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Capitals’ Justin Sourdif, John Carlson Out With Injury

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The Washington Capitals declared forward Justin Sourdif and defenseman John Carlson as out just minutes before Wendseday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks. Sourdif was a game-time decision and missed warmups. He has a lower-body injury sustained late in Tuesday’s win over Los Angeles. Carlson took warmups but was ultimately forced out by an upper-body injury.

The Capitals returned Nic Down to the lineup in Sourdif’s absence. Dowd was activated off of injured reserve earlier in the day after missing the last eight games with a lower-body injury. He scored five points in 19 games before sustaining the injury. Chisholm has one point, two penalty minutes, and a plus-one in 10 games. He has operated as Washington’s extra defender all year, after posting 12 points and a minus-five in 66 games with the Minnesota Wild last season.

Sourdif is in the midst of a four-game scoring drought after posting four points in four games in mid-November. Even in that slump, he has earned upwards of 17 and 18 minutes of ice time in recent games. He’s beginning to carve out a prominent role in the Capitals’ bottom-six after joining the team in a summer trade that sent a second-round and sixth-round pick back to the Florida Panthers.

Even at 36, Carlson has remained a star defender for the Capitals. He has 23 points in 26 games this season, tied with Jakob Chychrun for most on the blue-line. Carlson has also recorded a plus-10, 38 blocked shots, and 59 shots on goal. He and Chychrun give Washington two strong offensive-defensemen on two different pairings – a big part of what’s earned the Capitals the fourth-most goals (91) in the NHL this season.

Penguins Issue Multiple Injury Updates

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Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas issued a long list of injury updates in his latest GM Show. Most notably, winger Rickard Rakell remains approximately three-to-four weeks away from a hand injury sustained on October 25th. He was forced to undergo surgery for the injury and was desginated as out six-to-eight weeks at the time. He remains on track with that original designation with this update.

Forwards Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari are seven-to-10 days from making their own returns, per Dubas. Both players are currently on injured reserve with upper-body injuries and were cleared for contact at Wednesday’s practice per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Anthony Mantha (maintenance day) and Joona Koppanen (illness) missed practice.

The updates represent a long list of injuries that Pittsburgh has been forced to work around. Multiple absences at the forward position has put pressure on the Penguins’ rookies. Benjamin Kindel has taken on a carved-out role on the team’s third-line, and has been joined by wingers Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen. Pittsburgh also recalled Tristan Broz for his NHL debut last week. The shakeup hasn’t worked in the Penguins’ favor, marked by a lowly 5-5-3 record in November. But they’ve seen plenty of reason for optimism, with Kindel posting six points in 11 games to go with Pittsburgh’s list of young prospects rotating into the lineup.

Pittsburgh has managed to cling onto an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot despite their quiet month. That perserverance could pay off when they begin returning veterans to the lineup. Rakell is a top-line winger on the Penguins. He has eight points in nine games this year, and posted a career-year last season with 35 goals and 70 points, both personal-bests. His chemistry with Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby is outstanding, and gives Pittsburgh a top-line to fear when all three are at full health.

Brazeau was another one of Pittsburgh’s hottest scorers to start the season. He managed six goals and 12 points in Pittsburgh’s first 12 games, marks that still rank him sixth on the team in scoring despite the fact that Brazeau has missed more games (13) than he’s played. He’ll face a tough task returning to that scoring – and a 27.3 shooting percentage – but should be a major addition to Pittsburgh’s middle-six. Acciari, despite his up-and-down play, should also push for third-line minutes. The two will bring size, grit, and veteran experience to the parts of Pittsburgh’s lineup that have had to lean on rookies the most.

Pittsburgh could be a few weeks away from upgrading a lineup that’s already in the playoff discussion. The Eastern Conference has proven extremely competitive this season, but a .911 save percentage in 11 games from Tristan Jarry has proven enough to platoon the Penguins’ record while they wait for their offensive firepower to get back to full health. How Pittsburgh is able to respond to a long list of injuries, and if they can maintain this pace, will become central stories as the NHL approaches 2026.

Senators Reassign Hayden Hodgson To AHL

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The Ottawa Senators announced this afternoon that forward Hayden Hodgson has been sent back to AHL Belleville. The bruising winger was called up to the big club on November 9th, since then appearing in eight contests, with no points, and 11 penalty minutes, playing in a limited capacity. 

