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Blues’ Jimmy Snuggerud, Alexey Toropchenko Out Multiple Weeks

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Despite winning the first two games out of their current three-game homestand, the St. Louis Blues will not come out of it unscathed. The Blues announced that rookie forward Jimmy Snuggerud suffered a left wrist injury that will require surgery, and he’ll be reevaluated in six weeks.

Additionally, the team will be without depth forward Alexey Toropchenko for the next few weeks due to a leg injury, although it is unrelated to any on-ice incident. Toropchenko apparently scalded his legs in an at-home accident. St. Louis has recalled Aleksanteri Kaskimaki from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds to fill in the void.

Losing Snuggerud at any point is a significant blow to the Blues’ offensive core. Still, considering that other high-scoring winger Jake Neighbours only recently returned after missing nearly a month of action, it will be difficult for St. Louis to find any traction.

Though it likely wasn’t enough to earn him a top-three spot in Calder Trophy voting, the University of Minnesota alumnus had gotten off to a quality start to his first full season in the NHL. Snuggerud, 21, has scored five goals and 11 points in 26 games, though he had gone scoreless in his last seven. Still, St. Louis needs all the help they can get in the offensive zone.

Additionally, Snuggerud has shown a level of poise on the defensive side of the puck that is atypical for young wingers. He’s started 52.7% of his shifts in the defensive zone this season, and is first on the team with a 93.2% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

In all fairness, Toropchenko’s absence won’t be as significant as Snuggerud’s. The 26-year-old Russian has only one goal and two points in 17 games this season, though he has been a physical presence in the team’s bottom six, racking up 38 hits.

Meanwhile, Kaskimaki will have the opportunity to make his NHL debut only two years into his professional career in North America. He was drafted with the 73rd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft and spent two years post-draft with the Finnish Liiga’s HIFK, scoring 14 goals and 26 points in 93 games.

Joining the Thunderbirds last season, Kaskimaki finished his rookie campaign with 11 goals and 34 points in 63 games with a -6 rating. His average output has decreased somewhat to begin the 2025-26 season, though he has plenty of time to recover. Through his first 16 games with Springfield this year, Kaskimaki has scored four goals and seven points with a -5 rating.

No Contract Talks Between St. Louis Blues, Philip Broberg

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While the 28th-ranked St. Louis Blues will likely move on from a few pending free agents leading up to this year’s trade deadline, there are a few they could look to extend for the right price. Defenseman Philip Broberg is a prime extension candidate on the roster this season, though Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic writes that no contract talks have taken place yet.

Poached from the Edmonton Oilers last year by way of an offer sheet, the investment turned out well for the Blues. The former 8th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft enjoyed the best year of his career last season, scoring eight goals and 29 points in 68 games with a +21 rating, averaging 20:30 of ice time per night.

It was a clear indication that Broberg was underutilized during his tenure in Alberta. Debuting in the 2021-22 season, Broberg appeared in only 81 NHL contests over the next three years, scoring two goals and 13 points with a -5 rating, averaging 12:42 of ice time. A nearly eight-minute bump in ATOI accounted for over double the production for Broberg.

Outside of his boxcar statistics, his underlying metrics paint a similar picture. Brobert finished with the highest on-ice SV% at even strength for the Blues last year with a 93.7% output. That came despite beginning 53.2% of his shifts in the defensive zone. He averaged an 87.7% mark over his three years with Edmonton.

He’s doing much of the same again for the Blues this year. Through his first 26 games, Broberg has scored two goals and 10 points in 26 games with a -1 rating, averaging 23:25 of action per contest. While a -1 rating is a far cry from the +21 he finished with last season, it’s worth noting that St. Louis is second-to-last in the league with a -23 goal differential.

Still, there doesn’t appear to be internal pressure in the Blues’ front office to get Broberg signed quickly. Rutherford quoted General Manager Doug Armstrong, saying, “There’s no rush with that. We’re going to try and get them signed as quick as we can. If not, they’re restricted free agents. We’ll make sure that we leave enough space available to get those guys signed. The cap’s going up. It’s nice to know, with (other) guys signed, what we can do moving forward. And we can always create space.”

