Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Injury

Winnipeg’s Mason Appleton Out Week-To-Week With Injury

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Jan. 3rd: According to a team announcement, the Jets have placed Appleton on injured reserve (retroactive to Dec. 28th) as expected. Winnipeg takes on the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow night so there may be a corresponding roster move to fill the open roster spot.

Dec. 31st: The Winnipeg Jets will have a major hole on their third line for the foreseeable future. Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reported yesterday evening that forward Mason Appleton would miss the next few weeks with a lower-body injury.

Appleton didn’t play in last night’s contest against the Nashville Predators. This likely means the lower-body injury was suffered at practice considering Appleton skated in nearly 16 minutes of the Jets’ game against the Ottawa Senators on December 28th.

It’ll be the first time in nearly two years that Appleton has missed an extended period. He played in all 82 games for Winnipeg last season scoring 14 goals and 36 points for the highest-scoring campaign of his career.

The Jets will have big shoes to fill on one of the most consistent third lines over the last several years. Appleton typically plays on the right wing next to Adam Lowry and Nino Niederreiter, so they may need to make a roster move to fill the void.

Winnipeg hasn’t dealt with too many injuries this season but has leaned on Brad Lambert and Nikita Chibrikov for recalls when Nikolaj Ehlers lost time with an injury a few weeks ago. The Jets could again recall one of these better prospects from their system or move stagnating forward Rasmus Kupari to the third line to create an offensive jolt in his game.

Canucks Place Elias Pettersson On IR, Recall Arturs Silovs On Emergency Basis

at CDT | by 2 Comments

There will be a small change to the goaltending position for the Vancouver Canucks tonight. The organization announced they’ve recalled netminder Arturs Silovs on an emergency basis and placed Elias Pettersson on injured reserve retroactive to December 23rd.

Vancouver hasn’t issued any formal updates regarding Thatcher Demko’s status. He left yesterday’s game against the Seattle Kraken during the second period and didn’t join the team’s practice this morning per Jeff Paterson of Canucks Army. There are some obvious concerns with Demko given that he went nearly eight months without participating in an NHL contest due to a popliteal muscle injury.

Still, one player’s misfortune is another player’s opportunity. Silovs will look to rebound on a disappointing start to the 2024-25 NHL season. He filled in for Demko at the beginning of the year but struggled immensely with a 1-4-1 record in seven games with a .847 save percentage and a 4.11 goals-against average.

Silovs has understandably been much better with the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. He’s managed a 2-3-0 record in five games with a .900 SV% and 2.44 GAA. It’s a far cry from the performance of a netminder that took the eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the 2024 playoffs. Still, Silovs will look to show he can be a long-term answer to Vancouver’s backup role.

Pettersson’s move to the injured reserve is largely a formal transaction. He’s been out with an undisclosed injury since the team’s matchup against the San Jose Sharks before the holiday break but is expected back soon. The Canucks haven’t offered much context regarding Petterson’s injury but he will join the team for their upcoming five-game road trip starting next Monday. He’s already eligible to be activated during any of those contests.

Avalanche’s Scott Wedgewood Out Week-To-Week

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Avalanche will be down one-half of their new goaltending tandem for more than a few games. Netminder Scott Wedgewood will likely be listed as week to week after leaving the third period of Thursday’s win over the Sabres with a lower-body injury, head coach Jared Bednar told Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now.

No. 3 option Trent Miner will be recalled from AHL Colorado to back up Mackenzie Blackwood for the time being, Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports reports. With no open active roster spots, Wedgewood will likely land on injured reserve.

Wedgewood, 32, sustained the injury when Sabres winger Zach Benson fell on his right leg while in a crease battle with Colorado forward Parker Kelly. Buffalo scored on the play, which officials did not blow dead, and Bednar ended up fielding an unsuccessful goalie interference challenge.

Acquiring Wedgewood was the first of two trades Colorado made earlier this season to replace their struggling opening-night tandem of Justus Annunen and Alexandar Georgiev. They sent Annunen and a 2025 sixth-rounder to land the veteran from Nashville, where he’d struggled to the tune of a .878 SV% in five games after signing a two-year, $3MM contract in free agency.

