Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Injury

Hurricanes’ Pyotr Kochetkov Placed On IR, Potentially Out For Season

at CDT | by 6 Comments

The Carolina Hurricanes have placed goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov on injured reserve. Kochetkov has been battling a hip injury since the start of the season. He missed all of October and the last week of November due to the issue. Now, after being forced out of the lineup for a third time, Kochetkov has elected to undergo surgery to address the injury, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told Chip Alexander of The News and Observer.

Kochetkov has only played in nine games this season. He was successful in those appearances, posting a 6-3-0 record, .899 save percentage, and 2.33 goals-against-average. He also had one shutout on the year. Kochetkov’s stat line ranked second in Carolina’s goaltending room across the board, behind emerging starter Brandon Bussi.

Bussi will be who Carolina leans on in Kochetkov’s absence. The 27-year-old has posted 12 wins, a .910 Sv%, and a 2.10 GAA in the first 14 games of his NHL career this season. He has been a standout in the minor leagues since signing with the AHL’s Providence Bruins out of college in 2022. Bussi posted a first .922 Sv% in the first 37 games of his AHL career, spanning the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. That entrance into the league earned Bussi an AHL all-star recognition in 2023 – an accolade he followed with 23 wins and a .913 Sv% in 41 games with Providence in 2023-24.

In competition with Michael DiPietro, Bussi fell to a .907 Sv% in 33 AHL games last season. That slip prompted a move to the Hurricanes this summer, which has quickly paid off. Bussi has not appeared in the AHL yet this season and could have a clear path to a true starter’s role ahead of struggling veteran Frederik Andersen.

In a corresponding move to Andersen’s IR designation, the Hurricanes have also recalled defenseman Gavin Bayreuther. He will help the team back up a handful of game-time decisions on defense, Brind’Amour told NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. Bayreuther spent last season with Lausanne HC in Switzerland’s National League. He scored 23 points in 52 games, a small scoring spark that seems to be bleeding into this season. His 13 points in 24 games rank second on the Chicago Wolves’ blue line behind Domenick Fensore. Bayreuther hasn’t played in the NHL this season, his last game being back in 2023, though he has been recalled as a backup once by Carolina.

With their shifting lineup, the Hurricanes will hope surgery helps Kochetkov return to form. He has posted a sub-.900 save percentage across his last 56 NHL games, dating back to the start of 2024-25. The performances have been a steep drop from the 38 wins and .910 Sv% Kochetkov recorded in 69 games through his first three NHL seasons. He is a fringe starter when healthy and should still fill a need in Carolina’s lineup on the other side of his recovery. Kochetkov carries a $2MM cap hit through the end of next season.

Mammoth Recall Matt Villalta, Place Karel Vejmelka On IR

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Utah Mammoth announced that they’ve placed netminder Karel Vejmelka on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury, retroactive to December 23. In a corresponding roster move, the Mammoth have recalled Matt Villalta from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners.

Due to the holiday break last week, Vejmelka, 29, will only miss two games at a minimum. There’s no indication that the injury is severe, meaning he could be activated from the IR as early as tomorrow, and could return to the starting role as early as New Year’s Day against the New York Islanders.

The Mammoth have expectedly relied on Vejmelka for much of the regular season as the five-year netminder has started in approximately 75% of the team’s games up to this point. Still, Vejmelka has fallen short of the performance he achieved last season.

During the 2024-25 campaign, Vejmelka managed a 26-22-8 record in 58 games with a .904 SV% and 2.58 GAA. According to Moneypuck, at even strength, Vejmelka finished ninth among qualified goaltenders in Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) with a 16.8 mark, earning a five-year, $23.75MM extension with Utah toward the end of the year.

Unfortunately, he has reverted to his previous form for the first half of the 2025-26 season. Vejmelka has earned a 16-10-2 record through 29 games this year with a .894 SV% and 2.70. Of netminders that have appeared in 10 or more games, Vejmelka is 48th in the league for GSAx, two spots behind backup netminder Vítek Vaněček. Hopefully, with the holiday break and the light schedule through the end of the week, Vejmelka can use this time to rest and recover in an effort to find last season’s form.

Meanwhile, Villalta joins the Mammoth for the first time this year. The 26-year-old netminder is in his third year with the organization, spending the majority of his time with AHL Tucson. In 15 games this season, Villalta owns a 9-5-1 record with a .903 SV% and 2.94 GAA. His most recent NHL appearance came on April 14th of last season, securing a win against the Nashville Predators after stopping 28 of 31 shots.

Pius Suter Out Four Weeks With Ankle Injury

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The St. Louis Blues are again losing another forward to a relatively lengthy injury absence. The team announced that center Pius Suter will miss approximately the next four weeks after suffering a right ankle injury this past weekend.

