Evening Notes: Gustafsson, MacEwen, Jets
The 2025-26 season may very well be the last for defenseman Erik Gustafsson in North America. According to a report out of Sweden, Gustafsson has been discussing a new contract with the SHL’s Djurgårdens IF for the 2026-27 campaign.
It’s been some time since Gustafsson last played in his native Sweden. His final appearance for Djurgårdens IF was during the 2012-13 season with their HockeyAllsvenskan team, where he scored seven goals and recorded 23 points in 49 games, achieving a +12 rating. Since then, it’s been all NHL for the Nynäshamn, Sweden native.
Should he sign in the SHL next season, few would be surprised by it. Gustafsson has been stashed in the AHL for most of the season by the Detroit Red Wings. He has been a top-pairing option for the league-leading Grand Rapids Griffins, scoring two goals and 20 points in 21 games with a +19 rating.
Additional evening notes:
- The New Jersey Devils will be without at least one bottom-six forward for the rest of the year. After being placed on the team’s injured reserve in mid-November, the Devils announced that Zack MacEwen would miss the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign after undergoing ACL surgery. He’ll finish the season, his first in New Jersey, going scoreless in three games, averaging 6:20 of ice time per game.
- According to team reporter Connor Hrabchak, the Winnipeg Jets may be without a pair of options tomorrow against New Jersey. Apparently, forward Morgan Barron and Neal Pionk are considered day-to-day with upper-body and lower-body injuries, respectively. Winnipeg ended an 11-game skid against the Kings last night, winning by a score of 5-1.
Pacific Notes: Garland, Coleman, Saad
The Vancouver Canucks are expected to get a boost to their forward core during their current road trip. According to Thomas Drance of The Athletic, forward Conor Garland should return in the near future.
Garland, 29, has not played since December 30th due to an upper-body injury. Regardless, he remains fourth on the team in scoring with seven goals and 22 points in 33 games, averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time per night.
It’s no surprise that the team has struggled in his absence. Since going down with an injury, the Canucks are 0-2-2 in their last four, and are on their way to their sixth straight loss, this time against the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening.
Other notes from the Pacific Division:
- The Calgary Flames are dealing with a minor injury to one of their prized trade deadline candidates. According to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet, forward Blake Coleman is set to miss the next few days with an upper-body injury. Still, a day-to-day issue at the maximum may be seen as a blessing by the Flames as they contemplate trading the 34-year-old forward at the deadline this season. Coleman has 13 goals and 21 points in 44 games this season.
- According to the team at SinBin, Vegas Golden Knights forward Brandon Saad won’t be available for tonight’s contest due to an undisclosed injury. The two-time Stanley Cup champion has two goals and seven points in 39 games this season, averaging 13:53 of ice time in a bottom-six role.
Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Panthers, Bruins, Kesselring
The Toronto Maple Leafs could get a major boost to their goaltending on their upcoming road trip next week. According to David Alter of The Hockey News, Anthony Stolarz is nearing a return to the team and is expected to join them next week. It would be the first time the Maple Leafs have their normal goaltending duo available since November 11th.
Even before going down with an upper-body injury in mid-November, Stolarz didn’t look the same as he has in years past. He posted a 6-5-1 record in 13 games with a .884 SV% and 3.51 GAA. For comparison, with the Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, Stolarz managed a 37-15-5 record in 61 games with a .926 SV% and 2.10 GAA from 2023-24 to 2024-25.
Meanwhile, in a separate update from Alter, the Maple Leafs haven’t yet decided on the possibility of surgery for defenseman Chris Tanev. Sharing a statement from head coach Craig Berube, Alter quoted the coach saying, “Not yet. I’m sure that’ll be soon here about what he’s going to do.” The 16-year veteran has been ruled out with a groin injury since December 28th, with the rest of the 2025-26 season in doubt for him.
Additional notes from the Atlantic Division:
- The Florida Panthers are missing a pair of potential forward options for their game tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Before the game, team reporter Jameson Olive announced that Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk would not participate in tonight’s contest. Tonight marks two games in a row missed by Marchand, who participated in the team’s practice this morning (X Link). Tkachuk has been rumored to return for the last little while now, recovering from an adductor surgery from the offseason.
- Despite putting up a 10-spot on the New York Rangers earlier today, the Boston Bruins had a few higher-level forwards leave relatively early into the contest. In separate announcements, the Bruins shared that Elias Lindholm had exited the contest with a lower-body injury, and Morgan Geekie departed to attend to a family matter. Despite leaving the game with an injury after 12:05 of ice time, Lindholm finished the contest with two assists.
