Senators Place Donovan Sebrango On Waivers
The Senators have placed defenseman Donovan Sebrango on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. That opens a roster spot for winger Drake Batherson, who’s ticketed to come off IR before tomorrow’s game, meaning they don’t necessarily have to place Brady Tkachuk immediately on IR following today’s news that he’ll miss at least a month with an injury to his right wrist.
Sebrango, 23, is in his third season with the Sens organization. He was acquired from the Red Wings in 2023’s Alex DeBrincat trade. He split his first year between the AHL and ECHL before rocketing up Ottawa’s depth chart in 2024-25, serving as an alternate captain for AHL Belleville while even securing a handful of recalls and his NHL debut.
He had a strong enough training camp to work his way onto Ottawa’s opening roster submission and was even in their opening night lineup over offseason trade pickup Jordan Spence. The Sens have been carrying eight defensemen this year, and Sebrango, a lefty, earned a spot with most of his organizational depth competitors being righties. In his four NHL appearances over the last several months, though, he hasn’t shown much. He’s got no points, a -2 rating, no blocks, and one hit while averaging 12:46 per game. For someone who doesn’t provide much offense and has had poor relative possession impacts in his pair of outings this year, that lack of physicality is a sinker. The Sens ended up scratching Sebrango for yesterday’s loss, allowing Spence to make his season debut.
Sebrango was a fine point producer in juniors. The pandemic forced him to make an early jump to pro hockey in Detroit’s system, likely stunting his development. He seemed to get things on track in the minors last year after a few years of bouncing between leagues, managing a career-best 8-12–20 scoring line in 50 games.
He’ll now be available for anyone to claim over the next 24 hours. He sat as a restricted free agent for most of the offseason before signing a two-way deal in September. He costs $775K against the cap, makes $140K in the minors, and will be an RFA next summer with arbitration eligibility. That latter part could serve as a claim deterrent.
Islanders Activate, Reassign Daylan Kuefler
The Islanders have activated winger Daylan Kuefler from season-opening injured reserve and subsequently loaned him to AHL Bridgeport, according to the AHL’s transactions log.
Kuefler, 23, returns to where he’s spent the bulk of the last two seasons since turning pro. He’s in his final season of waiver-exempt status and of his entry-level contract, which he signed in 2023 and makes him a restricted free agent next summer.
A 2022 sixth-round pick, injuries have been a commonality for Kuefler. He’s begun all three of his pro seasons on SOIR, this time due to an upper-body injury. This year’s absence was his shortest. An undisclosed injury delayed his debut with Bridgeport in 2023 until December, while another issue had him out of the lineup until March last season and limited him to 16 appearances with the AHL Isles. As such, the former WHL Kamloops standout hasn’t had much of a chance to develop. He’s seen no NHL ice time and has only made 38 AHL appearances over the last two seasons, recording a 3-6–9 scoring line with a -10 rating and 48 PIMs. He also skated in 17 games with ECHL Worcester in 2023-24, where he had five goals and eight points.
The 6’2″, 190-lb winger was once a high-end threat in juniors. He was passed over in his first draft-eligible year in 2020 and again in 2021, but earned his selection by the Isles on the heels of a 38-goal, 59-point effort for the Blazers in 65 appearances in 2021-22. He was briefly one of the league’s top two-way forwards and tallied over a point per game for Kamloops in 2022-23, but simply hasn’t been able to find that kind of production in the pros.
As a result, he’s likely headed for a non-tender next summer unless he manages a big breakout with Bridgeport this year. He’ll have more runway to do it than he’s used to. If he can stay healthy throughout the campaign, his increased availability will be something of a story to watch for the Isles.
Wild Recall Ben Jones, Reassign Hunter Haight
The Wild announced that forward Ben Jones has been recalled from AHL Iowa. To open an active roster spot, center Hunter Haight was returned to Iowa.
Jones, 26, signed a two-year two-way deal with the Wild in the 2024 offseason. He cleared waivers at the end of last month before missing out on the opening night roster, the third time he’s passed through unscathed since signing in Minnesota. He’s presumably being recalled today to give them a more experienced option to stash in the press box. If they return him to Iowa before he plays 10 games or spends 30 days on the Wild’s roster, he won’t need waivers again.
He’s demonstrated offensive upside at the OHL and AHL levels but hasn’t converted that to NHL points. In fact, he’s yet to get on the scoresheet through 28 career appearances, 26 of them coming with the Wild in 2024-25 amid injuries to their forward group. He had a -3 rating and averaged just 8:23 per game in a fourth-line role, going 12-for-25 on draws (48.0%) and recording 11 blocks and 51 hits. While he made himself known physically, that didn’t translate into any tangible possession impacts – the Wild controlled just 39.7% of shot attempts and 46.3% of expected goals when he was on the ice at even strength.
