Hurricanes’ Seth Jarvis Injured, To Miss Time
A significant injury has occurred tonight as Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis left tonight’s game after taking a hard spill into the net, as seen in a clip shared by Sportsnet. The incident occurred early into the three-on-three overtime period, as Jarvis drove to the net with the puck, he was tripped by Florida’s Evan Rodrigues, slamming into the left post. No penalty was called, as the Panthers prevailed in the shootout.
After the game, Carolina Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour has told reporters, including Cory Lavalette of North State Journal, that Jarvis is “going to be out for a while”.
Due to a brutal impact in the vulnerable rib area, Jarvis was immediately in serious pain, holding his right side. He was able to skate off the ice, alongside a team trainer, but went down the tunnel immediately.
The 23-year-old has been on pace to shatter his career high of 33 goals, with 19 in 33 games, not yet missing a contest this season. Not only has he become an elite first line winger for Carolina, Jarvis has made a real case to make the Team Canada Olympic roster, which may now be in jeopardy. A sign of Canada’s absurd forward talent however, the young sniper, if healthy, is still a bubble player on the potential roster.
The Hurricanes, currently atop the Metropolitan Division with room to spare, boast a tremendously deep roster built to handle such adversity. However, Jarvis’ impact in the lineup cannot be overstated. Despite showing high output, ranking fifth in the league in goals scored, he is far and away the Canes’ go-to shooter. Combining the team’s second and third leading goal scorers, Sebastian Aho (11) and Jordan Staal/Jackson Blake (9) only ranks one tally above Jarvis.
Somewhat unexpectedly given their firepower, Carolina’s powerplay ranks seventh-worst at 15.5%, and just three of Jarvis’ 19 goals have come on the man-advantage. Thus illustrates his impact at five-on-five.
Exact details on the injury, and subsequent timeline for return, remain unknown but based on Brind’Amour’s comments, the Canes are likely looking to head into the New Year without a major piece. The highly skilled Blake, proving to be a major steal at 109th overall in 2021, figures to be a top-line option for the time being. Two notable newcomers, Nikolaj Ehlers and Logan Stankoven, will also be leaned upon for more production.
With Team Canada’s roster set to be released on New Year’s Eve, a wrinkle might have been thrown into GM Doug Armstrong’s plans. However, Milan or not, Carolina will cross their fingers that Jarvis avoided major injury, and can return sometime in January.
Jets Linked To Mason Marchment
On today’s episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared that the Winnipeg Jets are “dipping around” trade possibilities for Seattle Kraken forward Mason Marchment. With the NHL Roster Freeze set to begin at midnight EST tonight, which will run until December 28, such may not come to be until a later date, especially as the Kraken are also missing Jaden Schwartz to injury.
Marchment, 30, came over to Seattle last summer from Dallas, in a deal with the salary cap in mind. The late-blooming power forward was a great fit with the Stars, becoming a legitimate top six scoring threat, twice netting 22 goals in each of the last two seasons. However, the team’s tight cap needs meant that GM Jim Nill needed to find a taker for the final season of Marchment’s contract worth $4.5MM for 2025-26. Even despite his production, Marchment was especially expendable, as Dallas brought in superstar Mikko Rantanen, promptly extending him long-term as a considerable upgrade.
With few teams capable of comfortably fitting in a salary such as Marchment’s, Seattle was able to acquire the forward for just a third and a fourth round draft pick, seeming to be worth the flyer. Unfortunately, things have just not worked out, and despite such a small return, it appears Dallas came out ahead on cap savings alone. A possible trade deadline flip was likely in the Kraken’s mind all along, however, Marchment’s play has not done much to warrant them to come out with a profit in assets, as initially hoped.
Meanwhile, the reigning President’s Trophy winners, the Jets, have had a tough winter so far. Connor Hellebuyck’s injury played a major part in the team’s struggles, but even with the superstar back in the lineup, secondary scoring has been an issue. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff could have his eyes on Marchment, to see if the Jets can help him find his game again, and help the team fight through a deep Central Division.
