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Lightning’s Oliver Bjorkstrand Out Week-To-Week

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The Lightning will be without deadline pickup Oliver Bjorkstrand to begin the playoffs. Head coach Jon Cooper told reporters this morning he’s out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. They’re not ruling him out for the entirety of the postseason, but his availability anytime during the first round is certainly in doubt.

That offers some context for Tampa opting to recall top prospect Conor Geekie from AHL Syracuse this morning, aside from just giving him another crack at NHL minutes. With Cam Atkinson sent to Syracuse to make room for Geekie’s recall, Bjorkstrand’s absence will force the Bolts to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen this evening against the Sabres.

Bjorkstrand hasn’t been quite as productive as Tampa hoped for after acquiring him and Yanni Gourde from the Kraken at the trade deadline. He’s posted 5-4–9 through 18 games, down from his point pace with Seattle prior to the trade and, if projecting over a full season, his worst point pace since the 2018-19 campaign. It’s understandable, though, considering his more conservative deployment. While he’s gotten some power play reps, he’s spent virtually all of his even-strength deployment in third-line minutes and is only averaging 14:03 per game overall.

Still, missing Bjorkstrand aggravates Tampa’s most significant weakness before his acquisition: secondary scoring. It makes the Gourde pickup all the more essential to help reduce the workload of players like Nick Paul, Geekie, and Gage Goncalves, with Bjorkstrand likely to miss at least a few playoff games. It won’t mark the end of Bjorkstrand’s Lightning tenure if he does not get into postseason action. He’s signed through next season at a $5.4MM cap hit.

Metropolitan Notes: Thompson, Protas, Hamilton, Carrier, Gostisbehere

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Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson began on-ice recovery today as he nears a return from an upper-body injury, Emily Kaplan of ESPN said on today’s broadcast of Washington’s loss in Columbus (via Tom Gulitti of NHL.com). He skated today along with the NHL’s new all-time goals leader, Alex Ovechkin, who stayed home to rest with the Caps’ place atop the Eastern Conference clinched. The presumptive Vezina Trophy finalist has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury and remains questionable for the beginning of Washington’s first-round playoff series against whichever team ends up in the second wild-card spot. Backup Charlie Lindgren hasn’t been particularly inspiring in his absence, posting a .866 SV% since taking over for Thompson when the latter left an April 2 loss to the Hurricanes. Lindgren was not in the crease today for the Caps’ 7-0 defeat; third-stringer Hunter Shepard was. Winger Aliaksei Protas is also expected to skate Monday for the first time since sustaining a laceration from a skate on his left foot on April 4, Kaplan said. “There is some concern about how the location of the skate cut (under skate tongue) will impact the rest of Protas’ foot, but they’re hopeful he’ll be ready for the start of the playoffs,” Gulitti relayed. The 24-year-old remains an invaluable part of the Caps’ league-best offense, erupting for a career-best 30-36–66 scoring line in 76 showings.

Elsewhere in the Metro:

  • Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton continues to inch closer to a return but won’t play tomorrow against the Islanders, head coach Sheldon Keefe told the team’s Amanda Stein. Initially expected to be out until the second round of the playoffs after sustaining a lower-body injury in early March, he’s been upgraded to day-to-day. He will almost certainly be an option to begin their first-round series against the Hurricanes. He’s a key return amid a blue line missing Jonas Siegenthaler and a forward group missing star center Jack Hughes. Hamilton’s 40 points in 63 games rank seventh on the Devils and second among rearguards behind Luke Hughes’ 42.
  • The Hurricanes had winger William Carrier in the lineup against the Rangers today for the first time since he underwent lower-body surgery in January. An important depth add to their bottom six ahead of the postseason, the 30-year-old had an assist, four hits, and a plus-one rating in 10:48 of ice time in his return. They were without top backend point-producer Shayne Gostisbehere, though, who Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal relays is dealing with a lower back injury. It’s his second straight absence. The 31-year-old has 44 points in 68 showings this year, his fourth straight season above 40 points. He ranks fifth on Carolina in scoring while averaging 18:29 per game. He remains day-to-day and should be back for Game 1 against New Jersey.