Hodgson, 29, has three career NHL points in 17 games between Ottawa and the Flyers, not exactly a world-beater, but considering his path to this point, etching himself into a Senators lineup is seriously impressive. The Ontario native was undrafted out of the OHL, and spent the next several seasons grinding away in the ECHL, even making a short stop in Slovakia before coming back to North America. The decision to return paid off, as he eventually earned an opportunity with the Flyers in the 2021-22 season, scoring a goal in a short NHL run, in his debut, no less.  

After catching on with Ottawa on a two-way deal, last season Hodgson led the Belleville Senators with 156 penalty minutes, and in 10 games with them so far in 2025-26, he has three goals. In an age where players in his mold are largely phased out of the NHL, impressively Hodgson has managed to make a name for himself, and is signed through 2026-27 with the Senators organization. Although headed back to Belleville for now, the Sens could call upon their bruiser again in the near future as a reliable fourth line option with serious physicality. 

Wild’s Tyler Pitlick, Flyers’ Adam Ginning Clear Waivers

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Dec. 1: Both Ginning and Pitlick have cleared waivers, per Friedman. Pitlick is expected to stay on Minnesota’s roster while Ginning is now eligible to return to Lehigh Valley.

Nov. 30: This afternoon, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared that Wild veteran Tyler Pitlick has been placed on waivers, along with Flyers defenseman Adam Ginning. 

Pitlick, 34, has been back-and-forth between the AHL and NHL so far this season, most recently being called back up two weeks ago. His status on waivers is mainly due to surpassing the 10-game threshold in the NHL, more than signifying a desire to move on. Signed to a two-year, two-way deal last summer, Pitlick provides depth since joining his hometown organization, as well as experience, as he was a regular NHLer from 2016-2022. Having cleared waivers already earlier in the season after not making the roster, it is most likely he will return to AHL Iowa, where he has scored three goals in five games, and vie for an NHL return again when needed, at a $775k cap hit. In 15 games with Minnesota so far, Pitlick has zero points, but has mixed it up with 22 penalty minutes. 

On the other hand, Ginning offers slightly more intrigue, soon to be 26, as a former second-round selection of Philadelphia in 2018. However, at this point, the 6’3” Swedish defenseman does not have much NHL upside, as he has been surpassed in the Flyers organization by Emil Andrae. This season is thought to likely be his last chance, especially under a new coach in Rick Tocchet, and with pending UFA status. Ginning has skated in five games for the Flyers so far, not recording any stats, and has one goal in 16 total NHL games.

While a team thin on the blueline could pick up Ginning for the short term, it is not likely he offers much more than their own internal options, and most likely, Ginning will rejoin AHL Lehigh Valley to continue his season.  At 11-6-1, the Phantoms would be eager to add such a player back to their lineup as a top defender. 

Five Key Stories: 11/24/25 – 11/30/25

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Late November is usually when teams start to have a better feel for their rosters and what types of moves they need to make.  While there isn’t typically a big uptick on the trade front at this time, some of this week’s key stories are about the trade market to come.

Canucks Open To Offers: It hasn’t been a great couple of months for Vancouver.  The Canucks are only three points ahead of last place in the league which has led to some wondering about if they’d do a big shakeup.  It appears they’re at least willing to listen to offers on their veterans although there is mixed reporting on if they’re just doing so for players on expiring deals or ones with term remaining.  In terms of pending free agents, wingers Kiefer Sherwood and Evander Kane along with center Teddy Blueger, come to mind (although making the cap element work with Kane could be trickier).  Vancouver has been one of the teams willing to make moves early so whether it’s just expirings or other more core pieces, they’ll be a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Extensions In Calgary: There were earlier reports that the Flames were nearing an extension with GM Craig Conroy.  As it turns out, he had already signed one, a two-year deal.  He wasn’t the only one to have a contract announced as President of Hockey Operations Don Maloney and Assistant GMs Dave Nonis and Brad Pascall all received two-year extensions as well.  Oddly enough, the deals were done over the summer but the organization didn’t feel a need to announce them.  Going into the season, Calgary was coming off a better-than-expected year as they just missed the playoffs.  But things haven’t gone anywhere near as well in 2025-26 as they’re second-last in the NHL standings, just one point ahead of Nashville.  But their current management group will be the one to continue to try to bring them forward in their rebuild.