Regardless, his upcoming contract will be a difficult one to project. The Athletic speculated in mid-October that Broberg would earn a $6.7MM salary on his next deal, while Rutherford’s recent article now claims it could climb as high as $8MM. Additionally, AFP Analytics projects a $7.32MM price tag if Broberg were to sign a long-term extension.

All three projected salaries would make Broberg the highest-paid defenseman on the team. It’s typical to desire more offense from a blueliner at that price point, though Broberg has proven to be a capable shutdown specialist that can handle a heavy workload.

Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Simon Lundmark

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11/29/25: The Lightning announced Saturday that they reassigned Lundmark back to AHL Syracuse. Lundmark didn’t dress for the Lightning’s 4-1 road win over the New York Rangers, but at least heads back down to the minors with a game’s worth of salary at his contract’s NHL pay rate.

Lundmark is playing on a two-year, two-way contract containing a league-minimum $775K NHL salary and $250K AHL salary in each year. Since Lundmark has a $350K guarantee for each year, this recall gives Lundmark an ever-so-slightly higher chance of exceeding his guarantee in terms of total compensation by the end of the season, assuming further recalls may come down the line.

11/28/25: The Tampa Bay Lightning are again recalling a depth defenseman as they grapple with multiple injuries. Tampa Bay announced that they have recalled Simon Lundmark from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.

Lundmark’s recall indicates that Erik Černák remains unavailable and could be for the entirety of the Lightning’s upcoming three-game road trip. He’ll serve as the team’s seventh defenseman in the case of another injury, similarly to how the Lightning used youngster Maxim Groshev earlier this week.

Unlike Groshev, Lundmark, 25, is a comparatively veteran presence, although he hasn’t yet debuted in the NHL. He was originally selected with the 51st overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.

In his draft year and the following two years, Lundmark played for the SHL’s Linköping HC. It was a relatively poor showing, especially considering he was drafted in the second round. He scored two goals and 16 points in 118 games with a -20 rating.

Regardless, the Jets brought Lundmark to North America for the 2021-22 season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Although his offense improved, Lundmark continued to play subpar defense, scoring 16 goals and 62 points in 254 games, with a -38 rating.

Having seen enough, Winnipeg non-tendered Lundmark this past offseason, and he signed a two-year, $1.55MM agreement with the Lightning on the opening day of free agency. Unsurprisingly, he failed to crack the team’s opening night roster and was waived in late September. In his first handful of games with the Crunch, he’s registered two assists in 15 games with a -4 rating.

Edmonton Oilers Activate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

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The Edmonton Oilers are getting some much-needed reinforcements. The Oilers announced they have activated forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from their injured reserve. Having 22 players on the active roster beforehand, Edmonton didn’t need to make a corresponding roster move.

Despite missing the last three weeks with an undisclosed injury, Nugent-Hopkins remains the fourth-highest-scoring forward on the Oilers’ roster. It highlights the Oilers’ challenges in spreading the offense around this year. At the time of writing, 44% of Edmonton’s goals this year have come from three players: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Jack Roslovic.

Still, having Nugent-Hopkins back in the mix will alleviate some of those issues. Throughout his 9-game absence, Edmonton has managed a 4-4-1 record, averaging 3.3 GF/G.

The former first-overall pick’s performance this year has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He’s returned to a point-per-game average, scoring five goals and 16 points in 16 games, averaging 18:49 of ice time. However, his defensive metrics have completely cratered.

Although not perceived as one of the best defensive forwards in the game, Nugent-Hopkins has garnered votes for the Selke Trophy in the past, and he’s averaged a quality 90.3% at even strength throughout his time with the Oilers. However, this season, he’s averaged an 85.3% in that department, which would be the worst of his career by a significant margin.

Furthermore, he appears to have lost some of his mojo in the faceoff dot. He averaged a respectable 48.2% success rate over the past two years, but has seen it crumble to 41.3% this season. That’s likely why the Oilers’ coaching staff has primarily played Nugent-Hopkins on McDavid’s wing this season, rather than have him centering his own line.

