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Hurricanes’ Jalen Chatfield Nearing Return

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The Carolina Hurricanes have received a positive update on the injury front. Defenseman Jalen Chatfield should return to the lineup on the team’s upcoming three-game road trip, per a team announcement. Chatfield has missed the last six games after taking an illegal check to the head from Minnesota Wild forward Tyler Pitlick on November 6th. Pitlick received a match penalty for the hit but did not receive any discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety. Chatfield went through concussion protocol and landed on injured reserve.

Chatfield will be a helpful addition as Carolina continues to face an injury to impact defender Jaccob Slavin. Chatfield has stepped into a second-pair role and averaged the third-most ice time on the blue line this season, usually receiving nearly 20 minutes a game. He has three assists, 10 hits, and 14 blocked shots in 13 games. He’s taken another step forward after a standout year last season, when he scored 18 points and posted 64 blocks and hits in 79 games.

Carolina’s right side will be getting a much-needed veteran boost when Chatfield returns. Their right side currently consists of Sean Walker alongside depth vet Mike Reilly and call-up Joel Nystrom. With Nystrom playing reasonably well through his first 13 NHL games, particularly defensively, it could be Reilly heading for the press box.

Senators Prospect Tyler Boucher Out Week-To-Week, Mads Sogaard Back

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Belleville Senators forward Tyler Boucher will miss “weeks” with an upper-body injury, head coach David Bell told TSN 1200 on Tuesday. Boucher sustained his injury after tangling skates with a member of the Laval Rockets, and falling hard into the boards, in Belleville’s loss on Sunday.

This is yet another injury for the former 10th-overall pick. Boucher has been limited in every season dating back to the 2020-21 campaign – his draft year. Through the years he has sustained a torn labrum that required surgery, a groin injruy, mutliple knee injuries, and a leg injury from a player falling on him last January. Looking back on his string of misfortune, Boucher told TSN’s Claire Hanna that he felt he was due for a good year during Ottawa’s training camp. 12 games into the season, that sentiment has turned into a jinx.

Boucher seemed to be finding his way in Belleville to start the year. He had six points and a plus-two on the year, including two points and seven shots on goal in his last four games. He was gradually climbing the lineup after posting just 15 points in 68 games over the last two AHL seasons. Now, he’ll land on the shelf once again, though seemingly for only a little while this time around.

In positive news, Bell also shared that goaltender Mads Sogaard is healthy to return to the Belleville after recovering from an undisclosed injury sustained on October 27th. It appeared to be a lower-body injury, caused by Toronto Marlies forward Jacob Quillan tumbling into the goaltender. Sogaard had to be helped off the ice, while Qullian had to answer to Belleville bruiser Jorian Donovan.

Sogaard will be a nice addition to Belleville’s lineup, even after a slow start to the year. He posted no wins and a .830 save percentage in three games to start the year – but also boasts the fourth-most NHL experience on the Belleville roster behind Arthur Kaliyev, Scott Harrington, and Olle Lycksell. Sogaard has recorded 11 wins and a .879 save percentage in 29 career appearances with Ottawa, to go with 50 wins and a .904 save percentage in 107 AHL games. His slow start, and injury, should default him to a role behind Hunter Shepard when he returns. Shepard leads Belleville with four wins and a .911 save percentage in eight games. Sogaard should back him up, especially with teammate Leevi Merilainen currently recalled to the NHL.

Penguins Prospect Peyton Kettles To Undergo Surgery

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The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t get to watch one of their recent top picks for some time. The WHL’s Kelowna Rockets defenseman Peyton Kettles has sustained a shoulder injury that will require surgery, the junior team announced on Tuesday. Kettles is listed as out indefinitely, likely jeporadizing his chance to crack Team Canada’s lineup at the 2026 World Junior Championships.

Pittsburgh drafted Kettles in the second-round, marking what was yet another controversial pick from general manager Kyle Dubas and his team at the 2025 NHL Draft. To some, Kettles’ long reach and shutdown defense stood out like gold among a draft class lacking projectable fundamentals. But to others, his lack of jump or offensive upside seemed to hold him back.

Kettles has worked to alleviate those latter concerns through the early season. He recorded two points and seven penalty minutes – one minor penalty and one fight – in two games with the Swift Current Broncos to start the season. Then, he was traded to Kelowna in a truly massive deal that sent defenseman Jackson Gillespie, one first-round pick, two second-round picks, and two fourth-round picks back to Swift Current. Just over two weeks after that deal, Kettles will now land on the sideline.

