game and delivering a pair of goals, four points, and a +1 rating in six outings before he sustained a lower-body injury against the Golden Knights on Oct. 20. That last outing was a tough one for him – he had a -3 rating in a 4-1 loss and he posted an xGF% of 39.3.
His return is incredibly welcome news for a team that’s played most of the last two weeks without three of their most well-regarded blue liners in him, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Jaccob Slavin. Slavin hasn’t played since sustaining a lower-body injury in the second game of the season and still doesn’t have a return on the horizon, while Gostisbehere is out indefinitely with an abdominal issue. He’s expected to skate in second-pairing duties tonight with Jalen Chatfield while rookie Alexander Nikishin gets to continue his strong play in top-pairing duties with Sean Walker.
Blue Jackets Recall Luca Del Bel Belluz
The Blue Jackets announced that they have recalled center Luca Del Bel Belluz from AHL Cleveland. Defenseman Erik Gudbranson was moved to injured reserve in the corresponding move.
Del Bel Belluz’s addition to the roster comes in the wake of an injury to top center Sean Monahan, who left last night’s game against the Flames after sustaining an apparent upper-body injury late in the second period on an awkward collision into the end boards with Calgary rearguard Rasmus Andersson. Columbus isn’t expecting Monahan to miss significant time, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports, but a short-term absence still appears likely.
Del Bel Belluz is in his third season of professional hockey after the Jackets picked him in the second round of the 2022 draft, 44th overall. He’s in the second year of his entry-level contract, which carries a reduced cap hit of $859,999 because of a pair of slide years. With over $16MM in cap space, according to PuckPedia, there’s virtually no limit on the roster moves Columbus can make.
The No. 4 prospect in Columbus’ system got his first legitimate taste of NHL action last season and looked the part. He made his debut the previous season but only played in one game. That time around, he got 15 appearances in January and February, also due in part to a Monahan injury. He was given bottom-six deployment but still averaged a respectable 13:45 of ice time per game, about 50 seconds of which came on the power play. He was productive in his chance, scoring twice and adding six assists for eight points. He only won 43% of his faceoffs – as to be expected for a rookie – and he wasn’t particularly physical with just four hits. His possession impacts were undesirable as well, although the Jackets will wait for a larger sample size before making any determinations on the quality of his two-way play.
While his defensive growth remains a question mark, Del Bel Belluz’s offensive ceiling is evident. In a Columbus pool flush with up-and-coming centers, he has some work to do to stand out, but he is making a real push. Now, 21, he has three goals and five points through his first seven games for Cleveland this season. Last year, he was named to the AHL’s All-Star Game amid a 27-goal, 53-point effort in 61 showings.
Columbus already had Yegor Chinakhov sitting as an extra forward, but he’s a winger. With Monahan facing missed time, they wanted insurance down the middle. They have options already dressed on the wing who can easily slot in down the middle – Boone Jenner and Cole Sillinger, in particular – but, understandably, head coach Dean Evason doesn’t want to mess too much with a forward group that’s helping Columbus generate 32.8 shots per game, second-most in the league.
The Blue Jackets aren’t back in action until Saturday, so they have some time to make a determination on Monahan’s status. As for Gudbranson, he’s on his second multi-game absence of the season already. He hasn’t played since Oct. 25 due to a hip issue, so since he’s missed more than a week, he’s eligible for activation at any time. The 33-year-old has only made four appearances this season because of his hip problem and a previous upper-body issue. He’s averaged only 14:51 per game and has a -2 rating.
Maple Leafs Activate Scott Laughton, Reassign Easton Cowan
5:00 p.m.: As expected, the Maple Leafs confirmed they’ve activated Laughton from the injured reserve. Additionally, the team shared that they’ve reassigned Cowan in a corresponding roster move. The 20-year-old scored one goal and four points while averaging 12:33 of ice time throughout his 10-game debut with Toronto.
11:39 a.m.: Maple Leafs center Scott Laughton will be activated from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s clash with the Mammoth, he told reporters (including Luke Fox of Sportsnet). Toronto does not have an open roster spot and will need to create one to activate him. That could mean an IR placement for Steven Lorentz, who has sat out two games with an upper-body injury, meaning his placement could be retroactive to Oct. 29. If he’s also available against Utah, the team could send down rookie Easton Cowan or Dakota Mermis. They could also waive either Sammy Blais or Calle Järnkrok, who are both projected scratches.
Laughton hasn’t had a chance to suit up in the regular season. The 31-year-old anchored Toronto’s fourth line during the preseason, often flanked by Lorentz and Cowan, a combination most thought would stick but hasn’t gotten the chance to play together. He sustained a lower-body injury during a match late in camp and was ruled week-to-week, forcing him to start the season on IR.
Toronto paid a steep price to acquire Laughton from the Flyers at last season’s trade deadline, parting ways with winger Nikita Grebenkin and a conditional first-round pick in 2027. For that return, Philadelphia retained half of his remaining salary, which means the pending UFA only counts for $1.5MM against Toronto’s cap. That makes his underwhelming performance down the stretch last season more palatable if it’s a sign of things to come for the balance of 2025-26. The 12-year veteran only managed two goals and four points in 20 regular-season games for the Leafs before a two-assist performance in 13 playoff games.
Some of that can and should be attributed to a decrease in role. Laughton had been a top-nine fixture in Philadelphia for the past five-plus years but was immediately relegated to fourth-line and penalty killing duties upon arrival in Toronto. His ice time dropped from 15:06 per game with the Flyers to 13:06 per game with the Leafs, and his most common linemates last season were Lorentz and Järnkrok, who only combined for nine goals and 26 points themselves.
