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Avalanche Recall Tristen Nielsen

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The Avalanche have recalled forward Tristen Nielsen from AHL Colorado, according to a team announcement. The team had two open roster spots, so no corresponding move is necessary.

It’s Nielsen’s second recall of his NHL career. The first one came earlier this month, after the Avs, who had initially signed Nielsen only to an AHL contract in August, tore up that deal and converted it into a two-year, two-way contract to make him eligible for a recall. He made his NHL debut on Nov. 4, recording four hits in 5:25 of ice time in a win over the Lightning, before being promptly returned to the minors.

Nielsen, 25, had spent his first four professional seasons in the Canucks organization, all with AHL Abbotsford. He was Vancouver’s property after signing an entry-level deal with them in 2023, but the Canucks non-tendered him back in June. So far, he’s been found money for the Avs’ affiliate. He’s second on the Colorado Eagles in scoring with 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in 16 games and has operated at a point-per-game pace since being returned to them earlier this month.

The British Columbia native will now presumably get another crack at the Avs’ fourth line Thursday against the Rangers, unless they opt to dress seven defensemen. With Valeri Nichushkin sidelined week-to-week, they’ve been elevating names from the minors like Nielsen, Daniil Gushchin, and Taylor Makar on an as-needed basis to slot into the lineup.

Lightning Place Victor Hedman On IR, Activate Nick Paul From LTIR

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The Lightning have shifted star defenseman Victor Hedman to injured reserve with the undisclosed injury that’s already kept him out for nearly two weeks, according to Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider. His roster spot is going to forward Nick Paul, who’s been activated from long-term injured reserve and will make his season debut Thursday against the Oilers. Hedman is eligible to be activated at any time but will remain sidelined for “probably a couple [of] more weeks,” head coach Jon Cooper told the beat this morning (including the team’s Benjamin Pierce).

Losing a No. 1 defenseman for any stretch of time is always worrisome, but an extended return timeline for Hedman is especially disappointing because of the Bolts’ other injury woes in their top four. Ryan McDonagh remains on IR with an undisclosed injury, while Erik Černák sat out Tuesday’s game against the Devils with a lower-body injury, although he’s expected back tonight. With all those absences, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg is the only Lightning rearguard to play in all 19 games this season.

Hedman’s current absence is also tracking to be one of the longest ones in his incredibly durable career. If he’s out for another two weeks from today, that would bring him to 12 games missed. He hasn’t missed that much time since various injuries limited him to 70 out of 82 appearances in the 2018-19 campaign. Before the injury, Hedman had been left without a goal through 15 games but had still racked up 12 assists, a figure that still leads Tampa’s blue line in scoring. He’s continued his dominance on the possession front, controlling 53.8% of shot attempts at even strength, and his pairing with J.J. Moser has outscored opponents 7-5 at 5-on-5.

His absence his perhaps most felt on Tampa’s power play, where he had half of his point production. They’re already at an underwhelming 17.7% on the year and have gone 2-for-12 in the four games Hedman’s been out. Darren Raddysh is now quarterbacking the top unit in Hedman’s place, but he’s got just two assists with the man advantage in 13 games.

While the Bolts’ defense group remains in disarray, they’ll trade that for having a fully healthy top-nine forward group for the first time this season. Only depth piece Pontus Holmberg remains on the injured list. Paul missed the first six weeks of the year and comes back a couple of weeks behind schedule after undergoing an upper-body procedure extremely late in the offseason. The versatile 6’4″ forward will make his season debut on the wing on a line with Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point, per Pierce. That unit has been downgraded to Tampa’s de facto second line because of Point’s sluggish start to the year, with only three goals and 11 points through 19 games and a -9 rating.

Blues Activate Jake Neighbours, To Place Alexandre Texier On Waivers

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The Blues announced that they’ve activated left-winger Jake Neighbours from injured reserve. Forward Alexandre Texier was moved to the non-roster list to open up an active roster spot. He will be placed on waivers for assignment to AHL Springfield, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported earlier Thursday that Texier was considering asking for a contract termination. If he clears waivers and fails to report to Springfield, that would give the Blues cause to trigger termination proceedings and place him on unconditional waivers.

Neighbours will return to the lineup tonight in Philadelphia significantly ahead of schedule. The 2020 first-rounder hasn’t played since sustaining a right leg injury against the Red Wings on Oct. 25 following a two-goal effort, and the Blues initially prognosticated he’d miss at least five weeks. That would have punted his return to the first week of December, but instead, he’s back healthy before Thanksgiving.

