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Atlantic Notes: Kulikov, Lindholm, Batherson, Ratzlaff

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Late last night, the Florida Panthers quietly moved defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to the injured reserve. Unfortunately, although the team hasn’t commented on his status, reporting from George Richards of Florida Hockey Now indicates that it could be a long-term absence for their bottom-pairing blueliner.

The injury occurred during the Panthers’ win over the Philadelphia Flyers, their second game of the season. After attempting to hit Flyers forward Bobby Brink partway through the second period, Kulikov left the game after appearing to hurt his right wrist.

Passing along a note from head coach Paul Maurice, Richards’ report suggests that surgery is on the table for Kulikov, and that the team would make a more concrete decision this evening. Since the IR placement is retroactive to Thursday night, Kulikov is eligible to return from the IR on October 16th. However, if he requires surgery to repair his wrist, he’ll be out significantly longer.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Another defenseman in the Atlantic will be sidelined, though not as long as Kulikov. According to Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald, Boston Bruins blueliner Hampus Lindholm is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed ailment. Lindholm left the team’s overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks after having only skated in 4:26 of the action.
  • In more positive injury news, the Ottawa Senators could be getting a major boost to their forward core. Although he was ruled out for the team’s recent game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, forward Drake Batherson alluded to a return tonight or Monday in an interview with Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen. Remarkably, the Senators’ first game of the year was the first Batherson has missed since the 2021-22 campaign, playing in 246 consecutive regular-season contests for Ottawa.
  • In an update unrelated to injuries, the Buffalo Sabres have shifted around some of their organizational goaltending depth. According to a team announcement, the Sabres have reassigned netminder Scott Ratzlaff to the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen. Ratzlaff, 20, who was selected with the 141st overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, spent last season with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, managing a 23-19-4 record in 49 games with a .910 SV%.

Anaheim Ducks Reassign Tim Washe

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The former captain of the National Championship-winning Western Michigan University Broncos is headed to the AHL. According to a team announcement, the Anaheim Ducks have reassigned forward Tim Washe to the San Diego Gulls.

Washe joined the Ducks organization last season after winning the National Championship against Boston College, signing a one-year entry-level deal. He played in two games for Anaheim down the stretch, going scoreless while averaging 7:44 of ice time per game.

Unfortunately, though he technically made the team’s roster out of training camp, Washe didn’t feature in the Ducks’ opening night loss to the Seattle Kraken. Although his leadership and work ethic have impressed Anaheim’s coaching staff, he was only on the roster to fill in for the injured Ryan Strome. Given that Strome was only dealing with a mild injury, today’s news indicates he’ll be activated from injured reserve next week after the Ducks return from the road trip that they’ve already ruled him out for.

He can’t be counted in the same tier as Anaheim’s other up-and-coming forward prospects, but Washe could find some staying power in a bottom-six role. He was impressive for the Broncos last season, scoring 16 goals and 38 points in 42 games. Still, the Clarkson, MI native is already 24 years old with only two games of professional experience under his belt. After he spends a few months with the AHL Gulls, the Ducks will have a clearer picture of how much he could contribute at the NHL level.

Will Butcher Signs With AHL Cleveland

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After one year overseas, a former Calder Trophy vote recipient is returning to North America. According to an announcement from the team, the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters have signed defenseman Will Butcher to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 season.

Last season, the University of Denver alumnus split his time between the KHL’s Barys Astana and the DEL’s EHC München. He performed much better with the latter, scoring three goals and 11 points in 32 games with a +7 rating, after tallying three assists in 15 games with the former.

Despite his offensive struggles in Europe, Butcher is only two years removed from being one of the better puck-moving defenseman in the AHL. In his first full season in the AHL with the Texas Stars during the 2022-23 season, Butcher scored six goals and 43 points in 65 games with a +11 rating, tying for 14th in scoring among defensemen.

Still, it’s difficult not to assess Butcher’s career as somewhat disappointing. On his entry-level deal with the New Jersey Devils, as recently as the 2018-19 campaign, Butcher was considered to be an up-and-coming offensive contributor from the blue line, scoring nine goals and 74 points in 159 games, averaging 17:38 of ice time per game.

New Jersey rewarded Butcher with a three-year, $11.2MM extension, though his production began to decline almost immediately upon putting pen to paper. In the following three campaigns, the final one with the Buffalo Sabres, Butcher registered seven goals and 40 points in 116 games before becoming a full-time AHL contributor.