Wedgewood’s play has improved drastically since arriving in Denver. The Ontario native, now with his fifth NHL franchise, has a 4-2-0 record with a .917 SV%, 2.35 GAA and one shutout in seven appearances so far as an Av.

But that rebound has been overshadowed by Blackwood, who was picked up from the Sharks a couple of weeks later in a trade that sent Georgiev the other way. The 28-year-old recently played his way into a five-year, $26.25MM extension with Colorado and now has a 6-1-0 record with a sparkling .932 SV% in seven showings since the trade.

They should be fine with Blackwood handling the overwhelming majority of starts in the interim given how well he’s played this season, but a workload that heavy may be a struggle for a goaltender who’s only started more than 40 games twice in his career. Miner arrives as an inexperienced but intriguing option, stopping 12 of 13 shots he faced in his NHL debut in relief of Annunen against the Capitals on Nov. 15.

Miner, a 2019 seventh-rounder, has a .903 SV% and a 2.47 GAA in 16 AHL games this season, good for an 8-5-3 record. He’s set to be a restricted free agent next summer.

Guerin: Wild Will Be Cautious With Kirill Kaprizov’s Return

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Wild have been without superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov since the holiday break with a lower-body issue. It’s caused him to miss four games and will hold him out for at least one more, although general manager Bill Guerin says they’ll keep him sidelined for as long as the team needs to in order to allow him to fully recover.

“The thing is that we don’t want him to come back and push through,” Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic on Thursday. “He could, but it could make something worse.”

As Guerin relayed, the Wild have already been burned once this season by a player returning too soon into their recovery from a groin problem – which Kaprizov is speculated to have, but Guerin wouldn’t confirm. Depth winger Jakub Lauko sustained a groin injury against the Jets on Nov. 25 and returned to the lineup after missing six games, but reaggravated the muscle issue less than a week later and remains on injured reserve without a return date on the horizon.

“We need [Kaprizov] for the long haul,” Guerin continued. “We don’t just need him for a couple games in January. We need him to get healthy and feel better, so we’re trying to do the right thing and just look at it from the long point of view.”

Before his injury, Kaprizov was tracking to finish in the top 10 in Hart Trophy voting for the second time in his career. The dynamic-as-ever 27-year-old remains fifth in the league with 1.47 points per game after notching 23 goals and 27 assists for 50 points through 34 games.

Twenty of those 23 goals have come at even strength, still tied with the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl for the league lead. His +21 rating is also still second among forwards behind the Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel (+23) despite his absence.

The Wild have gone 3-1-0 in their star scorer’s absence, including an impressive 4-3 road shootout win over the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals last night. Any points they can compile in the short term with Kaprizov and top-four defensemen Jacob Middleton and Jared Spurgeon out of the lineup are crucial to their chances of holding onto the top-three placing in the Central Division that they’ve held for most of the year.

With all the injury-related drama surrounding Minnesota recently, they’re still in quite a good place in the standings. Their 52 points and .667 points percentage are both third in the Western Conference and second in the Central. Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic’s projection model still projects them to finish with 105 points, narrowly edging out the Avalanche and Stars to hold onto second place in the division, even factoring in the expected length of their injured players’ absences.

A good portion of Minnesota’s success in the interim must be awarded to the resurgent play of netminder Filip Gustavsson, whose .924 SV% ranks third in the league among qualified netminders after a trying 2023-24 season. That includes a .937 mark in his three starts since the holiday break.

He’ll need to keep that up with the Wild’s offense clicking at a middling 2.95 goals per game, which is only good enough for 20th in the league despite Kaprizov only missing 12.8% of their schedule thus far. Marco Rossi has been Minnesota’s top scorer since the break in Kaprizov’s absence, notching three goals and a pair of assists in his four outings.

