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.
Canucks Place Vitali Kravtsov On Unconditional Waivers
2:36 p.m.: It’ll be a three-year deal for Kravtsov back with Traktor Chelyabinsk, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK.
11:55 a.m.: The Canucks placed winger Vitali Kravtsov on unconditional waivers with the intent to terminate his contract, the team announced. It’s presumably a mutual decision, and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow if he clears.
Kravtsov began his second stint in the Vancouver organization when he signed a two-way deal with them in August. The No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 draft last played in North America in the 2022-23 campaign, during which he was sent from the Rangers to the Canucks for William Lockwood, and had spent the last two seasons playing with Traktor Chelyabinsk in his native Russia. He remained on Vancouver’s reserve list during that time because they issued him a qualifying offer when his contract expired, so they were his only option for an NHL return this year if they didn’t trade his signing rights.
The 25-year-old Kravtsov was coming off a resurgent showing in the Kontinental Hockey League. He made 66 appearances for Chelyabinsk last season, notching 27 goals and 31 assists for 58 points with a +31 rating. He was among the most dominant two-way players in the KHL with the only professional club he’s ever suited up for in his home country. There was understandable optimism that he could be a contributor in Vancouver’s top nine as a result, but he didn’t have a great camp and only got into one preseason game. He cleared regular waivers at the beginning of October and began the year on assignment to AHL Abbotsford.
Kravtsov hasn’t had much of an impact in the minors through 10 games, limited to one goal and three assists with a -7 rating. That performance wasn’t going to get him an NHL recall anytime soon, and he’s already been passed over by options like Joseph LaBate and Mackenzie MacEachern during Vancouver’s recent spree of injuries to its forward group. With very little pathway to minutes and him essentially taking up a contract slot for little return in the minors, the Canucks likely have no qualms about losing his rights and letting him pursue a contract elsewhere, likely back in Russia.
Kravtsov will forfeit the remainder of his salary, which would have been $450K if he spent the remainder of the season in the minors. He’ll easily outpace that with a new deal in Russia.
Lightning To Activate Maxwell Crozier From Injured Reserve
The Lightning are activating Maxwell Crozier from injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Avalanche, head coach Jon Cooper told the team’s beat (including the team’s own Gabby Shirley). There’s an open roster spot, so no corresponding transaction will come.
A strong training camp from Crozier, plus an injured reserve placement for Nick Paul, created the space for him to start the year on the opening night roster for the first time. The 2019 fourth-round pick was a standout in AHL Syracuse last season. He was an alternate captain in just his second full professional season and he was the team’s top all-around defender, posting a 9-25–34 scoring line and a +16 rating in 52 outings. Over the prior two seasons, he’d also held his own with two assists, a -2 rating, and 27 hits in 18 NHL games in bottom-pairing deployment.
Not only did Crozier make the opening night roster, he was in the lineup for the Bolts’ first four games. The 25-year-old righty looked like a potential depth breakout piece, rattling off three assists and a +2 rating in limited minutes before he left the fourth game early against the Capitals with an undisclosed injury on Oct. 14. He was labeled week-to-week but started skating again last week.
He was deployed alongside Emil Martinsen Lilleberg to start. The duo didn’t fare particularly well defensively under the hood, only controlling 44.8% of expected goals and posting the third-highest xGA/60 out of the nine pairings the Lightning have used for over 10 minutes this season, per MoneyPuck. That might lead to Crozier getting different looks now that he’s healthy again.
Oilers Activate Alec Regula From Injured Reserve
The Oilers announced this morning that they’ve activated defenseman Alec Regula from injured reserve. They’ve had an open roster spot for quite some time, so no corresponding move is required.
Regula hasn’t played in over three weeks due to an undisclosed injury. He sustained it in just his second appearance of the season and initially avoided IR, but landed there on Oct. 19 when Edmonton needed the roster flexibility. There’s something of a logjam of depth defenders in Edmonton, and while Regula was out, his name began to pop up in trade speculation as the Oilers look to ditch some money. Now that he’s healthy, there’s a greater chance of a move occurring.
The timing of the injury couldn’t have been worse for Regula, who had the chance to establish himself as an NHL regular for the first time in his career. The 25-year-old was a promising two-way prospect just a couple of years ago, but injuries have decimated his development. He missed all of 2024-25 due to a knee injury. He attempted a return midseason, during which he was claimed off waivers by the Oilers from the Bruins, but never got into a game. His showings in the Oilers’ first two games of this season were his first NHL games in nearly three years.
