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Central Notes: Hartman, Hunt, Lyubushkin, Fuder

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Despite positioning themselves as buyers for the upcoming deadline season, the Minnesota Wild have reportedly looked to move a veteran off the roster to clear out additional cap space. According to a recent article from Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff, the Wild reportedly attempted to send Ryan Hartman to the Philadelphia Flyers before acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes.

If Minnesota wants to move out salary, Hartman is likely the easiest choice. Every other notable forward on the roster has no-movement protection in their contracts, whereas Hartman only has a 15-team no-trade list. Since the Wild reached out to Philadelphia first, it’s safe to assume that the Flyers aren’t on that list. He has some experience in Philadelphia, scoring two goals and six points in 19 games for the Flyers back in the 2018-19 season.

Aside from the mild trade protection, there’s no questioning why the Wild are looking to move out Hartman. Even when healthy, he hasn’t come close to the production he had in Minnesota from 2021 to 2024. Over the last two years, the 34-year-old veteran has scored 20 goals and 41 points in 103 games, which is less than he had during the 2023-24 season alone.

Other notes from the Central Division:

  • Staying in Minnesota, the team could return to a fully healthy lineup on its upcoming road trip. According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, defenseman Daemon Hunt, the lone remaining player on the team’s injured reserve, is expected to return relatively soon. Hunt has missed Minnesota’s last five games with an undisclosed injury. Fortunately, he’ll have plenty of time to return on the road trip as it will last seven games and 13 days.
  • The Dallas Stars will be somewhat shorthanded in their matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight. Earlier today, team reporter Brien Rea shared that defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin would be out of the lineup due to an illness. It’ll be the 12th game that Lyubushkin has missed this season. The eight-year veteran has registered one goal and seven points in 27 games for the Stars across the 2025-26 campaign.
  • In the Western Hockey League, one of the Stars’ forward prospects was included in a trade this afternoon. According to a league announcement, the third-place Edmonton Oil Kings have acquired forward Jaxon Fuder from the Red Reed Rebels for Poul Andersen, Boris Sigachev, Brock Stevenson, and a conditional 2027 fourth-round pick. Fuder had scored seven goals and 24 points in 27 games for the Rebels before the trade.

Nashville Predators Activate Justin Barron

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The Nashville Predators are back to a fully healthy defensive core. The Predators announced that the team has activated defenseman Justin Barron from the injured reserve.

Barron, 24, has missed nearly half the season due to a lower-body injury. The ailment was suffered in Nashville’s Global Series matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 16th, and he hasn’t played since.

If Barron returns to the lineup tonight against the St. Louis Blues, his absence will end at 16 games. Before the injury, Barron was largely disappointing in his offensive output, registering four assists in 19 games while averaging 15:43 of ice time per game.

Still, he’s again averaging above a 50.0% CorsiFor% at even strength, and has managed an 89.8% on-ice save percentage at even strength, his best output with the Predators since being acquired around this time last year.

Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that Barron will draw into the lineup, even after Nashville traded away Spencer Stastney a few weeks ago. Both defensemen who were expected to stay in depth roles this year, Nick Blankenburg and Adam Wilsby, have performed well this season, with the former scoring four goals and 15 points in 26 games.

Since Barron doesn’t offer an immediate improvement on either blue liner, Nashville may stay the course with its existing options. The Predators are 7-3-0 in their last 10 leading up to the Holiday break and have climbed back into the playoff conversation in the Western Conference.

Atlantic Injury Notes: Zucker, Jeannot, Samoskevich, Mrtka

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The hottest team in the Eastern Conference should be getting a boost to its forward core relatively soon. Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald reported in a recent article that forward Jason Zucker has returned to practice with the Buffalo Sabres. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that he’ll return during Buffalo’s upcoming three-game road trip, which begins on Monday.

Zucker, 33, has missed the Sabres’ last seven games with both lower and upper body injuries. Still, given that he may not return until after Buffalo returns from their upcoming road trip, that number may reach 11 games. Fortunately, the Sabres haven’t missed a beat since Zucker exited the lineup, winning all seven games and climbing to two points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

In the article, Zucker expressed his frustration with not being included in the team’s recent hot streak, saying, “It’s been terrible watching, but it’s been great to see everyone playing well throughout the lineup.” He remains seventh on the team in scoring with nine goals and 18 points in 21 games, averaging 15:36 of ice time per game.

