Golden Knights To Activate Carter Hart From LTIR
The Vegas Golden Knights are expected to activate goaltender Carter Hart off of long-term injured reserve, and award him the start in Thursday night’s game against the Calgary Flames, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review Journal. Hart has sat out of the last 33 games due to an extended lower-body injury sustained on January 8th.
Hart signed a two-year contract with Vegas in October and returned to NHL ice in early-December. He went on to appear in 12 games with the Golden Knights over the next month, posting six wins and a .871 save percentage in the process. Vegas deployed Hart as their starting goaltender through that month, defaulting Akira Schmid to the backup role while Adin Hill worked his way back from a multi-month leg injury. Hill returned to the lineup one week after Hart’s injury.
Vegas has turned towards Hill and Schmid to fill their goaltending room in the near-three months since Hart went down. Hill has carried the bulk of the weight, recording nine wins, one shutout, and a .865 save percentage in 21 games since returning to the lineup. Schmid has recorded four wins and a .889 save percentage in 12 games. Carl Lindbom also stepped into one game – an 18-save win – after Hart’s injury.
With Hart’s return, freshly-cristened Vegas head coach John Tortorella will now have to juggle three goalies at the NHL level. He could have some favor for Hart, who he coached on the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Those campaigns stand as some of Hart’s best. He tallied 22 wins and a .907 save percentage in 55 games of 2022-23, and 12 wins and a .906 save percentage in 26 games of 2023-24. His only season with more wins and a higher save percentage came in his breakout 2019-20 season, when Hart tallied 24 wins and a .914 save percentage in 43 games.
A familiar face behind the bench could help Hart turn a disastrous season – marked by court cases, a slow return, and injury – into a positive swing when Vegas needs it most. The Golden Knights ranked in the middle of the league – 17th, to be exact – in goals-against per-game over the month of March. That is despite the team also facing the second-fewest shots-against in the same span. Those struggles led to the firing of Stanley Cup-winning head coach Bruce Cassidy and a turn towards the experienced Tortorella. Now, Vegas will test if they hve found the goaltending needed to hang onto their third-place spot in the Pacific Division, through a trio of Hart, Hill, and Schmid.
Flames Sign Axel Hurtig To Entry-Level Contract
The Calgary Flames have signed defenseman Axel Hurtig to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal begins in the 2026-27 season. Hurtig was a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, after a year in Sweden’s U20 league. He played one more season in Sweden after his draft, before moving to the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen for the last two seasons.
Hurtig, 20, is a towering defenseman who took on a top-four role soon after joining the Hitmen. His 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame made Hurtig an effective rush-defender, where his long reach and strong physicality created little space for opponents to push past. He was quick to move the puck up ice after forcing turnovers but often left the role of joining the rush to his defense partners. In 119 games with the Hitmen, Hurtig only racked up 35 points – just narrowly more than the 21 points he scored in 77 games at Sweden’s U20 level.
Despite quiet scoring totals, Hurtig found his way towards routine impact. He played in all seven games of Sweden’s fourth-place finish at the 2025 World Junior Championships, recording 10 minutes of ice time on average to go with one point and a plus-two. That experience, and a knack for stepping up physically, helped Hurtig earn the Hitmen’s captaincy for the 2025-26 season. He became the first European captain in the team’s history. With a letter on his chest, Hurtig racked up 19 points, a team-best plus-21, and eight five-minute major penalties this season. His defensive presence helped the Hitmen finish the WHL season in eighth place.
Hurtig’s size should help him bridge the gap between junior and pro hockey. He will add another strong stick to the Flames’ left-defense depth chart and could fight for his NHL debut next season with an entry-level contract in place. The Flames have leaned heavily on young left-defenders, including Yan Kuznetsov and Kevin Bahl, through much of this season. They have also promoted puck-movers Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz on the right-side. With a heap of young potential on the blue-line, Hurtig’s defensive presence will hope to round out Calgary’s future on the blue-line.