Edmonton is Regula’s fourth stop. He was initially drafted by the Red Wings in 2018 but was traded to the Blackhawks for Brendan Perlini a year later. He spent the majority of his development in the Chicago organization before being dealt to the Bruins in 2023 in the Nick Foligno/Taylor Hall deal. He suited up alongside Darnell Nurse on the Oilers’ second pairing in his Edmonton debut, a job he’s now lost to Jake Walman. The righty had a -1 rating while averaging 15:54 per game, but the duo did post promising under-the-hood numbers in a limited sample with a 57.1 CF% and 72.7 xGF%.
With Walman locking down that top-four job as expected, Regula might be sitting in the press box for a while now that he’s healthy. They’ve gotten solid play out of their third pairing of Brett Kulak and Ty Emberson, which has appeared in all 14 games so far this season. That makes it hard to envision the Oilers benching one of them just for the sake of getting Regula back in unless it’s to boost his value in anticipation of a trade.
Flames Recall Yan Kuznetsov
The Flames recalled defenseman Yan Kuznetsov from AHL Calgary, as first reflected on the team’s roster on NHL.com. They’ve been operating with an open roster spot for a while, so they don’t need to make a corresponding move.
There’s no apparent injury preempting the move. Instead, they’re looking to insert Kuznetsov and make it a four-man rotation that comprises their bottom pairing on most nights. Calgary’s top four has been ironed out for a while, with Kevin Bahl and Rasmus Andersson comprising one pairing and Joel Hanley and MacKenzie Weegar making up the other. That’s led to Jake Bean, Brayden Pachal, and rookie Zayne Parekh all rotating into third-pairing deployment, with all spending significant time in the press box. They’ve dressed seven defensemen at times to get all of them in the lineup, and with another name now in the mix, that may happen more frequently.
While Kuznetsov didn’t crack the opening night roster, the Flames were surely ecstatic to see him clear waivers on his way down to the minors. He’s still only 23 years old and carries some upside as a higher-end shutdown piece on the left side than what they currently have to offer. The 6’5″, 220-lb rearguard was a second-round pick in 2020 out of UConn and has plenty of professional experience, making his pro debut for AHL Stockton back in 2020-21. Through 226 career AHL appearances, Kuznetsov has an 18-37–55 scoring line with 114 penalty minutes and a +21 rating. The Russian is coming off a career year with 21 points and a +21 rating for the Wranglers last year while suiting up in all 72 games.
But assuming Kuznetsov gets into the lineup, it will be just his second career NHL appearance. He didn’t get a call-up last year aside from a stint in the press box in February. His lone big-league game came back in January 2024. He skated 11:58 in a game against the Senators with a -1 rating and two shots.
Kuznetsov’s recall could also be targeted to give Parekh a more defensively sound option to play opposite him on their strong side. Pachal, a righty, has drawn in recently on Parekh’s left with lefty Jake Bean struggling defensively, posting a -7 rating with one assist in 10 games. Bean also has only three hits this season. Kuznetsov could provide Parekh with a more defensively and physically active partner as he looks for more frequent playing time.
Predators Recall Zachary L’Heureux
The Predators have recalled left-winger Zachary L’Heureux from AHL Milwaukee, according to a team announcement. The team has an open roster spot with captain Roman Josi on injured reserve, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.
L’Heureux, 22, is in contention to make his season debut tonight against the Wild after being an unexpected cut from Nashville’s training camp. The 2021 first-round pick spent most of 2024-25 up with the Preds after starting in Milwaukee, making 62 appearances in his rookie season. The aggressive 5’11” forward settled nicely into a bottom-six role, posting five goals and 15 points while averaging a shade over 12 minutes of ice time per game. L’Heureux’s 198 hits led Nashville forwards. He was middle-of-the-pack defensively – the Preds allowed 28.7 shots and 2.84 goals per 60 minutes while he was on the ice at 5-on-5.
The Preds have carried a slim forward group for most of the season. They needed an extra body, though, after the weekend’s announcement that Cole Smith will be out for at least three weeks with an upper-body injury. L’Heureux has thoroughly earned the promotion. Through seven games for Milwaukee, he’s among the club’s top scorers with four goals and two assists.
L’Heureux spent most of his time in the lineup last season in fourth-line duties alongside Smith and center Michael McCarron. It stands to reason he’d have a similar deployment this time around if he slots back in, particularly with fellow early-season call-up Matthew Wood performing well in a top-nine role for the Preds over the last couple of weeks. He’s in the final season of his entry-level contract and needs a new contract to avoid becoming a restricted free agent next summer.