Other injury notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Sabres’ opponent tonight, the Boston Bruins, will be playing somewhat shorthanded up front. The NHL’s Heather Engel shared earlier that forward Tanner Jeannot will miss tonight’s game with an undisclosed injury, and there’s no word on how long he’s expected to miss. Jeannot, who signed a five-year, $17MM contract with the Bruins last summer, has played surprisingly well this season, scoring four goals and 15 points in 38 games while throwing 113 hits.
  • In a different Atlantic Division matchup, the Florida Panthers may also be down a regular forward for their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening. Team reporter Jameson Olive noted that Mackie Samoskevich will be a game-time decision. Still, head coach Paul Maurice, via Olive, suggested that Samoskevich is trending toward playing and chose to wait to name a potential replacement.
  • Aside from the NHL returning to action tonight, the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships are underway, with games commencing yesterday. Team Czechia, which lost a tightly contested opening matchup to Team Canada, could be getting a boost to its defensive core by the end of the weekend. According to Chris Peters of FloHockey, defenseman Radim Mrtka is expected to return against Team Finland on Monday. Mrtka was drafted with the ninth overall pick last summer by the Sabres and has scored one goal and 16 points in 14 games for the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds this year.

Maple Leafs Notes: Berube, Lalonde, Salary

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After the Toronto Maple Leafs fired assistant coach Marc Savard on Monday, many began to speculate that head coach Craig Berube may be on the chopping block as well. Speaking with the media yesterday, Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving put those rumors to bed.

According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, when asked about Berube’s future in Toronto, Treliving said, “I want to make it clear. I support Craig fully.” Still, knowing the pressure the Maple Leafs face consistently, things can change relatively quickly in Toronto. Berube is 68-41-9 (61.4% win percentage) as the Maple Leafs’ head coach, but the team has fallen five points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and is in 23rd place in the league standings.

If Berube stays, it won’t be because the Maple Leafs didn’t have any external options, either. The recent head coach of the Dallas Stars, Peter DeBoer, is still seeking a new job and may jump at the chance to guide an Original Six franchise. Since the 2011-12 season, with four different teams, DeBoer has coached his team to eight Conference Final appearances and two in the Stanley Cup Final. However, he has yet to coach a team to the sport’s highest glory.

Additional notes from the Maple Leafs:

  • Now that Savard has exited the organization, the Maple Leafs needed a coach to take over the team’s power play, which is last in the league with a 13.04% success rate. Reporting from Treliving’s media availability, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun shared that Derek Lalonde will be tasked with that duty. During his time as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, the team was one of the best with the man advantage, though much of that rested on the shoulders of Lalonde’s assistant coach at the time, Alex Tanguay.
  • When it comes to how the team will approach the other half of the regular season, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggested that the Maple Leafs could look to move out some money. Pagnotta listed players such as Max Domi, Brandon Carlo, and Matias Maccelli as obvious candidates to be on the move. Still, given that Treliving shared that the team was not ready to punt on the 2025-26 campaign, it’s unlikely that the Maple Leafs are going to make many subtractions from their roster.

Hurricanes Reportedly Tried To Swap Kotkaniemi For Danault

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In a recent episode of Oilersnation Everyday, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported on a recent trade that didn’t go through. Pagnotta suggested that before ultimately dealing him to the Montreal Canadiens, the Los Angeles Kings had conversations regarding Phillip Danault with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Even more fascinating about Pagnotta’s report is that the Hurricanes wanted to include former third-overall pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the package for Danault. The Kings were reportedly less turned off by Kotkaniemi’s $4.82MM salary than they were by the five years remaining on his contract.

Presently, the savings would have been negligible at best. Kotkaniemi is earning roughly $680K less than Danault for this year and next, which wouldn’t even have been enough for Los Angeles to recall another player making the league minimum salary if they needed. Additionally, since Kotkaniemi’s contract runs three years longer than Danault’s, the Kings would have added around $14.5MM in future costs.

There isn’t much separation in their offensive contributions either, despite Danault’s disappointing start to the year. Kotkaniemi has two goals and six points in 20 games for the Hurricanes this season, whereas Danault registered five assists in 30 games before the trade. Furthermore, Danault has the edge in faceoff percentage and on-ice save percentage at even strength, which are critical metrics for supposed middle-six centers.

All that suggests that the Hurricanes were merely looking to include Kotkaniemi in what would have been a larger package. Carolina doesn’t own their second-round pick this season, but could have attached next year’s second-rounder, or even one of their additional thirds, in a package with Kotkaniemi.

Still, the scrapped trade for Danault is at the very least indicative of how the Hurricanes view Kotkaniemi. As the upper limit of the salary cap continues to rise and Carolina keeps most of their core on relatively team-friendly contracts, Kotkaniemi’s deal isn’t as much of a drain as it has been in years past. However, given the value he provides, or lack thereof, it’s unsurprising to see a competitive team like the Hurricanes looking to move him for an upgrade.

Any deal involving Kotkaniemi will likely be for another underperforming player, similar to Danault’s situation in Los Angeles. Despite not living up to his draft selection, he’s only 25 years old, and some teams may believe they’ll have a chance to squeeze the last bit of development out of him.