Before the injury, Neighbours was on a tear. The 23-year-old had rattled off six goals and an assist through eight games – all at even strength – while finishing at a 50% clip. Even with the missed time, that hot streak should have him well on his way to record his third consecutive 20-goal season. Neighbours had been stapled to Robert Thomas’ left wing to start the year. It’s hard to imagine the Blues removing him from that post, considering his early-season success, indicating Dylan Holloway will be shifted back to a middle-six role after seeing some time alongside Thomas.

Getting him back is a massive boon for a team that’s had nightmarish offensive output as they reach the first-quarter point of their schedule. Neighbours’ six goals are still tied with Jordan Kyrou for the team lead, and their 2.75 goals per game rank 26th in the league. Since Neighbours left the lineup, that figure drops to 29th place at 2.58 per game.

As for Texier, this is presumably the beginning of the end of his time in St. Louis. Beginning at 1:00 p.m. CT, the league’s other 31 teams will have the chance to pick up the remainder of Texier’s expiring deal at a $2.1MM cap hit if they so choose. If he clears and doesn’t report to Springfield, he’ll then land on unconditional waivers and become a free agent after another 24-hour waiting period, after which he can sign a prorated deal for cheaper with another team for the remainder of the season. St. Louis went through the same process last season with Brandon Saad.

Can The Maple Leafs Turn Things Around?

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The Maple Leafs have faced a tough start to the season, hovering around the .500 mark while adopting a high-risk style of hockey. After 20 games, they’re 9-9-2 and have only six wins in regulation, placing them seventh in the Atlantic Division. Toronto’s offense has been among the league’s best at 3.50 goals per game, managing to outscore its issues at times, but its defense has been nearly nonexistent and ranks at the bottom of the league. The Maple Leafs are going through a bit of an identity crisis as we reach the quarter mark of the season, and with injuries starting to pile up, it’s understandable to wonder if they can turn things around.

Several lingering issues remain for the Maple Leafs, some new and others dating back to last season and beyond. Toronto’s defense has struggled to start this season, after finishing eighth in the league in goals against last year. However, the blame can’t be placed solely on their defensive efforts, as this isn’t a new problem; it’s been around since last season, though masked by elite goaltending. Toronto’s shot and goal metrics have been trending downward for a while now, and this could be a case of the Maple Leafs regressing back towards the mean.

Speaking of goaltending, Toronto’s netminders have struggled this year after being a strength last season, thanks to the excellent play of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll. This season, Stolarz has had a tough start, posting a 3.51 GAA and a .884 SV%. As for Woll, he just returned against the Blackhawks this past Saturday. The Maple Leafs’ defensive issues could be addressed mainly with even average NHL goaltending. Still, it’s challenging to imagine Toronto getting the same level of goaltending as last season, which might continue to expose defensive vulnerabilities.

The Maple Leafs have spent many games this season trading high-quality chances with their opponents. While this approach works when their goaltending is elite, it becomes less effective when their netminder is below replacement level. The game on Nov. 15 against Chicago is a prime example, as Woll returned to the lineup and stopped 29 of 32 shots, four of which were of the high-danger variety. Playing loosely worked for a while against the Blackhawks, as the Maple Leafs held a 19-9 edge in high-danger chances, but they surrendered the lead in the third period for the second time in a week, ending up on the wrong side of a 3-2 score. There were positives to take from the game, including dominance in high-danger chances at five-on-five as Toronto had 16 to Chicago’s six, per Natural Stat Trick.

Defensive lapses are not the only issue facing this team right now, as injuries to key players have accumulated, forcing many of Toronto’s depth players to perform beyond their usual roles. Having Max Domi as a second-line center is not ideal and clearly contributes to Toronto’s recent decline. Domi is a good passer and has solid offensive skills, but he is not a top-nine center, let alone a second liner. Ideally, Domi would play on the wing on the third line, but injuries are testing the Maple Leafs’ depth, and someone has to move up when players go down.

Defensively, the loss of Brandon Carlo and Chris Tanev has pushed Philippe Myers into the lineup. No disrespect to the 28-year-old, but he is not a top-six NHLer, as recent performances – including the game against Chicago – have shown. Myers wasn’t signed to be a top-six Maple Leafs defender, but circumstances are what they are, and sometimes depth players need to step up when injuries mount. The recent waiver claim of Troy Stecher will likely send Myers back to the press box as a healthy scratch, but it’s hardly fair to expect Stecher to be the solution either. The Maple Leafs need to get healthy on defense (and at forward and in net) if they want any chance of making the playoffs, which leads us to a thought on the minds of Maple Leafs fans everywhere.

