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Drew Doughty Expected To Miss Weeks With Lower-Body Injury

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11/17: The Kings have confirmed that Doughty is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury per the team’s Manager of Editorial Content Zach Dooley. No details were provided on the injury, though they did clarify that it is unrelated to the ankle injury he sustained last season. Hopefully that will help him recover quickly, with a winning Kings season and Winter Olympics both at stake.

11/16: The Los Angeles Kings could be in store for a major absence. Veteran defender and alternate captain Drew Doughty was seen in a walking boot after Saturday night’s match against the Ottawa Senators, after leaving the game in the second period following a blocked shot. He appeared in pain right away, and gingerly returned to the Kings’ bench without putting weight on his left foot. The team expects to know more about his injury alter today, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. He is expected to be out week-to-week, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

Doughty only played through 11 minutes of ice time before exiting the game. He has been heavily leaned on over Los Angeles’ recent stretch, averaging more than 22 minutes of ice time over his last five games. He’s rewarded that usage with four points, eight blocked shots, and two hits. Those numbers brought Doughty up to eight points, 30 blocks, and 11 hits in 18 games entering Saturday night.

An extended absence would be dismal news for the 36-year-old Doughty. He fractured his left ankle in a preseason game in September 2024 on an awkward hit from Tanner Pearson. The injury required surgery, sticking Doughty with a month-to-month injury designation. He didn’t return until January, and only managed 17 points in 30 games before Los Angeles’ season ended. Doughty’s health has fluctuated wildly over the second-half of his career. He enjoyed an ironman streak from 2014 to 2019, but missed 15 games in 2019-20 and 43 games in 2021-22. He returned to good health, only missing one game between 2022 and 2024, until injury derailed him last season.

Doughty was named to Team Canada’s preliminary roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics in August. He was one of 42 skaters, and 13 defenders, named to the squad – putting him under a microscope for the rest of the year. This season will likely mark Doughty’s final chance to stand as an Olympian. He has already won two Olympic Gold medals, while posting eight points in 13 games. Doughty also represented Canada at the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off, where he scored one point in four games.

Kings Sign Adrian Kempe To Eight-Year Extension

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Nov. 17: The Kings have announced Kempe’s extension as reported. PuckPedia relays that the deal contains a no-movement clause through 2029-30 that then downgrades to a 15-team no-trade list. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports the breakdown is as follows:

2026-27 through 2028-29: $1MM salary, $11MM signing bonus
2029-30: $2.5MM salary, $9.5MM signing bonus
2030-31 through 2031-32: $9.75MM salary
2032-33 through 2033-34: $8.75MM salary

Nov. 16: The Kings are in agreement with star winger Adrian Kempe on a deal to keep him in Los Angeles past this season, Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports. It’s an eight-year deal worth $85MM for a cap hit of $10.625MM, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The contract secures Kempe, who was arguably the top UFA remaining next season, in Southern California through the 2033-34 season.

Most have viewed a Kempe extension as a must-do for Kings general manager Ken Holland, and for good reason. With captain Anže Kopitar’s pending retirement already set to leave a glaring hole in their top six next season, losing a second member of their top unit would have been catastrophic.

More so than ever, Kempe has taken the reins from Kopitar as the team’s top offensive threat. With six goals and 13 assists in 19 games this season, he’s on track to hit the point-per-game mark for the first time in his career despite an early-season shooting slump. His 9.7% finishing rate is currently his worst since hitting a low of 7.4% in the 2019-20 season. He’s only on track to hit 26 goals this year at present, but with his shooting average up at 14.2% over the prior four years, there’s a high chance he’ll hit over 30 once again and finish in the 80-to-90-point range.

Kempe has now scored 30 goals in three of the last four years and would have gone four-for-four if not for a five-game absence in 2023-24. He’s been stapled to Kopitar’s wing on L.A.’s top line since first getting an extended promotion in the 2020-21 season. It was somewhat of a delayed breakout for the 29-year-old, who was a first-round pick back in 2014. He didn’t make his NHL debut until late in his third year post-draft and spent the following few years posting around 30 points a year in a middle-six role. His big break didn’t come until his first full season on Kopitar’s wing in 2021-22, when he notched a team-leading 35 goals as L.A. ended a three-year playoff drought.