Sabres Recall Noah Ostlund
The Sabres announced the recall of center Noah Ostlund from the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Buffalo does not have an open roster spot, but placed winger Jason Zucker on injured reserve in a corresponding move, per the NHL’s media portal. He’s expected to miss tonight’s game against the Mammoth due to an illness, but the IR placement rules him out for another two games after this one.
It’s the second recall in recent succession for the 21-year-old Ostlund. A first-round pick out of Sweden’s Djurgården in 2022, he still ranked as the Sabres’ No. 3 prospect entering the season. He’s an undersized but extremely cerebral pivot who demonstrated high-end two-way acumen against professionals in his home country. He made the jump to North America last year and has played primarily with Rochester since then, but has gotten a handful of NHL chances – including an 11-day call-up last month.
Ostlund has arguably been the Amerks’ best forward since his arrival. He put together a 19-17–36 line in 45 games last season, along with a +20 rating that led Rochester forwards. The defensive play hasn’t quite been at that level so far in 2025-26, but he’s been a scorching hot playmaker, rattling off a pair of goals and five assists for seven points through his first six minor-league games.
He’s fallen victim to limited ice time and role when given NHL call-ups, though. In 12 career appearances, he’s averaged just 10:50 per game and is still looking for his first career point. His defensive impacts haven’t yet translated, either. That was particularly true during last month’s recall, when Ostlund controlled just 41.3% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 despite starting 75% of his shifts in the offensive zone. He’s struggled in the faceoff dot, too, going 36% on draws.
He’ll nonetheless get another chance here to squeeze into a role as Buffalo’s forward group is decimated by injuries. Not only will Kulich be unavailable tonight, but they’re also expected to be without center Jiri Kulich as he deals with an undisclosed injury. That’s on top of the four forwards they already had on injured reserve before today, a list that includes a pair of top-six names in Zach Benson and Joshua Norris. As such, Buffalo’s lineup card will be submitted tonight without five of its top 12 forwards on the organizational depth chart.
Hurricanes Recall Pyotr Kochetkov From Conditioning Stint
Sunday, 7:10 p.m.: Kochetkov’s conditioning stint wound up being short-lived as the Hurricanes announced that they’ve recalled him, along with defenseman Domenick Fensore, from Chicago. Kochetkov made 22 saves on Saturday against the Marlies while Fensore, sent down just yesterday, was held off the scoresheet for the Wolves this afternoon.
Friday, 5:31 p.m.: Kochetkov will be returning to game action, just not for the Canes just yet. They’ve assigned him to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on a conditioning stint, which can last up to two weeks. He remains on the active roster during this time.
Friday, 12:23 p.m.: Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is off injured reserve and will be available to dress for the first time this season when they take on the Bruins on Saturday, the team announced. Defenseman K’Andre Miller landed on IR in a corresponding move retroactive to Oct. 20, so he’s eligible to come off at any time.
Kochetkov was in and out of the lineup during the preseason with an undisclosed injury. That led the Canes to make a claim for Brandon Bussi on waivers, snagging the Panthers’ anticipated No. 3 option off the wire. Kochetkov’s return kept getting pushed back. He was initially labeled day-to-day to start the year, but during the first weekend of the campaign, the team ruled him out for at least another week. He landed on injured reserve a few days later and, nearly two weeks after he was last expected back in the lineup, he’s finally cleared to play.
For now, Carolina will carry three goalies. Bussi has earned the right to stay on the roster with a 3-1-0 record, .916 SV%, and 2.25 GAA in his first four NHL starts. He’s saved 3.6 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, and has been the superior option to starter Frederik Andersen thus far, albeit in a less taxing workload – although Bussi has started two of Carolina’s last three games.
At the moment, it’s Andersen’s playing time that’s most vulnerable with Kochetkov now being a factor. The 13-year vet has been middling out of the gate, posting a .892 SV% and 3.11 GAA in six appearances with a 4-2-0 record. Carolina is playing better defensively this year in front of Bussi than Andersen, though, so those above-average numbers at face value still translate to 0.9 GSAx, according to MoneyPuck.
The 26-year-old Kochetkov is kicking off the third season of a four-year, $8MM extension he signed in 2022. The 2019 second-round pick is looking for a redemption campaign in 2025-26 after a pedestrian 2024-25 campaign in which he logged a .897 SV%, 2.60 GAA, and two shutouts in a career-high 47 starts. Those aren’t horrible numbers by any stretch, but were a significant step back from his .911 and 2.33 marks that earned him All-Rookie Team honors the year prior.
Miller has missed the last four games with a lower-body injury and only just resumed skating. Before his injury, he was operating as Carolina’s de facto No. 1 defenseman after inking an eight-year, $60MM deal this summer as part of a sign-and-trade with the Rangers. Through his first six games with the Canes, he had four points and a +1 rating while averaging 23:32 of ice time per night. He’s one of three top-six defensemen that the Canes are currently missing, joining Shayne Gostisbehere and Jaccob Slavin.