On the same night the Maple Leafs lost to the Blackhawks, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported that the Maple Leafs are looking for roster-for-roster trades. It makes sense for Toronto to explore this, especially since they don’t have a first-round pick until 2028 and lack significant prospect capital unless they consider trading Easton Cowan, which they aren’t considering. The Maple Leafs reportedly tried to acquire defenseman Rasmus Andersson last season from the Calgary Flames, as well as forward Brayden Schenn from the St. Louis Blues. TSN’s Darren Dreger doesn’t see a fit for Toronto and Andersson, given how little trade capital the Maple Leafs have, and the Flames might not want to do business with their former general manager.

General manager Brad Treliving has a few players they can consider trading, such as Max Domi, Nicholas Robertson, or even Carlo, but who and what he chooses to move will depend on what he sees as a need. It’s fair to say the Maple Leafs need a defenseman, but they could also benefit from an impact forward to slot into their top six. Toronto didn’t adequately replace Mitch Marner, and although their offense is rolling, they still have a gap on their top two lines. They don’t need to acquire a player of Marner’s caliber, but they certainly need a reliable performer who can push some of Toronto’s depth players down the lineup to their proper spots.

Right now, things don’t look good for Toronto this season, and the team clearly lacks confidence, as shown by their on-ice behavior whenever they give up a goal. There aren’t many signs that the team is about to turn things around, but there are reasons to stay hopeful. If Toronto can get healthy, that will give them a boost. With Woll back and Stolarz not far from returning, their goaltending should improve soon. If they can make one or two small trades for immediate help, that should help the depth players find their proper roles, making the team stronger overall. None of this is sure to happen, and Toronto could keep slipping, but the season isn’t over yet—even if it doesn’t look promising.

Hurricanes Reassign Domenick Fensore

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Nov. 20: The Hurricanes reassigned Fensore to Chicago following Wednesday’s shootout loss to the Wild, per a team announcement. With two games remaining on their road trip, that could be an indication they expect to activate Jalen Chatfield from injured reserve before Friday’s game against the Jets. They said Tuesday they expected Chatfield back in the lineup sometime in the next week. Fensore did not play a game during his call-up.

Nov. 16: The Hurricanes announced they’ve recalled defenseman Domenick Fensore from AHL Chicago. The team had an opening roster spot after yesterday’s quick reassignment of Bradly Nadeau, so no corresponding transaction is needed.

Fensore, 24, comes up for the third time this season. He’s been summoned in short stints, no longer than five days, as Carolina continues to grapple with multiple veterans being unavailable on defense due to injuries. While he’s been rostered for four games across those two recalls, he’s only made one appearance for the Canes. That came back against the Golden Knights on Oct. 28, when he logged a -2 rating and two shots on goal in 19:22 of ice time.

That was the third career NHL game for Fensore, who Carolina made a third-round pick back in 2019. The 5’9″ lefty played in the final two games of the regular season last year to close out his second professional campaign. The offensively talented depth rearguard is still in search of his first NHL point.

Point production hasn’t been a problem for Fensore at the minor-league level, though. The former Boston University standout is amid a breakout year in Chicago with a 3-8–11 scoring line in 11 games, tallying a team-high +4 rating as well. His point-per-game pace is third in the AHL among defenders with at least 10 games played this year.

Carolina only had six defensemen rostered prior to Fensore’s recall. He should stick around for at least the next week as he looks to serve as the Canes’ healthy extra option on their four-game road trip, which starts tomorrow in Boston and concludes Nov. 23 in Buffalo.

Blues’ Alexandre Texier Considering Contract Termination

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Blues winger Alexandre Texier has considered asking for a contract termination to become an unrestricted free agent, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He remains on the Blues’ roster for now but has played just once since Oct. 28, sitting as a healthy scratch in nine of their last 10 games.

Texier, the first player in NHL history drafted directly from France’s Ligue Magnus, signed a two-year, $4.2MM contract with the Blues in June 2024 after they acquired his signing rights from the Blue Jackets. He was coming off a career-high 12 goals and 30 points in 78 games with Columbus, averaging north of 15 minutes per game, but the team wasn’t interested in re-signing him as they opened roster spots for a younger wave of prospects.

