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Blues Hopeful That Colton Parayko Could Return Before End Of Regular Season

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Earlier this month, the Blues announced that defenseman Colton Parayko would miss six weeks before being re-evaluated after undergoing a scope on his knee.  With only six weeks left in the year, it was reasonable to infer that this would be a season-ending issue for the veteran.

But that might not be the case after all.  Speaking with reporters today including Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, head coach Jim Montgomery opened the door for the possibility that his top defender could be back earlier than anticipated:

Do I think he’s going to be six weeks? I do not think he’s going to be six weeks. That’s just me because that’s my belief in him and our athletic training staff and our doctors. Outside of that, I don’t know how much sooner than six weeks.

The 31-year-old was well on his way to setting a new career-high in points this season, notching 15 goals and 20 assists through his first 64 outings.  As it stands, he has matched his personal best in the points department, a mark he has now hit four times.  Parayko also leads the Blues in ATOI (23:51) and blocked shots (140), making his absence a very significant one with St. Louis remaining in the mix for a Wild Card spot.

It’s possible that how the Blues fare in these next few weeks could ultimately dictate if Parayko ultimately makes it back.  If the team falls out of the mix before then, it might make more sense for the blueliner to simply shut it down for the rest of the year anyway to avoid any risks heading into the offseason.  If he does make it back before the end of the campaign though, he’ll be the third Blue to do so this season after Robert Thomas and Philip Broberg each came back a couple of weeks ahead of schedule.

Canucks Notes: Tocchet, Boeser, Offseason Target, Celebrini

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Don’t expect to hear any news about a contract extension for Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet anytime soon.  Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre relays that the bench boss noted on local radio earlier this week that he has told management that he does not want to discuss a new deal at this time.  Instead, he wants to concentrate his focus on Vancouver’s playoff push.  The Canucks hold a club option on Tocchet’s contract for next season, one that’s expected to be exercised should a new deal not be reached in the meantime while Tocchet noted that his decision shouldn’t be construed as a lack of desire to remain behind the bench or a play for more leverage.

More from Vancouver:

  • The Canucks weren’t able to re-sign or find a suitable trade for Brock Boeser before the trade deadline earlier this month. Speaking with Pierre LeBrun in a piece for The Athletic (subscription link), GM Patrik Allvin wouldn’t rule out the possibility of further extension talks taking place even though the two sides weren’t close enough to hammer out a deal a couple of weeks ago, shifting them to focus toward a trade that didn’t materialize.  Boeser is having a bit of a quieter year, notching 20 goals and 21 assists through 61 games after potting 40 goals and 33 helpers just last season.  It’s believed that he turned down a five-year, roughly $40MM extension offer earlier in the season but it’s unclear what Vancouver’s most recent offer was.
  • While the Canucks picked up Filip Chytil as part of the J.T. Miller trade earlier this season, don’t be surprised if they add another center this summer. Allvin revealed in the same interview that “definitely we’ll do that in the offseason, whether that’s through trade or free-agent signing.”  Pius Suter is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer so if he departs, they will certainly have another opening down the middle to fill while Chytil’s concussion history will likely motivate them to get some more center depth as well.
  • Prospect Aiden Celebrini is expected to remain at Boston University next season, relays Max Miller of Sharks Hockey Digest. The 20-year-old defenseman was a sixth-round pick by Vancouver back in 2023, going 171st overall.  He’s close to wrapping up his sophomore year with the Terriers and has a goal and five assists through 26 games this season.  The Canucks hold Celebrini’s rights through August 15, 2027.

San Jose Sharks Recall Jimmy Schuldt

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According to a team announcement, the San Jose Sharks have recalled defenseman Jimmy Schuldt from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. Without any corresponding roster move, Schuldt’s recall brings the Sharks to eight defensemen on the active roster and 25 players total.

