Wild Recall Hunter Haight, Place Nico Sturm And Mats Zuccarello On IR
The Minnesota Wild have shaken up their roster a bit ahead of Opening Night. Forwards Nico Sturm and Mats Zuccarello have officially been placed on injured reserve with a back injury and lower-body injury respectively. In their place, the Wild have recalled forward prospect Hunter Haight. It’s not yet clear if the Wild plan to award Haight with his NHL debut in their season-opener against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
What is clear is that both Zuccarello and Sturm could miss significant time. Zuccarello underwent surgery to address his injury in late-September. The team confirmed that he is expected to miss at least seven-to-eight weeks as he recovers from the procedure. Sturm’s timeline isn’t as clear after he reaggravated a back injury during training camp. Initial reactions to his injury suggest bad news on the horizon, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. That’s unfortunate news after the 32-year-old center signed a two-year, $4MM contract with Minnesota this summer.
The early beneficiary of the two injuries could be Haight. The 21-year-old centerman played his first full season in the minor-leagues last year. He posted a stout 20 goals and 34 points through 67 appearances, enough to rank him second on the Iowa Wild in goals and fifth in points. Before his move to the AHL, Haight was a standout utility-knife in the OHL – routinely rivaling point-per-game scoring with a presence that was felt all over the ice. He’s undersized, but still showed an ability to battle through traffic and win space in front of the net. Those attributes convinced Minnesota to draft Haight with the 47th-overall pick in 2022. Now, three years later, the young center could soon get a chance to show his might at the top level.
Haight was one of only five Wild players to score a goal in the preseason. He played in four games. His training camp showings suggested a lot more improvement was needed, though he never looked much out of place against NHL talent. Should he slot into the lineup, Haight would likely step into the team’s fourth-line center role – potentially next to fellow rookie Danila Yurov.
Oilers Recall David Tomasek, Move Zach Hyman To LTIR
Oct. 7: While Howard remains down for now, Tomasek has been recalled today after the club set their LTIR capture with Zach Hyman, the club announced. Hyman will remain out until early November while rehabbing the wrist injury that ended his 2025 postseason run prematurely.
Oct. 6: After doling out extensions to Connor McDavid and Jake Walman earlier today, the Edmonton Oilers are hustling to become cap-compliant when opening night rosters are due. In that effort, the team announced they have placed forward Mattias Janmark on the injured reserve, reassigned forwards Isaac Howard and David Tomasek, and recalled forward James Hamblin from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
Most of today’s cap crunch is because of Janmark. The nine-year veteran is reportedly dealing with an undisclosed injury, which will keep him sidelined for a week or so. Since he’s not expected to miss much time, the Oilers won’t get any cap relief from his $1.45MM salary. He scored two goals and 18 points in 80 games for Edmonton last season, with another three goals and four points in 22 postseason contests.
The biggest casualty of today’s cap crunch is undoubtedly Howard. The reigning Hobey Baker Award winner was acquired by the Oilers this offseason after failing to reach a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and was expected to fill an important need for Edmonton in their top six — inexpensive talent.
He made a strong case to make the roster this preseason, scoring one goal and four points in six games, which makes today’s move a much more difficult pill to swallow. Still, he’s likely to debut with the Oilers at some point this season. In his final season in the NCAA with the Michigan State University Spartans, Howard recorded 26 goals and 52 points in 34 games.
Meanwhile, Tomasek, 29, becomes another casualty of Edmonton’s cost-clearing moves. Although he is no longer considered a prospect, he joined the Oilers this summer by signing a one-year, $1.2 million contract as an international free agent.
Like Howard, he was another inexpensive addition by Edmonton this summer that the team could conceivably put in their top-six. As the reigning Guldhjälmen Award (MVP) winner in the SHL from a season ago, Tomasek recorded 24 goals and 57 points in 47 games for the Färjestad BK.
Of all the forwards the Oilers could have recalled, Hamblin gives them the most flexibility since he cleared waivers a few days ago. The former WHL standout will begin his sixth season with Edmonton. He spent all of last year in Bakersfield, scoring 19 goals and 45 points in 51 games as one of the team’s assistant captains.
According to PuckPedia, after today’s moves, the Oilers now sit a tight $834, yes, you read that correctly, under the upper limit of the salary cap to start the season.