The 26-year-old just hasn’t been a fit in St. Louis. He made only 31 appearances last season and lost 15 games to illness and injury, meaning he spent nearly half the year in the press box. When dressed, he delivered career-average production on a per-game basis, notching six goals and five assists for 11 points. He did so in reduced ice time, averaging closer to 12:30 per game, as his role as a penalty killer in Columbus was stripped entirely from him with the Blues.

This season, Texier’s ice time has been slashed further to 10:15 per game. He’s only made eight out of 20 possible appearances, on track to finish with a similar workload to last season. Skating most commonly in fourth-line deployment with Nick Bjugstad and Nathan Walker, he’s logged one assist and nine hits. Perhaps more importantly, his chance generation is way down. He averaged 1.61 shots on goal per game last year – even more than he managed during his breakout year in Columbus – but that figure has nearly halved to 0.88 in 2025-26.

A contract termination would allow Texier to be uninhibited by his above-market-value $2.1MM cap hit as he looks for a new home. Still, he would be walking away from roughly 75% of his identical base salary for this season to do so. Whether he desires to remain in the NHL also remains to be seen. He’s made a move back to Europe before to be closer to his family in France, asking the Blue Jackets to spend the 2022-23 season on loan to Switzerland’s ZSC Lions, which they granted.

East Notes: Tkachuk, Eller, Rempe, Dowd

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The Senators haven’t had captain Brady Tkachuk available for most of the season as he has missed the last 16 games with a thumb injury.  The team has fared relatively well in his absence, compiling an 8-4-4 record without him but it’s fair to say that they’re still missing their captain.  The good news for the Sens is that he might not be out much longer.  On his latest Wingmen podcast (audio link), Tkachuk indicated that he’s hoping to return around Thanksgiving.  When he underwent surgery in mid-October, the recovery timeline was six to seven weeks so returning next week would fall within that range.  Tkachuk had 55 points in 72 games last season and assuming there are no late setbacks, he’ll soon give a big boost to an Ottawa attack that enters the night around the middle of the pack offensively, sitting 13th in goals scored.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • Still with the Senators, center Lars Eller won’t play on Thursday due to an undisclosed injury, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link).  The 36-year-old has been a regular in Ottawa’s bottom six this season, picking up two goals and four assists in 19 games while logging a little more than 13 minutes a game of playing time.  There’s no word yet on how long he might be out for.
  • Rangers winger Matt Rempe has resumed skating as he works his way back from an upper-body injury, mentions Mollie Walker of the New York Post (Twitter link). Head coach Mike Sullivan noted that while there’s no timetable for his return, he’s up to skating three days on, one day off which is a promising sign.  Rempe has a goal, nine penalty minutes, and 30 hits in nine outings so far this season while getting a bit more ice time under Sullivan, logging nearly 10 minutes a night.
  • Capitals center Nic Dowd missed tonight’s game against Edmonton due to an upper-body injury, relays NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 35-year-old is in the first season of a two-year, $6MM deal but has struggled offensively.  After notching double-digit goals in each of the last five years, Dowd has just one through his first 19 outings.  Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post adds (Twitter link) that the middleman won’t accompany the team to Montreal for their game on Thursday and will be evaluated further.

Canucks Injury Notes: Blueger, Garland, Hoglander, Forbort

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It has been a tough season for Canucks center Teddy Blueger.  He missed the start of the season with a lower-body injury, came back, and had the injury flare up again in his second game.  Now, things don’t appear to be going well in his recovery.  Speaking with reporters today (video link), head coach Adam Foote indicated that Blueger has suffered a setback and will be shut down for at least a few days.  The hope is that he will be able to resume skating after that.  In his first two seasons with Vancouver, the 31-year-old has put up 28 and 26 points while notching a career-high 104 hits in 2024-25 as well.  With their center depth being thinned out at the moment, they were hoping that Blueger would be able to come in and play soon but that won’t be the case.

Other news from Vancouver:

  • On the good news front, Conor Garland’s absence will wind up being just one game. After missing Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury, Foote noted that the 29-year-old will return on Thursday against Dallas.  Garland is off to a good start to his season with five goals and eight assists in 17 games, a point-per-game rate that, if maintained, would be the best of his career.  He’s also averaging nearly 20 minutes per night which is also a personal best, coming in ahead of the career-high 18:39 set last season.
  • Foote also shared an update on winger Nils Hoglander. Out since the preseason due to lower-body surgery, he was initially expected to miss eight to ten weeks.  It appears he’s still on that trajectory but the recovery time now appears to be on the back end of that scale.  After a career year in 2023-24 that saw him record 24 goals and 36 points, his production dropped last season to just eight goals and 25 points and with the time he’s missed this season, he might be hard-pressed to match that total in 2025-26.
  • Lastly, regarding defenseman Derek Forbort, Foote said that “I think, the last couple years. When you get into the midsection stuff, whatever it is, I think they want to start from scratch and fix it.” The veteran has only played in two games this season due to the injury and Foote’s comments suggest that a return isn’t imminent.