- According to an article from Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald, defenseman Michael Kesselring should make a return to the Buffalo Sabres relatively soon. Regardless of his current health status, the 25-year-old blue liner can’t make his return to the Sabres lineup until next Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers due to the IR activation requirements. He went scoreless in 16 games before going down with a lower-body injury on January 6th.
Los Angeles Kings Make Multiple Roster Moves
The Los Angeles Kings will have a different look against the Edmonton Oilers tonight. According to a team announcement, the Kings have returned forward Corey Perry from the non-roster list, placed Anže Kopitar on the injured reserve, and have reassigned Cole Guttman to the AHL’s Ontario Reign.
Perry, 40, missed two games for the Kings while on the non-roster list. The team didn’t fare well without him, losing in overtime to the San Jose Sharks and in regulation to the struggling Winnipeg Jets. Regardless, he’ll provide Los Angeles with more offense at the very least, scoring nine goals and 21 points in 35 games while averaging 13:33 of ice time per game.
Not only has Perry been one of the better scorers on the team in his age-40 season, but he’s been one of the most responsible. Regarding Kings’ forwards that have played in 25 or more games this season, Perry is fifth on the team in CorsiFor% with a 53.9% mark.
Meanwhile, Kopitar lands on the IR, having missed the same number of games as Perry over the last little while. The Kings’ captain has been dealing with a lower-body injury and won’t be eligible to return until Wednesday against the Vegas Golden Knights due to the IR requirements for activation. He’s scored six goals and 21 points in 37 games throughout the duration of his final season in the NHL.
Lastly, Guttman will return to AHL Ontario after not appearing in a game for Los Angeles. The former bottom-six forward for the Chicago Blackhawks is in his first year with the Kings organization after signing a two-year, $1.55MM contract last summer. He’s been a solid player in the AHL this year, scoring nine goals and 23 points in 31 games, good for fifth on the team in scoring.
Toronto Maple Leafs Activate William Nylander
The Toronto Maple Leafs will return their highest-scoring player tonight. According to a team announcement, the Maple Leafs have activated William Nylander from the team’s injured reserve.
The news aligns with an earlier report from David Alter of The Hockey News stating that Nylander will return to the lineup, and defenseman Jake McCabe is a game-time decision. Nylander has missed two weeks with a lower-body injury.
Still, despite missing their highest-scoring player for 14 days, the Maple Leafs haven’t noticed. Toronto is 4-0-2 without Nylander, climbing to 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings and two points back of the final wild-card spot.
Regardless, Toronto will warmly welcome Nylander and his offensive prowess back into the lineup. The 29-year-old winger is again on pace to register more than 80 points this season, scoring 14 goals and 41 points in 33 games while averaging 19:10 of ice time per game.
However, there are some newfound concerns with Nylander on the defensive side of the puck this season. Although he has 39 more games to correct the issue (if he remains healthy), Nylander’s CorsiFor% at even strength (47.0%) and on-ice SV% at even strength (86.0%) have each fallen to a career low. Despite averaging more than a point per game, even his expected +/- has fallen into the negatives for the first time since his rookie season in 2015-16.
Meanwhile, it would be equally beneficial for the Maple Leafs to get McCabe back into the lineup for different reasons. The 32-year-old blue liner has arguably been the best defenseman for Toronto this season, scoring three goals and 16 points in 41 games with a +26 rating. Unlike Nylander, most of McCabe’s value this season has come from the defensive side of the puck, averaging a 91.7% oiSV% at even strength.
Golden Knights Activate Shea Theodore, Reassign Dylan Coghlan
Although the team has yet to announce it, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that the Vegas Golden Knights have activated defenseman Shea Theodore from the injured reserve. The move was expected, considering the Golden Knights announced they had reassigned Dylan Coghlan to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights earlier today.
Theodore’s return to the lineup should serve as a major boost to the Golden Knights at even strength and on the power play. Despite missing the past few weeks with an upper-body injury, Theodore remains the highest-scoring defenseman on the team with four goals and 20 points in 31 games, averaging 24:01 of ice time per game.
It couldn’t come at a better time for them either. Even though they’ve won their last two contests, Vegas went 0-3-2 without Theodore in their lineup. The team saw a slight decrease in power-play effectiveness in his absence, averaging 25.89% with him and 23.53% without him.