Injury Notes: Golden Knights, Avalanche, Middleton

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The Vegas Golden Knights were one of many teams to get a wave of positive injury updates on Friday. Neither star forward Jack Eichel nor top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo are expected to play on Saturday, but both are nearing a return, head coach Bruce Cassidy told Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Both players have missed Vegas’ last two games – Eichel with a day-to-day upper-body injury and Pietrangelo with illness. That same illness has also held winger Victor Olofsson and defender Nicolas Hague out of Vegas’ last two games. Cassidy shared that he had no updates on the latter two absentees, as they’re away from the rink with their sickness.

Getting Eichel back from injury will be a major addition as Vegas prepares for the postseason. He leads the squad in scoring this year with 27 goals and 93 points in 76 games – nearly 30 more points than Mark Stone’s 67 points ranked second. This is Eichel’s first season playing more than 70 games since the 2018-19 season, when he recorded his previous career-high 82 points with the Buffalo Sabres. The year has been more a return to routine health than a true breakout, but either way, Eichel has smashed his career-mark and is set to rival 100 points for the first time in his career. He’ll likely fall just short, as Vegas has just two games left after Saturday’s matchup against Nashville.

Meanwhile, Pietrangelo leads a strong – but sick – supporting cast. He has 33 points in 70 games this season, third-most on the Vegas blue-line. Pietrangelo leads the Golden Knights lineup in average ice time per game with 22:24 – surprisingly the lowest ice time average he’s recorded since his rookie season in 2010-11. He’ll jump right back to a top-pair role when he returns, while Olofsson and Hague will find their way in Vegas’ middle lines. Olofsson has managed 14 goals and 27 points in 54 games this season – stout scoring for his first year with the club. Hague, meanwhile, once again ranks near the bottom of scoring among Golden Knights defenders, with just 11 points in 66 games so far.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • A pair of veteran members of the Avalanche took a step toward returning as Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette relays that winger Jonathan Drouin joined the team for practice yesterday in a non-contact jersey as he works his way back from a lower-body injury.  Meanwhile, defenseman Josh Manson (upper body) skated on his own.  Drouin has been banged up all season but has been productive when healthy, collecting 37 points in 43 games, good for sixth on the team in scoring despite missing 37 contests.  Manson, meanwhile, has been out for nearly a month now but has done well when playing, collecting 15 points in 48 games while averaging a little over 18 minutes per night of playing time.
  • Wild defenseman Jacob Middleton missed his third straight game last night due to an upper-body injury.  However, Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune notes that the blueliner is a possibility to return for tonight’s contest in Vancouver.  Middleton has been a critical part of Minnesota’s back end this year, logging nearly 22 minutes per game of ice time while also chipping in with 20 points in 66 outings.  The Wild are still trying to lock down a playoff spot and getting Middleton back would be a big boost to help them try to do just that.

PHR’s Brian La Rose also contributed to this post.

Latest On Edmonton Oilers Injuries

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Teams around the NHL received long lists of injury updates headed into the weekend. None were more important than for the Edmonton Oilers, who learned that Leon Draisaitl will return before the end of the regular season, head coach Kris Knoblauch told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic before Friday’s win over San Jose. Draisaitl has missed Edmonton’s last four games with an undisclosed injury. Knoblauch also shared that goaltender Stuart Skinner will return to start two of the team’s last four games, that defenseman Mattias Ekholm is back to full health, and forward Trent Frederic might not be ready for the first game of the postseason. Nugent-Bowman also shared that defenseman Jake Walman would continue to sit out on Friday, but is expected to return in one of the team’s back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday.

Both Ekholm and Skinner rejoined the lineup on Friday night after missing Edmonton’s last seven games. Ekholm’s injury wasn’t disclosed but Skinner had sustained a head injury on a collision with Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen in late March. Skinner served as the backup in his return, but Ekholm wasn’t as lucky. He stumbled a few times in his first few shifts and eventually left the game after just two minutes of total ice time. Winger Zach Hyman also left the game early, after just seven minutes of ice time. It wasn’t entirely clear where either Oilers skater was hurt. Knoblauch told Nugent-Bowman after the game that both Ekholm and Hyman will be questionable for game one of the playoffs.