Morning Notes: McKenna, Protas, Gudas
Penn State University forward Gavin McKenna, a leading contender to go No. 1 overall at the upcoming 2026 NHL Entry Draft, had his collegiate season ended yesterday at the hands of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. While his time with the Nittany Lions this season may have concluded, it’s unlikely to be his final competitive game before the draft. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the Saturday Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada that “the most likely next step” for McKenna is to represent Canada at the upcoming IIHF Men’s World Championships.
Friedman said that, “barring something very surprising,” McKenna will end up playing for Canada at Worlds. There is some precedent for top NCAA prospects to play for Team Canada at Worlds just shortly before they’re drafted. 2025 No. 6 overall pick Porter Martone played two games for Canada at last year’s tournament, while 2023 No. 3 pick Adam Fantilli scored a highlight-reel goal and won a gold medal at the 2023 edition of the games. With McKenna looking to secure his spot at the top of NHL teams’ draft lists, the World Championships will be a chance for him to showcase his qualities in a high-stakes tournament against competition largely made up of pro players. That could give teams an opportunity to directly compare McKenna to a fellow contender for the No. 1 draft slot, Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg. Stenberg has been competing at the pro level all season for Frölunda in the SHL.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Washington Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas was knocked out of yesterday’s shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights with an upper-body injury, according to a team announcement. The Hockey News’ Sammi Silber indicated Protas’ absence was due to a “big collision” with former teammate Nic Dowd, one that resulted in Protas being helped off the ice. The big 25-year-old forward is among Washington’s more promising offensive talents. He enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2024-25, scoring 30 goals and 66 points. He has 23 goals and 47 points this season.
- Friedman also reported on Saturday Headlines that injured Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas is pushing to play the team’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. Gudas is dealing with a lower-body injury and was sidelined for Anaheim’s last game. His timeline to return is still in question. What isn’t is Gudas’ desire to play against the Maple Leafs, per Friedman. Tomorrow’s contest will be Toronto’s first against the Ducks since Gudas’ highly controversial hit on Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews. Gudas was suspended five games for the play, returning to action March 22.
Jets Recall Parker Ford, Danil Zhilkin
The Winnipeg Jets have recalled forwards Parker Ford and Danil Zhilkin under emergency conditions. The duo will help Winnipeg fill in for injuries to Vladislav Namestnikov, Nino Niederreiter, and Morgan Barron.
Zhilkin, 22, played through the first four games of his NHL career on a brief call-up in January. He managed no scoring, no penalties, and a plus-two in those appearances, while only playing more than 10 minutes in one game. He has planted his feet as a top center for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose in the months since, even despite scoring only 22 points in 54 games this season. He had a brief hot streak – five points in five games – in late December, leading up to his first NHL recall, but has otherwise struggled to post consecutive games with points for much of the year.
Ford has played through a fairly similar season. The 25-year-old winger began the season as an extra forward on Winnipeg’s roster. He appeared in 11 NHL games between October and November but only posted one point, four penalty minutes, and a minus-two. Ford was assigned to the AHL in November and has since recorded 21 points in 45 games with Manitoba. He has offered a responsible game around a young Moose lineup, helping to create space for Jets prospects Brayden Yager, Brad Lambert, and Zhilkin. Ford also appeared in three NHL games, and scored one point, last season.
The pair of call-ups will help Winnipeg stock the lineup as they prepare for a four-game road trip. Winnipeg now carries Zhilkin, Lambert, Isak Rosen, Ville Heinola, and Elias Salomonsson on the NHL roster. With the postseason well out of sight, they’ll embrace a chance to test out prospects with 10 games left on the schedule.
