Kraken Sign, Reassign Gustav Olofsson
March 3: Olofsson has cleared waivers, per Friedman. The team confirmed he’s been sent back to Coachella Valley
March 2: The Seattle Kraken have continued their run of new contracts by signing defenseman Gustav Olofsson to a one-year, $775K contract. Olofsson is currently playing in the first year of a two-year, AHL contract signed with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in July 2025. This deal will bump him back up to an NHL, two-way contract – mirroring the contract details of his last deal with the Kraken: a two-year, two-way, league-minimum contract signed in 2023. Olofsson’s last NHL contract paid him $350K in minor-league salary. He will earn a bump in pay – up to $460K – in minor-league salary on this deal per PuckPedia.
With his promotion from an AHL deal to an NHL deal, the 31-year-old Olofsson will have to clear NHL waivers. He has been placed on the waiver wire per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Olofsson has served as an alternate captain with Coachella Valley for the last four seasons. Unlike in previous years, he has found a new scoring touch this season, racking up 16 points in 29 games played – third-most on the Firebirds defense behind Tyson Jugnauth and Ty Nelson. A chunk of that scoring has come over Olofsson’s last eight games, where he’s racked up five points, 10 penalty minutes, and a plus-five.
Seattle has not recalled Olofsson since the 2023-24 season. Prior to his time in Seattle, Olofsson earned extended looks in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild, including 41 games in the 2017-18 season. In total, Olofsson has racked up no goals and 11 assists in 63 games and six seasons in the NHL. His role has often been focused on the defensive side of the puck, where his long reach and big frame help close off opponents breaking into the zone. The Kraken will ensure a bit more defensive depth with this move, though it’s not likely to change Olofsson’s role in the Coachella Valley lineup for the foreseeable future.
Red Wings Place Erik Gustafsson On Waivers
March 3: Gustafsson cleared waivers, per Friedman.
March 2: The Detroit Red Wings placed veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson on waivers today, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The move paves the way for the Red Wings to open up a spot on their 23-man roster, as this waiver placement was likely made with the intent of sending the blueliner down to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.
The move doesn’t come as a major surprise, as Gustafsson has been a frequent healthy scratch for the Red Wings in his most recent stint on their NHL roster. Since being recalled on Jan. 15, Gustafsson has dressed for just a single game, serving as a healthy scratch for 11 of the team’s 12 contests. 
While he did receive over 20 minutes of ice time in the game he was dressed for – a 5-0 loss to the Avalanche on Jan. 31 – it’s been clear for some time that Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan prefers to staff his defense with other players.
As a result, this has been a difficult season for the 33-year-old. A veteran of over 500 games, Gustafsson was once a 60-point scorer, an emerging offensive force from the back-end as a part of the Chicago Blackhawks in the late 2010s.
He wasn’t able to sustain that level of production for very long, though, and began bouncing around the league, offering his services as a bottom-pairing puck-moving defenseman with power play utility to various teams. He even made a few deep playoff runs in the process, winning a Clarence S. Campbell Bowl with the Montreal Canadiens in 2021, and appearing in the Eastern Conference Final in 2024 as a member of the New York Rangers.
Gustafsson made the most of that Rangers tenure in particular, which is what landed him in Detroit in the first place. The Red Wings signed Gustafsson to a two-year, $2MM AAV deal on July 1, 2024 after he managed to provide New York with a significant amount of surplus value on his prior deal, having scored 31 points on just an $825K salary. He wasn’t able to bring that kind of effectiveness to Detroit, scoring just 18 points in 60 games.
So far in 2025-26, he’s fallen further down Detroit’s depth chart. He’s been a staple in the press box when on the NHL roster, and has just two NHL games played this season. He’s been productive in the AHL, scoring 20 points in 22 games, but those are also his first AHL games since the 2017-18 season.
Today’s news comes at a crucial point in Gustafsson’s career. As a pending UFA, he’s undoubtedly hoping to be able to enter the offseason player market on as strong footing as possible. The longer he spends as a healthy scratch and/or AHL player as a member of the Red Wings organization, the lower his chances are of getting a contract anywhere close to the $2MM salary he received in his last run as a UFA.