Regardless, scoring depth and subpar defensive play from Nugent-Hopkins are hardly Edmonton’s biggest concerns this season. Despite getting off to slow starts over the past few years, the Oilers have struggled to overcome their goaltending woes.

Through American Thanksgiving, the Oilers are 10-10-5, putting them sixth in the Pacific Division and 11th in the Western Conference with the third-worst goal differential in the league. Nearly all of that can be placed on the backs of netminders Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, who have produced a combined .860 SV% on the year.

Bruins Place Henri Jokiharju On IR, Recall Michael Callahan On Emergency Basis

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More clarity has been provided on defenseman Michael Callahan’s status from the Boston Bruins’ optional skate this morning. Boston announced that Callahan has been recalled on an emergency basis, and the team has placed defenseman Henri Jokiharju on the injured reserve, retroactive to November 28th.

There hasn’t been much insight into the nature of Jokiharju’s injury, though it’s obviously connected to the Bruins’ loss to the New York Rangers yesterday. It’s something that must have been discovered postgame, as the Finnish rearguard tallied one assist while skating in 20:51 of action.

Regardless, it’s another injury to Boston’s defensive core, who’s already without Charlie McAvoy and Jordan Harris. Despite the injuries, the Bruins haven’t relied on Jokiharju too much, as he’s registered six assists in 25 games on the year while averaging 17:23 of ice time.

Additionally, while Jokiharju’s value has typically stemmed from his play on the defensive side of the puck, he has been one of the worst performers in that regard for Boston this season. Of defensemen on the team with more than 20 games played, Jokiharju is second to last on the roster with an 88.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength. This comes after averaging a 90.8% across six years with the Buffalo Sabres.

Meanwhile, Callahan finds himself in a familiar position, albeit on an emergency basis. He’s spent a significant portion of his season serving as a depth defenseman for the Bruins, though he’s only appeared in three contests up to this point. In Providence, Callahan has registered two assists in 12 games with a +6 rating.

Calvin de Haan Signs Two-Year Extension With Rögle BK

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Veteran defenseman Calvin de Haan isn’t returning to the NHL anytime soon. It has been announced that de Haan has signed a new two-year extension with the SHL’s Rögle BK.

It’s relatively quick work on a new contract. The 34-year-old rearguard is in his first professional season overseas after signing with Rögle in mid-September of this year.

There’s no questioning why de Haan would want to stay, either. The former 12th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Draft is enjoying one of the best seasons of his professional career, scoring three goals and eight points through his first 17 games.

That level of offensive production doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, though it’s good for top-25 among blueliners in the SHL. Additionally, he’s playing on a successful Rögle that is currently positioned in second place in the league.

Odds are, unless he finds an unexpected new level to his game, that this is the last contract de Haan will sign in his career. Before moving overseas, de Haan enjoyed 13 years in the NHL with the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, and New York Rangers.

Relegated to a depth role toward the end of his tenure in the NHL, de Haan’s best playing days were undoubtedly with the Islanders. From the 2013-14 season to 2017-18, de Haan scored 12 goals and 81 points in 303 games while averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time. He was no stranger to sacrificing his body either, amassing 687 blocked shots and 566 hits during that stretch.

Canadiens Sign Mike Matheson To Five-Year Extension

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6:30 p.m.: More details about Matheson’s new extension have been revealed. The deal carries a $5MM signing bonus through the first two seasons, a $3.8MM bonus in year-three, and a $3.5MM bonus in the final two years per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Pagnotta adds that the deal also carries a full no-movement clause in the first three years, a 14-team no-trade list in the fourth year, and a five-team no-trade list in the final year.

10:00 a.m.: The Canadiens have announced Matheson’s deal. It’s worth $30MM for a cap hit of $6MM, keeping him signed through the 2030-31 campaign.

9:48 a.m.: Another day, another high-value pending unrestricted free agent is taken off the board. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Montreal Canadiens are nearing a five-year extension with defenseman Mike Matheson. Marco D’Amico of RG Media confirmed that negotiations were headed in that direction, with an announcement expected as soon as today.