Sharks Recall Laurent Brossoit
The San Jose Sharks have recalled depth goaltender Laurent Brossoit from the AHL. He will help shore up the depth chart after starter Yaroslav Askarov was injured in the second period of Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Blues per Curtis Pashelka of Bay Area News Group. Askarov was injured after Blues winger Nathan Walker was knocked into the crease by Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais. The Sharks haven’t yet designated the nature of Askarov’s injury.
Thursday marked Askarov’s return from a previous injury that held him out of 16 days and seven games. He has served as San Jose’s go-to goaltender when healthy. Playing through his first season in a full-time NHL role, Askarov has recorded 19 wins, an .887 save percentage, and a 3.52 goals-against-average through 41 games.
Brossoit made his own return from injury in early December. He played his first games of the season with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, after missing the entirety of the 2024-25 season with multiple lower-body injuries. The Sharks traded for Brossoit in early January. He quickly took over the starting role for the San Jose Barracuda, where he has posted an impressive 11 wins and .915 save percentage in 15 appearances. On the long haul back from injury, the former William M. Jennings Trophy-winner received his first call up to the Sharks roster on March 13th. He played in his first NHL game since April, 2024 two days later and allowed six goals on 23 shots in a 4-7 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Brossoit moved to the backup role for the remainder of Askarov’s absence, then returned to the AHL with a 31-save performance on Wednesday. Now, another injury to Askarov will pull Brossoit back into the NHL, where he’ll continue to backup Alex Nedeljkovic. It is unclear if he’ll have a chance at returning to the starter’s crease, though another NHL appearance will mean a chance to get back on track after a rough return to the league.
Stars Promote Rich Peverley To Assistant GM
The Dallas Stars have made a change to their front office. Rich Peverley has been promoted to Assistant General Manager, in addition to his role as Director of Player Personnel. He becomes the third assistant GM in Dallas’ front office, alongside Scott White and Mark Janko. Peverley is in his 10th season in a managerial position with the Stars. His front office career began with six seasons as the Director of Player Development, before he was promoted to Director of Player Personnel in 2021.
Peverley’s history in Dallas stretches beyond his front office career. He played through nine seasons in the NHL, including one full season with Dallas to end his career. He was a valuable depth forward during his playing days, offering two-way responsibility and fearless physicality. His career was brought to an early end due to health issues in 2013. Peverley underwent a surgical procedure to address an irregular heartbeat before the 2013-14 season. Six months later, he collapsed on the Stars’ bench during a game, marking a lapse in his heart health. Peverley underwent further heart surgery to address the issue. He missed the final 18 games of Dallas’ season and ultimately wouldn’t play in another pro hockey game.
Peverley had one year on his standard player contract left when he experienced his health concern. He spent the final year as a volunteer coach with the AHL’s Texas Stars for the 2014-15 campaign, then began his managerial career in 2015-16. At the time, Dallas had only made one postseason in the last seven seasons. With Peverley’s help in player development, Dallas has grown far above those struggles, and now stands as a perennial top team in the Western Conference. Dallas made it to the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals and has lost in the Western Conference Finals in each of the last three seasons. Their push to the top of the standings has been driven by young stars Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, Miro Heiskanen, and Thomas Harley – each drafted by Dallas during Peverley’s time in the front office.
A move to assistant GM will mark another step forward in Peverley’s career, amidst another successful season in Dallas. The 43 year old will help Dallas approach an off-season with 10 pending free agents, including captain Jamie Benn and top restricted-free agents Robertson and Mavrik Bourque.
Blues’ Robert Thomas Out Day-To-Day
After a few days to assess the injury, top St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas will indeed be forced to miss games with a day-to-day, upper-body injury sustained in Tuesday’s win over the Washington Capitals per NHL.com’s Lou Korac. Thomas was injured on a body-slam from Capitals center Pierre-Luc Dubois in the third period. Dubois was assessed a match penalty for intent to injure, while Thomas was removed from the game by concussion spotters. He cleared concussion protocol, per head coach Jim Montgomery, but has still missed St. Louis’ last two practices with a minor injury.