No injury updates were provided about center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has missed the last two games with illness, or defenseman John Klingberg, who has missed the last seven games with a lower-body injury. Knoblauch did add that forward Evander Kane, who hasn’t played this season due to multiple surgeries, still does not have a clear timeline.

The wave of injury updates come at the right time for the Oilers. They have three games remaining in their season and a cushy role as the third-ranked Pacific Division squad all-but-locked up. The Oilers appear to be headed for a feud with the Los Angeles Kings in round one, and will need their offensive firepower to get over the defense that’s allowed the second-fewest goals in the Western Conference.

Draisaitl’s addition will go a long way towards achieving that goal. He’s among the top favorites for the Hart Trophy this season, after amassing 52 goals and 106 points in just 71 games. His scoring average puts him on pace for 122 points in 82 games – just shy of the career-high 128 points he recorded in the 2022-23 season. Draisaitl has performed at a superstar level once again this season, and getting a chance to return before the postseason kicks off should help him get back up to star speed before Edmonton’s must-win games.

Draisaitl will help pull the Oilers offense forward while Walman looks to assume a major role on defense. Ekholm leaves a top-pair role and over 22 minutes of ice time each game up for grabs, and Walman will be the primary beneficiary when he’s ready to return. The Trade Deadline acquisition has posted a fantastic eight points, six penalty minutes, and plus-five in 15 games with the Oilers, while averaging more than 21 minutes a game. He’s become an adequate support for top left-defender Darnell Nurse, and together the two will look to split Edmonton’s top role on the left-side. Ekholm will join the duo when he’s back to full health, giving the Oilers one of their deepest blue-lines headed into the postseason in recent memory.

That boost will help make up for blows to Edmonton’s complimentary cast. Hyman has continued to stand as a top scorer on the lineup with 27 goals – second-most on the team – and 44 points in 73 games this season. He’s once again dominating the net-front, a role that Edmonton has struggled to fill in his absence. That role could be managed by Trade Deadline buy Trent Frederic, though he’s only been healthy for one game since Edmonton sent a second-round and fourth-round draft pick to Boston for the centerman. His return will likely line up closely with Hyman’s, effectively defaulting Frederic to a role in Edmonton’s bottom-six – where he’ll look to carve out a role on the back of his size, 15 points in 58 games, and underperforming 10.3 shooting percentage this season.

Edmonton’s skaters will collectively look to bolster the product in front of starting goaltender Stuart Skinner, who has again struggled with consistency this season. Skinner has two shutouts on the year, but a .894 save percentage and 24-18-4 record through 48 starts. He’s been ever-so-slightly outperformed by backup Calvin Pickard in his absence, though Pickard’s 22-9-1 record and .902 save percentage don’t jump off the page either. Goaltending has been Edmonton’s achilles heel in past postseasons, and how Skinner is able to return from injury could go a long way towards shaping their playoff hopes. The Oilers will be looking to run all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in due time, after they lost in game seven of the Finals to the Florida Panthers last season.

Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Evening Notes: Ferraro, Rutta, Sorensen, Ekman-Larsson, McCabe

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The San Jose Sharks will swap out a pair of injured defensemen through the end of the season. Top defender Mario Ferraro has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, while depth option Jan Rutta will be activated from injured reserve for Friday night’s game, per Jason Gregor of Sports-1440. Ferraro suffered a lower-body injury in Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild. Rutta was also facing a lower-body injury, and has missed San Jose’s last 27 games.

Ferraro’s season will come to a close on the heels of a streak of heavy utilization. He’s appeared in at least 24 minutes of play in six of his last 10 games. That mark raised his season-long average to 21:24 through 78 games. Ferraro recorded five goals, 17 points, and a minus-25 with those minutes. He also led the Sharks defense with 125 blocked shots and 150 hits on the year. His minus-25 was also Ferraro’s highest plus-minus since the 2021-22 seaosn. He had another year of a hard-fought role, and the defense will feel the weight of his absence through their final four games.