Blues’ Oskar Sundqvist Out Week-To-Week
Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist has been given a week-to-week designation with a lower-body injury ahead of their season opener on Thursday, general manager Doug Armstrong told reporters (including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic). The club doesn’t expect his absence to last much longer than the first check-in point, though, and has only ruled him out for their first three games, per Lou Korac of NHL.com.
Sundqvist didn’t land on injured reserve when the Blues submitted their opening night roster yesterday, so he’s technically eligible to return at any time. With just $625K in cap space to start the season, the Blues wouldn’t have enough space to make a corresponding recall if they moved Sundqvist to IR, so there wasn’t any point in doing so.
The 31-year-old sustained the injury during a practice session on Sunday, Korac wrote for The Hockey News. It appeared to be a right leg issue after falling during a battle drill along the boards, and he required help off the ice. Fortunately, his absence won’t be as extensive as initially feared. Injuries are a commonality for Sundqvist, who’s only cracked the 70-game mark twice in his 10-year NHL career. He has missed 18 games over the last two seasons, primarily due to an ACL injury he suffered late in the 2023-24 season that carried into the beginning of the 2024-25 season.
Sundqvist is in the third season of his second stint in St. Louis. He initially landed back with the Blues on a one-year, league minimum deal in free agency in 2023, but he signed a two-year, $3MM extension in March 2024. He’s entering the final year of that deal, which carries a cap hit of $1.5MM, and could be an unrestricted free agent again next summer.
A career-long bottom-six checking piece, Sundqvist usually produces in the 20-to-30-point range. That held true last year, managing a 6-14–20 scoring line with a -6 rating in 67 appearances. He’s versatile enough to bounce between the wing and center but spent a good amount of time down the middle in 2024-25, winning 45.5% of his 572 faceoffs. He’s expected to continue to see time at center upon his return, potentially in a fourth-line role after St. Louis’ offseason additions of Nick Bjugstad and Pius Suter bumped him down the depth chart.
Stars Recall Lian Bichsel, Place Jamie Benn On LTIR
Oct. 7: Bichsel is back up from AHL Texas while Scott and Taylor have been reassigned, according to the NHL’s media site. While it reverses yesterday’s transactions, it’s not the end of the moves Dallas will make before they open their season against the Jets on Thursday. Demoting Scott leaves them with only 11 forwards on the active roster. They’ll need to move Benn to long-term injured reserve to open up the space to recall a 12th forward from Texas, which the club subsequently announced has happened. Dallas will have $1.88MM remaining in their LTIR pool – meaning they could actually recall two forwards, potentially Justin Hryckowian and Arttu Hyry, if they so choose.
Oct. 6: Like the Edmonton Oilers, the Dallas Stars have made several somewhat unexpected roster moves to make their opening night roster cap compliant. Earlier today, the team announced they’ve reassigned defenseman Lian Bichsel, while recalling forward Harrison Scott and defenseman Trey Taylor from their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.
The team also shared that captain Jamie Benn and forward Oskar Back have been placed on injured reserve at the start of the season. Additionally, Luke Krys, Kyle McDonald, and Chase Wheatcroft have been placed on the non-rostered injured reserve. All of these injury designations were anticipated.
According to PuckPedia, the Stars sit approximately $150K underneath the upper limit of the salary cap to start the season. Given this, Scott and Taylor’s inclusion on Dallas’ opening night roster is merely for cap compliance, and there’s no indication they’ll play a game for the Stars. On the flip side, Bichsel should be back on the roster after they place Benn on LTIR.
In fact, neither Scott nor Taylor appeared in a preseason game for Dallas, as both were cut relatively early from the team’s training camp roster. Scott, who was signed out of the University of Maine last season, went scoreless in six games for the AHL Stars to end the 2024-25 season. Meanwhile, Taylor was signed out of Clarkson University, tallying one assist in 10 games with Texas.
Capitals Reassign Ivan Miroshnichenko, Place Dylan McIlrath On IR
The Washington Capitals have their opening 23-man roster in place. Following the clearance of their waiver placements yesterday, the team announced that they have reassigned forward Ivan Miroshnichenko and placed defenseman Dylan McIlrath on injured reserve.
The former 20th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft is entering his third season without a full-time role carved out on the Capitals. Despite possessing raw talent in size, speed, and shooting ability, Miroshnichenko has yet to fully realize his potential at the NHL level.
Since transitioning to North America for the 2023-24 campaign, Miroshnichenko has scored three goals and 10 points in 39 games with Washington, averaging 10:51 of ice time per game. He leaves something to be desired in his possession quality, but has been an unexpectedly positive addition on the defensive side of the puck.