The transaction ends a one-day stint in the AHL for Schdult. Since March 3rd, Schuldt has only spent four days off the Sharks’ active roster. His relatively frequent stay with San Jose of late allowed Schuldt to play in his first NHL game since the 2018-19 season. Throughout March, Schuldt has appeared in four games for the Sharks, posting a -1 rating while averaging 14:36 of ice time per game.

With that, Schuldt has been far more active in the AHL over the last few seasons. Schuldt has never been a high-scoring defenseman throughout his professional career, but he’s maintained a certain level of consistency.

Since debuting with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2019 after finishing his collegiate career at St. Cloud State University, Schuldt has scored 35 goals and 126 points in 345 AHL contests split between the Chicago Wolves, Henderson Silver Knights, Coachella Valley Firebirds, and Barracuda. That output brings his career point-per-game rate to 0.37, just above his 0.33 pace this year.

Top-10 Finalists Announced For 2025 Hobey Baker Award

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The 2024-25 NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey regular season will have concluded in three days. All seven conference tournament championships will have been decided by March 22nd, before the Frozen Four tournament begins on March 27th.

Outside of the team accomplishments that will be had by the end of the weekend, the league’s most-coveted individual award has been narrowed down to the last 10 finalists (Twitter Link). The Hobey Baker Award is enshrined in college hockey lore, as it’s annually given to the top player in the NCAA.

The award has never had back-to-back winners and that trend will continue this season. Macklin Celebrini won the award last year after scoring 32 goals and 64 points in 38 games with the Boston University Terriers, leading to his name being called with the first overall selection of the 2024 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks.

Not every Hobey Baker winner is a household name, but many still consider the list exclusive. Paul Kariya is the only Hobey Baker Award winner inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame. However, that list could expand if players like Jack Eichel, Cale Makar, and Celebrini continue their current trajectories.

On a more depressing note, to mention the exclusive award without mentioning the late Johnny Gaudreau is difficult. Gaudreau won the award after the 2013-14 season after putting up an electric 36-goal, 80-point season in 40 games with the Boston College Eagles. It’ll be the first time the award has been bestowed since Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, were tragically taken from the world on August 29, 2024.

Here is a list of this year’s top 10 finalists with the NHL team that owns their contractual rights if applicable:

D Zeev Buium, University of Denver (Minnesota Wild)

F Jack Devine, University of Denver (Florida Panthers)

F Aiden Fink, Penn State University (Nashville Predators)

F Mac Gadowsky, Army West Point (undrafted)

F Isaac Howard, Michigan State University (Tampa Bay Lightning)

F Ryan Leonard, Boston College (Washington Capitals)

F Ayrton Martino, Clarkson University (Dallas Stars)

F Liam McLinskey, College of the Holy Cross (undrafted)

F Jimmy Snuggerud, University of Minnesota (St. Louis Blues)

G Alex Tracy, Minnesota State University (undrafted)

Bruins’ Ty Gallagher Signs Two-Year AHL Deal

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The Bruins are slated to lose 2021 seventh-round pick Ty Gallagher’s signing rights on Aug. 15, but he’ll be staying in the organization anyways. He’s inked a two-year deal with AHL Providence starting next season, the Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy reports. He’ll finish the year with the P-Bruins on a tryout before his deal goes into effect for 2025-26.

The deal allows Gallagher to get reps in the Bruins organization without Boston having to use a contract slot on him, although it doesn’t prevent him from signing elsewhere if another NHL team comes calling. The 22-year-old defenseman spent three seasons at Boston University before transferring to Colorado College for his senior season. The move westward proved astute for the offensively-inclined rearguard, who erupted for 9-17–26 in 37 games after recording just five assists at BU last year.

A Michigan native, Gallagher checked in as the No. 10 prospect in the Bruins’ relatively weak pool earlier this season in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s overview. Only two defensemen, both already in Providence, were ranked ahead of him in Frédéric Brunet (No. 7) and Jackson Edward (No. 8), so it’s a tad surprising to see Boston hesitant to dole out an entry-level contract at this stage to retain his NHL rights. The Bruins only have 22 of 50 contract slots used for next season, with 13 pending RFAs in the organization.

