Pacific Notes: Oilers, Sherwood, Kings, Golden Knights
The Edmonton Oilers, who were hit by the injury bug out of the gate, have a number of players expected back soon. Mark Spector of Sportsnet shared today that Head Coach Kris Knoblauch “hopes” that Mattias Janmark and Alec Regula are set to return this weekend, Jake Walman next Thursday, and finally, Zach Hyman’s November 1st estimated return is still on track.
Hyman originally suffered a very untimely major wrist injury in last year’s Western Conference Finals. Meanwhile, newcomer Andrew Mangiapane is off to a hot start with 2 goals, in the coveted seat of Connor McDavid’s wing. It will be interesting to see how the Oil work Hyman back into the lineup, along with the recent addition of Jack Roslovic.
Walman and Janmark have both been out with undisclosed injuries not thought to be serious. Regula has appeared in both of the Oilers’ games to start the season, but is out tonight with yet another undisclosed injury. The 25-year-old was claimed off waivers from Boston last year, offering imposing size and a right handed shot, filling a bottom-pair role perhaps missed by the team since the departure of Vincent Desharnais.
Elsewhere across the division:
- In an article published by The Fourth Period earlier today, referencing word from their own David Pagnotta, Kiefer Sherwood and the Canucks have not begun contract discussions yet. A late-bloomer who established himself as a full-time NHLer with Nashville, Sherwood signed with Vancouver last season on a two-year deal and took another step, posting 40 points, and most notably, breaking the NHL single-season record for hits. Sherwood is a prototypical fourth liner in today’s game, and perhaps the club is feeling out his performance this year before they take next steps toward a considerable pay increase.
- The Kings have updates of their own; as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared on today’s episode of the FAN Hockey Show, that star Adrian Kempe wants to stay. Friedman said that talks had been in the $9-10MM range, but now, given the market explosion, it could go higher. The 29-year-old broke out in a steal of a 4-year deal at $5.5MM which finally ends this season. Additionally, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period also shared that the team is in no rush with an extension for young standout Brandt Clarke, as published today. Given such huge contracts given out to Luke Hughes and Lane Hutson, the Kings will be content to play the long game and see how Clarke’s season unfolds.
- SinBin.vegas noted tonight from the Golden Knights Insider Show, that forward Brett Howden will be out of tonight’s game in Calgary, and Cole Reinhardt will make his Vegas debut. It is not clear if it is an injury or scratch for Howden, who has one goal in the team’s first three games. Reinhardt signed a two-year deal coming over from the Senators, where he spent most time in the AHL, but notched two points in 17 games for the big club last year.
East Notes: Luchanko, Benson, Slavin
According to a new article from Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff, the Philadelphia Flyers aren’t expected to retain Jett Luchanko for the duration of the season if he doesn’t rise out of a fourth-line role. While Philadelphia’s front office believes Luchanko could “hold his own” in a bottom-six role, they will need to see a breakout from him if they’re to keep him beyond the nine-game threshold, which would burn the first year off of his entry-level contract.
The breakout the Flyers were expecting to see hasn’t come yet. The former 13th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft has gone scoreless through his first two games of the season, averaging 8:15 of ice time. Still, it’s difficult to see a pathway upward for Luchanko even if he does perform better, especially if they’re adamant on keeping him at the center position.
There’s little chance of the Flyers breaking up the line of Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates, and Bobby Brink, which has become a solid identity line for the team. The Flyers could conceivably move Trevor Zegras back to the wing, though they were steadfast in their belief that he could be a center when they acquired him this past summer. Further, given his defensive value and play in the faceoff dot, they’re unlikely to isolate Sean Couturier to fourth-line minutes.
Given the situation in front of him and the minimal time to accomplish such a task, it’s more than likely that Philadelphia will reassign Luchanko back to the OHL’s Guelph Storm in the next week or two. Unfortunately, despite his unenviable situation, he wouldn’t be entering a better situation in Guelph. Although he’d command far more playing time, the Storm aren’t expected to be a competitive team this season.