Suter’s status for today’s game against the Buffalo Sabres was in question due to the injury, and he’s now expected to miss between 10 and 15 games, if not more. The injury is connected to Nashville Predators’ forward Michael McCarron, who slew-footed Suter in the third period of Saturday’s contest. Suter finished the game after leaving momentarily.

Suter, 29, is in his first year with the Blues organization after signing a two-year, $8.25MM contract with the team last offseason. He had only missed two games for St. Louis before the injury, scoring seven goals and 14 points in 37 games, averaging 16:23 of ice time.

His offensive output is lower than what he produced last season with the Vancouver Canucks, but he was showing signs of improvement in his advanced metrics. His faceoff percentage was up five points compared to last year, as was his on-ice save percentage at even strength. The latter output was highly beneficial for the Blues, given that the team has the third-worst overall save percentage in the league this season.

Fortunately, although there’s never a good time for an injury, St. Louis may be able to withstand losing Suter better now than they would have a week ago. The Blues activated both Jordan Kyrou and Jimmy Snuggerud on Saturday, and have recent waiver claim Jonatan Berggren playing at a relatively high level. This has allowed them to keep pace in the Western Conference playoff race, sitting one point back of the final wild-card spot.

West Notes: Jiricek, Morrissey, Pospisil

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Minnesota Wild have made a change to their defensive core ahead of tomorrow’s matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Wild announced that they’ve reassigned defenseman David Jiříček to the AHL’s Iowa Wild.

It’s the third time the former sixth overall pick has been demoted this season. Jiříček, 22, has played in 18 games for the Wild this season in a depth role, going scoreless while averaging 12:08 of ice time per game. He’s fared somewhat better with AHL Iowa, scoring one goal and three points in 10 games with a -6 rating.

Still, his demotion may come with some good news. Yesterday, Michael Russo of The Athletic suggested that defenseman Daemon Hunt, who’s been rehabbing an undisclosed injury for the last few weeks, is expected to rejoin the team at some point during their current road trip. Regardless, Minnesota still has seven healthy defensemen on the active roster.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • The Winnipeg Jets are dealing with some injury concerns to a significant player from last night’s loss to the Wild. According to analyst Mitchell Clinton, defenseman Josh Morrissey is considered day-to-day after taking a high hit last night. The Jets’ next game is tomorrow against the Edmonton Oilers, and Morrissey’s status for that contest is very much in question.
  • A recent 20-assist forward may return to the Calgary Flames relatively soon. Earlier today, Wes Gilberton of Postmedia reported that Martin Pospisil has resumed skating and is hoping to return shortly after the new year. Pospisil, who scored four goals and 25 points in 81 games for the Flames last season, has yet to play this year after suffering an undisclosed injury during preseason action.

Metro Notes: Barzal, Berard, Crookshank, Fox

at CDT | by 2 Comments

There may be some supplemental discipline coming from tonight’s contest between the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders. Early in the second period, Islanders’ Mathew Barzal was given a five-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct for slashing Blue Jackets forward Mason Marchment (X Link).

Additionally, the penalty was retaliatory in nature. Marchment was assessed a tripping penalty shortly after sticking his leg out as Islanders’ rookie Matthew Schaefer was attempting to skate the puck out of the zone. The video for each event can be found here.

It’s always difficult to theorize whether the NHL’s Department of Player Safety will use suspension as a punishment or not, but they haven’t been scared to fine Barzal in the past. The Islanders’ second-highest scorer has been fined four times throughout his career, with the most recent coming during the 2023-24 season when he high-sticked current teammate, Tony DeAngelo. Given that he was ejected from the contest, Barzal could be facing the fifth fine of his 10-year career.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • It’s not uncommon for teams to shift around their roster coming out of the holiday break, and the New York Rangers are no different. This morning, the Rangers announced that they’ve reassigned Brett Berard to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. He’s gone scoreless over 11 games this year in New York, and didn’t play throughout the duration of his recent recall.
  • Similar to the Rangers, the New Jersey Devils also moved a depth forward back to the AHL today. New Jersey announced that they’ve reassigned Angus Crookshank back to the AHL’s Utica Comets. Unlike Berard, Crookshank played in multiple games throughout his recall, which began on December 5th. He scored one goal in eight games, averaging 8:36 of ice time per game.
  • Back with the Rangers, the team could be getting a huge boost to their defensive core by the end of the week. According to Peter Baugh of The Athletic, Rangers defenseman Adam Fox has been downgraded to day-to-day and could return tomorrow against the Carolina Hurricanes. Fox, who hasn’t played since November 29 due to an upper-body injury, has missed the last 13 games for New York. He scored three goals and 26 points in 27 games before the injury.