Jones is on his third NHL organization, starting off as a seventh-round pick by the Golden Knights in their inaugural 2017 draft class. He was non-tendered in 2022 upon completing his entry-level contract and signed with the Flames, where he remained for another two years until reaching Group VI unrestricted free agency and signing with Minnesota. He’s been a legitimate top-six threat in the AHL for the past few years and is coming off one of his better offensive showings on a per-game basis, netting 13 goals and 36 points in 49 games with Iowa last season. He’s added on two assists in two AHL games to kick off 2025-26 as well.
The lack of an offensive track record in the NHL means he likely won’t see consistent deployment unless more injuries arise. Minnesota is only carrying 13 forwards, including Jones, with Nico Sturm and Mats Zuccarello on injured reserve. The Wild are understandably averse to sitting young talent in the press box for long stretches – hence Haight’s demotion – and their fourth line currently boasts two recent fourth-line picks, Liam Ohgren and Danila Yurov. That leaves right-winger Vinnie Hinostroza, who’s pointless with a -3 rating through three games, as the only spot for Jones to compete for.
As for Haight, it’s no surprise to see them move quickly to return him to Iowa after scratching him for yesterday’s win over the Kings. The 21-year-old was a late inclusion on their opening roster submission due to Sturm’s injury and drew in for Minnesota’s first two games of the year over Yurov, who was selected one round ahead of him in the 2022 draft. Haight averaged just 9:22 across his two appearances, went 7-for-16 (43.8%) on faceoffs, and recorded a -2 rating without getting on the scoresheet. He didn’t manage a single shot attempt but did record two hits. It was an unsuccessful debut for him on the whole as Minnesota was outchanced 12-4 with him on the ice at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick.
Haight has three years or 158 games played remaining until he loses his waiver exemption, so he can be ferried to Iowa without risk for a while yet. The Ontario native had 20 goals and 34 points in 67 AHL games last year, his first professional season after four years in the OHL.
Canadiens Extend Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes
11:53 a.m.: Montreal has officially announced the deals. They’re both five-year extensions, per Eric Engels of Sportsnet.
9:33 a.m.: The Canadiens are closing in on contract extensions for front office cornerstones Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Gorton, the team’s president of hockey operations, and Hughes, their general manager, were in the final years of their current deals.
Gorton and Hughes are both in the early stages of their fourth full season in Montreal. Gorton was the first of the duo to be brought into the organization, stepping in as the top hockey decision-maker in the organization in November 2021 after the club fired previous GM Marc Bergevin. He was the interim GM as well for a few months before hiring Hughes later that season.
They inherited a sticky situation – a club in the early stages of a rebuild despite coming off a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2021. Hughes immediately got to work accumulating assets, trading away veterans Tyler Toffoli, Ben Chiarot, Brett Kulak, and Artturi Lehkonen in the handful of weeks between his hiring and the 2022 trade deadline. The following offseason saw them retool further, acquiring Kirby Dach but surrendering Alexander Romanov in a three-team deal while also swapping aging puck-moving blueliners Jeff Petry and Mike Matheson for each other.
Things have been quieter on the trade front since, but they’ve been busy drafting hopeful franchise cornerstones in the first round – Juraj Slafkovsky first overall in 2022 and Ivan Demidov fifth overall in 2024 being the ones so far to establish themselves as NHLers. Their depth picks have already reached heights as well, with 2022 second-rounder Lane Hutson coming off a Calder Trophy and now a fresh eight-year extension. Even with those names aging out, they boast a universally recognized top-five prospect pool and still retain a good amount of draft capital moving forward.
While still early in the life of Montreal’s young core, initial indications are that Gorton and Hughes have pulled off an accelerated rebuild. They have blue-chip prospects at every position – particularly with goaltender Jacob Fowler working his way up from a 2023 third-round pick to being the reigning NCAA Goalie of the Year – and are coming off their first playoff berth since their Cup Final loss.
Undoubtedly, Gorton and Hughes’ asset management has opened the door for Montreal’s playoff window to begin as quickly as it did. In the past few years, they’ve pulled off one of the more impressive asset flips in recent memory – acquiring a first-round pick to take on Sean Monahan‘s contract from the Flames before acquiring another from the Jets when they traded him to Winnipeg two years later. They began conservatively and targeted with their additions last year, acquiring high-priced winger Patrik Laine for barely any assets and upgrading their blue line by swapping youngster Justin Barron for the more experienced Alexandre Carrier a few weeks into the season. Only after reaching the postseason has Montreal really pressed the gas on their rebuild, making one of the biggest deals of last summer with the Noah Dobson sign-and-trade.