Other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- Although he wasn’t put on the team’s injured reserve to start the season, Zach Benson has yet to make his debut with the Buffalo Sabres this year. That’s expected to change tomorrow. According to Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald, Benson is likely to enter the lineup tomorrow night against the Ottawa Senators. Unfortunately, unless he has found another offensive level to his game, Benson shouldn’t be expected to help with the Sabres’ offensive woes to begin the campaign. Through his first two years, he’s scored 21 goals and 58 points in 146 games, averaging 14:40 of ice time.
- Yesterday, the Carolina Hurricanes announced that defenseman Jaccob Slavin is suffering from a lower-body injury, but were relatively vague regarding the severity. Today, in a small update, head coach Rod Brind’Amour said, “He went for some more testing. I think we’re just going to keep him out for a while. I don’t think it’s super serious, but he doesn’t quite feel right. So, for right now, he’s not on this trip.“
Injury Notes: Sharks, Tkachuk, Raymond, Koepke
San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky told the media today that forward Will Smith is currently dealing with a lower-body issue, and while he should still be in line to play in tomorrow’s game, Warsofsky did note that this ailment is something Smith has been dealing with since even before Saturday’s game. In addition to providing detail on an injury to Smith, Warsofsky also revealed that 2025 second-overall pick Michael Misa will make his NHL debut tomorrow.
Misa, 18, will make his NHL debut in what is the Sharks’ third game of the season. Tomorrow’s contest will not just be Misa’s NHL debut, it will also be his first regular-season game of professional hockey, as he was drafted out of the OHL. According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Misa was slotted into the Sharks’ third-line center position in today’s practice, hinting at how he’s likely to be used in his NHL debut. Given that the Sharks put Misa in between two players who have experience playing center at the NHL level (Ty Dellandrea and Philipp Kurashev) it appears Warsofsky may be trying to ease Misa, as much as possible, into the level of responsibility that comes with playing center at the NHL level.
Other injury updates from around the league:
- Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported today that Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk was forced out of the team’s loss to the Nashville Predators today, stating that he is currently being evaluated for an injury after being on the other end of a Roman Josi cross-checking minor penalty. Tkachuk only managed to skate in 13:53 in today’s game, and although there is no further information other than Tkachuk being under evaluation, any injury he could suffer would be a serious blow to the Senators. He is among the team’s most important wingers and has started off the season with three assists in three games.
- Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond was forced out of today’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs due to an upper-body injury, and head coach Todd McLellan did not issue an update on the forward’s status post-game. As Detroit’s leading scorer in each of the last two seasons, Raymond has emerged as one of the Red Wings’ most important players, and their undisputed most lethal offensive threat. While we await further information on Raymond’s injury, Red Wings fans will likely have their fingers crossed that his absence was more precautionary than anything else.
- The Winnipeg Jets announced today that forward Cole Koepke did not return to today’s victory over the New York Islanders due to a lower-body injury. Koepke was playing on the Jets’ fourth line alongside Morgan Barron and Tanner Pearson, and had registered an assist on Barron’s goal early in today’s game on Long Island. At this point, there is no further update on Koepke’s status. The Jets have 25-year-old Providence College product Parker Ford on their roster ready to enter the lineup should Koepke miss any time.
East Notes: Hurricanes, Samuelsson, MacEwen
Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour issued injury updates to two key players today: Jaccob Slavin and Pyotr Kochetkov. As relayed by team reporter Walt Ruff, Slavin is still “being evaluated” for a lower-body injury, and is currently questionable to travel with the team on its upcoming six-game road trip. Additionally, Kochetkov will not travel due to his own lower-body injury, though they did add the caveat that he may join the team on the road at some point. Finally, Brind’Amour said that waiver addition Brandon Bussi will get to start a game “at some point” on their road trip.
While the full extent of Slavin’s injury is not known at this point, any extended Slavin absence would be a massive loss for Carolina. Slavin is the team’s most important defenseman and is in the eyes of many the league’s premier shutdown defender. He was the team’s number-one defenseman last season and averaged nearly three minutes a night on its penalty kill. Meanwhile the loss of Kochetkov is also notable, though the Hurricanes are more well-equipped to handle his absence. They already have experienced veteran Frederik Andersen on their roster, and Bussi’s resume from the AHL suggests he very well could be able to handle a backup’s workload while Kochetkov recovers.