Marc-Andre Fleury Reportedly Generating Interest

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Dec. 24th: Speaking on The Kevin Karius Show on Sports 1440, Frank Seravalli suggests that the Oilers are unsurprisingly one of the teams that have checked on Fleury’s availability. Additionally, on the chances of Fleury eventually playing through the last half of the regular season with Edmonton, Seravalli said it’s “70/30.”

Dec. 23rd: The 2024-25 season may not have been the last with ’Flower’ after all. Yesterday evening, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that a few teams have reached out to netminder Marc-André Fleury to gauge his interest in returning for a 22nd season.

As LeBrun noted in his report, it’s relatively unsurprising that teams have reached out to Fleury. The league averaged a .899 SV% in 2022-23 and a .898 SV% in 2023-24, respectively, before dropping to a .893 SV% last year and maintaining the same level this season. Given that he averaged a .902 SV% from his age 37 to age 40 season with the Minnesota Wild in 123 games, Fleury could theoretically provide stability for a team between the pipes.

Still, as much as a few teams may want Fleury on their roster for the final half of the regular season, there’s no guarantee the 41-year-old netminder will reciprocate that interest. If Fleury does return, it will almost assuredly be for a perceived contender for a chance to win the fourth Stanley Cup ring of his legendary career.

However, this season, three out of four teams from last year’s Conference Finals have a SV% below .890 through the holiday season, giving Fleury a few options to pick from.

The Carolina Hurricanes make some sense, but already have three netminders on the roster, meaning one would have to go, at least. The team has relied on rookie netminder Brandon Bussi for much of the season, with inspiring results, but may want an additional veteran presence. Technically, the team already has one in Frederik Andersen, but the 36-year-old netminder hasn’t played since early December and has a .875 SV% through 14 starts this season.

Meanwhile, the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, who are 27th in the league with a .882 SV%, may be of interest to Fleury if he wants to return. Unfortunately, most of that average hangs on starter Sergei Bobrovsky, who has a .888 SV% through 27 games played this season. There’s little chance of Fleury usurping Bobrovsky in the starter’s crease, but he may provide more stability than Daniil Tarasov as a backup.

Lastly, the Edmonton Oilers have been the most infamous team in the league this year when it comes to goaltending struggles. Edmonton is last in the league with a .875 mark, but has seemingly addressed a portion of this issue by acquiring Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins a few weeks ago. Still, given that Jarry is out for the next few weeks, and the Oilers have received putrid results from Calvin Pickard and Connor Ingram, Fleury could round out the goaltending room.

Additionally, the General Manager of the Oilers, Stan Bowman, has a brief history with Fleury dating back to his time with the Chicago Blackhawks. In one of his last moves with the organization, Bowman acquired Fleury from the Vegas Golden Knights in the summer of 2021 before resigning from his post with the Blackhawks three months later.

Wild Activate Zach Bogosian, Reassign Ben Jones

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The Minnesota Wild are nearing a completely healthy roster. Minnesota announced that they’ve activated veteran defenseman Zach Bogosian from the injured reserve and reassigned forward Ben Jones in a corresponding roster move.

Bogosian, 35, has the opportunity to play in his first contest since the middle of December. The 18-year veteran has been nursing a lower-body ailment since the Wild’s game against the Boston Bruins on December 14th.

Bogosian is in his third year with Minnesota after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning partway through the 2023-24 campaign. He’s been fairly limited in his usage throughout his time with the Wild, scoring eight goals and 32 points in 159 games while averaging 16:40 of ice time.

Becoming an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, there’s a legitimate chance that the 2025-26 campaign will be Bogosian’s last in the NHL. He’s still managing fairly high defensive metrics and would be useful to a few teams as a bottom-pairing right-handed shot. Still, his foot speed ranks below the 50th percentile according to NHL EDGE as ’Father Time’ remains undefeated.

Regardless, Bogosian’s activation means the Wild have effectively ended some murky injury troubles. Only three days ago, Minnesota activated four players off the injured reserve, with Bogosian’s placement being one of the corresponding roster moves. Now, depth blue liner Daemon Hunt is the only one that remains.

Meanwhile, Jones returns to AHL Iowa without playing in any games for the Wild during his current recall. Still, he’s appeared in 20 games for Minnesota already this season, going scoreless with a -6 rating while averaging 8:41 of action.

Toronto Maple Leafs Activate Chris Tanev

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After nearly two months, the Toronto Maple Leafs are returning a solid defenseman to the lineup. The Maple Leafs announced that they’ve activated defenseman Chris Tanev from the long-term injured reserve.

It was the second stint on the sidelines for Tanev this season. On October 21st, the 36-year-old blueliner suffered a concussion, but returned relatively soon after on November 1st. Unfortunately, in that game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Tanev suffered a scary-looking injury after taking a hit from Matvei Michkov. After spending the night in the hospital, Tanev has been on the LTIR ever since.