The extension finalizes the last important item on the Canadiens’ internal to-do list for the rest of the season. In the last five months alone, general manager Kent Hughes has inked Noah Dobson, Lane Hutson, and now Matheson to long-term extensions. This comes a year after the team did the same for Kaiden Guhle.

Montreal had plenty of space to make it happen as well. Before Matheson’s upcoming extension, the Canadiens had approximately $26MM in cap space for the 2026-27 campaign. Even though it’s expected that the 11-year veteran will earn a healthy raise on his current $4.875MM salary, Montreal will still have ample room to add.

There’s little argument to claim he wasn’t worth retaining either. Toward the beginning of his career with the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins, Matheson had scored 49 goals and 138 points in 417 games with a -9 rating, averaging 20:15 of ice time in a top-four role. That production pales in comparison to his time in Quebec.

The 31-year-old blue liner has already surpassed his previous production in nearly half as many seasons. Though he earned more ice time in the offensive zone before the emergence of Hutson and the acquisition of Dobson, Matheson has scored 29 goals and 141 points in 232 games donning the bleu, blanc et rouge.

Still, there is some cause for concern. At even strength, Matheson hasn’t garnered above a 90% on-ice save percentage at even strength since his first year with the Canadiens, though some of that can be attributed to beginning 56.7% of his shifts in the defensive zone. Similarly, according to MoneyPuck, Matheson hasn’t produced a percentage above 50% on-ice goals share at any point during his time with Montreal.

As they’ve done this season by placing him alongside Dobson, Matheson will likely transition into a complementary piece rather than being expected to carry his defensive pairing. Comparatively, Dobson has only had one season in which he’s averaged less than 50% on-ice goals share.

Regardless, the Canadiens now have their top-four defensemen signed through the 2030-31 season, and that’s without considering the expected emergence of top prospect David Reinbacher. Now, with their last important internal negotiation out of the way, Hughes and the rest of Montreal’s front office can focus entirely on bringing a second-line center into the mix.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images. 

Flames Extend Craig Conroy, Other Front Office Members

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Nov. 28: The Flames announced Conroy’s two-year extension through 2027-28 and revealed they’ve given deals of the same term to virtually their entire core front office: president of hockey operations Don Maloney, AGM Dave Nonis, and AGM Brad Pascall.

Nov. 26: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Calgary Flames are nearing an extension with General Manager Craig Conroy. Ryan Pike of Flames Nation relayed a note from Sportsnet’s Eric Francis indicating it’s a two-year agreement.

It’s a relatively expected outcome for the third-year front office leader. Outside of his nine-year career with the Flames on the ice in the early to mid-2000s, Conroy had spent the nine years preceding his appointment as the team’s General Manager as Calgary’s Assistant General Manager. Putting it all together — Conroy has spent the last quarter-century involved with the Flames in some capacity.

Embarked on a retool for his tenure up to this point, the Flames have yet to bear the fruits of Conroy’s labor. In the first few years as General Manager, Conroy shipped out several veterans, such as Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, and Jacob Markström, among others.

There’s consensus that Conroy has used the returned assets to good use. Although they haven’t returned to postseason contention under his stewardship yet, many rankings from before the 2025-26 season indicate that the Flames have a top-10 prospect pool in the league.

Additionally, Conroy had the task of finding a new bench boss for Calgary, ultimately landing upon Ryan Huska ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. Before this season, Huska had a 79-66-19 record as the Flames’ head coach, averaging 89 points a year.

Unfortunately, Calgary has seemingly taken a step backward this season. Finishing one regulation win outside of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Flames currently find themselves in 31st place with an 8-13-3 record. Much of that has to do with a lethargic offense, which has averaged 2.38 GF/G.

At any rate, Flames ownership appears happy with the work Conroy has done thus far and is giving him additional time to see the organization through the rebuild. Given their position in the standings, Conroy will have his work cut out for him leading up to this season’s trade deadline, as the Flames could once again offload several veteran players.