Injury ended a quiet night for Thomas on Tuesday. He has otherwise been red-hot as of late, with five goals and 13 points in 11 games since the start of March. Thomas has averaged 20 minutes of ice time and a 25.0 shooting percentage over that span. His performance has helped St. Louis drive to a 8-1-2 record in March. It is also an encouraging turnaround after Thomas’ name was mentioned in many rumors around the Trade Deadline. The 26 year old has assumed even more responsibility following the trade of Brayden Schenn.
Thomas missed the entire month of February, and 13 games in total, with an injury sustained on January 10th. In his absence, St. Louis leaned heavily on Pavel Buchnevich and Schenn to fill holes at the center position. Buchnevich scored five goals and 12 points in his move to the center role, though he only managed a 40.4 faceoff percentage. Jordan Kyrou led the team in scoring during Thomas’ previous injury, with 15 points. It will be those two veterans who have to step up once again with Thomas out. Buchnevich will likely shift back to center, while Pius Suter and Otto Stenberg continue to split reps filling Schenn’s third-line role.
St. Louis faces a shifting lineup as they approach mathchups with teams in similar spots. Both the San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs have also struggled through points this season, which could support the Blues’ attempt to keep their hot streak rolling without their top center. They will need to lean on their proven scorers, and emerging goaltender Joel Hofer, to lift up the lineup until Thomas can return to his starring role.
Senators’ Thomas Chabot Undergoes Surgery, Out Six To Eight Weeks
Bad injury luck has struck at the worst time for the Ottawa Senators. Top defenseman Thomas Chabot will have to miss six-to-eight weeks after undergoing surgery to address a broken arm, per Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen. Chabot suffered the injury on a cross-check from New York Rangers captain J.T. Miller in the first period of Monday’s game. A two-month timeline will likely keep Chabot out until at least the Eastern Conference final, if the Senators make it that far.
The Senators are also facing injuries to defensemen Lassi Thomson (day-to-day) and Dennis Gilbert (two to three weeks), per Garrioch. Thomson made his season debut in Monday’s game against New York but only played four minutes. Gilbert served a bottom-pair role through five games in mid-March but hasn’t played since Saturday’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Senators will have a slight silver lining. Defenseman Jake Sanderson has returned to skating at practice and will join the Senators on their upcoming two-game road trip to Florida, per Garrioch. Sanderson has been out of the lineup since March 7th, missing nine games since. He routinely plays upwards of 24 or 25 minutes a night when fully healthy, a role that could increase as Ottawa looks to make up for Chabot’s absence. Sanderson leads the Senators’ blue line in scoring with 11 goals and 48 points in 62 games. It has been a career-year for the 23-year-old, who won an Olympic Gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in addition to scoring at the highest pace of his NHL career.
But even with Sanderson progressing towards a return, the Senators will be losing major firepower with Chabot on the shelf. The alternate captain was a focal point of the lineup after Sanderson was injured, even playing 31 minutes of ice time in Ottawa’s regulation win over the New York Islanders on Saturday. Chabot has nine points in his last 12 games, dating back to the last day of February. His hot streak has brought him to 31 points in 55 games this season, a scoring pace well on par with Chabot’s trend of 45-point seasons.
Chabot faced injury at multiple points this season, including missing 13 games between November and December. He has found his way back to consistent performance in the new year, netting 10 points in 16 January games, followed by nine points in 16 games since the start of February. It was a difficult season, capped off by a long-term injury at the worst time, but the year will support Chabot’s hold over a starring role on the Senators’ blue line leading into next season. He could also spur the bad luck with a quick recovery and a return to Ottawa’s playoff run, if the team can stay alive until he’s back.