In all of that, they’ve also assembled one of the more enviable salary cap pictures in the NHL. Amid rapidly rising market values for players and an aggressively rising cap for the next few years, Montreal has no cap hits above $10MM on its roster while having the vast majority of its core signed through the remainder of the decade. Up front, there’s captain Nick Suzuki at a $7.875MM cap hit through 2029-30, Cole Caufield at $7.8MM through 2030-31, and Slafkovsky at $7.6MM through 2032-33. Their defense has Dobson at $9.5MM through 2032-33, Hutson at $8.85MM starting next season through 2033-34, and Kaiden Guhle at $5.55MM through 2030-31. At present, the only RFAs who will really cash in over the next few years are Zachary Bolduc next summer and Demidov in 2027.
Of course, they still have to finish the job. Montreal’s forward depth remains a concern, particularly in the second-line center slot. That’s a question they’ve been looking to answer long-term since assuming their posts. Nothing about their track record suggests it’ll be a rushed decision, nor does it have to be with multiple core contributors not even at their 23rd birthday yet.
With all that in mind, it’s no surprise that the Canadiens are moving quickly to get these deals done early in the season. Gorton had received interest from other clubs looking to fill GM vacancies last summer, including the Islanders, but the Habs denied him permission to interview.
He’s a seasoned executive, spending previous tenures at the helm of the Bruins and Rangers. For Hughes, though, it’s quite a success story. This post is his first front-office job at any level after working on the other side of the coin as a player agent for Quartexx, a career he held since 1998.
Brendan Smith Agrees To PTO With AHL Cleveland
Oct. 13th: Although his professional tryout with the Blue Jackets proved unsuccessful, Smith will remain in the organization for the time being. The AHL’s Cleveland Monsters announced they’ve signed Smith to a PTO. Smith will play in his first AHL contest since the 2017-18 season.
Aug. 19th: Defenseman Brendan Smith has signed a PTO with the Blue Jackets, according to a team release.
Smith, 36, was once a fringe top-four option but has slid into a definitive No. 7 role in recent years, even sometimes slotting in as a fourth-line winger. He spent 2024-25 with the Stars on a one-year, $1MM deal, spending most of the year in the press box and averaging a career-low 13:13 per game. He logged 32 appearances, recording six points with a -9 rating and 41 hits. The 6’2″, 200-lb lefty didn’t see any playoff action for Dallas, either.
After long stretches with the Red Wings and Rangers to begin his career, he’s now played for three teams, the Hurricanes, Devils, and Stars, in the last four seasons. Smith’s best years came in Detroit, where he topped out with 19 points in 71 games during his first full-time season in the NHL back in 2013-14. He also went his entire career with the Wings without having negative possession impacts at even strength, even once, proving there was some definite defensive upside there when they selected him in the first round in 2007.
When he moved to the Rangers, though, those possession metrics took a hit that they never really recovered from. He even ended up on waivers during the 2017-18 campaign and had a brief demotion to AHL Hartford, although he hasn’t played in the minors since then.
With Columbus, Smith now competes for a contract in a decently crowded mix of depth forwards and defensemen. His ability to jump up on the wing will certainly help his case when doing roster math. He’s not a threat to unseat a name like Erik Gudbranson or Damon Severson for a bottom-pairing role, so his best-case objective would be to unseat the more offensively gifted Jake Christiansen as an extra defender or beat out a name like the newly-signed Hudson Fasching for the 14th forward spot and be used as a flex.
Columbus already has 15 defensemen under contract, 14 of whom will staff the NHL and AHL rosters. That certainly makes it an uphill battle for Smith to land a two-way deal since his fit with AHL Cleveland would be murky.
Red Wings Activate James Van Riemsdyk
The Red Wings announced Saturday that they’ve activated winger James van Riemsdyk from the non-roster list and assigned defenseman Erik Gustafsson to AHL Grand Rapids to open a spot on the active roster. Gustafsson previously cleared waivers on Monday, so he doesn’t need them again for today’s demotion.
van Riemsdyk, 36, will presumably be making his Red Wings debut tonight when they host the Maple Leafs, where he played from 2012-18. JVR joined Detroit on a one-year, $1MM deal with up to $750K in performance bonuses in free agency this past summer after churning out 16 goals in 71 games with the Blue Jackets last year, his most since the 2021-22 season. He’s far from being the 60-point producer he was at his peak but has still averaged a healthy 41 points per 82 games over the last four seasons.