This is an unfortunate blow for a defender who was not only on the rise, but truly working to silence his doubters. He is still a projectable pro talent, playing wtih a strong stick and patient fundamentals that mirros many current Penguins defensemen, like Jack St. Ivany and Ryan Shea. Surgery is far from the most ideal outcome, but it will hopefully help Pittsburgh ensure that the reigning 39th-overall pick is able to work back to full health with no complications.

Kettles was on pace for 33 points, 165 penalty minutes, and a plus-22 through 55 games this season prior to his injury, per EliteProspects. He’ll hope to continue marching towards that lofty statline before the Spring, though more about his true timeline will likely be revealed in the weeks to come.

Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies Out Day-To-Day

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that top winger Matthew Knies will miss Tuesday night’s match against the St. Louis Blues with a day-to-day, lower-body injury. He joins a laundry list of injuries in Toronto that also includes Auston Matthews, Brandon Carlo, Chris Tanev, and Anthony Stolarz.

Interestingly, Knies’ injury will bring Toronto up to $36MM in cap sapce on the injury list, nearly 40 percent of their total cap, per James Mirtle of The Athletic.

Knies, Toronto’s star winger, will join the club’s top center and starting goaltender on the sideline. He has been heavily leaned on over the course of the year, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time through 19 games so far. Knies has rewarded that deployment with a career-year early on. He has five goals and 22 points on the year, enough to rank third on the team in scoring behind William Nylander (26) and John Tavares (24).

Knies was well-due for the strong start. He has assumed the role of Matthews’ handcuff after century-scorer Mitch Marner moved to the Vegas Golden Knights this summer. Knies posted 58 points, split evenly, in 78 games from a second-line role last season. That performance was itself a step up from his standout rookie year, when he scored 15 goals and 35 points in 80 games.

Tavares and Nylander will take over the top line with Matthews and Knies on the shelf. Next to them will again be shoot-first winger Nicholas Robertson, while Matias Maccelli will return to a top-six role behind him. Robertson, Maccelli, and rookie Easton Cowan will be the beneficiaries of Knies’ ice time for the duration of his absence.

Metropolitan Notes: Holmström, Jarry, St. Ivany

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New York Islanders forward Simon Holmström will be a game-time decision for Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Stars due to an illness. He would leave a notable hole in the Islanders lineup if he can’t take the ice. Holmström is one of eight Islanders forwards to play in all 19 games this season. He has four goals and nine points in those appearances – ranking him seventh on the team in goals and ninth in points.

Holmström’s scoring hasn’t taken off yet this season, but his lineup role has grown over the year nonetheless. He averaged over 18 minutes in ice time over New York’s recent four-game winnning streak, helped along by three of those games going into overtime. Holmström’s growing role is largely thanks to his impact away from the puck. He leads the team’s forwards with 22 blocked shots, and ranks fifth in takeaways with four. He’s shown a nice bit of well-roundedness after scoring 20 goals and 45 points in 75 games last season. The Islanders will hope to continue getting that toolsy impact on Tuesday. If Holmström can’t play, the team will likely turn towards Kyle MacLean, who has one assist in 10 appearances this season.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry returned to the team’s practices on Tuesday per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Jarry hasn’t played since sustaining a lower-body injury on November 3rd. He was off to an impressive start before the two-week absence, recording a .911 save percentage and five wins through seven starts. 21-year-old Sergey Murashov has emerged as an interesting piece in Jarry’s absence. He posted his first career win – a shutout – in Pittsburgh’s NHL Global Series matchup against the Nashville Predators on Sunday. Pittsburgh is unlikely to let a rookie goaltender usurp their veteran starter, but Jarry’s return could push Murashov into a competition for the backup role with Arturs Silovs, who has a .918 save percentage and four wins in 10 games.
  • Penguins defenseman Jack St. Ivany also returned to practice donning a no-contact jersey on Tuesday, per Rorabaugh. St. Ivany sustained an injury to his right foot in a preseason matchup on October 1st. He was originally designated to the non-roster injured list, meaning Pittsburgh will need to clear a roster spot to activate him from season-opening injured reserve – as they will when they activate Jarry. St. Ivany split last season between the NHL and AHL rosters. He scored one assist in 19 games with Pittsburgh, and 16 points in 37 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. That deployment could make him a prime candidate for an AHL conditioning loan, or even an AHL assignment, once he’s back to full health.