Maple Leafs Place Chris Tanev On Injured Reserve, Recall Dakota Mermis
Sunday: Toronto has reversed this move after Tanev left Saturday’s game on a stretcher in the third period. Tanev will head back to IR, while Mermis has been recalled to the active roster, per Lance Hornby of Post Media. No specifics of Tanev’s injury, or timeline, have been revealed, though Hornby points out that Toronto did not feel the need to place Tanev on long-term injured reserve.
Saturday: The Maple Leafs announced that Tanev has officially been activated. As expected, Mermis has been assigned to the minors to make room for Tanev on the active roster.
Friday: Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev told reporters today, including David Alter of The Hockey News, that he’s cleared concussion protocol and is likely to play Saturday against the Flyers. He’ll need to come off injured reserve to do so, meaning the team must create a roster spot before tomorrow night. Dakota Mermis was the player recalled when Tanev landed on IR last week and could return to AHL Toronto after sitting as a healthy scratch in three straight games.
Tanev will have missed 11 days and four games when his absence comes to an end this weekend. He was on the receiving end of a hit on Oct. 21 against the Devils that caused him to leave the game early.
Before exiting the lineup, the 35-year-old had been his usual stable self. The stalwart rearguard only had one assist in seven games, but his +3 rating is still second among Toronto defensemen despite the absence, and the Leafs were allowing just 1.7 goals per 60 minutes at even strength when he was on the ice. The raw shot attempt numbers aren’t in Tanev’s favor so far – his 46.3 CF% at even strength is 19th out of 22 skaters to play a game for Toronto this season – but that has more to do with a lack of offense coming from Toronto’s forwards when he and usual partner Jake McCabe were on the ice. The duo’s 2.27 xGA/60 is still the lowest among the Leafs’ three regular pairings.
Toronto’s defense needs all the help it can get with its goaltenders not holding up their end of the bargain. After receiving some of the best puck-stopping in the league last season, the Leafs’ goaltenders have been the main culprit behind their underwhelming 5-5-1 record through October. Anthony Stolarz has only managed a .886 SV% in eight starts, while waiver-claim backup Cayden Primeau, playing in place of Joseph Woll (who’s on the verge of returning from an extended personal leave), has an .838 mark in his three starts.
Senators Reassign Hunter Shepard, Recall Leevi Merilainen
Sunday: The Senators have reversed yesterday’s roster move, reassigning Shepard back to AHL Belleville and recalling Merilainen. Merilainen made the most of his short AHL stint, saving 38 of 42 shots in the AHL Senators’ 7-4 win over the North Division-leading Syracuse Crunch yesterday. Merilainen’s win gives Belleville a 4-4-1 record through nine games.
Saturday: The Senators continue to swap out their backup goalies. The team has recalled Hunter Shepard from AHL Belleville to serve as the benchwarmer behind Linus Ullmark tonight against the Canadiens, per a club announcement. Leevi Merilainen has been returned to Belleville in a corresponding move.
The impetus for the transaction is playing time for Merilainen, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. The Senators only have two games in the next seven days following today’s contest. Merilainen is expected to get the start for Belleville tonight before being recalled again for Thursday’s game against the Bruins.
Ottawa continues to ride Ullmark as they try to get their high-paid starter out of his early-season funk. Luckily for him, he’s gotten plenty of goal support in his 10 starts to contribute to a 5-4-1 record. He’s strung together a few quality starts recently, but has still underwhelmed on the whole with a .863 SV% and 3.36 GAA. His -7.0 goals saved above expected rank last in the NHL, according to MoneyPuck.
Merilainen has only gotten two starts in the meantime. His first one was a disastrous outing against the Sabres back on Oct. 15, allowing seven goals on just 26 shots. He rebounded nicely nearly two weeks later with a 26-save performance and .929 SV% in a dominant win over the Bruins, though. He also has a .897 SV% in two games so far with Belleville this season on previous short-term demotions.
His waiver-exempt status is something the Sens are taking full advantage of early in the year. Shepard has already cleared waivers, doing so back in September, so he can be rostered for up to 30 days before he needs to clear them again. It’s the second time in a few days the Sens have recalled him to serve as a backup. He sat on the bench for Merilainen’s start against the Bruins while Ullmark got the night off entirely. The 29-year-old has a .909 SV% and 3.02 GAA in four appearances for Belleville, his first in the Sens organization after spending the previous five years in the Capitals’ pipeline.