With the player movement expected to come in the lead up to this week’s trade deadline, it’s possible a spot frees up on another team that would allow Gustafsson to play out the rest of the season at the NHL level. But seeing as his waiver placement is coming before that movement is finalized, it’s fair to question whether teams will be willing to place a claim on Gustafsson, given that other players could be on waivers or otherwise available as the week progresses.
Photos courtesy of Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
Avalanche Recall Jason Polin
The Avalanche announced today that they’ve recalled forward Jason Polin from AHL Colorado. He fills one of two open spots on the Avs’ active roster after today’s news that Artturi Lehkonen will miss at least a few games after taking a puck to the face last night.
Colorado also has Joel Kiviranta unavailable as he’s in concussion protocol, so the Avs needed to make a recall today in order to have 18 skaters on hand for tonight’s contest against the Ducks. Polin will draw into the lineup for the third time this season after appearing on back-to-back nights during his last call-up in November.
The 26-year-old winger isn’t much more than a fringe recall option to plug-and-play on the fourth line in case of injury, just like he’s doing now. Colorado signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan a few years back. He’s been an AHL fixture since then, but has totaled 11 NHL appearances over the last three seasons, scoring once with a +2 rating while averaging just 6:45 of ice time per game.
In the minors, the 6’0″, 198-lb Polin is having his best-ever showing. He’s set a new career high with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 39 games. The former NCAA West Second Team All-American is now up to 24 goals and 50 points in 127 career minor-league outings.
Blackhawks Recall Ethan Del Mastro
The Blackhawks have recalled defenseman Ethan Del Mastro from AHL Rockford, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio 720. He fills the roster spot vacated by yesterday’s trade of Connor Murphy to the Oilers.
Del Mastro, 23, was a fourth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2021. Since then, he’s been steadily climbing the depth chart, demonstrating some real shutdown upside as a fringe top-four option or bottom-pair staple. In 161 AHL games since his pro debut in 2023, he has a 9-55–64 scoring line and a +23 rating, a top-32 figure in the league during that timeframe (min. 100 GP). This year, he has a 2-16–18 line with a +8 rating in 45 outings.
He’s gotten some NHL looks before, including a 24-game run last year that seemed to put him in contention for a full-time role as soon as this season. That hasn’t happened, due in part to their late-summer signing of Matt Grzelcyk plugging up the left side, but he did get a call-up back in December that resulted in a pair of appearances.
In January, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times ranked Del Mastro as the #10 prospect in the Hawks’ system. He noted that Wyatt Kaiser‘s and Louis Crevier‘s breakthrough campaigns this year have slightly limited his pathway toward regular time among Chicago’s glut of defense prospects, but he’s had a strong enough season in the minors to continue putting him in the conversation.
As a result, Del Mastro’s stint on the roster is only likely to last until Kaiser can return from injured reserve, unless Chicago trims another defender from its ranks by Friday’s trade deadline. Kaiser sustained a lower-body injury shortly before the Olympic break and is on track to return sometime this month. For now, Del Mastro’s got a shot to challenge fellow youngster Kevin Korchinski for ice time on the Hawks’ bottom pairing behind Grzelcyk and Alex Vlasic, attempting to leapfrog him on the depth chart before Kaiser’s activation potentially forces Chicago into a decision over who to send back to Rockford.
Trade Deadline Primer: Columbus Blue Jackets
With the Olympic break now over, the trade deadline is this week. Where do each team stand, and what moves should they be targeting? We continue our look around the league, focusing on playoff-hunting teams, and we’re back with the Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets haven’t made the playoffs since the 2020 bubble and were close last season, finishing with 89 points and narrowly missing the postseason. Coming into this year, there was an air of optimism in Columbus. However, a 19-19-7 start under former head coach Dean Evason quickly let the air out of the balloon and left many fans wondering whether Columbus would sell off their pending UFAs. They haven’t done that to this point and have climbed back into the playoff picture, going 11-2-1 under new head coach Rick Bowness. Now heading into the deadline, Columbus sits five points out of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand and 23 games to go. What they will do at the trade deadline is anyone’s guess, but they have dropped hints.