The 6’2″ winger has been a money-in-the-bank producer since then, while also hitting the 100-hit mark in every year since 2021-22. Since his breakout, Kempe’s 145 goals in 337 games are tied for 21st in the league. He’s now at 200 goals for his career, putting him just inside the top 10 in Kings franchise history and 14th in points with 420.

With him and Kevin Fiala checking in as L.A.’s only semi-consistent 30-goal options, there was little chance they could sustain losing him and Kopitar without many other options slated to be available to replace them in free agency without dropping back out of the playoff picture. His new deal will make him the Kings’ highest-paid forward next year, and he could be their highest-paid player outright starting in 2027-28 with the expiry of Drew Doughty’s contract.

The Kings tried aggressively to get Kempe’s deal done months ago during the offseason, but were unsuccessful. Shortly before training camp, Kempe said he wanted something done as soon as possible and all but set the Christmas break as a drop-dead date for talks. Today’s news marks a seemingly significant concession from Kempe’s camp, which was eyeing a match to the $11.5MM average annual value that Martin Nečas landed in his extension with the Avalanche a few weeks ago.

Even with the eight-figure commitment, the Kings still boast $23.1MM in cap space for next season, per PuckPedia. That’s with seven open roster spots. The contract is also one of the few truly long-term ones left on the Kings’ books. Only Mikey Anderson, whose deal expires following the 2030-31 season, is under contract past the end of the decade.

Image courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.

Charlie McAvoy, Viktor Arvidsson Hurt In Bruins Win

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The Boston Bruins left Montreal with a win on Saturday night, but could pay the price with two veteran injuries. Star defenseman Charlie McAvoy sustained an upper-body injury after being struck in the jaw by a shot from the blue-line. He was helped off the ice by a trainer and did not return tot he contest. Meanwhile, winger Viktor Arvidsson sustained a lower-body injury later in the contest. Arvidsson is expected to miss “some time” while McAvoy will undergo further testing, per head coach Marco Sturm (via WEEI radio).

McAvoy’s importance to the Bruins can’t go understated. He had averaged more than 25 minutes of ice time across his last six games entering Saturday night, and rewarded the heavy usage with six assists. The Bruins set a 5-1-0 record in that span. McAvoy has worked his way up to 14 points, all assists, in 19 games on the year. That mark leads all Bruins defenders in scoring, with Mason Lohrei (10 points) the only other with double-digit scoring. McAvoy also leads the Bruins’ blue-line in shots on goal (25), average ice time (23:46), and ice time on both the power-play and penalty-kill. He would leave massive shoes to be filled. The Bruins would need to lean on a committee approach in his absence, likely looking to Lohrei stepping up as a vital piece of the offense and Nikita Zadorov growing into an even bigger defensive role.

Arvidsson may not carry the same lineup role, but his role will be just as tough to replace. The 33-year-old has scored three points across his last four games, including the game-winning goal on Saturday prior to his injury. He now has 10 points in 20 games this season. Arvidsson also ranks second on the Bruins in shots on goal (52) behind star scorer David Pastrňák. He has provided shrewd depth scoring to a Bruins team that sorely lacked that last season. With his help, the Bruins have leaped from the fifth-fewest goals-for last season, to the second-most so far this season.

Boston is already facing a littany of injuries. Elias Lindholm was placed on injured reserve in early November, and both Casey Mittelstadt and John Beecher are nursing injuries from the press box. That will force the team to call someone up form the AHL to fill Arvidsson’s bottom-six role. Former first-round pick, and 6-foot-6 winger, Riley Tufte co-leads the Providence Bruins in scoring with 16 points, split evenly, in 13 games. He’s tied with 10-year pro Patrick Brown, who has six goals and 10 assists. Both players would be strong options to bring up, though Boston may want to reward top prospect Fabian Lysell, who has 12 points in 12 games while working through a shifting lineup role.

Stars’ Thomas Harley Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury

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The Dallas Stars will be without one of their top defenseman for the next few weeks. Dallas announced that Thomas Harley is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Although Harley’s most recent game came in the Stars’ lopsided win against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, there’s reason to believe that he’s been playing through the injury for some time. Given their salary cap space, it’s expected that Kyle Capobianco will fill in for Harley for the time being.

It’s safe to say that Harley will be a huge missing piece for Dallas moving forward. The former first-round pick has arguably been the Stars’ top defenseman for the last three years, scoring 32 goals and 107 points in his previous 175 games. Additionally, Harley was the highest-scoring defenseman for the Stars last postseason, adding four goals and 14 points in 18 games.