Nino Niederreiter, a similar player, is on track in his annual 15-20 goal pace, but six in 33 games is not ideal for a second line forward on a team with playoff aspirations. Elsewhere, Cole Perfetti has just two goals on the season. The 23-year-old had to miss the start of the season with injury, but in 19 games so far, he is not on track to meet last year’s 50 points, let alone take another step forward. Perfetti is also a -11. Gustav Nyquist was brought in for offense, but it appears time has caught up to the 36-year-old, who is scoreless in 24 games as a Jet.
The question is raised, however, if the Jets’ scoring woes are also due to a lack of a true second line center. Vladislav Namestnikov has just eight points in 33 games, only two assists, production cut in half from previous seasons. Captain Adam Lowry has just five points in 21 games, becoming more suited for a shutdown role. Jonathan Toews was a tremendous addition to the organization from a leadership standpoint, but at this stage in his career he is a pure bottom sixer. Even if Marchment is brought in, Winnipeg could seek out a center later on as well.
Marchment would be an intriguing buy-low pick up for the Jets, as they have the cap space, and it is hard to imagine he would fetch much more than what Seattle gave up last June. Additionally, the Kraken have the ability to retain, in order to maximize trade return. With Schwartz expected to return sometime in January, Marchment is a likely trade candidate, and Winnipeg could make their first move to shake things up.
Golden Knights’ Shea Theodore Out Week-To-Week
This afternoon, Vegas Head Coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters that Shea Theodore is expected to be week-to-week with an upper-body injury, as shared by Sin Bin Vegas. The ailment will sideline the top defenseman for longer than anticipated, however, Cassidy affirmed that it should not affect his prospects for the Olympic Games in February (Team Canada). For the Golden Knights however, Theodore will not travel on the team’s road trip.
Theodore started the season with just five points in his first 15 games, all assists, a step back from his career high 57 points in 67 contests last season. Since then, however, the elite puck-mover really picked up the pace before the injury, right back to high end production.
2025-26 marks year one of Theodore’s seven year extension worth $7.425MM per season. The timing also symbolizes a passing of the torch of sorts; as Alex Pietrangelo is unlikely to play again, Theodore is set to lead the Vegas defense core into his thirties. He, Brayden McNabb, and William Karlsson stand as the only original “misfits” remaining on the team. Despite all the changes on the roster though, the Golden Knights remain elite, currently fifth in the league.
Wednesday’s game against New Jersey marked the first of the campaign without Theodore in the lineup, and Vegas lost in a shootout, missing their top defender who averages 24:01 a game. Thankfully, the team brought back Jeremy Lauzon from injury. A fellow lefty, Lauzon can help alleviate the loss of Theodore on paper, but he is much more of a bottom pairing contributor with major physicality. For now, Noah Hanifin will step into a larger role, an assignment the 28-year-old is certainly capable of. Usually bringing more offensively, he has just six points in 22 games this season. In Theodore’s absence, Hanifin will have more opportunities, especially on the power play, to get going.
In the interest of the Olympics, Team Canada is expected to release their roster on New Year’s Eve. No defender outside Cale Makar has been locked in, but Theodore is considered a near-lock. In the meantime, both Vegas and Team Canada will monitor the elite defender’s status for a early-to-mid January return, leaving plenty of time to ramp up for the Olympics and the eventual playoff push ahead.
Stars Activate Adam Erne From Injured Reserve
The Dallas Stars announced earlier today that Adam Erne has been activated from long term injured reserve. The forward landed on IR in early November, after a lower-body injury sustained against Ottawa on November 11.
It had previously been thought that Erne would return by late November, but thankfully the depth winger appears to be fully healthy.
Now 30, Erne carved out 379 NHL games between Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Edmonton from 2017-24 as a bottom sixer. However, after failing to secure an NHL contract for the 2024-25 season, and being released from a PTO from the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack after just one assist in 10 games, it seemed as if Erne reached a dead end in North American professional hockey.