Other notes from the Eastern conference:
- The Buffalo Sabres announced today that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson did not play in today’s game against the Colorado Avalanche due to an undisclosed injury. Head coach Lindy Ruff said that “the initial prognosis on the injury was positive,” and expressed optimism that Samuelsson would be ready to play in time for the team’s game Wednesday. Samuelsson played alongside Jacob Bryson in the team’s Saturday game against the Boston Bruins, and saw his spot filled by 2019 first-rounder Ryan Johnson for today’s contest.
- New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe told the media today, including The Hockey Writers’ Mark Scheig, that forward Zack MacEwen will miss “an extended period” after leaving the team’s Saturday win over the Tampa Bay Lightning early. Keefe elaborated that MacEwen suffered an injury late in the team’s game, and will be out indefinitely. MacEwen played nine shifts in his lone game with the Devils, registering two shots, a hit, and a blocked shot. The 6’4″ grinder was slotted into the Devils’ fourth line and was recently acquired by the team from the Ottawa Senators.
Blue Jackets Activate, Reassign Jordan Dumais
One of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ up-and-coming forward prospects is getting back to work in the AHL. According to a team announcement, the Blue Jackets have activated Jordan Dumais from the season-opening injured reserve and have assigned him to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.
Dumais has dealt with injuries the past few years, and nothing has changed to start the 2025-26 campaign. Dumais suffered a hip strain during Columbus’s rookie showcase, preventing him from participating in the team’s training camp and preseason.
Still, he’s only a few years removed from an impressive performance in the QMJHL.
Despite being selected in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft, Dumais was coming off an electric sophomore campaign with the Halifax Mooseheads, scoring 39 goals and 109 points in 68 games with a +7 rating. The next year, he dwarfed his previous output, leading the QMJHL in scoring with 54 goals and 140 points in 64 games, earning the league’s MVP award. Further, he registered five goals and 21 points in 15 postseason appearances.
Due to injuries, Dumais played only 21 games in the 2023-24 season, finishing the campaign with 16 goals and 47 points. He additionally played for Team Canada at the IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, tallying one goal and one assist in five tournament contests.
Again, injuries limited Dumais to 21 games throughout his first year of professional hockey. Still, he made the most of his brief time with the Monsters, collecting four goals and 11 points in his rookie campaign. The Blue Jackets are hoping that with the hip injury behind him, Dumais can participate in most of the Monsters’ games this season to get his development back on the right track.
Sean Durzi Out Four Weeks With Upper-Body Injury
The Utah Mammoth have taken a big blow to their defensive core a handful of games into the 2025-26 season. According to a team announcement, defenseman Sean Durzi is expected to miss the next four weeks with an upper-body injury.
Injuries are slowly becoming a theme for Durzi in Salt Lake City. After playing in 76 games for the Arizona Coyotes in the 2023-24 campaign, Durzi only appeared in 30 games last season for Utah due to shoulder surgery. Unfortunately, his current injury is related to the same shoulder.
If the recovery timeline provided is exact, Durzi will miss the Mammoth’s next 11 games and would hypothetically return for their November 8th contest against the Montreal Canadiens. Fortunately, despite only having two additional right-handed defensemen, the Mammoth have eight blueliners on the active roster and should be able to fill in the void left by Durzi without any additional roster moves.
Still, without Durzi for the next several weeks, and having traded Michael Kesselring this past offseason, Utah doesn’t have much offensive talent on the point behind Mikhail Sergachev. By no means is it vital to have offensive prowess from the point, especially considering the team’s impressive crop of forwards, but it’ll certainly be a limitation over the next month.
Despite missing much of last season, Durzi provided quality two-day play for Utah. He provided four goals and 11 points in his 30 appearances, averaging 20:39 of ice time while blocking 52 shots. He again maintained above-average possession metrics, finishing with a 52.9% CorsiFor% at even strength.
Although the injury happened to the Mammoth’s defensive core, it may have a larger impact on the team’s forward group. Typically dressing seven defensemen for games, head coach André Tourigny may have to change his approach if depth defenseman Nick DeSimone doesn’t perform well in Durzi’s absence.