Fortunately, Dallas has built a solid lead in the standings that they can likely absorb Harley’s loss. At the time of writing, the Stars are four points up on the Utah Mammoth for second place in the Central Division standings and are five points up on the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Moving forward, it’s likely that young blueliner Lian Bichsel will get a larger look in the Stars’ top-two defensive pairings. Also drafted 18th overall like Harley, Bichsel is in his second year in the NHL. At this point, he’s scored four goals and 11 points in 56 games with 213 hits, averaging 14:46 of ice time per night.

Vancouver Canucks Sign David Kämpf

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David Kämpf’s time on the free agent market didn’t last long. The Vancouver Canucks announced that they’ve signed the recently released center to a one-year, $1.1MM contract for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.

The news puts to bed some speculation from last night and this morning. A report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman yesterday indicated that the Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, and Pittsburgh Penguins were interested in Kämpf’s services. Additionally, TSN’s Darren Dreger shared earlier today that there were three finalists for Kämpf, with Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic confirming that Vancouver was one of the finalists.

Although a $1MM+ commitment may seem excessive at face value for a player who just had his contract bought out, it’s important to remember that, based on the payment schedule throughout the year, Kämpf’s agreement is prorated through the end of the regular season. It is far closer to a league minimum agreement in reality.

There’s no questioning that the Canucks needed some help down the middle. Even at the beginning of the year, the Canucks were known to be seeking a second-line center, and that was before Filip Chytil went down with another concussion. Coupled with Chytil’s injury, Vancouver has been without Teddy Blueger for the last month.

The Canucks tried to improve the situation by trading for Lukas Reichel in late October, but the gamble has yet to produce the anticipated results. Even with Reichel, Vancouver’s best available centers behind Elias Pettersson are Max Sasson and Aatu Räty. With all respect to those two, it wasn’t a conducive core to competitive results. 

Before Chytil went down with a concussion on October 19th, the Canucks were 4-2-0 through their first six contests. They’ve struggled since with a 4-7-2 record and have dropped to 13th place in the Western Conference, yet are only two points shy of the final wild-card spot. Kämpf shouldn’t be expected to fix most of their troubles to start the year, though he should provide some stability down the middle of Vancouver’s forward core.

Devils’ Jack Hughes Out Two Months With Non-Hockey Hand Injury

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Saturday: The Devils provided an update on Hughes, announcing that he has undergone surgery.  He will be reevaluated in six weeks and the expected recovery timeline is eight weeks.  With New Jersey having just $12.5K in available cap space per PuckPedia, Hughes is almost certainly heading for LTIR which would open up $3.82MM in available spending room.

Friday: In an odd report, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that the New Jersey Devils will be without center Jack Hughes for at least one game after accidentally cutting his hand at a team dinner. The Devils confirmed the report and added that Hughes is still being evaluated.

Once again, Hughes was off to a sensational start to the season, only to have it paused due to injury. He began the 2025-26 campaign with 10 goals and 20 points in 17 games, leading New Jersey in scoring while tying for 22nd in the league with Brad Marchand, Sidney Crosby, Kyle Connor, Troy Terry, Nick Suzuki, Jason Robertson, and Leon Draisaitl.

Hopefully, for the Devils’ sake, Hughes will only miss a few games at most. Last season, around the trade deadline, New Jersey went 9-10-1 to finish the season and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Devils were 33-23-6 before Hughes was injured.

His injury history is becoming a little much to overlook. Since the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign, Hughes has played in 268 regular-season contests for the Devils, which is only 77.7% of potential contests. Still, he’s been one of, if not the team’s best player over that stretch, scoring 133 goals and 319 points while averaging 20:25 of ice time per game.

Luckily, the team has an in-house replacement for Hughes on the first line in captain Nico Hischier. In the same stretch that Hughes has suffered multiple injuries, Hischier has remained remarkably consistent, scoring 117 goals and 288 points in 314 games, with a +41 rating and a 54.5% faceoff rate, while averaging 19:41 of ice time per game.

Depending on how long Hughes is out for, it could jumpstart New Jersey’s aggressiveness in acquiring some forward depth. The team already had a hole down the middle behind Hughes and Hischer, and the injury news could prompt some movement from the Devils.

