Sabres Acquire Gavin Bayreuther From Hurricanes
The Sabres and Hurricanes have made a small swap of AHL depth. Buffalo announced that it has acquired defenseman Gavin Bayreuther from Carolina in exchange for winger Viktor Neuchev. Bayreuther has subsequently been assigned to AHL Rochester while Neuchev will be sent to AHL Chicago.
Bayreuther returned to North America this season after playing for Lausanne in Switzerland in 2024-25. The 31-year-old inked a one-year, two-way deal with the Hurricanes that carried a guaranteed salary of $150K. He received a pair of recalls to Carolina, one in November and one in December, but hasn’t seen any NHL playing time this season. Instead, he has suited up in 33 games with the Wolves, notching four goals and nine assists.
Bayreuther does have a reasonable amount of NHL experience in his career, however. He has suited up in 122 games at the top level over parts of four seasons with the bulk of that playing time coming over three years with Columbus. In those appearances, Bayreuther has five goals and 23 assists along with 139 blocked shots while averaging a little more than 15 minutes per game of playing time. He’ll serve as some veteran recallable depth with both Conor Timmins and Jacob Bryson dealing with injuries. He will be eligible for unrestricted free agency once again this summer.
As for Neuchev, the 22-year-old was a third-round pick by Buffalo back in 2022, going 74th overall, following a strong offensive showing in the MHL where he finished eighth in league scoring with Avto Yekaterinburg, tallying 67 points in 61 games. He was promoted to Yekaterinburg’s KHL squad the following season and while he only collected a dozen points in 57 outings, it was still enough for Buffalo to sign him to an entry-level deal, one that he is in the final season of.
In 57 games in 2023-24 (his first season in North America), Neuchev had 11 goals and 17 assists. Injuries limited him to just 39 games last season although he was reasonably productive with seven goals and 15 helpers in those outings. This season, his output is down a bit as he has six goals and ten assists through 34 contests and will now look to make an impression in Carolina’s prospect pool. He will be a restricted free agent this summer with the Hurricanes needing to issue a two-way qualifying offer to retain his rights.
Hurricanes’ Eric Robinson Could Be Out Through Olympic Break
The Carolina Hurricanes could face an extended stretch without one impactful winger. Eric Robinson could be out until the team returns from the Winter Olympics break on February 26th, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. Robinson left Carolina’s Monday win over the Buffalo Sabres in the first period after he was knocked awkwardly into the ice by Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin. He was nursing his left shoulder on his way off the ice and has since appeared at practice with that arm in a sling.
Robinson has returned to the utility role he carved out in the Hurricanes lineup last season. He has 10 goals, 15 points, and an offense-best plus-seven in 44 games this season. Those marks are well in-line with the 14 goals, 32 points, and plus-14 – all career-highs – that Robinson posted in his first year with Carolina. Even from a bottom-six role, the 30-year-old winger has proven to bring a routine, positive impact.
The Hurricanes brought Jesperi Kotkaniemi back into the lineup after a healthy scratch, following Robinson’s injury. Kotkaniemi made good work of the return, recording one assist, two shots, and three hits in Thursday’s shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. He could stick in the lineup for at least six more games should Robinson indeed sit out through the Olympics. Carolina could also see this as a chance to reward one of their top prospects with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The Wolves are led in scoring by Justin Robidas, Bradly Nadeau, and Felix Unger-Sorum – all candidates to earn a brief recall if Robinson lands on injured reserve.
Hurricanes Open To Moving Alexander Nikishin For Star
The Carolina Hurricanes have made a habit out of making big moves for impact veterans at the Trade Deadline. It appears they’re gearing up to repeat that trend this season. The Hurricanes would even be open to moving star rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin if it meant landing a high-end addition, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period on Thursday’s episode of Sportsnet Today.
Pagnotta added that Carolina would need a star, or even superstar, return and contract control to be swayed enough to give up Nikishin. That likely cuts down the change of the rookie moving by quite a bit – but there’s no doubt that teams will line up for the Russian defender. Nikishin has recorded six goals, 20 points, and a plus-12 through 50 NHL games this season. Those stats rank second, third, and first respectively among rookie defenders.