In Cleveland, he’ll join a team that’s reached the postseason in back-to-back seasons. Given that Denton Mateychuk has graduated into a full-time role with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Butcher could be in line for significant responsibility on the Monsters’ blue line alongside Stanislav Svozil, especially if he returns to form from his 2022-23 campaign.

Michael McLeod Signs With KHL’s Avangard Omsk

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After some lukewarm interest from the Carolina Hurricanes, Michael McLeod’s comeback bid to the NHL will prove unsuccessful. He will return to the organization where he played last season, as the KHL announced a three-year deal for McLeod with Avangard Omsk.

Toward the beginning of training camp, reports indicated that McLeod would inevitably sign with the Hurricanes to return to the North American professional circuit. Still, since the NHL determined that none of the acquitted players from the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial could sign until October 15th, it gave Carolina plenty of time to change their mind.

The Hurricanes faced significant backlash from fans over their decision to target McLeod and former Philadelphia Flyer Carter Hart after they became eligible to return. Carolina pivoted relatively quickly, with TSN’s Chris Johnston saying the two sides couldn’t “get to something both sides would be comfortable with.”

Now, McLeod will return to Russia on a relatively lengthy three-year pact with Avangard Omsk. He spent much of last season with the team, scoring three goals and 13 points in 19 games, and another three goals and six points in 13 games for Barys Astana. He had much improved offensive production in the Gagarin Cup playoffs, tallying one goal and eight points in nine postseason contests.

Avangard Omsk doesn’t have much in the way of former NHL talent outside of McLeod, though they do have former three-time AHL scoring champion Andrew Poturalski and former first overall pick Nail Yakupov. Additionally, the team is coached by Guy Boucher, former head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators.

Oilers Recall David Tomasek, Move Zach Hyman To LTIR

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Oct. 7: While Howard remains down for now, Tomasek has been recalled today after the club set their LTIR capture with Zach Hyman, the club announced. Hyman will remain out until early November while rehabbing the wrist injury that ended his 2025 postseason run prematurely.

Oct. 6: After doling out extensions to Connor McDavid and Jake Walman earlier today, the Edmonton Oilers are hustling to become cap-compliant when opening night rosters are due. In that effort, the team announced they have placed forward Mattias Janmark on the injured reserve, reassigned forwards Isaac Howard and David Tomasek, and recalled forward James Hamblin from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

Most of today’s cap crunch is because of Janmark. The nine-year veteran is reportedly dealing with an undisclosed injury, which will keep him sidelined for a week or so. Since he’s not expected to miss much time, the Oilers won’t get any cap relief from his $1.45MM salary. He scored two goals and 18 points in 80 games for Edmonton last season, with another three goals and four points in 22 postseason contests.

The biggest casualty of today’s cap crunch is undoubtedly Howard. The reigning Hobey Baker Award winner was acquired by the Oilers this offseason after failing to reach a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and was expected to fill an important need for Edmonton in their top six — inexpensive talent.

He made a strong case to make the roster this preseason, scoring one goal and four points in six games, which makes today’s move a much more difficult pill to swallow. Still, he’s likely to debut with the Oilers at some point this season. In his final season in the NCAA with the Michigan State University Spartans, Howard recorded 26 goals and 52 points in 34 games.

Meanwhile, Tomasek, 29, becomes another casualty of Edmonton’s cost-clearing moves. Although he is no longer considered a prospect, he joined the Oilers this summer by signing a one-year, $1.2 million contract as an international free agent.

Like Howard, he was another inexpensive addition by Edmonton this summer that the team could conceivably put in their top-six. As the reigning Guldhjälmen Award (MVP) winner in the SHL from a season ago, Tomasek recorded 24 goals and 57 points in 47 games for the Färjestad BK.

Of all the forwards the Oilers could have recalled, Hamblin gives them the most flexibility since he cleared waivers a few days ago. The former WHL standout will begin his sixth season with Edmonton. He spent all of last year in Bakersfield, scoring 19 goals and 45 points in 51 games as one of the team’s assistant captains.

According to PuckPedia, after today’s moves, the Oilers now sit a tight $834, yes, you read that correctly, under the upper limit of the salary cap to start the season.