Wild Place Marco Rossi On IR With Lower-Body Injury

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4:30 p.m.: As expected, the Wild announced that Rossi has been placed on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Minnesota’s announcement indicated that Rossi would miss the next few weeks.

9:13 a.m.: Wild top-line pivot Marco Rossi will miss at least the team’s next few games – potentially longer – with a lower-body injury, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports Friday. Minnesota will be down to the bare minimum of 12 forwards if he’s not available, and they don’t have an open roster spot. Hence, an injured reserve placement is likely to permit the recall of a forward from AHL Iowa.

It’s unexpected news after Rossi made his last appearance, an overtime loss to the Sharks on Tuesday, in full without incident. He missed one game in October due to a lower-body issue. Russo reports that he’s not fully healed from that injury and will need a more extended break to get back to 100 percent.

The 24-year-old has remained the centerpiece of Minnesota’s top line this season with Kirill Kaprizov after a tumultuous summer. He was involved in a drawn-out round of contract negotiations after reaching restricted free agency, and early in the summer, it seemed likelier than not that he’d be dealt away. No trade materialized, though, and he returned to the Wild on a three-year, $15MM bridge deal in late August to avoid being a training camp holdout.

While the Wild didn’t have the best October, Rossi was on a roll. He took the absence of his other routine wingman, Mats Zuccarello, in stride and rattled off 11 points (two goals, nine assists) through his first 11 games. However, he’s only managed two goals in six games since the calendar turned to November and has just one point in his last five. With Zuccarello now back in the fold and registering two assists through his first three games of the season, he and Kaprizov will be centered by Joel Eriksson Ek for the foreseeable future as Rossi exits the lineup.

There’s no timeline yet for Rossi’s return, but he’s expected to be out long enough to intensify the Wild’s documented pursuit of a middle-six forward. Picking up a depth center if one hits waivers might also be a stopgap possibility to keep veterans Ben Jones and Tyler Pitlick, neither of whom has recorded a point this season in a combined 15 appearances, out of a regular spot in Rossi’s absence.

As Russo writes, it’s 2022 first-rounder Danila Yurov who stands with the most to gain while Rossi rehabs. The 21-year-old rookie has just two goals with a -5 rating through his first 13 NHL games, but that’s to be expected given his fourth-line deployment and lack of special teams usage. Yurov has averaged 9:51 of ice time per game and is starting just 36.2% of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone. He’s spent most of his time centering Marcus Foligno and Yakov Trenin, who’ve combined for no goals and four assists this season. A promotion to top-nine duties is a far more suitable assignment for Yurov’s capabilities and should result in a significant increase in productivity.

Maple Leafs, David Kämpf Mutually Terminate Contract

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Nov. 14, 1:08 p.m.: Kämpf has cleared waivers and his contract has been terminated, according to Friedman.

Nov. 13, 12:58 p.m.: The Maple Leafs officially announced Kämpf’s waiver placement. They’ll clear $1.25MM in cap space tomorrow as a result of the move, not his full $2.4MM since he’s already carrying a reduced impact in the minors. Kämpf retains this year’s signing bonus as part of the termination, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Nov. 13, 10:13 p.m.: The Maple Leafs will place center David Kämpf on unconditional waivers this afternoon for the purpose of a mutual contract termination, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. Assuming he clears tomorrow, he’ll be free to sign a new contract with an NHL club at any time.

The 30-year-old Kämpf is in the third season of a four-year, $9.6MM contract. It hasn’t panned out as Toronto general manager Brad Treliving had hoped when he signed it in June 2023. Kämpf has not played for Toronto’s NHL squad this season. His $2.4MM cap hit and the Leafs’ flurry of depth forward additions over the summer left him out of a roster spot when training camp ended, and he landed on standard waivers. After clearing, he was assigned to AHL Toronto for his first minor-league action since the 2017-18 season.

Initially, Kämpf reported to the Marlies. He suited up for their season-opening back-to-back games but didn’t play again until Oct. 26 and 29. After that, Kämpf took a brief leave to mull his options for an NHL return, which the Maple Leafs made clear wouldn’t be in Toronto. The Leafs initially looked to find a trade partner but were unsuccessful. Soon after, they suspended Kämpf without pay as his leave hit the one-week mark. A mutual contract termination became the clear goal, but there was uncertainty over whether Kämpf would need to return a prorated portion of the $1.325MM signing bonus he was given before the season as part of the transaction.