He’s been expectedly better in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, scoring 32 goals and 67 points in 100 games, with another 10 goals and 17 points in 28 postseason contests. Although the team failed to win their third consecutive Calder Cup last year, Miroshnichenko was on the roster when they won the second half of their back-to-back in 2024. He’ll likely feature with the Capitals at some point during the 2025-26 season.
Meanwhile, has been dealing with a lower-body injury since the Capitals’ preseason contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets. During that game, although he assisted on the breakout that led to a Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, McIlrath left the game after the play and did not appear at practice the following day.
Initial reports suggested McIlrath would be out for about a week, and today’s designation appears to support that notion. He spent much of last season as Washington’s seventh defenseman, tallying two assists in 17 games with 28 PIMs.
Blackhawks Recall Ryan Greene, Place Two On IR
The Chicago Blackhawks appear to have their opening night roster in place ahead of tonight’s action against the Florida Panthers. Earlier today, the Blackhawks announced that they’ve recalled Ryan Greene from their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. In a separate transaction, the team has placed forwards Landon Slaggert and Joey Anderson on the injured reserve.
Greene, 21, is coming off an impressive three-year run with the NCAA’s Boston University Terriers. Drafted by the Blackhawks with the 57th overall selection of the 2022 NHL Draft, he’s become one of the several up-and-coming forward prospects that the organization boasts.
During his time with the Terriers, Greene scored 34 goals and recorded 105 points in 118 games, achieving a +24 rating. He earned the program’s captaincy in his final season. After losing the National Championship to the Western Michigan University Broncos last season, Greene signed his entry-level deal with the Blackhawks and made his NHL debut one day later.
Unfortunately, Greene’s inclusion on Chicago’s opening night roster comes with less positive news. Slaggert, 23, who’s another forward prospect coming from the NCAA ranks, will begin the year on the injured reserve due to a lower-body injury.
In late September, there was an expectation that Slaggert might start the year on time with the Blackhawks. However, as he became more involved in the team’s practices and scrimmages, he may have re-aggravated something. He scored 10 goals and 25 points in 39 games for the IceHogs last year, with another two goals and six points in 33 appearances with Chicago.
Meanwhile, Anderson will join Slaggert on the Blackhawks’ IR. Although Anderson lacks significant prospect value and mainly serves as a depth player, he has spent the last four years with Chicago after being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2022-23 season.
Signed to a modest $800K salary for this season before being eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer, Anderson wasn’t a lock to make the Blackhawks’ opening night roster regardless of his lower-body injury. This is likely why Chicago has designated him as an injured non-roster player to start the campaign. He spent much of last season with Rockford, tallying 17 goals and 27 points in 33 games.
Sharks Expected To Place Egor Afanasyev On IR
The San Jose Sharks are set to place winger Egor Afanasyev on injured reserve, per Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka. Pashelka clarified that Afanasyev’s injury is expected to be short-term. The report was seconded by Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.
Despite reports of an IR move, the exact nature of Afanasyev’s injury hasn’t been clarified. He sat out of the Sharks’ Saturday loss to the Utah Mammoth, but had a standout performance in the team’s Friday win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Afanasyev scored his first goal, and point, of the preseason in that Friday matchup – his third preseason appearance. He hasn’t skated since. A move to IR would force him out of the lineup for the first two weeks of the NHL season. San Jose could face a decision on the other side of that, with Afanasyev one of many bubble players on the team’s training camp roster.
The 24-year-old winger was set to return to the KHL’s CSKA Moscow for a second year this season, but decided to return to North America when an opportunity to sign with the San Jose Sharks opened up. He played a full season in the KHL last year, marked by nine goals and 25 points in 59 games. That was a surprising dip in scoring after Afanasyev posted an impressive 63 points, split as 32 goals and 31 assists, in 71 games of the 2023-24 AHL season. He hasn’t yet found a way to stick in the NHL despite that hot stick. He scored just one point – a goal – in 19 career appearances with the Nashville Predators, and will get his first chance to play NHL minutes outside of the organization should he stick in the Sharks lineup.
Kings Place Kyle Burroughs On IR
The Los Angeles Kings have placed defenseman Kyle Burroughs on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He sustained the injury after blocking a shot in Los Angeles’ October 1st preseason win over the Utah Mammoth. Despite being forced to miss the first two weeks of the season to an IR placement, Burroughs has already returned to skating per Kings’ content manager Zach Dooley. That’s positive news as the 30-year-old, Vancouver-native looks to push into his sixth NHL season.