Undeterred, after a successful PTO with one of the league’s top teams, Erne bounced back to earn a one-year two-way deal for this season worth $775k. Prior to going down, he notched two goals and an assist in 14 games for the Stars. Although the club remains elite, not much missing a beat over the past few weeks without him, Erne will be a welcome face back tonight in Anaheim with his physicality and forechecking.
Capitals Recall Ivan Miroshnichenko, Reassign Bogdan Trineyev
The Capitals announced they’ve recalled winger Ivan Miroshnichenko from AHL Hershey and returned winger Bogdan Trineyev to Hershey in the corresponding move. Washington’s active roster remains at the 23-player limit.
The Caps have been dipping into the minor-league depth since Ryan Leonard went down with a shoulder injury earlier this month. Trineyev was the name to get recalled in the immediate aftermath. Although he’s remained on the active roster since, his playing time has been limited with just two appearances.
Those games, a Dec. 13 showing against the Jets and yesterday’s outing against the Maple Leafs, were the first two outings of Trineyev’s NHL career. The 23-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2020 and had notched 50 points and a +32 rating in 143 career appearances for Hershey before the recall.
Trineyev held his own in a fourth-line role but didn’t really move the needle. Averaging 10:32 per game, he managed three shot attempts, two blocks, and a hit, but didn’t get on the scoresheet. He was part of a dominant defensive effort with linemates Brandon Duhaime and Nic Dowd, only allowing 1.06 xGA/60 at 5-on-5.
Perhaps there’s a place for the 6’3″, 203-lb winger down the line as a cheap fourth-line option, but he’s not a roster lock yet. He’ll return to Hershey, where he’s tracking for a career year offensively with 12 points in 16 games.
Miroshnichenko, Washington’s first-round pick in 2022, gets his first NHL look of the season in his countryman’s wake. The 6’1″ sniper has gotten lengthy looks on the Caps’ roster in each of his first two seasons in North America, logging 21 appearances in 2023-24 and 18 last year. He’s got a 3-7–10 scoring line and a -3 rating to show for it across 39 games.
The 21-year-old has been a top-scoring presence for Hershey since his arrival over two years ago, and that hasn’t changed in 2025-26. Miroshnichenko missed half their schedule with an injury but has been productive when in the lineup, notching four goals and nine points in 12 games. He’ll look to keep that momentum up in a familiar depth scoring role, presumably until Leonard returns in the next couple of weeks.
Flyers Recall Denver Barkey For NHL Debut
The Flyers announced they’ve recalled center prospect Denver Barkey from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. To open a roster spot, the team sent down defenseman Egor Zamula to Lehigh Valley after he cleared waivers earlier Friday. Barkey is expected to make his NHL debut Saturday afternoon against the Rangers.
Barkey, 20, is in the early stages of his first professional season after being drafted in the third round (No. 95 overall) by Philadelphia in 2023. He slipped a few spots past where most expected him to go in the draft, but he wasn’t viewed as much more than a potential mid-second round pick at best.
His stock exploded during his post-draft season. In 64 games for the OHL’s London Knights, he rattled off 35 goals and 102 points to lead the team in scoring and be named to the league’s Second All-Star Team. Last season, he captained the Knights to the second of back-to-back titles, took home a Memorial Cup ring for good measure, and averaged two points per game in the OHL playoffs.
At 5’10” and 172 lbs, Barkey plays bigger than his size. He’s one of the more energetic skaters in the Flyers’ system with above-average playmaking. Still, prospect evaluators are split on his ceiling. In preseason rankings, Elite Prospects named him the 13th-ranked prospect in Philly’s pool, projecting him as a third-line checking center or left-winger at best. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman had Barkey outside his top 13 rankings altogether, while Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff put him at No. 6, labeling him as a versatile top-nine piece.
Evidently, the Flyers have liked what they’ve seen from Barkey through his first 26 games with the Phantoms. His seven goals are tied for second on the team, and he’s fourth in points with 16. He’ll now get his first chance to show what he can do in NHL minutes, even if it’s not expected to be a lengthy call-up with 13 healthy names ahead of him on the depth chart.
