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Canadiens’ Emil Heineman Out Three To Four Weeks With Upper-Body Injury

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Canadiens forward Emil Heineman sustained an upper-body injury on Monday when he was struck by a car in Salt Lake City, the team said in a statement. As a result, he’ll be sidelined from game action for three to four weeks.

Montreal provided no other details on the 23-year-old’s condition, but thankfully, the news isn’t any worse than it is. That brief return timeline suggests he may not have needed surgery as a result of his injuries – if he did, it was likely minor.

A 2020 second-rounder by the Panthers, he was traded to the Flames in the 2021 Sam Bennett trade and again to Montreal in 2022 as part of the return for Tyler Toffoli. After a four-game trial with the Habs last season, he’s cracked the roster in earnest in 2024-25 and is tied for eighth on the team in scoring with 17 points (10 G, 7 A) through 41 games.

Heineman managed that production despite averaging 10:06 per game at even strength, which is the least of any Habs regular. He’s received some fringe power-play usage but has been most effective as the left wing on one of the league’s most effective fourth lines this season with Jake Evans and Joel Armia, who control 56.9% of expected goals when used together at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck.

The 6’0″, 202-lb Heineman has also been Montreal’s most physical skater, leading the team with 101 hits. It’s been an abundantly successful rookie campaign for the pending restricted free agent by all accounts, putting himself in line for a decent raise this summer and a guaranteed roster spot moving forward, barring any unexpected regression.

Expect enforcer Michael Pezzetta to see his most regular usage this season in Heineman’s absence. The 26-year-old was a healthy scratch for all of November and December but has played in four games since the New Year, bringing his total on the campaign to seven. He’s still looking for his first point of the campaign and has a minus-two rating while averaging 6:25 per game.

All of us at PHR extend our best wishes to Heineman in his recovery.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Blue Jackets Extend Zach Aston-Reese

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The Blue Jackets have signed forward Zach Aston-Reese to a one-year extension, general manager Don Waddell announced Monday. He will earn the league minimum of $775K next season, presumably on a one-way contract.

Aston-Reese, 30, was set to become an unrestricted free agent in July. He’s played in all but one of Columbus’ 43 games this season after being claimed off waivers from the Golden Knights on the eve of the regular season, posting four goals, seven assists, and 11 points with a minus-six rating.

The waiver placement by Vegas was a blessing in disguise for Aston-Reese, who’s re-established himself as an NHL regular with the Blue Jackets. Once a fourth-line fixture with the Penguins and was regarded as one of the more defensively adept wingers in the league, he’s had a tumultuous past few seasons – including spending nearly all last season in the minors while in the Red Wings organization.

That meant Aston-Reese had to settle for a two-way deal with the Knights in free agency last summer, the second year in a row he’d done so after catching on in Detroit late in training camp last year after a failed tryout with the Hurricanes. The structure hasn’t affected him this season since he’s spent all of it in the NHL, so while his extension doesn’t represent a raise, it does represent added financial security if he ends up back in the minors at some point in 2025-26.

Aston-Reese is averaging 13:09 of ice time per game this season, his highest usage since the 2020-21 campaign with Pittsburgh. He’s bounced between third-line and fourth-line roles, usually on either Justin Danforth or Cole Sillinger’s wing, while seeing around a minute per game on the penalty kill.

A league-minimum salary next year looks to be a bargain for Aston-Reese’s services if he keeps up his current level of play. He’s provided enough offense to remain effective in a bottom-six role while also serving as one of the Blue Jackets’ most physical forwards, ranking third on the team with 94 hits. Somewhat surprisingly, he also ranks eighth on the club with 56 shots on goal, and his 8.6 goals against per 60 minutes while on the penalty kill are the fewest among the Jackets’ regular PKers.

Half of the forwards on Columbus’ active roster are now under contract for next season or beyond. Key pending UFAs still include fellow bottom-six fixtures Sean Kuraly and Mathieu Olivier, who could be in play on trade deadline day if the Jackets can’t reach extensions with them and if they’re no longer in the playoff picture.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Penguins Place Evgeni Malkin On IR, Activate Philip Tomasino

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed star Evgeni Malkin on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Malkin has already missed Pittsburgh’s last three games, and will now be forced out of at least four more games. He had previously played in Pittsburgh’s first 41 games of the season, and was red-hot in the winter months. Malkin had seven points in nine games leading up to his injury.