Atlantic Notes: Lundell, Sabourin, DeBoer, McDonagh

at CDT | by 5 Comments

As expected, some additional punishment has come from last night’s battle of Florida between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced that it has fined Anton Lundell $5,000 for high-sticking Jake Guentzel and Scott Sabourin $2,018.23 for slashing Niko Mikkola (X Link). Each punishment was the maximum allowable under the current CBA.

Interestingly enough, Sabourin was the only one of the two to earn a penalty on the play in question. The game ended with a combined 136 PIMs and 15 power plays. Sabourin accounted for 26 of those penalty minutes due to the slashing penalty, a roughing penalty, and a game misconduct.

Aside from last night’s fireworks, the Lightning had another game today as they matched up against the Montreal Canadiens. Unfortunately, Sabourin will not finish the game, as Tampa Bay announced that he has exited the contest with an undisclosed injury.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Despite General Manager Brad Treliving recently giving head coach Craig Berube a vote of confidence for the second half of the season, there has been plenty of speculation regarding his future tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Much of that speculation has been driven by the availability of Pete DeBoer, who recently coached the Dallas Stars to three consecutive Western Conference Finals. Although some in Toronto may be wishing for DeBoer, he doesn’t appear to want the job. In a recent article from Nick Barden of The Hockey News, it was highlighted that DeBoer sent a text to Berube recently, indicating that he wasn’t involved in any of the speculation.
  • Back in Tampa Bay, the team has again placed veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh on the injured reserve after reaggravating the injury that has plagued him throughout much of the season. Unfortunately, there’s no indication he’ll return anytime soon. Earlier today, team reporter Gabby Shirley shared that McDonagh is “a little bit more than ’day to day'”. The vagueness of the report suggests that the Lightning may still be evaluating McDonagh for a clearer picture of his recovery timeline.

Blackhawks Place Frank Nazar On IR, Activate Nick Foligno

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Chicago Blackhawks have activated captain Nick Foligno off of injured reserve. He is expected to return to the lineup on Sunday night for his first game since November 15th, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio. To make room for Foligno’s return, the Blackhawks have moved winger Frank Nazar to injured reserve. Nazar has already missed one week, and is expected to miss three more, with a face injury caused by a Claude Giroux slapshot in Chicago’s December 20th loss to the Ottawa Senators.

Getting Foligno back will be a wave of relief for the Blackhawks. The 38-year-old winger scored six points, all assists, in 15 games before going down with injury. He also added 11 shot blocks and 41 hits – high enough marks to rank Foligno fourth in hits-per-game, and first in blocks-per-game, on Chicago’s offense despite missing the last 19 games. It will be play away from the puck that Foligno impacts most in his return, which should clear up more space for Chicago’s skill players, like Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Lardis, to focus on offense.

The Blackhawks will have to hope that;s the case, at least. They have split results in two games since Nazar’s injury and were outscored four-to-six. Nazar has been a focal piece of the offense all season long – a role that only increased when star Connor Bedard went down with an injury of his own. The second-year pro has scored 21 points in 33 games in the elevated role, good for fourth on Chicago in scoring.

That comes despite the fact that Nazar rode a six-game point drought and 21-game goal drought through November and December. He has proven to be an offensive motor that Chicago can’t easily replace. Foligno’s return will bring in more helping hands but Chicago will still face a tough test with games against the New York Islanders, Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, and Vegas Golden Knights in their near future.

Maple Leafs’ William Nylander Out Day-To-Day

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to deal with yet another injury moving forward. Star winger William Nylander will miss Sunday night’s game and sit out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury head coach Craig Berube told David Alter of The Hockey News. Rookie Easton Cowan will step back into the lineup in Nylander’s place. It will be Cowan’s first game in over a week.

Few players will be tougher to lose than Nylander. He leads the Maple Leafs in scoring with 41 points in 33 games this season. That standing stood up through a relatively quiet start to the month of December. Nylander only scored four points, all assists, through the first 10 games of the month. He has more than made up for the lull, though, with five points in his last two games.

Nylander has recorded the third-highest average ice time on Toronto’s offense, behind only Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. He leaves a massive hole in Toronto’s lineup that will likely require a committee approach to fill. Cowan will be some help, boasting 11 points in 26 games of his rookie season and offering a nice bit of explosive offense. But the first-year pro won’t be able to keep the offense afloat on his own. Toronto will need a surge in impact from players like Matias Maccelli, Max Domi, and Bobby McMann in Nylander’s absence. They could also benefit from a bounce back for star Matthews, who snapped a four-game scoring drought with a three-point night on Saturday. A few more games like that should be enough to keep Toronto in the win column while Nylander works back to full health.