Nikishin also leads rookie defenders in hits (92) and ranks second in blocks (61). He has proven an ability to fit wherever Carolina needs him, even while working through cold feet to start the year. This comes after Nikishin posted a true breakout season in Russia’s KHL last year. He blew out the record for most points by a U22 defenseman in KHL history, finishing the year with 11 goals and 55 points in 65 games – 20 points more than second place. Nikishin emerged as the top defender for Russia’s biggest club – SKA St. Petersburg – and finished the year with a four-game stint in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Carolina wields clear, top-end value by dangling Nikishin to potential buyers regardless of where they are in the standings. He could be a strong fill-in for the injured Lian Bichsel with the Dallas Stars, potentially enough to land scoring winger Jason Robertson. Or Nikishin could be seen as a final piece for a struggling club like the St. Louis Blues, who have faced trade rumors around top center Robert Thomas.
It is hard to say who Carolina could be in on as the Deadline rolls around. The Hurricanes will have an estimated $35.48MM in deadline cap space, per PuckPedia. They also have two first-round picks, and one second-round pick, over the next two drafts. That flexibility, along with Nikishin, could help Carolina match just about any offer when trade season really heats up.
Eric Robinson Expected To Miss Significant Times
- The Carolina Hurricanes are expecting to be without one of their bottom-six forwards for the foreseeable future. The Hurricanes shared that forward Eric Robinson will be “out for an extended period [of time]” with an upper-body injury. He was seen at the rink today in a sling. Carolina will likely place the nine-year veteran on the injured reserve.
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Wild Have Shown Some Interest In Kotkaniemi
- After moving out a young center as part of the return for Quinn Hughes, it appears the Wild are keeping tabs on another young middleman. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that Minnesota is a team that’s believed to have some interest in Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, though he’s not viewed as their top choice to add down the middle. Kotkaniemi is believed to be getting shopped by the team, recognizing that he needs a change of scenery after recording just seven points in 29 games so far this season. However, the 25-year-old still has four years left on his deal after this one with a $4.82MM cap charge, a price tag the Wild can’t afford at the moment.
Afternoon Notes: Robinson, Gostisbehere, Rooney
A new injury hit the Carolina Hurricanes during Monday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. Forward Eric Robinson left the game with roughly eight minutes left in the first period after being awkwardly knocked down by former teammate and Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin. Robinson appeared to be nursing his left shoulder as he left the ice and has been designated with an upper-body injury.
Robinson has continued to offer all-around utility in a bottom-six role this season. He has 10 goals, 15 points, and a plus-seven in 43 games this season. His performance has been a nice continuation on a strong debut with the Hurricanes last season. Robinson recorded 14 goals, 32 points, and a plus-14 while playing in all 82 games last season – all career-highs. He missed his first games as a Hurricane in late October, when an upper-body injury forced him out of six games.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Hurricanes were again without defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere on Monday per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. It was Gostisbehere’s fourth straight absence due to a lower-body injury and illness. The 32-year-old defenseman has now missed 14 games on the season. Despite that, he still leads the Hurricanes blue-line in scoring with six goals and 32 points in 35 games. He has 10 more points than K’Andre Miller, who ranks second. Gostisbehere will have a clear path into an important role when he returns from another absence.
- The Utah Mammoth have assigned center Kevin Rooney to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. He has served as an extra forward all year long and played his only NHL game in late November. Rooney has built a more prominent role in Tucson, where he has seven goals and 10 points in 20 games. He will slot back into a familiar role with the Roadrunners and could be a top call-up option when Utah needs another hand.
Hurricanes Recall Joel Nystrom, Place Noah Philp On Injured Reserve
With blueliner Shayne Gostisbehere out for tonight’s game against Florida, the Hurricanes have brought up some extra defensive depth. The team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Joel Nystrom from AHL Chicago. To make room on the roster, center Noah Philp has been placed on injured reserve.
Nystrom is familiar with going back and forth between the NHL and the minors as this is now his third recall of the season. The 23-year-old has received his first taste of action at the top level this season, getting into 33 games with Carolina. He’s still looking for his first goal but he has eight assists while averaging 15:37 of ice time per game.
That showing was good enough to earn Nystrom a four-year, $4.9MM one-way extension last month, a sign that the Hurricanes feel that he is part of their longer-term plans. Despite a pair of demotions with the team taking advantage of his waiver exemption, Nystrom has only played in six times with the Wolves, collecting one assist.
As for Philp, he was claimed off waivers from Edmonton in late December but hasn’t had much of a chance to make an impression on his new team. The 27-year-old suffered a concussion in his second game with the team and has been out of the lineup for the last week and a half. Adding in his time with the Oilers, Philp has two goals and an assist in 17 games so far this season. Carolina has back-dated Philp’s placement back to January 6th, meaning that he is eligible to be activated at any time.
Hurricanes, Sharks Complete Minor Trade
According to a team announcement, the San Jose Sharks have traded defenseman Kyle Masters and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes for the Blackhawks’ 2027 fifth-round pick.