Record
30-21-8, 5th in the Metropolitan (39.2% playoff probability)
Deadline Status
Conservative Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$45.55MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: CBJ 1st, STL 2nd, CBJ 3rd, COL 3rd, TOR 4th, CBJ 5th, PIT 6th, CBJ 7th
2027: CBJ 1st, CBJ 3rd, WAS 3rd, COL 3rd, CBJ 4th, CBJ 5th, CBJ 6th, CBJ 7th
Trade Chips
The Blue Jackets dealt their best trade chip at the end of December, trading Egor Chinakhov to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Danton Heinen and two draft picks. That move wasn’t a trade for this season, but it did give the Blue Jackets two additional draft picks to potentially make additions with, on top of their other catalogue of picks. Columbus GM Don Waddell doesn’t sound like he is ready to make a big splash or punt on this season, so it could be a quiet deadline in Ohio.
2021 fifth overall pick, Kent Johnson, is a potential trade chip who has been a healthy scratch for a few games now. The 23-year-old has a pair of successful NHL seasons under his belt, but they are sandwiched between several seasons of inconsistency, including this year. Johnson has just six goals and 12 assists in 56 games, after registering 24 goals and 33 assists last year in 68 games. Johnson was once touted as the Blue Jackets’ top prospect, but at this point, he could be their best trade chip if they want to make additions at the deadline. There is a gamble in moving him while he is slumping, though he does have a track record of scoring in the NHL, and it might be best to be patient with him and see if he can rediscover his game, particularly given that the Chinakhov trade looks quite bad right now for Columbus.
Columbus will likely keep this next player, but there will be interest in center Charlie Coyle. The 34-year-old has 126 games of NHL playoff experience, and many teams would love to have him as their third-line center should he be available. Coyle has 15 goals and 30 assists in 59 games this season and fits a need that many teams have, but very few sellers are currently offering. The Blue Jackets likely want to keep Coyle, but they might get offers that are too difficult to ignore for a player who likely doesn’t figure in much of the Blue Jackets’ long-term future. Even if they re-sign Coyle to a multi-year deal, he likely won’t be producing at his current levels when Columbus enters their contention window.
In terms of prospects, the Blue Jackets aren’t dealing their top picks, Cayden Lindstrom or Jackson Smith, but a prospect such as Luca Del Bel Belluz could be the centerpiece of a big trade in Columbus, had the team changed its mind and gone big-game hunting. Belluz was the Jackets’ second-round pick (44th overall) in 2022 and is likely to return to the NHL very soon, given his impressive AHL numbers this year (15 goals and 28 assists in 41 games). The 22-year-old was with Columbus until just before Christmas, when he was demoted to the AHL after posting just a single point in 13 NHL games. It was Belluz’s second lengthy NHL audition, with his previous opportunity yielding eight points in 15 games. Belluz might not have the name recognition of some of Columbus’s other prospects, but he does have a solid resume thus far and is in just his third professional season.
Team Needs
A Top Six Forward: Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets, Johnson’s poor season has left the team in a spot where they could use another top-six forward. With Johnson playing his way off the top two lines, Heinen has occasionally taken a spot, as have other depth forwards. Columbus has a below-average offense, and a top-six forward could push others in the lineup into a more advantageous position and unlock additional offense. Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets, things didn’t work out with Chinakhov, as he has filled that top-six role in Pittsburgh for the Penguins, leaving them in a spot where they have to hunt down their own top-six solution.
A Top Pairing Defenseman: Damon Severson is a very good NHL player and has long been an analytical darling. But the once-offensive defenseman has struggled with turnovers over the last two seasons and is better served on the second pairing. The 31-year-old has yet to top the 30-point mark in Columbus, something he did four times in New Jersey and would be better served to play against lesser competition, which could free him up more offensively. It’s unlikely the Columbus could find a right-shot top-pairing defender before the deadline, but in a perfect world, they would supplant Severson. It’s also possible that the Blue Jackets feel they have the heir apparent in Denton Mateychuk, who is just 21 years old and has been terrific this season.
Photo by Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Lightning Place Dominic James On IR, Recall Conor Geekie
The Lightning have recalled center prospect Conor Geekie from AHL Syracuse, Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider reports. Fellow pivot Dominic James was placed on injured reserve to open a roster spot.