Burroughs began his pro career in the New York Islanders system. He was originally drafted in the seventh-round of the 2013 NHL Draft, but didn’t turn pro full-time until the 2015-16 season. After a brief start in the minors, Burroughs climbed to an everyday role with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He held onto the team’s enforcer role through the next five seasons, ultimately recording 82 points and 419 penalty minutes in 313 games with the club. Despite that, Burroughs didn’t make his NHL debut until he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 2020. He debuted with the team – playing five games – in the same season, then played through his full rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2021.
Burroughs has clung to a seventh-defender role in the three seasons since his rookie year. He played roughly half of Vancouver’s 2021 and 2022 seasons, as well as 33 games of L.A.’s 2024-25 season. The only full year of Burroughs career came with the San Jose Sharks in 2023-24, when he posted eight points and 71 penalty minutes in 73 games. He’s a depth-chart bruiser, who could find a better rut with the Kings this year after the team lost Andreas Englund to the Nashville Predators in February. Englund had 11 points and 93 penalty minutes in 93 games with the Kings between 2023 and 2025.
Cole Perfetti Out Week-To-Week With Ankle Sprain
10/5/25: Jets head coach Arniel told the media, including team reporter Mitchell Clinton, that Perfetti has an ankle sprain and will be out on a week-to-week basis.
10/4/25: Last night’s preseason shootout victory proved costly for the Winnipeg Jets, as young standout forward Cole Perfetti left with a lower-body issue. As noted by Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press, Head Coach Scott Arniel said that the “first glance doesn’t look great”.
In the closing seconds of the second period, Perfetti came in on the forecheck and finished a routine check on Kevin Bahl, but landed awkwardly and came up gingerly, possibly favoring his right leg. The 23-year-old did not return to the game.
Further details on the injury have not yet come out, but if Perfetti is set to miss time, it would be a tough blow to the Jets as they look to maintain high expectations, given last season’s Presidents’ Trophy, albeit without longtime star Nikolaj Ehlers, who left in free agency. With captain Adam Lowry out for the start of the season, along with Dylan Samberg, who will miss several weeks with a broken wrist, the injury bug has bitten the Jets already, and hopefully, Perfetti will not be sidelined for long.
Perfetti, drafted tenth overall in 2020, took a few years to establish himself, but after a 2024-25 season where he appeared in all 82 games and broke the 50-point mark, many expect another step forward this season.
With final rosters being finalized in the next two days, it will be interesting to monitor Winnipeg’s corresponding moves as the team still has several extra forwards. Fans will certainly also watch urgently for updates on Perfetti.
Predators Place Nicolas Hague, Matthew Wood On IR
Having already been absent due to noted injuries, the Nashville Predators have confirmed the fate of two. As confirmed by Brooks Bratten, Nashville’s beat reporter, Nic Hague is expected to miss 2-3 weeks due to an upper-body injury, while Matthew Wood is week-to-week.
Hague was hardly able to debut with the Predators, going down early in the team’s preseason opener against Florida on September 21st. Having been acquired in the offseason from Vegas and promptly signed to a four-year deal worth $5.5MM per season, Hague’s absence solidified two smooth puck-moving defenders on the team, Nick Blankenburg and Spencer Stastney. Nashville already has a glut of left-handed defenders, and while they will miss Hague’s size, there are plenty of names to fill the void. It had been thought he could be out longer, so perhaps there is some relief for GM Barry Trotz, who made an effort to overhaul his defensive core and add more size this summer.
Nashville’s top defense prospect, the electric Tanner Molendyk, made a strong case to make the team, but was sent down yesterday and will begin his pro career with AHL Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, Wood suffered a lower-body injury in the Preds’ Gold Star Showcase scrimmage. It was especially unfortunate, as the top prospect was rolling in camp and making a strong case to remain with the club, having bypassed the AHL last season after coming out of college on a six-game NHL audition.
With Luke Evangelista finally signed today, two youngsters, Joakim Kemell and Ozzy Wiesblatt, seem to have made the cut due to Wood’s ailment. Kemell, a right-handed sniper, plays a role relatively similar to Wood with real top-six potential, while Wiesblatt, despite being a former first-round pick (2020, San Jose), projects as a likely bottom-six energy forward.