In a corresponding move, Pittsburgh has also activated Philip Tomasino off of injured reserve, returning him from a four-game absence due to a lower-body injury. Tomasino has been one of the brightest spots of Pittsburgh’s middling year. Acquired for a fourth-round pick in a late-November trade with Nashville, Tomasino has since posted four goals and seven points in 16 games with the Penguins – the highest scoring pace of his career. He’s looked properly alive in the Penguins lineup, filling a much-needed top-six role after four up-and-down seasons in Nashville. Tomasino was a first-round draft pick in 2019, and made the jump into a full-time NHL role two seasons later. He scored 11 goals and 32 points in 76 games as a rookie – a very encouraging start for the then-20-year-old forward. But Tomasino struggled to maintain that into his sophomore year, and would only reach 20 points one more time – in 41 games of the 2023-24 campaign – during his time in Nashville.

Malkin’s absence will leave a glaring hole in the Pittsburgh lineup. The future Hall-of-Famer has, once again, been one of Pittsburgh’s most utilized forwards at both even-strength and on the power-play. The need for another top-unit forward could pave a golden path for Tomasino upon his return, giving the young center yet another chance to show Pittsburgh what he can do with a proper role. Pittsburgh has turned towards Anthony Beauvillier to fill the top-six vacancy over the last three games, though he hasn’t managed any scoring in the boosted role.

In other Penguins news, forward Michael Bunting will also miss the team’s Sunday game after being involved in a car accident outside PPG Paints Arena per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told Rorabaugh that Bunting isn’t expected to miss extended time. Bunting has been another red-hot Penguin, with four points in his last five games.

Flames’ Connor Zary Out Indefinitely With Knee Injury

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4:47 p.m.: Zary does not require surgery but will be out indefinitely while he rehabilitates his knee injury, the Flames announced Friday afternoon.

2:43 p.m.: The Flames placed center Connor Zary on injured reserve Friday after he sustained a left knee injury Tuesday on a hit from Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson, per the league’s media portal. Initial imaging yesterday revealed no ACL or MCL damage, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports, but they’re still working out a concrete timeline for his return.

Taking Zary’s spot on the active roster will be 22-year-old Rory Kerins, who the team announced has been recalled from AHL Calgary. Kerins, a 2020 sixth-round pick, currently leads the AHL in goals with 21 in 34 games.

The IR placement means Zary will miss Calgary’s next three games at the very least. Now in his second NHL season, the 2020 24th overall pick had 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points through 40 games.

Zary finished eighth in Calder Trophy voting last year after finishing 10th on the Flames in scoring with 34 points in 63 contests and ranking fifth with a +12 rating. He had started the season in the minors, but after posting a goal and nine assists through only six AHL games, he earned a call-up and never looked back.

The Saskatchewan native has bounced around a few lines this season and has been shifted to the wing, struggling in the faceoff dot with a 36% win rate. He’s shooting at 12% and is averaging 16:18 per game, seventh among Flames forwards.

Zary has posted some of the best possession numbers on the Flames, controlling 53.6% of shot attempts at even strength – a relative share of 2.4%. He’s due for a new contract as a pending restricted free agent with a qualifying offer of $874,125. He will not be eligible for arbitration if he reaches free agency this summer.

In the meantime, Kerins will get his first NHL chance, although he’s not expected to make his NHL debut on Saturday against the Kings. In addition to leading their AHL club in scoring with 34 points in 34 games, his +13 rating leads Wranglers forwards.

The Flames have a full active roster with $34.79MM in current cap space after the moves. Kerins, also a pending RFA, is waiver-exempt this season.

Canucks Activate Elias Pettersson From Injured Reserve

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The Canucks activated center Elias Pettersson from injured reserve on Friday, according to general manager Patrik Allvin. He’ll return to the lineup tonight against the Hurricanes after missing six games with an undisclosed injury.

Pettersson’s stint on IR came amid a spike in trade rumors regarding the 26-year-old pivot, whose speculated rift with teammate J.T. Miller has caused Vancouver to at least start examining the trade market for both players. He was nearly dealt to the Hurricanes last season before opting to reengage with the Canucks on a contract extension, signing an eight-year, $92.8MM pact in March.

Now back to full health, Pettersson will look to build on what’s been a disappointing campaign in the first season of his contract with an $11.6MM cap hit. He’d been limited to 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points in 34 games before the injury, tracking for his worst points-per-game pace since his injury-plagued 2020-21 campaign.

Somewhat ironically, the 2017 fifth-overall pick played his best hockey this season when Miller was out of the lineup on a personal leave for much of November and December. In 10 games without Miller, he exploded for 13 assists and added a pair of goals for 15 points.

Upon Miller’s return, Pettersson went on a six-game pointless streak. He got back on the score sheet with a pair of goals against the Sharks on Dec. 23 before leaving that contest with the ailment that landed him on IR.

The Canucks have an open roster spot after assigning goaltender Arturs Silovs to AHL Abbotsford on Thursday, so no corresponding transaction is needed for him to re-enter the lineup. Pettersson has had a rotating cast of wingers this season, spending significant time with Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Conor Garland, Nils Höglander, and Kiefer Sherwood, and since the Canucks didn’t take a morning skate today, it’s hard to project where he’ll slot in the lineup.