Based on line rushes at yesterday’s practice, van Riemsdyk is likely to draw in for Elmer Söderblom in a fourth-line role alongside Michael Rasmussen and Mason Appleton. That means rookies Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Emmitt Finnie, and Axel Sandin Pellikka will all remain in the lineup after making their NHL debuts in Detroit’s opening-night 5-1 loss to the Canadiens.
van Riemsdyk had missed most of training camp while on personal leave, so he landed on the non-roster list to begin the year as he got back up to game speed in practice. He and Appleton were the most notable signings from what was otherwise a relatively quiet free agency period for the Red Wings.
The reassignment for Gustafsson is the easy path to take after his waiver clearance. The lefty signed a two-year, $4MM contract in 2024 that, like a good portion of general manager Steve Yzerman‘s recent free-agent pickups on the blue line, hasn’t worked out all that well. He only made 60 appearances last season due to a combination of a late-season injury and healthy scratches, and his standing on the team in this year’s camp was further limited by the emergence of Sandin-Pellikka and a new batch of newer, cheaper UFA pickups in Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic.
Gustafsson will still count for $850K against the cap for the Wings while in the minors. After being scratched for Detroit’s season opener, he’ll now be ticketed for his first AHL action in eight years, last recording 17 points in 25 games for Rockford while in the Blackhawks organization in 2017-18.
Predators Activate, Reassign Matthew Wood
The Predators have activated forward prospect Matthew Wood from season-opening injured reserve and loaned him to AHL Milwaukee, according to the AHL’s transactions log. He was in contention for a roster spot in camp, but his injury, combined with RFA Luke Evangelista signing a contract to return to the Preds, squeezed him out of a role. He sustained a lower-body injury early in the preseason and was listed as week-to-week, but has been skating for a couple of days, so he’s evidently cleared to return and will begin his season in the minors.
Wood is entering his first full professional season and the second year of his entry-level contract. Nashville selected him No. 15 overall in the 2023 draft out of UConn, but he transferred to Minnesota for his junior season and tallied 17 goals and 39 points in 39 games there last year before making the call to turn pro. He finished out the year on the Preds’ roster and made six appearances, recording an assist and eight shots on goal while averaging 11:35 per game.
Wood, who remains waiver-exempt through 2027-28 unless he hits 160 career NHL games first, will thus make his AHL debut in the coming days. Ranked as the No. 5 prospect in Nashville’s system by NHL.com, he should be ticketed for a heavy role for Milwaukee out of the gate. It would be surprising not to see him make a legitimate push for a call-up and add to his NHL games played total this season once he gets his feet under him again following his injury. The 6’4″ winger was on the Hockey East All-Rookie Team back in his draft year and ended his collegiate career at age 20 with three seasons already under his belt, scoring a 44-57–101 line in 109 career appearances for the Huskies and Golden Gophers.
Islanders’ Jonathan Drouin Suspended One Game
1:20 p.m.: It’s a one-game suspension for Drouin, the league announced. In DOPS’ video explanation of their decision, they assert there is “no hockey purpose for Drouin’s cross-check.” Drouin asserted his cross-check was inadvertent in today’s hearing.
9:26 a.m.: Jonathan Drouin‘s Islanders debut was a multifaceted one. He got the club’s first goal of the season in what ended up being a 4-3 loss to the Penguins, but was ejected with 15 seconds left in the contest for cross-checking Pittsburgh forward Connor Dewar, costing them any chance at a game-tying goal. He’s now going to have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety today and is facing a likely suspension, the league announced.
The play in question occurred after a whistle. As Drouin and Dewar were giving each other some shoves after play had stopped, Drouin raised his stick and delivered a high cross-check to Dewar’s face (video via Frank Seravalli of Bleacher Report). Suspensions for similar incidents over the past few years have usually warranted only one or two games. For someone without a history with DOPS aside from a $5K fine in 2022, it stands to reason his ban will be on the lighter side if he receives one at all. Since his hearing is over the phone, he’s only eligible to be suspended for up to five games.
Aside from that, it was a solid debut from Drouin after signing a two-year, $8MM contract in free agency. His goal was his only shot, but he had four attempts, logging almost 20 minutes of ice time while suiting up on the team’s top even-strength and power-play unit. The Isles outshot Pittsburgh 6-4 with Drouin on the ice at 5v5 and controlled 53.6% of expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick.