Today’s news indicates the NHL and NHLPA have come to a resolution on that front. Kämpf will now be walking away from the remainder of the $1.075MM base salary he was owed for this season, plus the $2.4MM total compensation he was due in 2026-27.

His four-year contract with the Leafs came on the heels of a career-best season for Kämpf, who’d initially joined the franchise on a two-year, $3MM pact in free agency in 2021. The faceoff and penalty-killing specialist had averaged north of 15 minutes per game in his first two seasons in Toronto, didn’t miss a game, and reached 26 and 27 points, respectively. He’d never hit the 20-point threshold before in his career and hasn’t hit it since.

While still effective on the dot and shorthanded, Kämpf’s offensive liabilities began to contribute to a decreased role. He saw his ice time slashed by nearly two minutes per game in the first year of his extension, and it was further reduced to 12:29 last year, in which injuries and healthy scratches limited him to 59 appearances. Toronto’s trade deadline pickup of Scott Laughton from the Flyers pushed him out of the lineup entirely, and he only played in one out of 13 playoff games for the Leafs, so the writing was on the wall long before this season began.

That said, Kämpf shouldn’t have much trouble finding a new deal. He has 48 goals and 143 points in 536 career NHL games. Considering he’s only started 31.6% of his shifts at even strength in the offensive zone, his relatively tame -16 rating is indicative of his legitimate defensive skill. He’s not overly physical, averaging under one hit per game for his career, but has a 51.4% lifetime average on draws. If he’s willing to take a deal close to league minimum, he should have a multitude of options. Teams plagued with injuries up front – the Canucks and Sabres, in particular – could be among the first to call.

Image courtesy of Alan Poizner-Imagn Images.

Oilers Place Troy Stecher On Waivers, Reassign Isaac Howard

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The Oilers announced they’ve placed defenseman Troy Stecher on waivers for the purposes of assignment to AHL Bakersfield. They also demoted rookie Isaac Howard, sending him directly to Bakersfield.

Stecher, 31, was acquired from the Coyotes back at the 2024 trade deadline before signing a two-year, $1.575MM extension to remain with Edmonton through this season. An undrafted free agent signing by the Canucks in 2016, Stecher immediately broke into a top-four role with Vancouver but peaked early on, never eclipsing the 24 points he put up in his rookie year.

The puck-moving blue liner ended up stabilizing as a more useful third-pairing piece, leading to him moving around quite a bit. He was picked up by a contender for added depth at three straight trade deadlines – going from the Red Wings to the Kings in 2022 and the Coyotes to the Flames in 2023 before returning to Arizona in free agency and being dealt to the Oilers in 2024. Over those three years plus last season in Edmonton, Stecher put together an 8-31–37 scoring line with a -6 rating in 230 appearances.

Those numbers were brought down by a difficult 2024-25 campaign for Stecher in Edmonton, in which he was limited to seven points and a -2 rating in 66 games and averaged just 13:52 of ice time per contest. He was a frequent healthy scratch in the postseason, although for his six-figure cap hit, he wasn’t being paid as much more than veteran insurance. Edmonton’s pickup of Jake Walman at last year’s deadline and the emergence of Alec Regula into a semi-regular role have pushed him further down the depth chart, though.

Stecher has now been a healthy scratch in seven straight and has only played in six of 19 games this season, going without a point. As a result, Edmonton has been looking to find a trade partner for him. With no success so far, they’re letting him hit the wire to see if another team wants his services at an affordable $787,500 cap hit for the remainder of the season.

Howard’s demotion is more related to Zach Hyman’s anticipated activation from long-term injured reserve tomorrow, but it won’t be the worst thing for his development, either. The 2022 first-round pick is in his first professional season after initially telling the Lightning he wouldn’t sign with them, which ultimately led to Edmonton acquiring his rights over the summer and subsequently inking him to his entry-level deal. Howard was left off Edmonton’s opening night roster for cap purposes, but was recalled before they played their first game.

As a result, Howard has played in all 17 contests for the Oilers but hasn’t been terribly effective. Part of that is because he hasn’t had a chance to play with premier linemates as he may have hoped. There was speculation the 21-year-old lefty might get a trial in top-six minutes alongside either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, particularly with Hyman sidelined to start the season, but that never came to pass. He’s spent virtually the whole season in fourth-line duties, averaging 9:30 of ice time per game. His production has been limited to two goals and one assist with a -2 rating.