Oilers’ Evander Kane Undergoes Knee Surgery, Out Additional 4-8 Weeks

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Oilers winger Evander Kane underwent a knee procedure on Thursday in Edmonton that will keep him out of the lineup for at least another four to eight weeks, the team said in a statement. While it’s unrelated to the abdominal procedure he underwent in September that’s kept him sidelined for all of the regular season thus far, he’ll need to pause his rehabilitation schedule from that surgery to focus on his knee, the club said.

Kane, 33, should now be considered doubtful to play at all in the regular season. The veteran power forward played through a sports hernia for a good portion of 2023-24, which ended up requiring major surgery at the beginning of training camp to repair it, as well as two torn hip adductor muscles and two torn lower abdominal muscles.

The initial prognosis was a four-month return timeline, which would have put him back in the lineup sometime around the 4 Nations Face-Off. Instead, he’ll now surely be out past the trade deadline and potentially into the postseason.

Kane’s injuries took a toll on his production in 2023-24. While his 77 games played were his most since arriving in Edmonton for the 2021-22 season, his 24 goals and 44 points worked out to 0.57 points per game – his worst since the 2015-16 campaign.

In turn, Kane saw his ice time drop from nearly 19 minutes per game in 2022-23 to 16:47 per game last year, his lowest usage since his rookie season in Atlanta in 2009-10. He added eight points and a league-high 37 PIMs in 20 postseason contests as his Oilers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.

Crucially for Edmonton, Kane missing the rest of the regular season would allow them to keep his $5.125MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve through the trade deadline. The Oilers have done a good job staying out of LTIR throughout the year, so they should be able to take full advantage of that flexibility on deadline day and will likely be able to make a couple of adds without too much financial worry.

Utah’s Dylan Guenther Out Indefinitely With Lower-Body Injury

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Utah Hockey Club star winger Dylan Guenther will be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, per a team announcement. Forward Josh Doan was recalled from AHL Tucson in a corresponding transaction, the team said.

Guenther, 21, did not miss a shift in Utah’s last appearance, a 4-1 loss to the Panthers on Wednesday. Whatever the injury, it now looks to keep him on the shelf for multiple weeks as Utah looks to make up ground in the Western Conference wild-card race.

Through their first 40 games in Salt Lake City, Guenther is Utah’s leading goal-scorer with 16. He’s added 18 assists for 34 points, on pace for a career-high 70 over a full season and placing third on the team in overall scoring.

So far, he’s had the year Utah hoped for after inking him to an eight-year, $57.14MM extension at the beginning of training camp. It was viewed as a gamble by most at the time with Guenther only having 50 points in 78 career NHL games under his belt with the Coyotes, who made him the ninth overall selection of the 2021 draft, but locking him in early to avoid paying more for his services later on appears to be a prudent move by general manager Bill Armstrong so far.

Guenther’s absence will be felt most on the power play, where he leads the team in goals with seven. He also leads Utah in total shot attempts (237) and has averaged 16:16 per game, fourth among forwards behind captain Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and fellow young star Logan Cooley.

Utah has been an above-average team by most metrics – controlling 53% of shot attempts and 52.5% of scoring chances at 5-on-5 while also boasting strong special teams percentages. Puzzlingly, actually getting the puck in the net has been their most pressing issue. Their 2.85 goals per game ranks 23rd in the league, and losing Guenther for an extended spell certainly won’t do anything to help that.

Up comes Doan, who will presumably replace Guenther in his second-line spot alongside Cooley and Jack McBain. The 22-year-old Arizona native made Utah’s opening night roster, posting a goal and an assist in nine games before being returned to Tucson.

He’ll get a more extended look now, during which Utah hopes he’ll produce at a rate closer to the nine points in 11 games he put up down the stretch last year with the Coyotes. The 2021 second-rounder has looked good in Tucson, where he ranks fourth in scoring with 21 points (8 G, 13 A) in 25 games.

Utah had an open spot on the active roster, so they don’t need to place Guenther on injured reserve to recall Doan. It’s now full, though, and he’ll likely be the first one to land on IR if they need another roster spot.

Senators Sign Ridly Greig To Four-Year Extension

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The Ottawa Senators announced that they’ve signed forward Ridly Greig to a four-year contract extension worth a reported $13MM. The deal will carry Greig through the 2028-29 season and will see him carry an AAV of $3.25MM.

The 22-year-old is in his third NHL season with Ottawa and has six goals and six assists in 36 games this year. Over 128 career NHL games, the former first-round pick has totaled 21 goals and 26 assists. Although his offensive numbers don’t jump out at you, his overall game is rounding into form. Greig does have some playmaking ability; his skating is fantastic, and he is starting to show an edge and an ability to get under the skin of his opponents.

Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios said in a release from the team that “Ridly has established himself as a key member of our team going forward. He brings a good mix of versatility and tenacity to our forward group.”

Greig has made the jump to the NHL rather quickly after spending just 46 games in the American Hockey League, where he posted 16 goals and 16 assists. His ascension and versatility have given the Senators a lot of options within their forward ranks, as they can utilize Greig at both center and wing. Greig has been paired up recently with Brady Tkachuk and Shane Pinto to form a formidable line.

Greig was a member of Team Canada during the 2022 World Junior Championships when Canada took gold. He posted three goals and three assists in five games during the tournament. He also represented Canada last year at the 2024 World Championships after the NHL regular season was over, posting a goal and two assists in two games.

At the end of his new deal, Greig will still be a restricted free agent with one year to go until UFA eligibility. He’ll be eligible for arbitration – which he wasn’t going to be this summer if he held out – and will be due a qualifying offer of $3.25MM.

PHR’s Josh Erickson contributed to this article.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Kraken’s Daniel Sprong Clears Waivers

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Jan. 9: Sprong has cleared waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He must be assigned to Coachella Valley within 30 days before needing to clear waivers again.

Jan. 8: The Kraken placed winger Daniel Sprong on waivers Tuesday, intending to assign him to AHL Coachella Valley, according to a team announcement.

Seattle picked up Sprong, 27, in a trade with the Canucks in November in exchange for future considerations. The Kraken were hoping to get the kind of production out of Sprong they got two years ago when he posted a career-best 21 goals and 46 points in only 66 appearances, but things haven’t gone to plan.

Sprong’s tumultuous season thus far comes after a turbulent summer during which, despite recording 43 points in 76 games for the Red Wings last season, Detroit opted not to qualify him and let him become an unrestricted free agent. The Amsterdam native unexpectedly had to wait nearly three weeks to land a deal, eventually signing a one-year, $975K commitment with the Canucks.

Most expected Vancouver to have Sprong factor in as a complementary top-nine piece, potentially even on Elias Pettersson’s wing, but that experiment didn’t last very long. He also bounced around lines with Pius Suter and Aatu Räty down the middle, averaging 11:39 per game and recording three points until the Canucks decided to cut bait after just nine games and traded him back to Seattle.

Sprong likely desired the move – he would have gotten a bit more playing time in a familiar environment where he’s had success before. He’s barely been utilized by new head coach Dan Bylsma, though, sitting in the press box for most of his second stint in the Emerald City. He’s logged only 10 appearances since the trade, including just four since the beginning of December, posting a goal and an assist with a plus-one rating.

Playing time became more scarce for Sprong last month when the Kraken acquired winger Kaapo Kakko from the Rangers. He’s sat in the press box for four straight now and hasn’t landed a job ahead of the newcomer or depth players like Tye Kartye. His inability to play down the middle has left him on the outside looking in, even with Yanni Gourde on injured reserve.

This season may not be pretty for Sprong, with five points through a combined 19 games, but teams should be willing to take a flyer based on his recent history of depth scoring. Despite averaging fewer than 12 minutes per game across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, he managed 39 goals and 89 points in 142 games for Seattle and Detroit – good for 0.63 per game.

Florida Panthers To Host Winter Classic, Tampa Bay Lightning To Host Stadium Series

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The Commissioner of the National Hockey League has followed through with his vague promise from the 2025 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. The Florida Panthers announced they would host the New York Rangers in the 2026 Winter Classic at LoanDepot Park, home of the MLB’s Miami Marlins. Their intra-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced they would host the Boston Bruins in the 2026 NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It’ll be the southernmost outdoor event the NHL has attempted since successfully pulling off the 2020 NHL Winter Classic in Dallas, Texas. Unlike the Cotton Bowl Stadium, LoanDepot Park has some flexibility with the weather thanks to a retractable roof. There’s a high chance the roof will be used for a hockey event given that the temperature in Miami on January 1st, 2025 reached a high of 81°F (27°C ).

The Panthers organization will take part in their first Winter Classic and outdoor event. This is quite different from their opponent, the Rangers, who have already participated in two Winter Classics and three Stadium Series games.

Traveling northwest to Tampa Bay, the Lightning will play in their second Stadium Series contest in franchise history after defeating the Nashville Predators in 2022 at Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. Like their in-state counterpart, it’ll be the first time the Lightning have hosted an outdoor event in franchise history.

Unfortunately, unlike the stadium amenities at LoanDepot Park, Raymond James Stadium does not have a roof and is exposed to the elements. Tampa is relatively milder than Miami in terms of heat, but still recorded a high of 64°F (18°C) in February of 2024 which could make the ice conditions more unpleasant.

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