Five For Matheson: Earlier this season, the Canadiens took care of their most prominent pending restricted free agent when they signed blueliner Lane Hutson to an eight-year extension.  This week, they took care of their most prominent pending unrestricted free agent, inking defenseman Mike Matheson to a five-year, $30MM extension.  The 31-year-old has become a top-pairing defender since being acquired from Pittsburgh in 2022 and is only two years removed from a breakout 62-point campaign.  A $6MM price tag is a little below market value but the extra year or two on the contract helped keep the AAV down.  Montreal now has its top four blueliners (Hutson, Matheson, Noah Dobson, and Kaiden Guhle) all signed through at least the 2030-31 season at a combined price tag of $29.85MM.

Done For The Year: Kyle Palmieri’s 2025-26 regular season has come to an abrupt end.  He sustained a torn ACL and will be undergoing surgery that will keep him out of the lineup for six to eight months.  The 34-year-old is tied for second in team scoring with 18 points in 25 games and has been one of their more consistently reliable secondary scorers in recent years.  It has been a rough stretch lately on the injury front for the Isles as Palmieri joins Alexander Romanov as key veterans whose regular seasons ended much earlier than expected.  New York ends the month in a tie for the final playoff spot but their offense has certainly taken a hit with Palmieri’s injury.

Veterans Garnering Interest: As the trade chatter begins to pick up, a pair of veterans appear to be getting some attention, Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry and Blues defenseman Justin Faulk.  Jarry has a 2.74 GAA and a .905 SV% in 10 games this season, numbers that would be his best since 2021-22 if they hold up.  However, he has two more years left after this on his contract with a $5.375MM cap charge and the goalie market isn’t particularly robust in terms of teams looking so it would take some work to get a trade in place.  Meanwhile, Faulk is off to a decent start to his season with 13 points in 26 games on a St. Louis team that has struggled mightily offensively.  He has one more year left after this with a $6.5MM AAV but is a right-shot defender, the side that many teams are often trying to add.  It stands to reason that if the Blues decide to take a step back and move him, they should be able to generate a decent market for his services.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images. 

Afternoon Notes: Formenton, Merkulov, Penguins

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The Ottawa Senators have until Monday to re-sign or trade former winger Alex Formenton. If they wait beyond then, Formenton will become an unrestricted free agent. A few days out, it appears that will be exactly what happens, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. Formenton was one of five players accused in the high-profile sexual assault trial that reached a verdict earlier this year. Formenton briefly retired from professional hockey to work in construction full-time during 2024 and 2025, while awaiting his trial date.

He returned to hockey this season, re-signing with Ambri-Piotta of Switzerland’s National League, where he spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Formenton has nine points and a minus-10 in 20 games this season. That mark is far below the 29 points he posted in 46 games in his prior two seasons in Switzerland.

Ottawa will lose Formenton’s rights in the coming days with this update. He will continue to find his footing in Switzerland’s top league, and seems far away from any hope of returning to an NHL contract.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Boston Bruins have reassigned Georgii Merkulov to the AHL’s Providence Bruins per Ty Anderson of Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub. He did not appear in the NHL lineup on his latest call-up, which only lasted a few days. Merkulov did play one NHL game earlier this season and posted no scoring and a minus-one. He has been a far larger presence in the minor leagues, where he’s scored 14 points in 17 games. The AHL Bruins are in the midst of a three-game win-streak, during which they’ve outscored opponents 17-8. Now, they’ll get a major piece of their offense back from the NHL club ahead of three games this week.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins could soon be forced to lean on their young rookies per Josh Yohe of The Athletic. Yohe points out the struggles of Pittsburgh’s bottom-six forwards, including Joona Koppanen, who has just one assist in 10 games this season. Pittsburgh could be much better off relying on prospects Rutger McGroarty and Tristan Broz, who have looked sharp for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. McGroarty leads the team in points-per-game with seven points in five games. Broz has 13 points in 18 games of his own, good for third on the team in total scoring. Now, they could be asked to bring their high-skill offense to a Penguins squad that’s struggled to score with their superstars off of the ice. McGroarty recorded three points in his first eight NHL games last season, while Broz went scoreless in his NHL debut last week.

Canadiens’ Jayden Struble Out With Upper-Body Injury

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The Montreal Canadiens have announced that defenseman Jayden Struble is out of Saturday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche with an upper-body injury. This will be his fifth absence of the season. Montreal will have to lean on Arber Xhekaj for their physical presence on Saturday, though Xhekaj was on the ice for both of Colroado’s first period goals.