Jets Sign Adam Lowry To Five-Year Contract Extension

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Only a few short months ago, the 2026 UFA class looked like it could be one of the best in NHL history.  But since then, the list has been thinned out quite quickly.  Another player can now be crossed off that list as the team announced that they’ve signed center Adam Lowry to a five-year contract extension.  TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (Twitter link) that the deal will carry a $5MM AAV and be worth $25MM in total.

The two sides were reported to be making progress on an extension earlier this month so it’s not too surprising to see this get across the finish line.

The 32-year-old is in the final season of his five-year, $16.25MM deal signed back in 2021.  He has never been a high-end offensive contributor in his 12-year NHL career (his highest point total is 36) but over the past few years, he has become a reliable two-way player.   The captain has long been a sound defensive player who brought plenty of physicality to the table and that’s a combination that is especially appealing in a team’s bottom six.

Lowry missed the start of the season while recovering from hip surgery but has jumped right back into his usual role since returning.  In seven games, he has a goal and two assists along with 16 hits in 14:22 of playing time.  For his career (spent in its entirety with the Jets who drafted him in the third round back in 2011), Lowry has 122 goals and 154 hits in 782 games.

This deal represents a nice raise from his current $3.25MM AAV while getting a long-term agreement for the second straight contract.  While a $5MM AAV for someone whose production is more in the third-line range, those other elements he brings made it likely that he could have landed a deal at or higher than this price point on the open market.

Meanwhile, the Jets also get some much-needed stability down the middle.  Mark Scheifele is also signed through 2030-31, meaning that Winnipeg has two of their top three centers in place for the long haul.  GM Kevin Cheveldayoff still has some work to do to secure a long-term fit for their second center position (a role filled by Jonathan Toews this year) but that’s a strong foundation down the middle to build off of.

With the signing, the Jets now have around $78.7MM in commitments for the 2026-27 season, per PuckPedia.  That gives them around $25MM in cap room based on the projected $104MM Upper Limit.  Cole Perfetti, a pending restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights, will take up a good chunk of that but the rest of their pending free agents (all unrestricted) are for players more in depth roles.  That could give Cheveldayoff a chance to try to make a splash to add another core piece to his roster, either via trade or free agency this summer.

Murat Ates of The Athletic was the first to report that an extension had been agreed upon.

Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images.

Kings Notes: Kempe, Doughty, Copley

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Kings forward Adrian Kempe recently took himself off next summer’s free agent market by signing an eight-year, $85MM contract extension.  Speaking with HockeySverige’s Martin Jansson, he acknowledged he likely left some money on the table considering how quickly the UFA class is drying up.  He also indicated that he lowered his salary request which appears to be what pushed this deal across the finish line.  Kempe is in his tenth NHL season, all spent with Los Angeles.  He’s off to a strong start with 19 points in his first 20 games, a point-per-game pace that would be the second-best of his career.  If that holds over the full season, the beginning of the deal could wind up being team-friendly, though there is some risk in the final few years given that he’ll be in his age-30 season when the contract begins.

More from Los Angeles:

  • While defenseman Drew Doughty’s injury timeline carries a week-to-week designation, it doesn’t appear that he’ll be out too long. GM Ken Holland told reporters including John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor (Twitter link) that the veteran, who has been placed on injured reserve, will miss two to three weeks.  The 35-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury and had been off to a solid start to his season with eight points in 19 games while logging a team-high 22:33 per night, the only Kings player averaging more than 20 minutes per night.
  • With Doughty on IR, there is a roster spot available but that won’t be the case for long. Holland acknowledged that the Kings will be recalling goaltender Pheonix Copley from AHL Ontario for tomorrow’s game against San Jose.  He isn’t being brought up due to an injury though.  Instead, he’s being promoted to give Darcy Kuemper a full day of rest before he gets the nod on Friday.  Copley has had a tough start to his campaign with the Reign, posting a 3.84 GAA along with a .870 SV% in his first seven appearances.

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