Injury Updates: Wild, Nichushkin, Lindholm, Jost

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The lower-body injury that Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon sustained on Tuesday isn’t as bad as initially feared.  However, it’s still expected to keep him out of the lineup for the next two to three weeks, reports Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.  The 35-year-old has logged at least 20 minutes a night on the back end in every year but his rookie season back in 2010-11.  Spurgeon has 13 points and 52 blocked shots in 32 games so far this season.

Meanwhile, Minnesota might be getting a different key blueliner back soon.  Whyno adds that defenseman Jake Middleton could return as soon as next week from the hand injury that has kept him out for the last three weeks, landing him on LTIR.  Middleton had 13 points in 29 games before the injury while his 76 blocks still lead the Wild.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, mentions Corey Masisak of The Denver Post. However, head coach Jared Bednar added that the 29-year-old could miss seven to ten days with the issue.  Nichushkin has been quite productive since returning from a stint in the Player Assistance Program, notching 11 goals and six assists in just 21 games, putting him in a tie for fourth in team goals despite missing 17 games.
  • Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm is making some strides as he works his way back from a lower-body injury but hasn’t been cleared to skate yet, notes Boston.com’s Conor Ryan. The veteran has missed the better part of the last two months with the injury, a big blow to a Boston back end that has had some uncharacteristic struggles so far.  Prior to the injury, Lindholm had seven points in 17 games while logging nearly 21 minutes a night, a per-game rate that stands second on the team.
  • The undisclosed injury that Hurricanes forward Tyson Jost sustained on Tuesday is expected to keep him out long-term, relays team reporter Walt Ruff (Twitter link). The 26-year-old cleared waivers earlier this season but played in 16 games with Carolina since being recalled in November.  Jost has a pair of goals in those outings while averaging 10:28 per game but he won’t be adding to that point total for a while yet now.

Golden Knights Place Ivan Barbashev On IR, Recall Tanner Laczynski

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Vegas Golden Knights have moved forward Ivan Barbashev to injured reserve, retroactive to December 16th, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Barbshev has missed Vegas’ last six games with an upper-body injury, after leaving the team’s December 15th matchup at the end of the first period. He didn’t appear to sustain a noticeable injury, leaving the question of where or how Barbashev suffered his now multi-week injury up in the air. A retroactive IR placement will allow Vegas to activate Barbashev as soon as he returns to full health.

In the mean time, the Golden Knights have also brought forward Tanner Laczynski back to the NHL roster. The move comes just four days after Vegas moved Laczynski back to the minor leagues, ending his previous recall at 11 days. Laczynski stepped into his first five games of the season before being sent down. He didn’t manage any scoring, but did record six penalty minutes and a -1, while serving on Vegas’ fourth line. They were Laczynski’s first five games as a member of the Golden Knights. He spent the first three seasons of his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted him in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Draft. Serving primarily as a depth fill-in, Laczynski totaled 38 games with the Flyers – 32 of those coming last season, when he netted the first four points of his NHL career. He’s otherwise been a career minor-leaguer, combining for 94 points across 111 games, and five seasons, in the AHL.

Laczynski has performed well enough to hold down Vegas’ fourth line, but the Golden Knights are still sincerely missing Barbashev’s production. The bulky Russian has 30 points, split evenly, in 31 games this season – placing Barbashev in a three-way tie for second on the team in scoring, alongisde Mark Stone and Shea Theodore. Barbashev is on an 82-game pace of 79 points, which would smash his previous career-high in scoring: 60 points set with the St. Louis Blues in 2021-22. He’ll need to return soon to continue chasing that milestone, but should immediately step back into the top-six when he is healthy again.

Late Night Notes: Doughty, Wilsby, Crosby

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Top Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty has taken one step closer to full health, returning to skating drills on Tuesday head coach Jim Hiller shared with NHL.com’s Zach Dooley. Doughty has missed the entire regular season after undergoing an ankle surgery in October. He was placed on long-term injured reserve on October 9th.