Hoffmann Group Enters Deal To Purchase Penguins
Dec. 19: The Penguins announced the Hoffmann family has entered a definitive agreement to purchase a majority stake in the team from Fenway Sports Group.
Dec. 17: According to insider Frank Seravalli, the Fenway Sports Group has agreed to sell the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins to the Chicago-based Hoffmann Group. The sale is reportedly pending approval from the NHL’s Board of Governors. Multiple other outlets have confirmed the sale.
The Hoffmann Group, led by David Hoffmann, has been interested in purchasing the Penguins for several months. In August, it was reported that Hoffmann had emerged as a contender for a minority stake in the Penguins, competing with franchise legend Mario Lemieux, who had expressed interest in reacquiring the team. Instead of a minority piece, Hoffmann will be acquiring the whole pie.
FSG originally purchased the team in 2021 for a reported value of $900MM, and is selling it only a few years later. According to Forbes, the Penguins are the 22nd most valuable franchise in the league with an estimated value of $1.75B. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun believes that the final price will land between $1.7B and $1.8entB.
As for the new owners, there is little known about the Hoffmann Group, primarily David. Forbes projected his net worth to be around $2B, though there’s no confirmation of that. Additionally, the group’s only other venture into hockey has been their ownership of the ECHL’s Florida Everblades.
Regardless, they’re acquiring the team at an interesting time in their franchise history. Being one of the most successful teams since the turn of the century, the Penguins are nearing the end of the Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin era. Without another player on the roster or in the system even close to that level of superstardom, the Hoffmann Group will be tasked with guiding the franchise through a turbulent time.
The speed of the sale is fairly status quo for FSG. Despite owning the team for only five years, they will have doubled their original investment of $900MM. In 1999, FSG purchased the MLB’s Miami Marlins for $150MM, and sold the team in 2002 for $158.5MM.
Jets Activate Haydn Fleury From Injured Reserve
The Jets announced they’ve activated defenseman Haydn Fleury from injured reserve. They’ve been operating with an open roster spot ever since sending Elias Salomonsson back to AHL Manitoba earlier this month, so no corresponding transaction is required.
Fleury has been in concussion protocol for over a month. He took a seemingly innocuous hit to the head in the second period in a game against the Canucks on Nov. 11, but had to leave the contest. It was the third documented concussion of Fleury’s career after he sustained two in the 2018-19 season with the Hurricanes.
While Fleury was a frequent healthy scratch last season, routinely serving as Winnipeg’s seventh defenseman, he’s yet to sit for a game for non-injury-related reasons this year. His concussion, though, plus a minor knee injury in October, has limited him to 15 appearances. He’s gone without a point, posting a -5 rating while averaging 14:52 of ice time per game.
The left-shot Fleury will skate on his off side in third-pairing duties alongside Logan Stanley as he returns to the lineup tonight against the powerhouse Avalanche, per Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press. He replaces Luke Schenn, who’ll sit as a healthy scratch for the first time in six games.
Playing on the right is a new look for Fleury, who spent most of his time in the early going alongside Neal Pionk while Dylan Samberg was rehabbing a broken wrist, sometimes dropping to third-pairing duties with Schenn. In fact, tonight marks Winnipeg’s first game of the season with a fully healthy defense corps. Fleury exited the lineup one game before Samberg made his return.
Wild Reassign Ben Jones, Carson Lambos
Dec. 19: Minnesota announced it has reassigned Jones to AHL Iowa after clearing waivers, along with defenseman Carson Lambos. The 22-year-old Lambos made his NHL debut in Columbus last night after being recalled on Wednesday, recording a +1 rating and a shot on goal in 10:16 of ice time. After reassigning Nicolas Aubé-Kubel and David Spacek to Iowa earlier today, the Wild now has four open roster spots with only 11 forwards and six defensemen available for tomorrow’s game against the Oilers, ensuring multiple IR activations are coming between now and then.