Gallagher will now try to work his way up the organizational ladder to pursue his first NHL contract. He totaled 17-51–68 and a +37 rating in 148 NCAA games with BU and CC.

Avalanche’s Josh Manson Out Three To Four Weeks

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March 19: Manson carries a three-to-four-week timeline for his return, Bednar told Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports today. That puts him back in the lineup during the final week of the regular season.

March 17: Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson has already missed one game with an upper-body injury and will remain sidelined for a couple of weeks at least, head coach Jared Bednar told reporters following yesterday’s win over the Stars (via Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports).

Manson left the game during the second period of Friday’s win in Calgary, although it’s unclear when he sustained the injury. It’s similarly unclear whether it’s linked to the upper-body issue that held him out of the lineup for 12 games earlier in the season.

Acquired from the Ducks at the 2022 trade deadline, Manson immediately factored in as a key depth presence on the Colorado blue line en route to their Stanley Cup win that year. The physical 6’3″ righty landed a four-year, $18MM extension that summer to remain in Denver, but his time with the Avs since has been marred by injuries.

Since the 2022-23 campaign, his first full season in Colorado, Manson has made 151 of 232 possible regular-season appearances – healthy enough to play just 65% of the time. He stayed healthy last year, skating in 70-plus games for the fifth time in his 11-year career, but missed most of 2022-23 with a lower-body injury and nearly 30% of Colorado’s 2024-25 schedule with varying injuries.

In 48 games this season, the 33-year-old has 1-14–15 with a minus-six rating. He’s averaged 18:02 per game, his highest usage since arriving in Denver. His 105 hits lead Colorado defenders despite his extended absences, but he’s been one of the Avs’ worst two-way players with a -4.8 relative CF% and a team-worst -7.7 expected rating at even strength.

The Avs don’t have any other injuries on their blue line right now, but their right-side depth remains a point of weakness even after an active trade deadline. Without Manson, it’s depth pieces Erik Johnson and Sam Malinski manning second- and third-pairing duties behind superstar Cale Makar.

Panthers’ Dmitry Kulikov Out Week-To-Week

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Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is out week-to-week with the upper-body injury he sustained in Sunday’s outing against the Islanders, head coach Paul Maurice said today (via the team’s Jameson Olive). He’s not expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, however.

Kulikov left the game in the first period after awkwardly twisting while trying to hit Islanders winger Anthony Duclair in the neutral zone. He was favoring his right forearm as he left the ice.

A trip to IR doesn’t seem likely at this stage of the season with no roster limits in effect, but he should be expected to miss Florida’s five remaining games in March at the very least. The Panthers’ final game of the regular season is a potentially key playoff positioning matchup against the Lightning on April 15, so his return timeline is likely in the two-to-three-week range rather than the one-month area.

Nonetheless, the injury couldn’t come at a worse time for Florida. They’re already without top right-shot rearguard Aaron Ekblad for the rest of the regular season and two playoff games after he was suspended for using performance-enhancing substances, and their odds of winning the Atlantic Division have slipped to 48% after back-to-back losses to the Canadiens and Islanders over the weekend. Florida also has a more difficult remaining schedule (.554) than their competitors for the crown, the Lightning (.543) and Maple Leafs (.535), per Tankathon.

Kulikov is no stranger to injuries, only managing 70-plus games six times in his 16-year NHL career. He’d been mostly healthy since rejoining the Cats for his second stint in South Florida in the summer of 2023, though, only missing one game due to injury and another two due to suspension.

The 34-year-old played a bottom-pairing role in last season’s Stanley Cup win, but he’s seen his minutes elevated this year after the club lost Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour to unrestricted free agency. Averaging over 19 minutes per night, the stay-at-home Kulikov has 4-9–13 with a +13 rating in 68 games. He ranks third on the team with 70 blocked shots and leads Florida defenders with 110 hits. He inked a four-year, $4.6MM extension last summer that will likely see him finish his career in Sunrise.