With Gage Goncalves still dealing with an undisclosed injury, the roster math indicates Geekie could step into the lineup tonight against the Wild if head coach Jon Cooper opts for a traditional 12 forward/six defenseman alignment. It would be the 21-year-old’s first NHL game since being sent to Syracuse back in October after cracking the opening night roster.
It’s fair to say the Bolts aren’t rushing Geekie’s development. Drafted 11th overall by the Coyotes in 2022 before being sent to Tampa by Utah in the Mikhail Sergachev trade, he’s made 58 NHL appearances over the past two seasons but never got much of a leash in a top-six role. He’s scored eight goals and 15 points, with only one point coming in six games earlier this year. He averages 12:05 of ice time per game. While Tampa is surely looking for more offense out of him long-term, he has been a decent physical presence near the bottom of the lineup without disastrous possession impacts.
The 6’4″, 207-lb Geekie might now get a chance to showcase that increased offense after a spectacular bulk of the season in the minors. He was quite productive as a rookie for Syracuse last season but is now clicking at over a point per game, notching 14 goals and 51 points in 47 games on one of the AHL’s most potent offenses in Syracuse. He’s tied for fourth in the entire league in scoring and is second on his club behind league leader Jakob Pelletier.
As for James, he left the Bolts’ last game on Saturday – a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Sabres – with a leg injury late in the third after getting tangled up with Buffalo’s Michael Kesselring. Cooper told reporters yesterday (including Erlendsson) that “his injury does not appear to be short-term,” although he’s still undergoing evaluation. He had goals in back-to-back games, bringing his total to seven in 43 games on the season.
Trade Deadline Primer: Anaheim Ducks
With the Olympic break now over, the trade deadline is less than a week away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? Next up is the Ducks.
The Ducks currently hold a playoff spot in the Western Conference and have been a pleasant surprise this season. The team is in a very advantageous position heading into the trade deadline, with a ton of trade capital and plenty of space under the salary cap. If GM Pat Verbeek wanted to get aggressive, he certainly could, but given that it is a buyer’s market, it feels as though this club might not be ready to make a splash just yet. Verbeek has seen mixed results making trades in recent years, but there is no doubt he has put together a good blend of youth and veteran experience in Anaheim.
Record
33-23-3, 2nd in the Pacific (93.6% playoff probability)
Deadline Status
Conservative Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$52.61MM on deadline day, 1/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: ANA 1st, ANA 2nd, ANA 3rd, DET 4th, ANA 5th, ANA 6th, ANA 7th
2027: ANA 1st, ANA 2nd, STL 2nd, DET 3rd, ANA 3rd, ANA 5th, ANA 6th, ANA 7th
Trade Chips
Pavel Mintyukov isn’t necessarily the Ducks’ best trade chip, but he’s the most likely to be used before the deadline if the Ducks are to make a significant move. It was just a few years ago that the former 10th-overall pick (in 2022) was a standout OHL defenseman with a lot of shine to his game. In 2023-24, the then 20-year-old had a terrific rookie season, tallying four goals and 24 assists in 63 games, finishing 14th in the Calder Trophy conversation. The versatile defenseman hasn’t been able to match that level of production since and has been squeezed quite a bit by the Ducks’ packed left side of their defense.
This depth has led to Mintyukov being a healthy scratch at times and to his playing time being reduced, something he clearly isn’t happy with. If the Ducks decide the youngster isn’t a fit with the team, he still has enough value to be a solid trade chip if the Ducks want to grab a bigger asset to improve their lineup in the here and now. The issue for the Ducks on their back end is that they need defensive defenders on the right side, which is what Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas were supposed to be. With both of those men likely gone in the offseason, Verbeek may hang on to Mintyukov.
Among other top young players, the Ducks aren’t moving forward Beckett Sennecke, the third overall pick in 2024, who has been a rookie sensation this year, scoring 19 goals and 29 assists in 58 games. Beyond Sennecke, the Ducks have a few prospects they could look to move if they wanted to go big-game hunting.