The Kings defense has been great in Doughty’s absence. Rookie Brandt Clarke leads the bunch in scoring with an impressive 21 points in 36 games – and is quickly followed by Vladislav Gavrikov, Jordan Spence, and Joel Edmundson in scoring double-digit points. The blue-line has been a major factor in the Kings’ 21-10-5 record, and getting back their franchise defender in Doughty could be the piece to really push them into company with the league’s top teams. The 35-year-old Doughty recorded 50 points in 82 games last season – his second consecutive year reaching the 50-point mark. His performance featured 15 goals, the most Doughty has scored since the 2009-10 season. While age has certainly slowed his game, he still seems poised to make a major impact in Los Angeles’ top-four once he’s back to full health.

Sticking to the Western Conference, Nashville Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby missed the team’s Tuesday game against Minnesota with an upper-body injury. He has been designated as day-to-day, per a team announcement. Wilsby has been a focal piece of Nashville’s blue-line, averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time each game and recording three points across 15 games. He’s 10 games shy of making this year his official rookie season in the NHL. Wilsby earned the promotion after climbing the ranks of the Milwaukee Admirals, totaling 44 points in 126 games with the club over the last three seasons – including five points in 13 games this year. Recent trade acquisition Justin Barron is filled in for Wilsby. It’s his third game with the Predators. Barron is still searching for his first point with the team.

Jumping out East, Sidney Crosby is continuing to stamp himself as the pinnacle Pittsburgh Penguin. He recorded his 1,034th assist on Sunday night, passing Mario Lemieux for the franchise’s all-time record and pushing Crosby to 12th on the NHL’s all-time assist leaderboards. Crosby sits 16 assists back from surpassing Gordie Howe and entering the top-10 of that list. He’s still 88 points shy of breaking Lemieux’s franchise record for all-time points. Crosby has two years on his contract after this season, which should be plenty of runway to set more Penguins scoring records, and continue challenging the tops of NHL record books.

Snapshots: Guentzel, Holmstrom, Chernyshov, Bains

at CDT | by 1 Comment

It’s one of the busiest nights of the hockey year. Unlike in years past, the Winter Classic is no longer a standalone event. The NHL has 12 other games on the docket, all backlit by Team Canada taking on Team USA in an exhilarating World Junior Championships tournament. The heap of action has pulled together sparked plenty of news from around the league.

Most notably, Tampa Bay Lightning winger Jake Guentzel returned to the team’s practices in a no-contact jersey on Tuesday, per NHL.com’s Eduardo A Encina. It was his first time skating since suffering an upper-body injury in the team’s Saturday game. He was designated as day-to-day, and missed his first game of the season on Sunday. Tampa Bay have until Thursday to prepare for a three-game slate this weekend. Guentzel’s return to the ice could be an indication that the Bolts will be getting another star scorer to support the effort.

Guentzel has been fantastic in his first season in Tampa Bay. He’s recorded 20 goals and 37 points through 33 games this season. That equals out to a 1.12 points-per-game scoring pace, which stands as the highest of Guentzel’s nine-year career and puts him on pace for 50 goals and 91 points across 81 games. He’ll need to return soon to uphold those numbers, and continue contributing to a Lightning top-six with three players outscoring him.

Across the Eastern Division, the New York Islanders have lost forward Simon Holmström to an upper-body injury. He has been designated as day-to-day, per a team announcement, and missed his first game of the season on Tuesday. Holmstrom has been a rare bright spot in the Islanders lineup, posting nine goals and 22 points across 37 games so far. He’s nearly past his career-high of 25 points set in 75 games last season, and has slowly climbed the Islanders lineup as a result. The Islanders scored just one goal in his absence on Tuesday, pulling their record to 4-6-0 in their last 10 games. All four of those wins required four-or-more goals, meaning New York now faces the challenge of maintaining their offense without one of their top scorers.

Traveling to the other coast – San Jose Sharks prospect Igor Chernyshov has shared that he hopes to return to game action in January, per Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News. Chernyshov – the fisrt pick of the second round in last year’s draft – has been skating with Sharks staff to support his recovery. He was a top prospect in last year’s class, with many even dubbing him a first-round talent. But a shoulder surgery in August has so far held him out of all 2024-25 action. He is expected to head to the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit when he returns to full health.