Still, as much as the Golden Knights may want to unleash Theodore for the sake of winning games, it may be a shrewder move to slow-play his return as much as possible. Injuries for the last several years have seriously hampered Theodore. He has only appeared in 75 or more games twice in his 11-year career, with the most recent being the 2021-22 season.
Meanwhile, Coghlan has been assigned to AHL Henderson for the third time this season. Regardless, he’s only appeared in one game for the Golden Knights this season. He’s understandably been much better with AHL Henderson, scoring five goals and 16 points in 28 games. It’s his first year back with the Golden Knights organization since the 2021-22 season.
Edmonton Oilers Reassign Riley Stillman
The Edmonton Oilers have shedded one of their depth defenseman off the active roster. According to a team announcement, the Oilers have reassigned Riley Stillman to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
Stillman, 27, has been with Edmonton for nearly a month. He was recalled on December 12th, and has been enjoying his time as the team’s seventh defenseman since. Despite being on the team for that long, he has only appeared in four games, scoring zero points while averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time per game.
He’ll return to a Condors club where he’s already registered 22 games on the season. Still, it’s been a fairly disappointing first year with the team, scoring two goals and seven points with a -8 rating. Still, if he continues on his current pace when he returns to the lineup, he’ll reach double-digit point totals for the second time in his AHL career.
It’s been some time since Stillman was a consistent player in the NHL. During the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, Stillman skated in 102 games between the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, and Buffalo Sabres, scoring three goals and 20 points with a -21 rating, averaging 14:51 of ice time per night.
Since the Oilers didn’t make a corresponding roster move, it gives credibility to the idea that Jake Walman will return to the team soon. Mark Spector of Sportsnet hinted as much today, indicating that Walman is expected back in the near future.
Walman, who is one year away from beginning his seven-year, $49MM extension in Edmonton, hasn’t appeared in a game since November 20th when he went down with a lower-body injury. He skated in 17 games before the injury, scoring three goals and 10 points in 17 games with a -3 rating, with a 49.0% CorsiFor% at even strength.
Blues Sign Philip Broberg To Six-Year Extension
According to a team announcement, the St. Louis Blues have signed pending restricted free agent defenseman Philip Broberg to a six-year, $48MM ($8MM AAV) extension. The new deal will keep Broberg in St. Louis through the 2031-32 NHL season.
The staff over at PuckPedia revealed Broberg’s contract breakdown relatively soon after:
- Year 1: $10MM salary
- Year 2: $10MM salary
- Year 3: $9.25MM salary, full no-trade clause
- Year 4: $6.75MM salary, full no-trade clause
- Year 5: $6MM salary, 20-team no-trade clause
- Year 6: $6MM salary, 15-team no-trade clause
It’s impressive how well Broberg has turned his career around since joining the Blues organization. Broberg, 24, was drafted eighth overall in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, but never found his way with the organization.
He spent a few years in his native Sweden after being drafted, primarily with the SHL’s Skellefteå AIK. It wasn’t until the 2021-22 season that Broberg finally made the journey to North America, splitting time between the Oilers and the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
The two-way defenseman played fairly well with the Condors, scoring 11 goals and 65 points in 87 games with a +23 rating over three years. Unfortunately, he didn’t even come close to that production in Edmonton, finishing with two goals and 13 points in 81 games with a -5 rating.
Much of that had to do with his usage. He only averaged 12:42 of ice time throughout his tenure in Edmonton, starting most of his shifts in the offensive zone. Despite averaging a fairly solid 54.9% CorsiFor% at even strength, the Oilers never gave Broberg much room to grow.
Due to limited salary cap space, the Oilers delayed contract negotiations with Broberg after his entry-level contract expired following the 2023-24 season. There was speculation that he might receive a more significant role with the team after a strong performance throughout the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. Helping the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006, Broberg finished with two goals and one assist in 10 games with a +8 rating, averaging 15:48 of ice time.
That’s when the Blues stepped in. In a rare move, St. Louis signed Broberg, along with teammate Dylan Holloway, to an offer sheet. The Oilers declined to match either offer, and the Blues acquired both Broberg and Holloway for a few draft picks.
Averaging more than 20 minutes a night throughout his first year with the Blues, Broberg immediately became the defenseman that Edmonton thought he would be when they drafted him. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with eight goals and 29 points in 68 games with a +21 rating. Despite seeing his CF% at even strength drop to a career low, Broberg was exceptional on the defensive side of the puck, finishing with a 93.7% on-ice SV% at even strength.