He’s only skated in eight games this season for the Maple Leafs despite the pair of injuries. He’s been relatively solid in those appearances, registering two assists and a +5 rating while averaging 17:20 of ice time. Still, it’s not enough of a sample size to judge whether or not Toronto will get the same version of Tanev they got last season.

Throughout the 2024-25 campaign, his first with the team after signing a six-year, $27MM contract, Tanev was arguably the Maple Leafs’ top defenseman. He scored three goals and 18 points in 75 games with an impressive +31 rating. His 189 blocked shots were first on the team by a significant margin, and his 92.7% on-ice save percentage at even strength was second among defensemen behind Simon Benoit.

Toronto could use his services now more than ever. Despite having a sixth-ranked penalty kill, the Maple Leafs are 25th in the league in GA/G and 28th in shots against per game. Some of this can be blamed on the numerous goaltending injuries the team has faced this season, but Tanev could at least provide more stability from the back end.

Regardless, this won’t be the only transaction coming for Toronto before their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins today. Now that Tanev is back in the fold, the Maple Leafs have 24 players on the active roster, meaning one player will have to get moved back to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies or placed on the injured reserve. Without any new injuries, the likeliest reassignment candidate is blue liner Henry Thrun, who remains several games away from becoming waiver eligible.

Golden Knights Recall Dylan Coghlan, Place Shea Theodore On IR

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A little over a week after reassigning him, the Vegas Golden Knights have brought one depth defender back to the active roster. According to Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Golden Knights have recalled Dylan Coghlan from the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights.

In a follow-up report, SinBin shared that the Golden Knights have placed defenseman Shea Theodore on the team’s injured reserve. He’s expected to miss the next few weeks with an upper-body injury.

Coghlan, 27, is in his second stint with the Golden Knights organization. Vegas signed Coghlan as an undrafted free agent from the WHL’s Tri-City Americans in their inaugural season. He spent two seasons exclusively with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, scoring 26 goals and 64 points in 126 contests.

The following two years were spent entirely with the Golden Knights, scoring six goals and 19 points in 88 games, averaging 13:58 of ice time. Coghlan was included as a sweetener in the salary dump trade that sent Max Pacioretty to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2022.

Despite the new opportunity in Raleigh, Coghlan was hardly utilized at the NHL level, amassing 18 games in two years. Still, he had his best AHL season to date whilst in the Hurricanes organization, registering 16 goals and 41 points in 61 games during the 2023-24 season.

After a one-year stint in the Winnipeg Jets organization, Coghlan made his way back to Vegas last offseason after signing a one-year league minimum deal. He’s only played for AHL Henderson up to this point, managing five goals and 11 points in 23 contests.

Minnesota Wild Seeking To Add Top-Six Winger

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Even after acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes in a blockbuster trade, the Minnesota Wild don’t seem done adding to their roster. According to a recent update from The Fourth Period, the Wild are currently gauging the market for a top-six scoring winger.

The only name mentioned in the article was Vancouver Canucks winger Kiefer Sherwood, whom Minnesota expressed interest in before adding Hughes. While the two teams are unlikely to align on another deal ahead of the trade deadline, the Canucks are likely familiar with the Wild’s assets and who they’re willing to trade.

Sherwood isn’t a prototypical sniper by any means, but he could offer significant value for a team that appears poised for the playoffs. The 30-year-old winger has scored 35 goals in 114 games while playing in Vancouver, averaging 15:43 of ice time per game. His physicality is the most well-known part of his game, averaging nearly 5.5 hits per game over the last two years.

Minnesota is somewhat limited by its available cap space, but not to a rigid degree, especially if they’re only looking into the rental market. Buffalo Sabres winger Alex Tuch may be the best option available leading up to the deadline, while Seattle Kraken’s Jordan Eberle and Pittsburgh Penguins’ Anthony Mantha represent the secondary and tertiary options. Depending on how willing General Manager Bill Guerin is to empty the cupboards, the Wild still have their 2027 and 2028 first-round picks, as well as a few notable prospects.

Still, especially after moving Marco Rossi in the Hughes trade, it’s somewhat surprising that Minnesota isn’t looking to add a top-six center instead. At the time of writing, the Wild are utilizing Ryan Hartman and Joel Eriksson Ek as their top two options.

Unfortunately, and this may explain their hesitancy in exploring the center market, the demand is outpacing supply. Several competitive teams are looking to add a second-line center, meaning an expected seller’s market could price out Minnesota fairly quickly. Nick Schmaltz of the Utah Mammoth, Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins, and Christian Dvorak of the Philadelphia Flyers are potential options in this field, though there’s no indication any of the trio are being shopped, especially the former two.

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