The Canadiens have seen a lot of rotation in their defense on the back of a long-term injury to Kaiden Guhle and up-and-down play from Xhekaj. Struble has been a pillar of the team’s bottom pair as a result. He is averaging just over 15 mintues of ice time through 19 games this season, and has four assists, a minus-three, and 32 penalty minutes to show for it.

Struble is now in his third NHL season, all spent with the Canadiens. He had a quaint rookie season, with 10 points and 57 penalty minutes in 56 games. Those numbers leveled out slightly in his sophomore year, with Struble posting 13 points and 52 penalty minutes in another 56 games. Now, he appears to be getting comfortable on Montreal’s third-pairing, currently on pace for 17 points and 138 penalty minutes. Struble also leads Montreal’s blue-line with 36 hits this season, after posting more than 100 hits in each of the last two seasons.

The missing physical presence that Struble brings makes Xhekaj a natural replacement. But the enforcer has struggled to stay on the positive side of the puck, with just one assist and a minus-four in 21 games entering Saturday’s matchup. He also leads the Canadiens with 42 penalty minutes.

Struble’s absence has also proven beneficial for rookie Adam Engstrom, who played in just his second NHL game in Struble’s place on Saturday. Engstrom only managed one shot on goal, and no other notable stats, in 10 minutes of ice time in his NHL debut. The Canadiens will likely shelter his minutes moving forward, but there’s no doubt that Engstrom can bring a spark to the lineup. He leads the Laval Rocket blue-line with 14 points in 18 games, including a five-point match last week that preceded his NHL debut. The 2022 third-round pick is on a gradual climb, but seems to be on the cusp of a breakout in the NHL. Extended absences from Struble could provide the path needed to earn Engstrom more minutes.

Hurricanes Reassign Justin Robidas Amid Injury Updates

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The Carolina Hurricanes saw a wave of roster updates come through during Saturday morning’s practice. Notably, winger Justin Robidas was not at practice, as he’s been reassigned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Robidas won’t skate in Saturday’s match against the Manitoba Moose but should be back in time for Sunday’s rematch.

Forward William Carrier also missed practice. It is unclear if he has sustained a new injury after appearing in Friday’s win over the Winnipeg Jets. Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov did sustain a lower-body injury that forced him out of Friday’s game, and Saturday’s practice. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin also remained out, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff.

In better news, Ruff adds that forward Jordan Staal participated in practice despite being questionable with an illness, and center Jesperi Kotkaniemi continued to work in a non-contact jersey.

Carolina continues to face a heap of injuries despite getting Shayne Gostisbehere and K’Andre Miller back into the lineup recently. They have been forced to play hot potato with much of their lineup, routinely cycling through their lines. The Hurricanes have had six different forward lines, and 10 different defense pairings, play in at least 50 minutes of even-strength ice time this season. Their most-used forward line has been Jordan Martinook, Staal, and Carrier – a trio that could be broken up if Carrier sustained another injury. The most-used defense pairing has been Miller and Sean Walker, who reunited recently after Miller missed six games.

The Hurricanes have felt the brunt of that shuffle over November. They started the month with a 4-1-0 record, but have fallen into a back-and-forth over the last two weeks. Carolina is 4-3-2 in their last nine games, and haven’t won back-to-back games since Novmber 8th and 9th.

Injuries have forced Carolina’s healthy skaters to step up. Sophomore winger Jackson Blake ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 15 points in 24 games. Robidas was also contributing to the offense, netting one assist and a 50 percent faceoff percentage through two games in a bottom-six role.

Robidas now have three points in the first four games of his NHL career, including a pair of games he played in last season. He has been an electric scorer in the minor leagues and currently ranks third on the Wolves with 12 points in 16 games. Chicago is trying to break out of their own November slump, posting a 2-4-0 record over their last six games but winning last Wednesday’s game against the rival Rockford IceHogs by a lofty 8-4. Robidas should help the Wolves keep that offense rolling as they look for better outcomes in December.

Senators Looking To Add But Won’t Go “Big Game Hunting”

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The Ottawa Senators have been on a gradual climb since being taken over by owner Michael Andlauer and general manager Steve Staios. That ascension helped justify their acquisition of center Dylan Cozens and winger Fabian Zetterlund at the 2025 Trade Deadline. Those additions helped push the Senators to their first playoff appearance since 2017 – but the team’s rise isn’t over yet. Ottawa ranks second in the Atlantic Division through the early season and is now hoping to land a forward and defenseman on the trade market, per TSN’s Darren Dreger and Jamie Duthie in their intermission segment during Friday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues and captured by Julian McKenzie of The Athletic.