Justin Faulk Reportedly Drawing Trade Interest

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In his recent look into the potential trade board heading into 2026, Sportsnet’s Nick Kyperos believes that St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk is drawing plenty of trade interest from around the league. According to Kyperos, interested teams are considering Faulk a fallback option for those that fail to land Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames.

Outside of not having as much trade value as Andersson, Faulk would be more complicated to trade for. The 15-year veteran is signed through the 2026-27 season at a $6.5MM cap hit and has a 15-team no-trade clause for this season and next.

Despite not displaying the offensive prowess he showed a few years ago, Faulk has stayed relatively consistent as he enters the back-nine of his NHL career. The 33-year-old rear guard scored 27 goals and 97 points in 158 games for the Blues from 2021 to 2023, with a +37 rating. He wasn’t a stranger to a heavy workload at the time, either, averaging 23:17 of ice time per game.

Factoring in his physicality and willingness to block shots during those two years, it’s no question why Faulk earned a few Norris votes, albeit at the bottom of the table. Since then, especially as St. Louis has entered a transitional period of their own, Faulk has seen his offensive production fall by a healthy margin.

Since the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign, Faulk has scored 12 goals and 75 points in 162 contests, a more than 20-point dropoff from his production from 2021 to 2023. However, although his physicality has fallen somewhat, Faulk remains a quality shot blocker while averaging more than 22 minutes of ice time per contest.

He’s actually shown a slight uptick in his defensive metrics, as well. Averaging a 91.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength throughout his time with the Blues, Faulk averaged a 91.7% mark in 2023-24, and 91.6% last season.

Although Kypreos didn’t mention any interested parties, there are a few teams that could theoretically use Faulk’s service, despite the relatively high cap hit for an in-season trade. The Detroit Red Wings, who have fallen to 25th place in GA/G, could certainly use more skill on the blue line.

Additionally, the Carolina Hurricanes and Utah Mammoth, each of which have ample cap space and has dealt with multiple injuries to their defensive core this season, may swing a trade for Faulk to improve the floor of their depth options.

Tristan Jarry Reportedly Generating Trade Interest

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What a difference a year can make. According to ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, Pittsburgh Penguins’ netminder Tristan Jarry is drawing trade interest from around the league. Unsurprisingly, Weekes lists the Edmonton Oilers as the primary suitor.

Last season, few would have believed that Jarry would become anything other than a likely salary dump. In the second year of his five-year, $26.88MM contract, Jarry managed a 16-12-6 record in 36 games with a .892 SV% and 3.12 GAA. Additionally, according to MoneyPuck, Jarry was ranked 35th (among goalies that played in 30 or more games) in Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAE) with a -4.7 mark.

Due to a combination of conditioning loans and waiver placements, all signs indicated that Pittsburgh’s relationship with Jarry was coming to an end. However, due to his poor performance, Jarry had little to no value on the trade market.

However, much like the Penguins as a whole, the 10-year veteran goaltender has appeared to turn a corner, albeit in a small sample size. Before missing the team’s last seven games due to an injury, Jarry had earned a 5-2-0 record in seven starts with a .911 SV% and 2.60 GAA. In terms of his GSAE, he has already overcome last year’s performance, producing a 4.8 according to MoneyPuck.

Unfortunately, as much as the Oilers may be interested in adding Jarry, there may be too many obstacles to overcome. For starters, Jarry’s $5.375MM cap hit is $1.775MM more than Edmonton is paying Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard combined. The Oilers will assuredly need to match salary, given that they’re currently $159K under the upper limit of the salary cap.

The one obstacle that could be easily overcome is Jarry’s 12-team no-trade clause. Although they haven’t gotten off to a positive start to the 2025-26 campaign, Edmonton has won back-to-back Western Conference Finals and is objectively far closer to contention than the Penguins. Additionally, although he’s a native of British Columbia, Jarry spent his Major Junior days with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings.

Regardless, given how he has performed up to this point of the season, it would be foolish for Pittsburgh to isolate Jarry’s market to just the Oilers. Teams such as the Montreal Canadiens, Utah Mammoth, and Carolina Hurricanes could all enhance their goaltending depth and have a far better financial outlook than the Oilers.

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