The Ducks have strong depth on the left side of their defensive core, which could make Stian Solberg expendable. The 2024 first-round pick (23rd overall) has been toiling in the AHL in his first full season in North America. At just 20 years old, Solberg has shown he is very difficult to play against, thanks to a mean streak a mile long and an ability to keep opponents away from the front of his team’s net. Solberg doesn’t have the offensive instincts to contribute much on the scoresheet, but he does have a heavy shot and is an efficient skater.
Moving up to forward, there is little chance the Ducks move Roger McQueen, whom they drafted last summer, but Lucas Pettersson, a 2024 second-round pick (35th overall), could interest teams looking for a player whose NHL trajectory is about two years away. Pettersson is a bit on the small side, but he makes up for it with a two-way game that leans offensively. The 19-year-old is a creative playmaker who can play in any situation and possesses terrific offensive skills, including a sneaky-accurate wrist shot and great passing. Pettersson could be of interest to teams seeking a plug-and-play forward who is potentially a second- or third-line NHL center in the making.
Team Needs
A Right Shot Defenseman: The Ducks continue to deploy Trouba and Gudas in roles that are beyond their skill set, but that shouldn’t be the case beyond this season. Right-handed defensemen are always in demand and among the hardest assets to acquire. The Ducks may opt to wait until the summer to try to sign or trade for one, but the free-agent market for defense is barren, and the Ducks may not be inclined to get into a bidding war. GM Pat Verbeek has shown a tendency to overpay in free agency to acquire assets (Alex Killorn, for example), but with Cutter Gauthier and Leo Karlsson both due raises as RFAs this summer, he might not want to spend so liberally. Rasmus Andersson of the Vegas Golden Knights could be the best available defender if he reaches the market, while Tampa Bay’s Darren Raddyish is having a monster year with the Lightning. A veteran like John Carlson could also test the market, but at 36, he might be too late in his career for the Ducks to consider him an option.
Bottom Six Depth: The Ducks’ bottom six isn’t great right now, as injuries have forced Ryan Poehling to center the third line and Jansen Harkins to take regular shifts in the NHL lineup. No disrespect to either man, but they are both currently playing in roles beyond their skill sets. Poehling is a capable fourth-line center but is often overmatched when playing in the top nine, while Harkins is best served as a tweener with limited offensive capabilities. Both men’s spots in the lineup clearly indicate a need for the Ducks to get deeper on their bottom two lines. The Ducks could acquire top-six help and push players down the hierarchy, or they could look for bargain options that could slide onto the third or fourth line to fill out a bottom six that is currently quite weak.
Image courtesy of Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images.
Latest On Bruins’ Deadline Plans
The Bruins find themselves squarely in contention for a playoff berth amid deadline week, not a spot most expected them to be in back in training camp. Their 5-2-3 record in their last 10 has somewhat upended their push, but they still remain with a a 54.2% chance at a postseason spot, per MoneyPuck – a slightly favorable coin flip.
Amid a crowded field, the Bruins aren’t keen to sell off more assets after last season’s deadline fire sale. Instead, general manager Don Sweeney yesterday reiterated his desire to reward his group for a strong start, but confirmed they’re not much concerned with the rental market and are instead focused on “moving forward as well.”
Sweeney did add yesterday that he’s “not in a rush to usher guys out the door” when asked about the futures of pending unrestricted free agents Andrew Peeke and Viktor Arvidsson (via Joe Haggerty of Boston Sports Journal). That’s a bit of a course reversal from last month when The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa indicated they were more willing to dangle Peeke for futures (or a longer-term upgrade elsewhere on the roster), although they weren’t keen on moving on from Arvidsson at that time, either.
It does make perfect sense that Sweeney won’t sell the farm for a pending UFA as he has in years past, even with the B’s in playoff position. Last season’s quick retool has paid immense dividends thus far, but isn’t complete. There’s a bit of restraint shown in not accelerating it too much, especially amid an incredibly crowded field of Eastern Conference competitors down the stretch.
That said, if a name can help them for the rest of the decade (or at least past this season), it’ll be something they consider. Per The Fourth Period’s updated trade board today, they’ve at least kicked the tires on veteran names with term all around the lineup like Jake DeBrusk, Justin Faulk, Nazem Kadri, and Rasmus Ristolainen, among others. Another report last week linked them to Flyers winger Owen Tippett. It’s also clear they’re willing to leverage some of their mid-to-high-end prospects, namely pivot Matthew Poitras, to make it happen.