Dreger added that he doesn’t expect the Senators to be “big game hunters” and that top prospect Carter Yakemchuk would be off the table in trade negotiations. Yakemchuk is playing through his first professional season and currently has 14 points and a minus-11 in 20 games with the AHL’s Belleville Senators. He’s a hard-hitting, offensive-defenseman who seems well equipped to bring his flashy offense to Ottawa sooner rather than later.

If Yakemchuk is off the table, Ottawa is likely to exclude any of their top prospects in negotiations. That could include University of Wisconsin defender Logan Hensler who the team acquired after trading back in this year’s draft, and winger Stephen Halliday who scored his first NHL point last week. That could leave Ottawa in a bit of a bind. Their acquisition of Zetterlund revolved around a package of future assets, and the Senators sit in the top-half of oldest rosters in the NHL.

That could make draft capital their shiniest asset headed into the trade season. The Senators are without their first and second round picks in the 2026 draft, but have all of their top picks in the drafts beyond that. They also have Buffalo’s second-round pick in 2026, which could be valuable if the Sabres stay near the bottom of the league. A couple of high-value draft picks should be enough to land Ottawa a few difference-makers on the open market, especially if they’re willing to package them with a prospect like Blake Montgomery or Gabriel Eliasson.

Who Ottawa could go after will be a tough question. Calgary Flames assets Nazem Kadri and Rasmus Andersson are both #1’s at their position, and likely represent that big game hunting Dreger mentioned. Instead, Ottawa could find a match pursuing St. Louis Blues veterans Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk. Or maybe they could benefit from the Nashville Predators continued struggles and acquire winger Jonathan Marchessault or Michael Bunting. Ottawa could even find a package deal from the San Jose Sharks, who are bound to be offering center Alexander Wennberg and defender Mario Ferraro on the open market.

The range of price could vary widely, and change significantly before the Trade Deadline in March. But there’s no doubt that Ottawa will be a welcome addition to a buyer’s market. There are plenty of former Stanley Cup champions and hopefuls available for trade, and landing one or two could go far in boosting Ottawa’s offense to Conference Final aspirations. The Senators are projected to have $13.68MM in cap space at the Trade Deadline and $22.57MM by next off-season, per PuckPedia. That should be more than enough room to squeeze one or two more players into the top of the Senators lineup. As proven last year, those mid-season additions could take Ottawa far.

Panthers Attempted To Offer Sheet Nikita Kucherov In 2016

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With the holiday season afoot, former Florida Panthers assistant general manager Steve Werier was looking back on what could have been. Namely, he reflected on the team’s attempt to sign Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov to an offer sheet in 2016 on The PuckPedia Hockey Show. Werier said that Florida was hoping to take advantage of Tampa Bay’s cap strains at the time, and would have had to give up a first, second, and third-round pick in the resulting deal.

Plans ultimately fell through, and Kucherov signed a three-year, $14.3MM bridge contract with Tampa Bay. The deal proved to offer the best of both worlds, providing a 23-year-old Kucherov a chance to jump into the top echelon of NHL scorers while Tampa Bay retained enough cap space to keep Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat, and Alex Killorn in the fold. Kucherov certainly did take off, recording 85, 100, and 128 points over the three years of his bridge deal respectively. He has stayed special in five seasons since, routinely exceeding point-per-game scoring in the regular-and-post-seasons and reaching a career-high 144 points in the 2023-24 season.

It would be hard to picture Kucherov – a 12-year veteran in Tampa Bay – in any other jersey. But Florida could have offered him a similar platform to thrive. Werier emphasized that the team wanted to make sure they had Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad locked up to support Kucherov, if he came in. Florida was also carrying Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Marchessault, and Jaromir Jagr at the time. They’ve swapped those three out for Jonathan Huberdeau, then Matthew Tkachuk, and Sam Reinhart in the years since. That firepower has proven enough to earn Florida two Stanley Cup championships, the same number that Kucherov has won in Tampa Bay.

A deal never came together, and both Florida-based clubs found their way to stardom nonetheless. But how an in-state offer sheet could have impacted the two sides will be a fun thought for the rest of the holiday week. Kucherov is among the best forwards in the NHL, and one of the greatest Russians to ever play. Any effort to bring him into the fold is notable, even if it ultimately fell through.

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