Atlantic Injury Updates: Bruins, Maple Leafs, Sabres

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The Boston Bruins have had to deal with their fair share of injuries so far this season, but that hasn’t stopped the club from continuing its longstanding tradition of consistent regular-season success. Through 21 games this season, Boston sits first in the Atlantic Division with a 12-9-0 record, including a 8-2-0 record in their last 10 games. On Saturday in Montreal, though, the Bruins were dealt their most significant injury blow to date this season: Charlie McAvoy took a Noah Dobson one-timer to the face and had to leave the game immediately. Today, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm provided a small update on McAvoy’s status, per Conor Ryan of Boston.com, stating that McAvoy will not travel with the team on its upcoming road trip. In addition, he also said that veteran center Elias Lindholm would travel with the team.

It should not come as any surprise that McAvoy isn’t ready to play just yet, and Sturm did add that an official update on McAvoy’s health will likely be issued either today or tomorrow. In any case, adequately replacing what McAvoy brings to the Bruins will be very difficult. McAvoy averages nearly 24 minutes of ice time per game (good for the team lead) and has 14 points in 19 games. While it won’t help their defense, the fact that Lindholm is nearing a return to the ice should help soften the blow of losing McAvoy. He’s a reliable two-way center whose return should help alleviate some of the pressure the Bruins’ center injuries have placed on veteran Pavel Zacha and rookie Fraser Minten.

Other injury updates from the Atlantic Division:

  • Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving confirmed today, per The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, that team captain and franchise center Auston Matthews won’t play today or on Thursday due to the injury he suffered Nov. 11 against the Boston Bruins. Matthews did begin skating again today, but still needs some time before he’s ready to return to game action. The 28-year-old has scored 14 points in 17 games this season, and had 33 goals, 78 points in 67 games in 2024-25. In addition to speaking on Matthews, Treliving also said that veteran defenseman Chris Tanev’s health status will be re-evaluated in a week or two, and head coach Craig Berube confirmed that center Nicolas Roy will miss a few games with an injury of his own. Tanev suffered his injury Nov. 1 while Roy, who has four points in 19 games this season, played in the team’s last game on Saturday.
  • Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff announced today that defenseman Michael Kesselring suffered an injury in the team’s game Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings, and “an extended period of time” as a result. The nature of the injury is not yet clear, but Ruff said that Kesselring’s absence would be “on the longer side – weeks.” The big 25-year-old right-shot blueliner, who was acquired this past summer from the Utah Mammoth in the J.J. Peterka trade, has played in nine games this season. In better injury news, Ruff also announced that forward Zach Benson will return to skating in a non-contact capacity

Seattle Kraken Activate Joey Daccord From IR

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The Seattle Kraken announced that they’ve activated netminder Joey Daccord from their injured reserve. Additionally, the Kraken shared that goaltender Matt Murray would miss the next six weeks due to a lower-body injury, though they didn’t indicate if they had placed him on the IR.

It’s been nearly two weeks since Daccord last played for Seattle. He suffered an upper-body injury in a blowout loss to the San Jose Sharks on November 5th after playing in just over two periods.

Before exiting the lineup with the upper-body ailment, Daccord was again a quality netminder for the Kraken, though not as solid as in recent years. He’s managed a 6-2-3 record in 11 starts this season with a .900 SV% and 2.83 GAA. It’s slightly below the .910 SV% and 2.61 GAA he’s averaged over the last two years, though there’s plenty of time to rediscover those numbers.

Regardless, the team hasn’t suffered as much as expected without Daccord, winning three out of five contests. The common denominator in those three wins was Philipp Grubauer, who stopped 58 of 64 shots (.906 SV%) throughout his three appearances.

Consequently, the only Kraken netminder without a win will likely be out until the calendar turns over to 2026. Murray, the two-time Stanley Cup champion, had appeared in five games for Seattle this year, managing a 0-2-1 record with a .921 SV% and 2.21 GAA.

Interestingly, like Daccord, Murray was also injured in a game against the Sharks. Murray’s current injury appears to be non-contact in nature, as he left late in the first period after being scored on by Sharks’ forward Alexander Wennberg. Notably, Murray has experienced long-standing ankle and groin injuries throughout his career.

Penguins Place Ville Koivunen On IR, Recall Samuel Poulin

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According to a team announcement, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled forward Samuel Poulin from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Additionally, Pittsburgh has placed forward Ville Koivunen on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

There’s no questioning that Poulin has earned another opportunity at the NHL level. The former 21st overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft is currently the leading scorer on the AHL Penguins with seven goals and 15 points in 16 games with a +8 rating.

Factoring in last year’s performance, in which he scored 19 goals and 43 points in 57 games, Poulin could provide additional offense to Pittsburgh’s bottom-six. Unfortunately, he has yet to show any flashes of offense at the NHL level, registering two assists in 13 games since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

Still, it’s an inspiring recovery from a prospect that nearly left the game entirely during the 2022-23 season. Poulin took a leave of absence from the AHL Penguins early into that campaign, citing mental health concerns after suffering from a panic attack during a game. Coming off the best AHL performance of his career and starting the 2025-26 campaign with nearly a point-per-game, Poulin may have finally turned a corner in his development.