Rutta has handled far less of a role through his healthy games this season. He’s recorded eight points, a minus-six, and 28 penalty minutes in 51 games while rotating through a role on San Jose’s bottom pair. His average of 16:57 in ice time is the fewest of any Sharks defender with more than 30 games played. Nonetheless, Rutta will slot back into a role on the Sharks’ bottom two pairings with Ferraro out.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Chicago Blackhawks head coach Anders Sorensen has been named an assistant coach for Team Sweden at the upcoming World Championship per Chris Johnston of The Athletic. It will be his first time coaching in an international tournament at any level. In fact, Sorensen didn’t play in any international tournaments during his short-lived playing career either – though his pro journey did span tenures in Sweden, France, and Norway. Sorensen has grown through the ranks of Chicago hockey, coaching prominent youth club the Chicago Mission for many years before graduating to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs’ head coaching role, then assuming Chicago’s head coach role this season. Sorensen has set a 15-30-8 record in 53 games behind the Blackhawks’ bench this season.
  • Johnston also reported that Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson will miss Saturday’s game with a day-to-day injury. The Leafs will also be without Jake McCabe per Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, though Siegel adds that McCabe is nearing a return. He has missed the last three games. Both defenders have served strong roles with the Leafs this season, and sit right next to each other across many stats. Ekman-Larsson has scored 29 points in 77 games, while McCabe has managed 23 points in 66 games. Both defenders average 21 minutes of ice time, and round out Toronto’s left-hand side alongside Morgan Rielly. The Leafs will watch for the return of both options closely as they prepare for a long playoff run, after clinching a spot on April 2nd.

Lightning Notes: Howard, Guentzel, Glendening

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On today’s rendition of 32 Thoughts by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the NHL insider touched on the ongoing situation between the Tampa Bay Lightning and prospect Isaac Howard. The product of Michigan State University has already announced he’ll return to the Spartans’ program for the 2025-26 NCAA season, and there’s no guarantee he’ll ever wear a Lightning uniform.

Friedman indicates there’s no bad blood between the Lightning and their top prospect, but the odds are against them signing him to an entry-level contract. As Friedman puts it, Howard will play through his final year of eligibility at Michigan State and become an unrestricted free agent on August 15, 2026. The Hobey Baker Award finalist would quickly become one of the highest-profile collegiate free agents in recent memory.

Howard is unlikely to sign with Tampa Bay partly due to the organization’s preferred usage of him. The plan was for Howard to play in the AHL for the 2025-26 season, and the collegiate standout has indicated he’d make more in NIL money in East Lansing than he would on an AHL salary. Friedman hinted that Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois could look to trade Howard at the 2025 NHL Draft, with plenty of teams likely having an interest.

More notes from Tampa Bay:

  • According to Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times, the Lightning will have winger Jake Guentzel back tonight for their intra-divisional contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Guentzel had missed Tampa Bay’s most recent contest because of personal reasons, and it appears he’s at a point in his life off the ice where he can return. Fortunately, that’s only one of two games Guentzel has missed for the Lightning this season, scoring 38 goals and 77 points in 76 games.
  • Unfortunately, there is one Tampa Bay forward who won’t be available to the team for their remaining regular season contests. Lightning insider Erik Erlendsson reported earlier that Luke Glendening, who’s out with an undisclosed injury, is out for the rest of the regular season, although the Lightning are hopeful he’ll return for the postseason. Glendening will finish the 2024-25 season with four goals and seven points in 77 contests with a customarily high 57.0% success rate in the faceoff circle.