If he misses time, rookie Max Shabanov could see a promotion to top-line duties with Bo Horvat and Emil Heineman. Shabanov started camp on that unit with Horvat and Drouin, but ended up starting the year in a third-line role while Heineman got a bump late in preseason. He also scored last night in what was his NHL debut. If he moves up, Anthony Duclair could see a corresponding promotion to top-nine duties after playing opening night as New York’s fourth-line left wing. One of Marc Gatcomb or Kyle MacLean would enter the lineup after sitting as scratches for the opener.
Drouin still counts against the active roster while he’s suspended, so the Islanders wouldn’t be able to make a corresponding recall unless they free up a spot somewhere else.
Jets Reassign David Gustafsson
Oct. 10: Gustafsson cleared waivers and will head to the AHL, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Oct. 9: The Jets will place forward David Gustafsson on waivers today, head coach Scott Arniel said (via Murat Ates of The Athletic). He’ll be designated as a non-roster player in the interim to make room for Jonathan Toews, who was placed on injured reserve at the beginning of the week but is being activated before tonight’s home opener. It’s the first time in Gustafsson’s seven-year career in North America that he’s been exposed to the wire.
Winnipeg could have easily ferried waiver-exempt prospects Parker Ford or Brad Lambert to AHL Manitoba instead, so seeing them instead risk losing Gustafsson on waivers is a notable development. Neither Ford nor Lambert is projected to be in tonight’s lineup, but they’ve now both broken camp with the Jets in earnest alongside fellow youngster Nikita Chibrikov.
Gustafsson, 25, has been a sound two-way depth piece but never developed offensively as Winnipeg hoped for when selecting him in the second round of the 2018 draft. He’s never pushed his way above a 13th/14th forward role and has only averaged 25 appearances per year over his six NHL campaigns. He’s been a non-factor on the scoresheet as a result, never scoring more than three goals or seven points in a season. Over the last three years, only 13 forwards with at least 100 games played have produced a lower points per game than Gustafsson’s 0.157 clip.
Of course, no one will produce many points when their ice time is as limited as Gustafsson’s is. He averaged 8:59 per game last year, and that’s 11 seconds above his career average. He does carry value as a fourth-line fill-in down the middle due to his faceoff acumen, boasting a 51.2% success rate in 689 career trips to the dot. He also had impressive possession impacts last season, controlling 51.0% of shot attempts at even strength despite 74.4% of his zone starts coming in the defensive end.
If he clears waivers, he’ll head to Manitoba. He hasn’t seen AHL ice since recording three assists in six games on a conditioning stint in the 2023-24 season. His last full-time assignment to the Moose was in 2021-22, when he put together a respectable 15-15–30 scoring line in 47 games.
Avalanche Activate Ilya Solovyov
The Avalanche have added defenseman Ilya Solovyov to their active roster, according to Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports. He started the year on the non-roster list, awaiting his work visa after Colorado claimed him off waivers from the Flames last week. The Avs cleared a roster spot earlier in the week by assigning fellow defender Jack Ahcan to the minors.
As a result, Solovyov has been cleared to practice with the team and will be available for Colorado’s third game of the season tomorrow. They’re 2-0-0 to start the year after handling the Kings on opening night and eking out a 2-1 win over the Mammoth yesterday. The Avs’ defense has held up decently well so far as constructed, so it’s likely Solovyov could be relegated to the press box for a while unless an injury occurs. The team has hovered around a league-average 29 shots against per game but has been propped up by a hot start between the pipes from Scott Wedgewood, who’s saved 56 of 58 shots faced for a .966 SV%, while starter Mackenzie Blackwood remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Even still, the 25-year-old Solovyov is ticketed for his most regular NHL role yet. The 2020 seventh-round pick had been a tweener for the last two years in Calgary, making 10 appearances in 2023-24 and five in 2024-25. He’s got four assists and a -6 rating in those 15 career contests and averaged 15:49 per game. The 6’3″ lefty was a physical force in those call-ups, recording 25 blocks and 26 hits, but overall struggled to control possession with a 47.0 CF% at even strength. The Avs will be hoping to boost that last number if he gets more consistent reps in the lineup.
Solovyov was waived to begin last season as well, but made it through. His claim came on the heels of a career year in the minors, posting a 6-22–28 scoring line and a +8 rating in 59 showings for AHL Calgary.
It might be worth watching if he gets a spot in the lineup over Sam Malinski in the coming days. Their third pairing of Malinski and Josh Manson, both righties, has only controlled 41.7% of expected goals so far, while their top two pairings have both logged an xGF% of at least 60, per MoneyPuck. Solovyov’s claim was no doubt influenced by the fact that he’s a left shot, an area of Colorado’s depth chart lacking NHL-caliber depth behind Devon Toews and Samuel Girard.