Ottawa rotated its defense pairings with both of its star blue-liners out of Tuesday’s game against Detroit. Artem Zub and Jordan Spence filled the main play-driving roles, each receiving roughly 11 minutes of even-strength ice time in the process. The openings also made room for top defense prospect Carter Yakemchuk to make his NHL debut. He scored two points, a goal and an assist, in the effort. Yakemchuk could become a focal point of the Senators’ blue line until Sanderson is back to full health. He leads all AHL rookie defensemen in per-game scoring this season with 10 goals and 36 points in 50 games. Yakemchuk is well-known for his all-out style, focused on throwing big hits and driving the puck 200 feet.
Penguins Recall Avery Hayes, Joona Koppanen
The Pittsburgh Penguins have added two forwards to the roster ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Winger Avery Hayes and center Joona Koppanen have been recalled from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Hayes’ recall will help the Penguins addresss a day-to-day injury for winger Anthony Mantha, while Koppanen will shore up the center depth per Taylor Haase of DK Pittsburgh Sports.
Hayes could have the clearer path to a lineup role if Mantha need to miss Thursday’s game. The 23 year old scored two goals in his NHL debut in early February but has struggled to keep scoring on the other side of the NHL’s Olympic break. He has no points in 10 NHL games since, though he has scored nine points in his last seven AHL games. That minor-league scoring brings him up to 32 points in 38 AHL games this season, fourth on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring.
The Penguins will hope Hayes can rediscover his spark as he steps up for Mantha, who has eight points in his last nine games. All of that scoring was managed over a six-game stretch in mid-March, bringing Mantha up to 26 goals and 53 points in 71 games this season – a new career-high in scoring.
Koppanen hasn’t been in the NHL since November, when he played through a 10-game stint on Pittsburgh’s third-line. He recorded one assist, two penalty minutes, and a minus-one in that span. He also won 12 of the 25 faceoffs he took. Koppanen has filled a stout center role in his minor league minutes, netting 19 points and a plus-14 in 37 games. He brings reliable, two-way depth to the lineup and could help the Penguins make up for an injury to veteran Blake Lizotte.
The Penguins have turned towards Connor Dewar to fill a center role in Lizotte’s absence. He is putting together a career-year on Pittsburgh’s bottom line, with 14 goals, 27 points, and a plus-10 in 71 games – all career highs. That production has kept Dewar in a nightly lineup role, though his role as a faceoff-taker is new. With Koppanen on the roster, Pittsburgh will have the option to move Dewar back to the wing, in place of Elmer Soderblom.
Sharks’ Ryan Reaves Out Week-To-Week
A top enforcer will be out of the San Jose Sharks lineup for the short-term. Winger Ryan Reaves is out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury, head coach Ryan Warsofsky told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Reaves only played 19 seconds of Saturday’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He injured his finger in a fight with Flyers winger Garrett Wilson just two minutes into the game, though it’s not clear if that is the injury he faces now, or what specifically went wrong.
Either way, the Sharks will move forward without one of the few remaining enforcers in the NHL. Reaves has racked up 37 penalty minutes in 50 games this season, including five fights. He also leads the Sharks in hits with 160.
Those numbers are well below the heights that Reaves reached through his 16-year NHL career. He posted a career-high 126 penalty minutes in 63 games of the 2013-14 NHL season, including 12 fights. His career-high in hits came in the 2019-20 season, when Reaves racked up 316 hits in 71 games with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Years later, Reaves continues to serve as a valuable fighter protecting a young Sharks roster. He has been sparingly used over the second-half of the season, with only five appearances since February started. He only averaged 7:15 in ice time in those appearances, excluding his early exit on Saturday.
San Jose will turn to Pavol Regenda to step back into the lineup for Reaves. Regenda has nine goals and 10 points in 21 NHL games, and 12 points in 28 AHL games, this season. At 6-foot-4, he brings the physical presence that Reaves leaves behind, though San Jose may also have to lean on Kiefer Sherwood to match Reaves’ hit totals. Meanwhile, Reaves will look to get back to full health in time to step into one of San Jose’s remaining 14 games this season.