Oddly enough, this trade is largely centered around forward prospect Michael Misa. Since he is about to play in his 10th game of the year, the Sharks must officially register Misa’s contract. Since the team already had 50 contracts, Misa was ineligible to play tonight unless San Jose removed one from their organization.
Masters, 22, is the consequence. The Sharks acquired Masters earlier this season in a trade with the Minnesota Wild. He was the 118th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft and is in the final year of his entry-level contract.
Despite having an NHL contract, Masters is not close to reaching the sport’s highest league. He’s spent the entire year with the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder, registering three assists in 10 games with a -8 rating. It’s a far cry from what he produced last season, scoring five goals and 13 points in 27 games for the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders, and three points in 16 games for the AHL’s Iowa Wild.
The strategy for acquiring Masters was simple for the Hurricanes. The team already had two open contract spots, meaning they’ll upgrade a fifth-round pick to a fourth-round pick simply by acquiring an expiring asset. Assuming Carolina stashes Masters in the ECHL, he’ll join the Greensboro Gargoyles for the remainder of the season.
Latest On Jaccob Slavin
New Blue Jackets Head Coach Rick Bowness is missing two key defenders in his first game behind the bench tonight, as Denton Mateychuk (upper-body injury) and Damon Severson (illness) are unable to play against Calgary, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.
If he’d been able to go, Mateychuk would have tied his rookie season total’s 45 games played in last season, but will have to wait for now. The 21-year-old left early on Sunday against Utah, and will be getting a second opinion, as the club recalled Dysin Mayo this afternoon. Their 12th overall selection in 2022 has progressed nicely this season, averaging 20:20 of ice time with 21 points in 44 games.
Severson, 31, has recorded 17 points in 45 games, tonight being the first contest of the season he has had to miss.
Coming in tonight is Jake Christiansen, along with Mayo. The former has served as the Jackets’ seventh defender often this year, with one helper in 26 games, in year five with the Columbus organization.
Mayo, recalled for the fourth time of 2025-26 today, was once a regular with the Arizona Coyotes. The 29-year-old has just seven points in the AHL this season with Cleveland, but he is a conservative right-handed option, capable of jumping into the NHL lineup seamlessly at a moment’s notice.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Shortly before their game in St. Louis, the Carolina Hurricanes announced that Jaccob Slavin will miss tonight’s game due to “injury rehab protocol”. Given that he played 21:41 last night against Detroit, leading all defenders, Slavin will sit out of the second of the back-to-back. Clearly, Carolina is taking no chances with their elite shutdown man coming back from an upper-body injury, who already was re-injured early in his last return in December. The difficulties have limited him to just seven games so far, where he’s notched one assist. Mike Reilly re-enters the lineup tonight, but Slavin figures to be gearing up for full-time duty before long.
- Similar to Slavin, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle will also sit tonight, as noted by Marco D’Amico of RG Media. The 23-year-old is in early stages of returning after a groin injury sidelined him for nearly three months. He managed to play just shy of 20 minutes last night in the win over Vancouver. In his absence, Jayden Struble has jumped back in against Washington. The physical depth defender has averaged 14:28 a night in 35 games this season. Meanwhile, Guhle should return by Thursday as the team travels to Buffalo.
Hurricanes Activate Jaccob Slavin Off Injured Reserve
The Hurricanes will be welcoming back a critical piece of their back end for tonight’s game against Seattle. The team announced that defenseman Jaccob Slavin has been activated off injured reserve.
They’ll be hoping that the second time is the charm when it comes to returning from injury. Last month, Slavin returned from a lower-body injury only to sustain an upper-body issue in his third game back. As a result, the 31-year-old has been limited to just five games so far this season.
Slavin has received down-ballot Norris votes in each of the last nine seasons and is widely regarded as one of the top shutdown defenders in the NHL. He’s sitting on 299 career points in 750 career regular season contests so he has certainly been more than just a traditional stay-at-home blueliner. His previous play was good enough to earn a spot on Team USA for the Olympics next month despite hardly playing in 2025-26.
The Hurricanes enter tonight’s action atop the Eastern Conference which is especially impressive given how infrequently Slavin has been available to them. He’s listed by the team as being likely to be on their top pairing tonight alongside Jalen Chatfield.
On Friday, Carolina sent blueliner Joel Nystrom back to AHL Chicago without calling anyone else up. As a result, they had an open roster spot to activate Slavin. Their roster now stands at the maximum of 23 players once again.