Nate Schmidt elevated into Kulikov’s second-pairing role alongside Niko Mikkola in practice today, per Olive. Tobias Björnfot will draw into the lineup tomorrow against the Blue Jackets after being recalled yesterday. There’s now even more pressure on Seth Jones, who has just one assist and a minus-four rating in seven games since being acquired from the Blackhawks, to improve his play with two key defensemen sidelined.

League Notes: All-Star Game, CBA, Draft, Overtime, Rules, Playoff Format

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While there won’t be a repeat of the 4 Nations Face-Off next year, the tournament’s success has been enough to change how the league will use its winter break. There was initially expected to be a 2026 All-Star Game in the leadup to the Winter Olympics, but that won’t be the case – at least in its traditional form, league commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters today (including Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff). The Islanders will still be hosting some sort of event as initially planned, but whether it’s a revamped ASG format or an entirely different event remains to be seen.

More updates from Bettman today:

  • Discussions with the NHLPA on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement will commence the week of April 1, Eric Engels of Sportsnet relays. Negotiations with PA executive director Marty Walsh are expected to be smooth, avoiding the third work stoppage of the century. The league’s and NHLPA’s confidence in ratifying a new CBA quickly was underscored by their rather unprecedented move in January to release salary cap projections three years out. The current CBA, ratified in 2013 and extended in 2020, is set to expire on Sep. 15, 2026.
  • Bettman is “not a fan” of league GMs voting in favor of a decentralized draft format for 2025, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. This year’s run will be hosted by the Kings, but not at Crypto.com Arena – instead in the 7,100-seat Peacock Theater, while league front offices will conduct their business remotely. Top prospects will still be at the event, but picks will likely be read out by the commissioner instead, as GMs won’t be present. The league may move back to its usual draft format with everyone on the floor for 2026.
  • He’s also not enthused with the idea of extending 3-on-3 overtime past its current five-minute length, according to Seravalli. 10-minute 3-on-3 at the 4 Nations round-robin games was viewed as a test run for extending the OT period and having fewer games end in shootouts, but concerns over the deterioration of ice conditions and “additional wear and tear” on players – a few of which expressed their concerns following the tournament – remain paramount. In that vein, Friedman relays that no rule changes were proposed at this weekend’s GM meetings in Florida.
  • Lastly, there’s still no appetite from the league to alter the current playoff format, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. A large contingent of fans and a few players have expressed support for ditching the wild-card system and returning to a one-through-eight conferenced-based seeding approach, but the divisional brackets are likely here to stay for the foreseeable future.

2025-26 Season To Begin On October 7

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The 2025-26 regular season will begin on Tuesday, October 7, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said today. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was among the reporters who conveyed the news. With no October Global Series games planned at present, that’s three days later than last year’s season-opener, when the Devils and Sabres opened the year in Czechia on Oct. 4.

The COVID-19 pandemic notwithstanding, the regular season began on the first Wednesday of October since the 2004-05 lockout. Since the league signed its landmark television deals with ESPN and Turner Sports (TNT/TBS) in 2021, the season start date has shifted to the second Tuesday of the month with a double- or triple-header on the former network. Technically, the second Tuesday in October this year falls on the 14th since the month begins on a Wednesday, so the schedule shifts earlier.

This isn’t expected to mean a shorter preseason schedule, something many in the sport have expressed a desire for over the past few years with how late into June the Stanley Cup Final is now extending. That’s a CBA-mandated issue, meaning any change in that routine must wait until 2026-27 when the next agreement will be in place.

In some recent years, the regular season has technically begun before that ESPN Tuesday coverage with overseas games – similar to MLB’s Tokyo Series taking place during Spring Training. That appears to be an every-other-year event, though, with the league now foregoing early-October Global Series games in 2021, 2023, and 2025.

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