Meanwhile, the Penguins noted in their announcement that Koivunen’s lower-body injury will likely keep him out of the lineup for the next few weeks. The former draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes had skated in 11 games for Pittsburgh this season, tallying two assists while averaging 12:34 of ice time per game.

Senators Recall Stephen Halliday, Lassi Thomson

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Before they embark on a seven-game road trip that will take them into December, the Ottawa Senators have recalled some depth to their active roster. According to a team announcement, the Senators have recalled forward Stephen Halliday and defenseman Lassi Thomson from the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

Unfortunately, the recall was preceded by some negativity. According to multiple reports, Ottawa has placed defenseman Thomas Chabot and forward Olle Lycksell on their injured reserve. Chabot’s upper-body injury is expected to keep him out of the lineup for the next couple of weeks. However, the Senators didn’t entirely rule out that he could return by the end of the upcoming road trip.

Halliday, 23, has the opportunity to make his NHL debut throughout the duration of the recall. The Ohio State University alumnus was drafted with the 104th overall pick by the Senators in the 2022 NHL Draft and transitioned to professional hockey toward the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

Since then, he’s been one of the more productive forwards for the AHL Senators. Starting with a 10-game debut to conclude the 2023-24 campaign, Halliday has scored 20 goals and 72 points in 96 games with Belleville and was leading the team in scoring before the recall. Halliday was also impressive in his one postseason run, scoring two goals and nine points in seven games.

Still, there is some reason for concern due to Halliday’s performance on the defensive side of the puck. Despite leading the team in scoring last season, Halliday finished with a dreadful -20 rating, nine points lower than the next worst. Granted, the AHL Senators didn’t qualify for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, but the team as a whole only finished with a -17 goal differential.

Meanwhile, Thomson has had a far different trajectory with the Senators organization as a prospect. Drafted with the 19th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, there’s no question that Thomson has fallen well short of expectations.

He began his professional career in North America at the end of the 2020-21 season, and primarily played with Belleville. Until the 2023-24 campaign, Thomson had scored 26 goals and 93 points in 202 AHL games with the Senators with a -28 rating. The disappointing performance led to Thomson leaving North America altogether last season, signing with the SHL’s Malmö Redhawks to a two-year deal.

It was a relatively promising season in the SHL, with Thomson scoring 17 goals and 29 points in 50 games, and adding three more goals in eight postseason contests. As things would turn out, the Redhawks released Thomson after one season, allowing him to re-sign with the Senators this past offseason.

Evening Notes: Neighbours, Kemell, O’Connor

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The St. Louis Blues will get leading goal-scorer Jake Neighbours back on their current five-game road trip, per head coach Jim Montgomery. Neighbours has been out with a right-leg injury since St. Louis’ October 25th win over the Detroit Red Wings. He scored two goals in that game, bringing his year-long totals up to six goals in eight games. That mark was double any other Blues’ goal total at the time, and is still tied for the team lead despite him missing the last 11 games. He has seven points in total.

The Blues will be anxiously anticipating the return of their hot hand. They have posted a 3-4-1 record since Neighbours’ exited the lineup – the fifth-lowest point-percentage in the NHL in that span. It’s been a brutal stretch, marked by St. Louis averaging over four goals against per game. Neighbours’ confident offense, and chemistry with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, should help spur the Blues’ offense; while his physicality supports the defense. The 23-year-old could return as soon as Thursday’s game versus the Philadelphia Flyers.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Nashville Predators have reassigned winger Joakim Kemell to the minor-leagues. Kemell was recalled on November 10th, but didn’t appear in any NHL games over the last week. His only NHL action this year came in two games at the start of Nashville’s season. He managed no scoring, one shot on goal, and four hits in the pair of outings. Kemell has managed six points in six AHL games this season, making him one of three Milwaukee Admirals scoring at a point-per-game. He’ll now bring that productivity back to an Admirals team that’s 5-1-0 through November.
  • The Colorado Avalanche will have to wait a bit longer to get depth forward Logan O’Connor back into the lineup. He has sustained an soft-tissue issue that will delay his return from a hip surgery he underwent in March per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. This new injury is unrelated to the surgery, per Rawal, but has still pushed back O’Connor’s original return date of early November. The 29-year-old right-winger appeared in 80 games, and scored 21 points, with the Avalanche last season. He’s become a fixture of the team’s fourth-line, and has managed at least 20 points in each of the last four seasons.

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