Stars Recall Lian Bichsel, Place Jamie Benn On LTIR

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Oct. 7: Bichsel is back up from AHL Texas while Scott and Taylor have been reassigned, according to the NHL’s media site. While it reverses yesterday’s transactions, it’s not the end of the moves Dallas will make before they open their season against the Jets on Thursday. Demoting Scott leaves them with only 11 forwards on the active roster. They’ll need to move Benn to long-term injured reserve to open up the space to recall a 12th forward from Texas, which the club subsequently announced has happened. Dallas will have $1.88MM remaining in their LTIR pool – meaning they could actually recall two forwards, potentially Justin Hryckowian and Arttu Hyry, if they so choose.

Oct. 6: Like the Edmonton Oilers, the Dallas Stars have made several somewhat unexpected roster moves to make their opening night roster cap compliant. Earlier today, the team announced they’ve reassigned defenseman Lian Bichsel, while recalling forward Harrison Scott and defenseman Trey Taylor from their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.

The team also shared that captain Jamie Benn and forward Oskar Back have been placed on injured reserve at the start of the season. Additionally, Luke Krys, Kyle McDonald, and Chase Wheatcroft have been placed on the non-rostered injured reserve. All of these injury designations were anticipated.

According to PuckPedia, the Stars sit approximately $150K underneath the upper limit of the salary cap to start the season. Given this, Scott and Taylor’s inclusion on Dallas’ opening night roster is merely for cap compliance, and there’s no indication they’ll play a game for the Stars. On the flip side, Bichsel should be back on the roster after they place Benn on LTIR.

In fact, neither Scott nor Taylor appeared in a preseason game for Dallas, as both were cut relatively early from the team’s training camp roster. Scott, who was signed out of the University of Maine last season, went scoreless in six games for the AHL Stars to end the 2024-25 season. Meanwhile, Taylor was signed out of Clarkson University, tallying one assist in 10 games with Texas.

Capitals Reassign Ivan Miroshnichenko, Place Dylan McIlrath On IR

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The Washington Capitals have their opening 23-man roster in place. Following the clearance of their waiver placements yesterday, the team announced that they have reassigned forward Ivan Miroshnichenko and placed defenseman Dylan McIlrath on injured reserve.

The former 20th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft is entering his third season without a full-time role carved out on the Capitals. Despite possessing raw talent in size, speed, and shooting ability, Miroshnichenko has yet to fully realize his potential at the NHL level.

Since transitioning to North America for the 2023-24 campaign, Miroshnichenko has scored three goals and 10 points in 39 games with Washington, averaging 10:51 of ice time per game. He leaves something to be desired in his possession quality, but has been an unexpectedly positive addition on the defensive side of the puck.

He’s been expectedly better in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, scoring 32 goals and 67 points in 100 games, with another 10 goals and 17 points in 28 postseason contests. Although the team failed to win their third consecutive Calder Cup last year, Miroshnichenko was on the roster when they won the second half of their back-to-back in 2024. He’ll likely feature with the Capitals at some point during the 2025-26 season.

Meanwhile, has been dealing with a lower-body injury since the Capitals’ preseason contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets. During that game, although he assisted on the breakout that led to a Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, McIlrath left the game after the play and did not appear at practice the following day.

Initial reports suggested McIlrath would be out for about a week, and today’s designation appears to support that notion. He spent much of last season as Washington’s seventh defenseman, tallying two assists in 17 games with 28 PIMs.

Blue Jackets Place Christián Jaroš On Unconditional Waivers

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10/6/25: Jaroš has now found a place to play for the 2025-26 season. Per an official announcement, Jaroš has signed a one-year contract with Spartak Moscow. The signing returns Jaros to the KHL, the league he has played in since he last played in North America in 2021-22. Spartak currently sit sixth in the KHL’s Western Conference with a 5-4-3 record through 12 games played.

10/01/25: For the second time since debuting with the Ottawa Senators in the 2017-18 season, defenseman Christián Jaroš has been placed on unconditional waivers for contract termination. The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that the two sides have agreed to a mutual termination should he clear unconditional waivers.

Surprisingly, today’s news comes three months to the day when the Blue Jackets first shared that they had signed Jaroš. He was projected to play for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters to start the year. There are no additional reports about his potential landing spot, but news may arrive tomorrow if he clears.

The Kosice, Slovakia native has spent the last three years in the KHL, split between the Avangard Omsk, Severstal Cherepovets, and CSKA Moskva. Throughout that stretch, the 29-year-old has scored eight goals and 42 points in 134 contests with a +16 rating.