Howard should receive first-line minutes with Bakersfield. The Wisconsin native had a 2024-25 season for the ages before turning pro, taking home the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey, as well as a Big Ten championship with Michigan State, while recording a 26-26–52 scoring line in 37 games.

Canadiens’ Alex Newhook Out 4 Months, Kaiden Guhle Out 8-10 Weeks

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The Canadiens announced that Alex Newhook underwent surgery to repair the fractured ankle he sustained last night against the Stars. He’s expected to miss four months, putting him out through the trade deadline. In a corresponding move, the Canadiens announced they’ve recalled forward Jared Davidson from AHL Laval. They’ve been operating with a pair of open roster spots since sending Marc Del Gaizo down last week, so there’s no need to open space. Montreal also said defenseman Kaiden Guhle, who’s IR-bound and hasn’t played in nearly a month, underwent an additional procedure on a partially torn adductor muscle and will miss an additional eight to 10 weeks.

Newhook’s ankle fracture was sustained after getting tangled up with Dallas defender Ilya Lyubushkin and colliding with the end boards early in the second period. He needed help from teammates to get off the ice and he didn’t return to the game.

Montreal now gives Davidson the first recall of his career. The 23-year-old middleman was a fifth-round pick in 2022 after being passed over in the 2020 and 2021 drafts. He was selected out of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, whom he guided to a championship in his post-draft season and was twice a First Team All-Star. The 6’0″ sniper tallied 80 goals in 124 games across his final two junior seasons before turning pro.

Initially, Davidson didn’t land an NHL contract. He spent the 2023-24 campaign on a minor-league deal with Laval while the Habs, who had two years after drafting him to decide whether to extend an entry-level contract before losing his rights, mulled whether or not to sign him. Injuries limited him to 38 appearances, but he was productive when healthy with 11 goals and 16 points. That was enough for Montreal to ink him to a two-year entry-level deal in May 2024.

The Edmonton native was healthy last year and delivered something of a breakout campaign. He finished the year third on Laval in scoring with 45 points (24 goals, 21 assists) in 69 games, adding a team-high +25 rating to boot. He’s kept the momentum rolling this year with a team-high nine goals in 13 games, including a six-game point streak that came to an end Wednesday night.

With no other healthy extra forwards available on the roster, Davidson will make his NHL debut on Saturday night – in primetime – against the Bruins. It’s quite the test for a name that was listed all the way down at No. 24 in this offseason’s prospect pool rankings by Elite Prospects, albeit in an exceedingly deep Montreal pool.

Where he slots in the lineup remains to be seen. What’s clear is that he’s not expectedly to directly replace what Newhook had been doing in the early stages of the season. A long-term injury couldn’t carry worse timing for the 2019 first-round pick, who was finally finding his footing in a top-six role in Montreal. Through 17 games, he’d rattled off six goals and 12 points and a +7 rating with nearly all of that production coming at even strength, averaging 14:38 of ice time per game on the Habs’ second line alongside Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.

On paper, the Habs would need major breakthroughs from multiple players in their middle-six forward group to have success this year. Newhook was doing just that, already reaching nearly half of his total output in 82 games last year. He’s the team’s fifth-leading scorer as he exits the lineup – one that the Habs, now 1-2-2 in their last five and on the heels of being outscored 12-1 in their last two games, will struggle to replace. More is needed out of veteran Josh Anderson, who has just four points and a -9 rating in 17 outings despite averaging more ice time than Newhook.

As for Guhle, his initial four-to-six-week recovery timeline was assuming he would be able to rehab his adductor issues without surgery. He’d just gotten back skating but wasn’t adjusting well, leading the Canadiens’ medical staff to pivot, Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports.

In the meantime, Jayden Struble will continue to skate in his place in the top four alongside Lane Hutson. The 24-year-old has made 13 appearances this season, posting three points with a -3 rating while averaging 15:29 of ice time per game. They’ve had the worst defensive results of any Habs pairing this year, controlling 43.2% of expected goals with a team-high 2.77 xGA/60, per MoneyPuck. Hutson and Guhle were allowing just 2.00 xGA/60 together and controlling 48.6% of expected goals overall, making Struble’s elevated minutes a challenge for the club to overcome defensively.

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