East Notes: Bruins, Greaves, Cousins, Penguins

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The Bruins are shutting down defenseman Charlie McAvoy and center Mark Kastelic for the final week of the season, relays Boston.com’s Conor Ryan (Twitter link).  Interim head coach Joe Sacco indicated that both players are making progress from their respective injuries but will run out of time before the year comes to an end.  McAvoy has missed the last two months with a shoulder injury sustained during the 4 Nations Face-Off; his year comes to an end with just 23 points in 50 games, the lowest point total of his eight-year NHL career.  As for Kastelic, he has missed the last three weeks with an upper-body issue.  He finishes with a career-best 14 points in 61 games while chipping in with 128 hits, earning him a three-year, $4.7MM extension in early January.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • With Elvis Merzlikins unavailable for tonight’s must-win game against Buffalo, the Blue Jackets announced the recall of Jet Greaves from AHL Cleveland on an emergency basis. The 24-year-old has been up with Columbus several times this season, posting a 2.83 GAA and a .905 SV% in six outings heading into today’s action.  He has a 2.62 GAA and a .910 SV% in 40 games with the Monsters and with Daniil Tarasov struggling, Greaves got the start against the Sabres.
  • Senators winger Nick Cousins was a full participant in practice today and hasn’t been ruled out of Friday’s game against Montreal, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Originally expected to miss at least three months after suffering a knee injury in late January, it looks like the 31-year-old will be able to beat that by a couple of weeks at least.  Ottawa will have to make a roster move in order to activate Cousins off LTIR as they don’t have the cap space to add him back to the roster otherwise.  Cousins has 13 points and 80 hits in 47 games this season.
  • The Penguins announced (Twitter link) that forwards Noel Acciari, Blake Lizotte, Rutger McGroarty, Matthew Nieto, and Thomas Novak are all being shut down for the final few games of the season. Those players being out provide the context for the three players Pittsburgh recalled earlier today.  Of the absences, McGroarty is the most notable as he had been given a bigger role since being recalled late last month, logging over 16 minutes a night while playing on the top line as the Penguins hoped to give one of their top prospects a good look down the stretch but that look winds up being shorter than expected.

Avalanche Notes: MacKinnon, Lindgren, Girard, Coyle

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The Avalanche will be giving franchise center Nathan MacKinnon some rest as the postseason nears. He’s dealing with a minor injury and may not play again in the regular season, Corey Masisak of the Denver Post was first to report. Head coach Jared Bednar confirmed MacKinnon won’t play tonight against the Canucks and called him doubtful for their other two remaining contests (via Masisak).

That will mean extended rest for MacKinnon ahead of the first round. Colorado is the first team in the league to end their regular season schedule, playing Game 82 on Sunday. They’ll have at minimum six days of rest before Game 1 of their first playoff series.

It’s virtually confirmed that MacKinnon will be ready to go when the postseason starts, and today’s absence is more precautionary. Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now wrote, “It sounds like he’d be playing if the Avs were still fighting for something to close out the regular season.”

If that’s the case, MacKinnon ends his season with 32-84–116 in 79 games, along with a +25 rating. On a goals-per-game basis, it’s his worst showing in eight years, and his 1.47 points per game are his lowest since the 2021-22 season. That doesn’t mean much in a season where high-end scoring has regressed heavily. MacKinnon still enters game action tonight leading the league in assists and points, and could very well capture his second straight Hart Trophy in a few weeks’ time.

Unfortunately, there’s a more legitimate upper-body injury holding defenseman Ryan Lindgren out of tonight’s game, Bednar told Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports. The 27-year-old complementary defender, acquired from the Rangers in March, had gone without a point in his last eight games and has 2-1–3 in 18 contests since the swap, averaging 19 minutes per game with a minus-one rating. His second-pairing role will be filled by Samuel Girard, who Bednar confirmed returns tonight after a four-game absence due to an undisclosed injury (via Deen).

Also playing is pivot Charlie Coyle, who was banged up while recording two assists in Tuesday’s shootout win over the Golden Knights. That’s important with MacKinnon out to reduce the load increase on names like Jack Drury and Brock Nelson down the middle. Coyle has 1-7–8 in 16 games since being acquired from the Bruins for Casey Mittelstadt at the trade deadline.

Brady Tkachuk Possibly Out Until Playoffs

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While the Ottawa Senators clinched their spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last night, they may be without their captain until the playoff begins. According to an NHL release, Brady Tkachuk may not return in the regular season as he continues to deal with an injury.

Tkachuk has been out five games since sustaining an upper-body injury in Ottawa’s overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 30. He sustained a hit late in the second period from defender Ryan Graves that drew a penalty, and Tkachuk did not return to the game. Tkachuk has scored 29 goals and 55 points in 71 games on the year, while also dishing out 227 hits and recording 123 penalty minutes. The Sens have gone 3-2 in his absence and currently sit in the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

A fan favorite in Ottawa, Tkachuk, 25, already ranks fourth in team history in goals (191), sixth all-time in points (404), and third in penalty minutes. However, the power forward has never experienced the NHL playoffs. The Senators, who took Tkachuk fourth overall in the 2018 draft, have not qualified for the playoffs since the 2016-17 season. That year, the Senators went on a deep run before eventually losing game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Penguins in double overtime. It’s been 2,876 days since the Sens last playoff appearance.