Much of that has continued this season. Broberg has played in all 45 games for the Blues, and is now averaging more than 23 minutes a night in a top-pairing role. He’s remained an enthusiastic shot blocker and one of the highest-IQ blue liners on the defensive side of the puck.
Although the salary is nearly double what Broberg is already paying, it’s difficult to argue that he isn’t worth it. In early December, despite suggesting that contract talks hadn’t begun yet, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic speculated that Broberg could earn as high as an $8MM salary on his next deal, and that proved exactly right. AFP Analytics projected him a bit lower at $7.3MM on a long-term deal.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images.
Buffalo Sabres Recall Zachary Jones
Saturday: It was a short-term demotion for Jones as WGR 550’s Paul Hamilton relays (Twitter link) that he is back up with Buffalo to once again serve as the reserve defender. The assignment was simply to get him into a game with AHL Rochester to keep him fresh.
Friday: The Buffalo Sabres announced that they’ve reassigned depth defenseman Zachary Jones to the AHL’s Rochester Americans. The Sabres are now down to six defensemen on the active roster.
Since the team has an upcoming five-game homestand beginning tomorrow night against the Anaheim Ducks, they may be able to wait a few days before recalling another defenseman if the rest of the core is fully healthy. Still, since Michael Kesselring won’t be eligible for activation until Buffalo’s January 14th contest against the Philadelphia Flyers, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them recall a different option, such as Ryan Johnson for a day or two.
Despite being the second recall of the year for Jones, he has yet to play a game for the Sabres. After being non-tendered by the New York Rangers last offseason, Jones quickly signed a one-year, $900K agreement with Buffalo on the opening day of free agency.
Although he may have liked to get into an NHL contest by now, it’s been all AHL for the former 68th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. Given his output with AHL Rochester this season, it’s somewhat surprising that the Sabres haven’t gotten him at least one look.
At the time of writing, Jones has scored three goals and 31 points in 28 games for the Americans, leading the team in scoring. He’s only two points back of Ryan Ufko for the highest-scoring defenseman in the AHL with four fewer games played. If he continues his current pace, it’ll be surprising if Jones doesn’t come home with the Eddie Shore Award, annually given to the league’s top defenseman.
East Notes: Sabres, Romanov, Lundell, Laba
In Tuesday’s rendition of Oilers NOW with Bob Stauffer, his guest, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, spoke on the situation in the crease for the Buffalo Sabres. Friedman believes that the Sabres will need to recall Devon Levi sooner rather than later, which would confound an already complicated situation between the pipes.
Even without Levi, Buffalo already has three goaltenders on the roster when healthy: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis. However, in his introductory press conference, new General Manager Jarmo Kekäläinen stated that he wasn’t comfortable having three on the roster and would address that as soon as possible. Since then, Ellis and Lyon have each spent time on the IR, effectively kicking the can down the road.
Despite Kekäläinen’s desire to move a goalie off the roster, Levi remains blocked. Nonetheless, the 24-year-old has made a name for himself, compiling a record of 53-25-15 in 91 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, achieving a .917 SV% and a 2.45 GAA over the past three years. It’s hard to see how Levi could make the NHL roster this season, so the Sabres have more work ahead regarding their goaltending situation.
Additional notes from the Eastern Conference:
- In late November, the New York Islanders shared that defenseman Alexander Romanov would miss five to six months after undergoing shoulder surgery. Giving a little bit more specificity to that timeline today, Andrew Gross of Newsday shared that Romanov is a possibility to return to the playoffs if the Islanders qualify. Given that there was no indication provided otherwise, that means that Romanov’s 2025-26 regular season has concluded. The 26-year-old will finish with one assist in 15 games with a -7 rating, averaging 19:27 of ice time per game.
- The NHL’s Department of Player Safety is involved in last night’s game between the Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens. They have fined Panthers forward Anton Lundell $5,000, the maximum allowable under the current CBA, for high-sticking Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier. Lundell was originally given a double-minor on the play.
- If everything goes according to plan, the New York Rangers will return third-line center Noah Laba to the lineup tomorrow afternoon. According to Peter Baugh of The Athletic, Laba was a full participant at practice today. The 22-year-old forward has been dealing with an upper-body injury since December 31st, and was given a week-to-week recovery timeline.