Josh Norris To Miss A Significant Amount Of Time
Oct. 13th: According to Sabres correspondent Heather Engel, head coach Lindy Ruff suggests that Norris is expected to miss eight weeks of action. Still, he is receiving a second opinion on the injury. Should the second opinion agree on the recovery timeline, that would project Norris’ return in the first week of December, costing him over 25 games of the 2025-26 campaign.
Oct. 11th: On Friday, the Sabres were still evaluating Josh Norris‘ upper-body injury to determine how long he might be out for. The evaluation appears to be ongoing still but the outcome is not ideal as head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters, including Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News (Twitter link), that Norris will miss “a significant amount of time” due to the injury.
It is a tough but all-too-familiar blow for the 26-year-old as injuries have dogged him throughout his seven NHL seasons. The injury occurred late in Thursday’s season opener against the Rangers off a faceoff and while he was eventually able to get up and go to the bench under his own power, he didn’t take a shift after that.
Norris was acquired by Buffalo in one of the bigger trades near the trade deadline last season, coming over from Ottawa with Dylan Cozens being the most significant piece going the other way in a swap of centers that might benefit from the change of scenery. However, Norris wasn’t able to get a chance to prove that as he suffered a season-ending mid-body injury in just his third game with the team. Now, he’s suffered another serious setback in his fourth game more than six months later.
Norris was coming off a 21-goal season in 2024-25, the second-best output of his career only coming behind the 35 tallies he had in 2021-22 with Ottawa. The hope was that he’d be able to bring some extra firepower to their top six forward group and while that still could be the case, it clearly won’t be happening anytime soon. Fortunately, Ruff later clarified to reporters, including WGR 550’s Paul Hamilton (Twitter link), that the injury isn’t related to any injuries he has had in the past.
If it’s determined that Norris will miss at least 10 games and 24 days with this latest injury, he will become LTIR-eligible. However, with Buffalo having a little more than $2.2MM in cap space, per PuckPedia, they’re not necessarily in a spot where they should need to use that. In the meantime, it’s likely that the Sabres will place him on regular injured reserve in the near future, opening up a roster spot for a recall from AHL Rochester.
Metropolitan Notes: Devils, Capitals, Rangers
The New Jersey Devils have announced that Evgenii Dadonov has been placed on injured reserve, and in a corresponding move, they have recalled Brian Halonen from AHL Utica.
Given Dadonov’s fractured hand, there was some speculation earlier today as to what the Devils would do. Rather than turn to a younger prospect, New Jersey has called upon Halonen, 26. Undrafted out of Michigan Tech University, Halonen has spent the past four seasons with the Utica Comets, including a 27-goal breakout last year. His efforts have led to two brief call-ups in the past, two games apiece in the last two years, where the Minnesota native has not yet recorded a point.
In place of Dadonov, the team could turn to fellow Russian Arseny Gritsyuk for a larger role, having already impressed as a 24-year-old rookie out of the KHL, with two assists in as many games. Meanwhile, Halonen will provide depth and hope to slot into the team’s bottom six. Dadonov, 36, was brought in last summer on a one year, $1MM deal, however, he has been a steady offensive presence in 617 NHL games, and was a candidate to outperform the contract. The injury in his Devils’ debut is undoubtedly a set-back, but unfortunately New Jersey is no stranger to such adversity, especially after last season.
Elsewhere across the Metropolitan Division:
- Chris Cerullo of Russian Machine Never Breaks outlined an interesting draft story from Washington last June. As seen in a behind-the-scenes video posted by the team, the Capitals aggressively tried to move up ten spots or more to select Lynden Lakovic, the talented Moose Jaw Warriors winger. Such efforts proved futile, however, the Caps’ brass watched on the edge of their seats as Lakovic remained on the board. Finally, after Nashville selected Ryker Lee at 26, Washington jumped to snag the 6’4” forward. Lakovic remains in the WHL this season, but forecasts as a big part of the Capitals’ future, as another forward with imposing size. As time goes on, it will be fascinating to see how Lakovic, along with each forward taken before him, pans out; especially given the hypotheticals. As also mentioned in the article, the Capitals were thrilled again when Milton Gastrin, their second-round selection, also fell into their laps.