Nonetheless, scoring hasn’t been a problem for the Leafs this year. Their stars have held up their end of the bargain in the wake of Mitch Marner‘s departure, and the team’s 3.62 goals per game is third in the league. They’re allowing as much as they’re generating, though, in part due to underwhelming goaltending from Anthony Stolarz and Cayden Primeau. Nonetheless, Laughton’s defensive acumen is what Toronto is looking forward to the most as they try to build upon what currently sits as the fifth-worst defense in the league.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 11/5/25
View the transcript from today’s live chat with Josh Erickson in the embedded window below or by clicking this link:
Tristan Jarry, Justin Brazeau, Noel Acciari All Out Multiple Weeks
Yesterday, eyes raised when the Penguins placed all of goaltender Tristan Jarry, winger Justin Brazeau, and center Noel Acciari on injured reserve without much explanation. Today, the team’s public relations department provided updates on each of them. Acciari and Jarry have been shut down for the next three weeks due to upper and lower-body injuries, respectively, while Brazeau will miss at least four weeks with his upper-body issue.
It’s an especially unfortunate blow for Brazeau. The right-winger has already missed two games, but before his absence, he was one of the league’s best breakout stories. The 27-year-old has been stapled next to Evgeni Malkin after signing a two-year, $3MM deal with Pittsburgh in free agency and erupted with four goals in his first four games. He’s kept that pace up and was clicking at a point per game with a 6-6–12 line before getting hurt.
This is Brazeau’s third NHL season and just his second as a full-timer. Undrafted, he spent time in the Maple Leafs and Bruins organizations on minor-league deals before landing his first NHL contract from Boston midway through the 2023-24 campaign. He had 11 goals and 22 points last season in 76 games between Boston and Minnesota, where he was traded at the deadline.
His line with Malkin and Anthony Mantha has been nothing short of dominant offensively, playing a crucial role in Pittsburgh’s 8-4-2 record, which has seen them score the second-most goals in the league. Malkin is off to a vintage start with 16 assists and 19 points in just 14 games, while Mantha has more than held his own with a 6-5–11 line after missing most of last season due to ACL surgery. Philip Tomasino has replaced Brazeau on that line but is still looking for his first goal of the season after six appearances. It’s unclear if that will hold after the Pens’ roster moves yesterday.
As for Jarry, his injury quells what’s also been an impressive comeback season. After languishing with a .892 SV% in 36 appearances last season and even ending up on waivers, Pittsburgh’s formerly undisputed No. 1 has returned to form in a platoon with newcomer Arturs Silovs. They’ve started seven games each, and while Silovs has the slightly more impressive numbers, Jarry has still been well above the mean with a .911 SV%, 2.60 GAA, one shutout, and a 5-2-0 record. His 4.8 goals saved above expected are 14th in the league, per MoneyPuck.
How Pittsburgh distributes its goaltending workload in Jarry’s absence is perhaps the most compelling storyline to emerge from today’s news. The team has eight games in the next three weeks. Top prospect Sergei Murashov was called up yesterday and will presumably start at least two of them – they play the Kings on Nov. 9 and the Kraken on Nov. 22 in the second half of back-to-backs. That could mean a stretch of six in eight for Silovs, a workload he hasn’t seen at the NHL level since being forced into action for the Canucks in the 2024 playoffs.
Acciari’s injury is the second notable one in the past couple of months. He was a non-factor for most of training camp while recovering from a core muscle injury, but returned late in the preseason. It’s unclear if his upper-body designation is related to that previous abdominal issue, but it’s a possibility. He’s played in 13 out of 14 for the Pens, managing three assists and a +3 rating while averaging 12:56 per game and winning a career-high 60.4% of his draws. He’s been a quietly valuable piece at the bottom of Pittsburgh’s lineup with Connor Dewar and Blake Lizotte.
Capitals To Activate Rasmus Sandin From Injured Reserve
The Capitals will activate defenseman Rasmus Sandin from injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Blues, head coach Spencer Carbery told reporters (including Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post). They quietly placed center Pierre-Luc Dubois on IR in the corresponding move after receiving word he’ll be out for several weeks.
Sandin hasn’t played since Oct. 21 due to an upper-body injury, missing five games. He’s been skating in a non-contact jersey for over a week now, so conditioning shouldn’t be much of an issue.
Before the absence, Sandin was off to a fine start. His offensive production was a bit lacking through seven games, logging only two assists after hitting 30 points in 82 games last year. However, he supplemented that with a +3 rating and has been increasingly active with the puck on his stick. His 3.14 shot attempts per game stand as a career high, and he also demonstrated a bit more physicality than usual, with 16 hits. Overall, he’s been a bit more involved in the play than he was last year, despite only a marginal increase in average ice time from 19:11 to 19:24 per game.
The 25-year-old is in the early stages of his third full season with Washington after being acquired from the Maple Leafs near the 2023 trade deadline. He’s seen his ice time slightly reduced during his tenure, as the club has added other notable names like Jakob Chychrun via trade and Matt Roy via free agency. However, he still plays a critical support role and could see his usage increase after this season if pending unrestricted free agent John Carlson doesn’t return. While regarded as an offensive-minded blue liner, he’s been paired with Roy at even strength this season and used in a primarily defensive capacity. The duo has only allowed one goal against in 76 minutes of 5-on-5 play, but has also only been on the ice for one goal for during that time.
Chychrun slotted in next to Roy in Sandin’s absence, and that duo fared better, both in actual goals share (60%) and expected goals share (64.6%), per MoneyPuck. They’re keeping that duo together and bumping Sandin down to third-pairing deployment with Trevor van Riemsdyk as a result, according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. Sandin will still quarterback Washington’s second power play unit.