Finally, Vancouver Canucks winger Arshdeep Bains has changed agents, now represented by Wasserman’s Darren Hermiston per PuckPedia. Bains is in the final year of his entry-level contract. He began the year in the minor leagues, but was the clear top option on Vancouver’s call-up chart. He’s already been recalled seven times this season, resulting in Bains stepping into 11 NHL games. Unfortunately, he hasn’t done much to make the call-ups stick – with just one assist and a -4. He’s been much more active in the minors, recording 11 points, 20 penalty minutes, and a -5 in 12 games. Bains ranked second on the Abbotsford Canucks in scoring last season with 55 points in 59 games. His change of representation months before a new deal could be a step towards fighting for a hardier chance at the top flight.

Penguins Activate Marcus Pettersson, Place Kris Letang On IR

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins have swapped defenders on injured reserve, activating Marcus Pettersson (lower-body) and shelving Kris Letang (lower-body). Pettersson suffered his injury from an awkward hit into the boards during Pittsburgh’s December 14th loss to the Ottawa Senators. He’s since missed the Penguins’ last six games. Where Letang was injured is less clear. He was a late scratch for Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders, and has been designated as day-to-day per Hailey Hunter of SportsNet Pittsburgh. The Penguins will have the ability to make Letang’s IR placement retroactive to December 29th, making him eligible to return as soon as January 5th against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Pittsburgh swaps two of their most utilized defenders with this move. Letang leads the team’s skaters in ice time, averaging 23:24 through 34 games this season. Despite that, he’s been unusually unproductive, with 16 points marking his lowest scoring pace since 2009-10. Pettersson is working to catch Letang in scoring, with 13 points in 32 games while averaging 21:47 in ice time. His scoring pace puts him on track just narrowly beat out his career-high of 30 points set last season. Pettersson also brings a healthy wave of defense back to the Penguins lineup, leading the Penguins defense in Corsi For (52.93 percent) and ranked second in plus-minus (-4). That’ll be a welcome addition to a Penguins roster that’s averaged both 3.29 goals-for and goals-against in seven games without Pettersson, including the game he was injured in.

Pettersson’s return will bump Nathan Clurman out of the lineup. Clurman made his NHL debut on Monday, recording one penalty and no scoring in 11 minutes of ice time. Letang’s move to IR allows Pittsburgh to keep Clurman as their seventh defenseman, while Pettersson lines up to Pierre-Olivier Joseph on the second pair.

Rangers To Place Igor Shesterkin On IR, Recall Louis Domingue

at CDT | by 6 Comments

The New York Rangers will place franchise goaltender Igor Shesterkin on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. To fill his role, New York has also recalled goaltender Louis Domingue from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. No details of Shesterkin’s injury or timeline have been released. This IR placement will force him out of New York’s next three games, at least. Shesterkin played through the entirety of New York’s December 30th loss to the Florida Panthers, allowing four goals on 25 shots.

Losing Shesterkin for any duration is hard news to bear, especially for a Rangers club that’s gone 3-10-0 in the month of December. That’s in part thanks to Shesterkin slightly caving in – posting a .891 save percentage in 10 games this month, fourth-lowest among starting goaltenders. Backup Jonathan Quick didn’t perform much better, with a .847 Sv% through three appearances. The pair have totaled a more admirable .906 and .907 save percentage over the course of the season, though limiting opponent chances remains a major weakness for New York.

The Rangers will turn towards 12-year-pro Domingue to back up Quick in the short-term. Domingue has split AHL starts with top prospect Dylan Garand, recording a measly 4-9-1 record and .888 Sv% in 14 appearances. This is the first call-up of his season, and gives Domingue a chance to play in just his second game as a Ranger, after he recorded a 25-win for the team last season. He’s a veteran of eight NHL seasons, totaling a 60-60-10 record and .905 Sv% across 143 career games.

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