- Rangers Head Coach Mike Sullivan told Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports that Jonathan Quick will handle starting duty for the Blueshirts tonight as they host the Capitals. The news is not surprising, given Igor Shesterkin’s usage last night in Pittsburgh. However, it will be interesting to see how much the 39-year-old Quick is deployed this season, and what he still has to offer. Stephenson also mentioned that young defenseman Matthew Robertson will slot into the lineup for Carson Soucy, who was placed on IR earlier today.
Jets Recall Kale Clague, Assign Brad Lambert
The Winninepg Jets recalled defenseman Kale Clague ahead of Sunday morning’s practice. He took the ice in the spot of Haydn Fleury, who did not skate due to a knee injury, per Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press. Jets head coach Scott Arniel designated Fleury as out day-to-day with a lower-body injury after practice, per NHL.com’s Mitchell Clinton.
Fleury appeared to sustain his injury after blocking a shot off of his kneecap in the second period of Saturday’s win over the Los Angeles Kings. He took to the ice for a few laps before the start of the third period, but ended up back in the Jets’ locker room before the period got underway.
Fleury played in both of Winnipeg’s games to start the season. he managed no notable stat changes, aside from a minus-one. Even without a padded stat line, back-to-back appearances was a positive step forward for a career-long extra defenseman. The most Fleury has played in a single season currently sits at 45 games – a mark he reached with the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2019-20 season. He scored 14 points that year. His 39 games with Winnipeg last season rank second. He complimented those appearances with seven assists and a minus-12.
Winnipeg will turn to Clague as their first injury fill-in. The 27-year-old defender recorded 10 goals, 39 points, and a plus-three in 69 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans last season. He signed a one-year, $775K contract with the Jets on July 1st, helping to build out a blue-line depth that Winnipeg has had to call on early. Clague will offer the left-hand shot needed to replace Fleruy, though he’ll still have to compete with right-shot extra defenseman Colin Miller for minutes should Winnipeg need a replacement.
To make room to recall Clague, Winnipeg has also assigned top prospect Brad Lambert to the minor-leagues. Lambert was serving as a press box forward for the Jets early in the season. He scored seven goals and 35 points in 61 games with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose last season. He also appeared in five NHL games, and recorded one assist. Lambert was the 30th-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft but hasn’t yet proven his worth at the NHL level. He’ll return to the minors as a strong scoring presence, with 90 points in 125 AHL games on his career.
Penguins’ Kris Letang Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that defenseman Kris Letang will miss Sunday’s practice due to a lower-body injury. He has been designated as day-to-day, though the specifics of his injury haven’t been revealed. Letang only played a couple of shifts in the third period of Pittsburgh’s Saturday loss to the New York Rangers. Head coach Dan Muse told the media, including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that Letang is being evaluated further to find the extent of his injury.
Letang kicked off his 20th season in the NHL last week. He has yet to score through three games played, but has managed a plus-three and one penalty, while receiving over 21 minutes of average ice time once again. Letang is certainly far psat his prime years, but he’s stayed a productive piece of Pittsburgh’s blue-line well through his 30s. He scored nine goals and 30 points in 74 games last season, though that line was marred by a minus-15. His 2023-24 campaign was more well-rounded, with 51 points and a plus-13 in 82 games played.
Pittsburgh will face a tough question if Letang isn’t ready for their next game on Tuesday. He has operated directly behind fellow future-Hall-of-Famer Erik Karlsson, helping the Penguins hold down a blue-line that also features Parker Wotherspoon and Ryan Shea in the top-four. Top prospect Harrison Brunicke has played well behind Letang on the depth chart, and could be due a chance to shine should the veteran need to sit out.
Pittsburgh is also carrying Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton as healthy scratches through the early season. Dumba scored 10 points in 63 games with the Dallas Stars last season, while Clifton managed 16 points in 73 games with the Boston Bruins. Both players are right-shot defenders, putting them in the right spot to battle for bottom-pair minutes should Letang step out.