He was largely unnoticeable throughout his playing days in the NHL, though he earned an extended look with the Senators during the 2018-19 campaign. From 2017 to 2022, Jaroš scored one goal and 14 points in 94 games with the Senators, San Jose Sharks, and New Jersey Devils, averaging 13:04 of ice time per game. He had been far more respectable with those teams’ respective AHL affiliates, registering five goals and 34 points in 90 games with a +16 rating.

Blackhawks Recall Ryan Greene, Place Two On IR

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The Chicago Blackhawks appear to have their opening night roster in place ahead of tonight’s action against the Florida Panthers. Earlier today, the Blackhawks announced that they’ve recalled Ryan Greene from their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. In a separate transaction, the team has placed forwards Landon Slaggert and Joey Anderson on the injured reserve.

Greene, 21, is coming off an impressive three-year run with the NCAA’s Boston University Terriers. Drafted by the Blackhawks with the 57th overall selection of the 2022 NHL Draft, he’s become one of the several up-and-coming forward prospects that the organization boasts.

During his time with the Terriers, Greene scored 34 goals and recorded 105 points in 118 games, achieving a +24 rating. He earned the program’s captaincy in his final season. After losing the National Championship to the Western Michigan University Broncos last season, Greene signed his entry-level deal with the Blackhawks and made his NHL debut one day later.

Unfortunately, Greene’s inclusion on Chicago’s opening night roster comes with less positive news. Slaggert, 23, who’s another forward prospect coming from the NCAA ranks, will begin the year on the injured reserve due to a lower-body injury.

In late September, there was an expectation that Slaggert might start the year on time with the Blackhawks. However, as he became more involved in the team’s practices and scrimmages, he may have re-aggravated something. He scored 10 goals and 25 points in 39 games for the IceHogs last year, with another two goals and six points in 33 appearances with Chicago.

Meanwhile, Anderson will join Slaggert on the Blackhawks’ IR. Although Anderson lacks significant prospect value and mainly serves as a depth player, he has spent the last four years with Chicago after being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2022-23 season.

Signed to a modest $800K salary for this season before being eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer, Anderson wasn’t a lock to make the Blackhawks’ opening night roster regardless of his lower-body injury. This is likely why Chicago has designated him as an injured non-roster player to start the campaign. He spent much of last season with Rockford, tallying 17 goals and 27 points in 33 games.

Harrison Brunicke, Ben Kindel To Make Penguins’ Opening Night Roster

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For the first time in a while, the Pittsburgh Penguins will have a pair of teenagers on their opening night roster. Earlier today, head coach Dan Muse confirmed to play-by-play commentator Josh Getzoff that defenseman Harrison Brunicke and forward Benjamin Kindel will make their NHL debuts tomorrow night.

Neither player making the roster is overly surprising, given that the Penguins have been actively looking to get younger under General Manager Kyle Dubas’ stewardship. Still in the early stages of their rebuild, Pittsburgh was the oldest team in the NHL last season with an average age of 30.9.

Although he wasn’t a first-round selection, Brunicke has risen quickly up the Penguins’ organizational depth chart. He was drafted with the 44th pick of the 2024 NHL Draft after scoring 10 goals and 21 points in 49 games for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers.

After having a solid training camp last season, the Blazers appointed Brunicke one of the team’s assistant captains for the 2024-25 campaign. He had a mildly better season in terms of offensive production, scoring five goals and 30 points in 41 games. Moving to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the final stretch of their regular season, Brunicke tallied two assists in 10 games in his first few professional contests.

The only issue out of the gate for Brunicke is that the Penguins are already saturated on the right side of their blue line. Outside of him taking a step back in his development, Pittsburgh has nothing to lose by playing Brunicke over some of their options, and the team has already committed to limiting veteran Kris Letang’s ice time this season. Still, even outside of those two, the Penguins need to find ice time for Erik Karlsson, Matt Dumba, and Connor Clifton.

Meanwhile, Kindel had much more hype coming out of the draft, given that he was selected with the 11th overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft. He’s coming off an impressive campaign with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, seeing Kindel score 35 goals and 99 points in 65 games with a +39 rating. In the postseason, Kindel maintained a high level of performance, scoring eight goals and 15 points in 11 games, with a +6 rating.

Despite being one of the younger players at the Penguins’ training camp, Kindel tied for fifth in preseason scoring, putting up one goal and three points in six games. Even though he was typically used as a right winger throughout his tenure in juniors, Pittsburgh had been using him as a center this September, and he could start the year down the middle of the third line. Regardless, if he doesn’t find success to start the year, the Penguins have plenty of flexibility to move him to the wing.

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