Sabres Interested In Rasmus Ristolainen
The Sabres have been connected to the defense market this spring, preferably a right-shot name, as they already have an excess of high-end left-shot options. They haven’t been connected to many specific names yet, though. That changed today as Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff reports the Sabres are “actively in” pursuit of a reunion with Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
Ristolainen, the eighth overall pick back in 2013 who struggled for years in extended deployment with Buffalo, has emerged as a much more stable option in sheltered minutes since being traded to the Flyers five years ago. The past two years, though, he’s back to averaging over 20 minutes per game and has largely kept up the improvements in his defensive game. He’s only made 23 appearances this season due to a lengthy recovery from triceps surgery, recording a 1-5–6 scoring line with a -3 rating. His 20:33 average time on ice is his highest since 2021-22, posting a 47.8% Corsi For share and 53.4% expected goals share at even strength.
His strong possession-quality numbers throughout most of his tenure in Philly would be a massively valuable addition to the Sabres if he keeps them up on a Buffalo roster with its best chance at a postseason berth since before Ristolainen was even drafted. Their entire top four group is comprised of lefties at the moment. Their top right-shot option, Michael Kesselring, was expected to fill minutes higher up in the lineup after being acquired from the Mammoth last summer. He has been a virtual non-factor this season, though, mostly because of a rash of injuries limiting him to 27 games.
Incorporating Ristolainen’s full $5.1MM cap hit through next season could be a problem for Buffalo general manager Jarmo Kekälainen, who’s armed with over $14MM in cap space for next season but needs to reserve all of it for new deals for Alex Tuch and Zach Benson. That would either force him to move out a significant salary in the deal, which would likely require an even steeper acquisition price to convince the Flyers to take on an undesirable deal, or to pay a similar premium for Philly to retain a significant chunk of his salary.
Philly’s base-level ask is comparable to what the Bruins netted for Brandon Carlo at last year’s deadline – a first-round pick, a mid-round pick, and a rather high-end forward prospect. The Sabres are certainly equipped with the assets to make that work – Anton Wahlberg fits a similar niche/value range to what Fraser Minten held for the Maple Leafs in that Carlo deal – and Boston retained 15% of Carlo’s salary in that trade. The Sabres would need near max retention to make Ristolainen’s salary work for next season, though, assuming they can’t find a taker for a bloated cap hit like Jordan Greenway‘s $4MM or Conor Timmins‘ $2.2MM.
Kings’ Quinton Byfield Sustains Upper-Body Injury
The Los Angeles Kings were without yet another top forward in Monday night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. Quinton Byfield sat out of the match with an upper-body injury per a team release. It was Byfield’s second absence of the season. The Kings awarded rookies Jared Wright and Kenny Connors with their NHL debuts in relief of the injured Byfield and Andrei Kuzmenko.
It is not clear what the source of Byfield’s injury was. Either way, his absence left the Kings scrambling to fill yet another top-six role, after losing Kevin Fiala to a season-ending injury during the 2026 Winter Olympics. Byfield has made his presence felt in the return from break, with three points in three games since Los Angeles took back to the ice. He has averaged 20 minutes of ice time throughout the season and earned 13 goals, 33 points, and a minus-five in 58 games.
Byfield is scoring at a 47-point pace this season, a step below the pace that led him to 55 and 54 points over the last two seasons respectively. He has stayed a central piece of the Kings’ offense despite that, averaging more ice time than any Kings forward and taking the second-most faceoffs on the team. Byfield’s impact away from the scoresheet has helped the Kings make up for a down year from franchise legend Anze Kopitar, who has only 24 points in 45 games.
Should Byfield need to miss extended time with this absence, the Kings will need to heap even more responsibility onto recent, superstar addition Artemi Panarin. The former New York Rangers scoring leader has notched three assists in his first four games with the Kings. He looked like a dangerous addition to Byfield’s wing but will now serve next to Kopitar, while Alex Turcotte and Connors earn bumps into the middle-six. Neither Connors nor Wright earned a point in their first NHL game but both could have another crack at scoring with injuries piling up in Los Angeles.