Dec. 18: The Wild placed forward Ben Jones on waivers today, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. If he clears, he’s still expected to remain with the team, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports.
Jones clearing waivers now means they won’t need to expose him again if they decide to send him to the minors in the 30 days following his clearance. It also makes him eligible to be assigned to the AHL during the holiday roster freeze if they need a spot to activate a player from injured reserve.
The 26-year-old will make his 20th appearance of the season and 48th of his career tonight against the Blue Jackets. He’s gone the previous 47 without recording a point, setting a post-expansion era record for most career games without an appearance on the scoresheet. The only player in league history to log more appearances with zero career points is defenseman Gord Strate, who played 62 games for the Red Wings in the late 1950s.
A lack of surplus options in the minors, plus a continually rotating cast of injuries to Minnesota’s forward group, has kept him in the lineup. For what it’s worth, the former seventh-round pick of the Golden Knights hasn’t been given many opportunities to score. He’s started just 22.2% of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone, getting understandably shelled with a 35.0 CF% and getting outscored 6-1.
Jones brings two things to the table: faceoff acumen and physicality. The 6’0″ pivot leads the team with a 57.8% win rate on the dot this year (min. 100 draws) and ranks fourth with 2.47 hits per game.
Oilers Have Made Multiple Attempts To Acquire Alex Lyon
The Oilers have called the Sabres “a couple of times in recent weeks” about the availability of goaltender Alex Lyon, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Friday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast.
Friedman implied that Edmonton had looked at Lyon for goaltending depth in the past. It’s unclear if they made a pass at signing him in free agency last summer before Buffalo inked him to a two-year, $3MM deal.
Lyon was named the Sabres’ opening night starter after a training camp injury made Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen unavailable. The journeyman vet started strong, rattling off a .923 SV% through his first seven starts, but has since regressed significantly. He only made four appearances in November as Luukkonen and waiver claim Colten Ellis took over the majority of the duties, and his numbers on the year now read as a .904 SV%, 2.99 GAA, and 3.9 GSAx, per MoneyPuck.
That’s still the best performance out of the Sabres’ three netminders, though, and great value for his $1.5MM price tag. Nonetheless, newly promoted general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen has indicated he wants to end Buffalo’s three-goalie rotation once Ellis clears concussion protocol and is activated from injured reserve, according to Friedman. With his voice being a significant factor in influencing Ellis’ waiver claim in the first place and Luukkonen inked through the 2028-29 campaign, Lyon will likely be moved to get Buffalo back to a more traditional starter/backup split between Ellis and Luukkonen.
Edmonton’s pursuit of Lyon will presumably only get more aggressive after they lost Tristan Jarry to a lower-body injury last night. He’s departed the Oilers’ road trip and is returning home for evaluation. Connor Ingram and his 102 games of NHL experience were recalled from the Bakersfield Condors to supplement struggling backup Calvin Pickard in Jarry’s absence.
But Ingram has been the worst starter/tandem netminder in the AHL by a significant margin this season with a .856 SV%. Pickard’s NHL numbers this season – a .857 SV% and 3.91 GAA – are barely any better.
Jarry had largely fared well since his arrival in Alberta last week, but with him out, they don’t have a clear-cut NHL-caliber option, let alone a starter. Bringing in Lyon would allow the Oilers to then trade or waive Pickard, although with seven goalies already under contract in the organization, they’d likely prefer the former.
Teams swapping out their opening-night tandem by the time New Year’s Day rolls around is a rare occurrence, but if Edmonton brings in Lyon to supplant Pickard as the new No. 2 behind Jarry, it’ll have happened two years in a row. The Oilers’ desired series of moves is strikingly similar to the set of trades the Avalanche pulled off in November and December last year, sending starter Alexandar Georgiev to the Sharks for Mackenzie Blackwood and swapping backup Justus Annunen for Scott Wedgewood with the Predators.
Image courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.