Latest On Cole Hutson

at CDT | by 1 Comment

9:30 p.m.: Instead of waiting until tomorrow, USA Hockey has provided an official update on Hutson already. It appears the injury looked worse than it actually was, with USA Hockey sharing that Hutson is only considered day-to-day. Given that Team USA doesn’t play again until Monday, there’s a legitimate chance Hutson could return for that game.

9:10 p.m.: Before much of the NHL action had kicked off tonight, there was a scary moment in the World Junior Championship matchup between Team USA and Team Switzerland. Defenseman Cole Hutson (USA), brother of Montreal Canadien Lane Hutson, was stretchered off the ice after being hit by a puck in the back of the head.

Shortly after he game had restarted following the injury, the NHL’s Jon Morosi reported that Hutson had been taken to a hospital and was being evaluated. Morosi added in his initial report that Hutson never lost consciousness while on the ice and appeared alert when he exited the stadium.

Fortunately, Morosi shared the best news of the evening, that Hutson had been discharged from the hospital and had rejoined his teammates in St. Paul. Team USA’s staff is expected to continue evaluating Hutson through the evening, and his status for the remainder of the tournament will be decided then.

Regardless of the potential on-ice ramifications for Team USA without a defenseman of Hutson’s caliber, it’s objectively positive that he was able to leave the hospital on his own accord only a few short hours after the injury. Including today’s contest against Team Switzerland, Hutson has registered two assists in two games already, with a +5 rating.

His status as a top-tier defensive prospect began last year after a standout freshman performance at Boston University and an incredible showing at last year’s World Junior Championships. He scored 14 goals and 48 points in 39 games for the Terriers throughout the 2024-25 NCAA season. Furthermore, he added three goals and 11 points in seven games, helping Team USA to its second consecutive gold medal.

Finishing with the most points in last year’s tournament, the Washington Capitals prospect was expected to deliver a similar punch to Team USA’s lineup this year. Despite the fortunate news that he’s left the hospital, his status for the rest of the tournament is certainly in question.

Pacific Notes: Kraken, Carlsson, Kuemper, Chytil, Coghlan

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Seattle Kraken, who have been bitten by the injury bug as of late, may be returning a few high-end players soon. Earlier today, team producer Scott Malone reported that forward Jared McCann and defenseman Vince Dunn had returned to practice in regular jerseys.

There’s no indication either will return to the Kraken’s game tomorrow against the Philadelphia Flyers, though it is encouraging. McCann has been limited to 11 games with Seattle this season, scoring five goals and three points, with his last contest coming on December 10th.

Still, Dunn only missed the Kraken’s game on Tuesday due to an upper-body injury, and he’s not on the team’s injured reserve, unlike McCann. If there’s any silver lining to what’s shaping up to be another disappointing season for the Kraken, is that Dunn has been healthy for much of the season. Over the last two years, he had played in less than 75% of Seattle’s games due to injury. He has scored five goals and 19 points in 34 games this season.

Other notes from the Pacific Division:

  • In a positive update for the Anaheim Ducks, center Leo Carlsson’s lower-body injury from earlier in the week will only cost him one game. In an article this morning, Derek Lee of The Hockey News confirmed that Carlsson would return to the lineup tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. Aside from an external addition, there truly couldn’t be better news for the Ducks, who are tied for the lead in the Pacific Division after several difficult seasons. Carlsson is leading that effort, scoring 17 goals and 41 points in 34 games as Anaheim’s leading scorer.
  • On the flip side of tonight’s matchup, netminder Darcy Kuemper will miss a fifth consecutive game for the Kings due to an upper-body injury. Fortunately, that absence shouldn’t last too much longer. Team reporter Zach Dooley shared earlier that Kuemper had returned to practice for the Kings, joining the team for their morning skate.
  • Moving to the Western portion of Canada, host of Rink Wide: Vancouver, Jeff Paterson, reported earlier that Filip Chytil had returned to practice for the Vancouver Canucks in a non-contact jersey. Chytil has not played since mid-October due to what is believed to be another concussion in his nine-year career. Unfortunately, despite the positive update that Chytil has returned to the ice, there’s no timeline for his return.
  • On the transaction side, the Vegas Golden Knights quietly reassigned defenseman Dylan Coghlan to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. The Golden Knights exit the holiday break on a three-game homestand, so they likely have little need for a depth defenseman, unlike they would on a road trip. Coghlan didn’t feature in any games throughout the duration of his recall.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top