Asked if Tkachuk could return if the playoffs hypothetically started tomorrow, GM Steve Staios stated, “I would think so, yes. I can’t give you a definitive (answer).” He added that Tkachuk has continued to progress and that it’s natural for teams to mull over these types of decisions. Staios added it’s a balancing act between wanting to get a player back to full health, while also trying to maintain momentum heading into the playoffs.

Staios added that veteran forward Nick Cousins, who has missed 29 games since sustaining a knee injury on Jan. 25, is traveling with the team and close to returning. He said Cousins has been attacking his rehab to expedite his possible return to play. In 47 games on the year, Cousins has recorded five goals and 13 points in a depth role.

Afternoon Notes: Seguin, Orlov, Hutson, Ostman

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The Dallas Stars may take inspiration from their Central Division rival, the Colorado Avalanche, when it comes to easing a star player back into the lineup. Head coach Pete DeBoer shared that the team is deciding whether or not to place winger Tyler Seguin on an AHL conditioning loan as he eases his way back from a hip injury, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports. Seguin has missed Dallas’ last 55 games with injury. He is expected to be back to full health in time for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but may not be up to full speed in time to contribute to must-win games. Colorado recently assigned team captain Gabriel Landeskog to an AHL conditioning loan. Neither Seguin nor Landeskog have played any AHL games in their careers.

Seguin was a major piece of the Stars lineup at the beginning of the season. He scored nine goals and 20 points in 19 games to start the year, good for third on the team in points and fourth in goals at the time of his injury. It was an offensive explosion for Seguin, who has struggled to cross the 50-point mark in each of his last four healthy seasons. Regardless of a minor-league conditioning stint, Seguin will soon return to a very different Stars lineup – with feisty youngster Logan Stankoven replaced by high-upside veterans Mikko Rantanen and Mikael Granlund. Adding another flashy winger to that mix could make Dallas a sneaky favorite to win games this postseason.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov is set to hit unrestricted free agency this season, and seems unlikely to receive a confident extension from the cap-strapped Hurricanes. Speculation has connected Orlov to his native KHL for much of the season, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman dispelled those rumors in his recent 32 Thoughts article. Orlov is instead expected to stick in the NHL, where he’ll no doubt get plenty of attention from needy teams this summer. Orlov fills a premium, well-rounded role in Carolina. He has scored six goals and 26 points in 71 games this season, averages 20 minutes of ice time each game, and leads the Hurricanes defense with 97 hits. Those marks fall closely in line with how Orlov has performed throughout his 13-year career in the NHL – maintaining the role of well-rounded bruiser through tenures with the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins. Orlov signed a two-year contract with Carolina in the summer of 2023 – his first time entering unrestricted free agency.
  • Friedman also reported that there’s plenty of Western Conference interest in Boston University forward Quinn Hutson, with the end of his collegiate career in sight. Hutson has been a major contributor to the Terriers offense over the last three seasons. His scoring has improved in every year – growing from 28 points, to 36, and to 50 this year. Those improvements have been coupled with clear growth in his game. He’s become a stronger skater and more confident in finding space in the middle of the ice. Those improvements – and his scoring track record – lend themselves to clear pro upside. Hutson, who had a late start to his juniors career, went undrafted through the 2020, 2021, and 2022 NHL drafts. With this news, a team could soon reverse their mistake in looking past him and award the third of four Hutson brothers with his pro hockey debut.
  • Finally, the Seattle Kraken have reassigned goaltender Victor Ostman to the minor leagues. Ostman made his NHL debut in relief of Joey Daccord on Tuesday, after the latter allowed seven goals on 22 shots through the first two periods. Ostman saved all 12 of the shots he faced in relief. The 24-year-old netminder is playing through his first season of professional hockey, after spending the last four years at the University of Maine. He’s spent the bulk of the year in the ECHL, where he’s recorded a 21-7-4 record and .903 save percentage in 32 games. Ostman has also contributed a stout 2-1-1 record and .927 save percentage in four AHL games this season. He will head back to the AHL with this move, and could get a chance at plenty more ice time with a clean sheet in the NHL under his belt.

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